FromSoftware is one of gaming's most consistent developers. Qualitatively, that's obvious. Can you name a better run of games than Bloodborne to Dark Souls 3 to Sekiro to Elden Ring? And those are just the iconic ones from that period. In between those marquee titles, the company also snuck in a port of a Monster Hunter spin-off and a tiny narrative VR game. It's that consistency — rarely letting a year go by without a release — that matters most for the health of gaming in the current climate. When development cycles for triple-A games have swelled to four or five years. FromSoft has never gone more than three without launching a title. That's unheard of.
FromSoftware Makes Great Games With Great DLC
Like Remedy, FromSoft is also committed to keeping DLC alive. I've argued about why the practice of releasing single-player DLC needs to be preserved; how it provides an outlet for developers who — with the base game under their belts — are at the height of their powers, and provides an opportunity for rising stars to gain leadership experience.
Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree Seems Like Too Big Of A Commitment
FromSoftware has repeatedly shown dedication to high-quality DLC. Bloodborne's The Old Hunters is considered by many fans to be the best part of the game. Dark Souls' Artorias of the Abyss was well-received, as was Dark Souls 2's The Lost Crowns set, and both of Dark Souls 3's expansions. This is a company that improves and expands on each of its games before it moves on, and its work since Souls has borne that out. It doesn't just put out expansions; it puts out expansions that make 10/10 games even 10/10-er.
For that reason, Shadow of the Erdtree is a welcome addition to the current gaming landscape. By all accounts, it's a great piece of DLC and is roughly the same scale as the first Dark Souls. It's an expansion, but it's sized and priced (at $39.99) like a full game. That's cool, and, for many players, a welcome alternative to an actual sequel that would have taken much longer to get out the door.
So, I admire Shadow of the Erdtree and everything it represents. I just don't think I'll ever play it. Or, if I do, it will be sometime in the middle of the PS6 life cycle, when I'm finally removed enough from my failed Elden Ring playthrough to be ready to begin again. I'm making it sound like I had a bad experience with the massive action-RPG, and I very much didn't. It was second on my top ten list for 2022, and I thought it was a benchmark for open-world design going forward. But, I never finished it and I don't have it in me to start all over.
It defeated me in the war of attrition way that FromSoftware games often do. I like every one of the company's games that I've played (and many of their imitators, too), but they demand too much. When I start a new FromSoft game, I fully intend to finish it. And then I put dozens of hours in, and can see dozens more stretching out ahead.
I'm still hoping to finish Bloodborne by the end of the year , too, so adding another From game to the pile seems like bad time management.
I'm a little sad to be missing out on Shadow of the Erdtree, but I'm happy for everyone who's enjoying it. In the same way that I think just about every game would improve from an early access period, but tend to wait until 1.0 to play myself, I think gaming is better off because it has a meaty, acclaimed piece of Elden Ring DLC. It isn't for me (at least not right now) but I'm happy that it seems to be for everyone else.
