Elden Ring Expansion Shadow of the Erdtree Looks Metal (and Hard) As Hell

Known as one of the best video games from 2022 that was also one of the most metal and most difficult, Elden Ring has achieved the kind of status that even non-gamers have a sense of what it is. Earlier today, the folks at Namco Bandai dropped the launch trailer for their highly anticipated DLC Shadow of the Erdtree and I gotta say — this shit looks just as badass and crazy and punishingly hard as the original game.

For those that don’t know, there’s a whole genre of games that exist solely to grind your nethers into a fine paste. Called SoulsBornes, these titles are largely developed by From Software — though other companies have begun making games in that style as well. From Demon’s Souls to the Dark Souls series to Bloodborne and now Elden Ring, these games have explored extremely impressive landscapes littered with all kinds of horrific enemies to rip your ass to shreds. In a world where everything seems futile, it sort of makes sense that everywhere you look seems like it would fit right on an album cover.

Hell, Rotting Christ once contributed to the soundtrack for Mortal Shell. Tell me that’s not metal.

Anyway, this post is really to let my fellow nerdy metalheads (of which all of you are nerds about something, it’s just a matter of what) know that this shit is out now and that it’s time to suffer together.

So as the day winds down and I get ready to bid the work day farewell, I’m a little terrified. Shadow of the Erdtree awaits me on whatever platform I want to play it on, as long as it’s PC, Xbox Series S|X, or PlayStation 5.