Every time a new Soulsborne game (or Soulslike more broadly) is released, it comes under attack from from a subsection of gamers arguing in bad faith. Furious criticism of supposedly excessive difficulty surfaces everywhere, despite there being no obvious reason why.
After all, it goes without saying that these games are hard. They always have been and always will be. It’s part of their appeal. But, for whatever reason, some gamers simply can’t accept that people might genuinely enjoy the challenge – even if it pushes you to your limits at times.
With the long-awaited launch of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree – FromSoftware’s substantial expansion to the critically acclaimed 2022 game – these complaints have surfaced once again.
Steam reviews for the DLC are “mixed”, with many of the complaints focussing on performance problems and difficulty. Of course, criticism of the game’s performance is entirely justified and warrants a bad review if a player feels their experience was spoilt.
But complaints that Shadow of the Erdtree is too challenging are simply wrong. As someone with plenty of experience in Soulsborne games, I think the difficulty is scaled just right.
By the end of my base game playthrough, my character was thoroughly OP. I made no special effort to make him so – that was simply the way Elden Ring progressed for me. I was two-hitting bosses and found few that provided any notable challenge.
As a result, I was hoping that Shadow of the Erdtree wouldn’t keep the difficulty at the same level. While Soulsborne games have a reputation for their toughness, they can become laughably easy after a certain point (and, by extension, dull).
So, I was pleasantly surprised when I ventured to the Lands of Shadow and discovered a plethora of challenging bosses that suited my level. Sure – some of them are a bit spammy and give you little room to breathe. Obviously, this gets frustrating and they aren’t FromSoftware’s best work.
However, every boss I have encountered so far is beatable through repeat attempts and mastering their movements and attacks. Failing that, you can always come back later after improving your gear and levelling up.
As in the base game, summons are there in place of an easy mode and will do most of the work for you if you’re really struggling. You can even use the (optional) new Scadutree Fragment mechanic to enhance your character’s offensive and defensive capabilities in the Lands of Shadow.
Shadow of the Erdtree is only punishingly hard if you actively choose to ignore these options. But no one is forcing you to – there is no prize for suffering through the DLC. If you’d prefer to play on ‘easy mode’, then do it.
But don’t say that you sucking at the game is the fault of the developers. If you lack the patience and precision to play the game as intended, then maybe Soulslikes just aren’t for you – not everything has to be for everyone and that’s absolutely fine.
What are your thoughts on the difficulty in Shadow of the Erdtree? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
