2022’s Game of the Year and the latest entry in FromSoftware’s Souls series was the massively successful Elden Ring, but the landmark title isn’t finished yet. In the vein of its past games, FromSoftware will release the DLC expansion titled Shadow of the Erdtree at a yet undisclosed time. The new title originally brought many fresh elements to the studio's main style of game while maintaining the major focus on epic boss fights that has defined its work. Though Elden Ring was filled with experimentation, Shadow of the Erdtree is now the perfect opportunity to take inspiration from classic FromSoftware boss tropes and make the game the ultimate Souls experience.
Elden Ring became famous in part due to the massive breadth of impressively designed bosses available for the player to face as soon as they enter the game’s world. However, upon reaching the final areas of the game, the player is sure to find signs of the asset reuse that causes early game bosses to appear as late game regular enemies. The main story bosses such as Margit, Rykard, and the Fire Giant have all still gone on to cement their places in the hearts of players with their incredibly bold and experimental designs, but the iconic bosses of Souls deserve spiritual successors.
FromSoftware’s DLC Expansions Always Feature their Toughest Encounters
Elden Ring is once again often lauded for its boss fights, but it's important to keep in mind that the best could be yet to come. Historically, the Souls games' DLC expansions have a tendency to introduce some of if not the most memorable and powerful Souls boss fights in the entire franchise. The iconic battle with the abyss-corrupted Artorias wasn’t in the base game of Dark Souls, and many players even feel like the DLCs for Dark Souls 2 are necessary to properly enjoy it. Furthermore, the expansion of Dark Souls 3 as well as Bloodborne would go on to introduce some of the most challenging and well-known bosses of the series, well after the release of their base games.
The lore of the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree indicates that two characters from Elden Ring’s lore are equally likely to take center stage and become true final bosses. In the base game, the demigods Godwyn the Prince of Death and Miquella are both referenced as glorious throughout the lore, but encountered in disabled, grotesque states. Both of these characters are shown to be totally incapacitated when the player encounters them, but they are also both associated with the overwhelmingly malicious forces that have caused their conditions. Looking at the greatest hits of Souls’ boss history, the encounter with the deformed Godwyn could honor these previous entries by taking elements from fights with similar characters like the corrupted Artorias and the abyssal beast Manus.
Miquella and Godwyn Already have Similarities to Iconic Foes
Taking inspiration from previous bosses and maintaining the spirit of Elden Ring could lead to the upcoming expansion featuring the most challenging encounters of the entire series yet. One of the most infamous boss fights of the series’ beloved black sheep, Bloodborne, is the disgusting and terrifying Orphan of Kos. An inhumanly tall, zombie-esque, dream manifestation of the tortured unborn child of a godlike entity, the Orphan faces the player as a blisteringly quick and brutal bipedal humanoid. With the corruption of Miquella by the twisted omen Mohg in Elden Ring’s story, it’s a strange detail that Miquella is only seen by the player in a decaying form that happens to resemble the Orphan of Kos.
If the potential encounter with Miquella takes inspiration from bosses like the Orphan of Kos, it would be sure to honor the history of the series with its serious challenge. As the sibling of the historically difficult Malenia, it’s incredibly easy to imagine a corrupted Miquella upping the challenge past that of the rot goddess. Furthermore, if Godwyn finally gets a mobile form, his association with the Deathroot is sure to make it gruesome and tragic. Seeing the Prince of Death as a new interpretation of iconic bosses like Artorias, Manus, or even the Gaping Dragon would be sure to honor the memory of Souls and bring Elden Ring full circle.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
