Highlights

  • Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC will fell familiar to fans of one past FromSoftware games: Dark Souls 3.
  • Shadow of the Erdtree's level design and visual design are inspired by Dark Souls 3's Ringed City.
  • Some enemies and areas in Shadow of the Erdtree also resemble those encountered in the Ringed City DLC.

FromSoftware isn't a studio that likes to rest on its laurels. Instead, with each new entry in its long line of action-RPGs, FromSoftware tries to push the formula further and introduce a new wave of mechanics and features. That being said, FromSoftware isn't afraid to look back to its past every once in a while, and its games usually contain at least a few references to past entries. Being FromSoftware's biggest game to date, and a sort of subtle celebration of everything the studio's achieved so far, it's only natural that Elden Ring is packed to the brim with these references.

Elden Ring's base game has quite a few obvious references to past FromSoftware games, with some of the most overt being the reappearance of con artist Patches and a new iteration of the iconic Moonlight Greatsword that's appeared throughout FromSoft's lengthy catalog. Elden Ring's recently released Shadow of the Erdtree DLC contains a few references of its own, and even takes things one step further, with quite a bit of the DLC feeling heavily inspired by Dark Souls 3.

Elden Ring Gravesite Plain Stepping Out
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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Seems to Have Taken Inspiration From Dark Souls 3's Ringed City

Shadow of the Erdtree's World Design Shares Some Similarities with DS3's Ringed City

The largest FromSoftware DLC up until Shadow of the Erdtree, Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City is currently the final act in the Dark Souls saga, and it's an impressive note to end on. Taking players to the titular dilapidated city, Dark Souls 3's The Ringed City DLC contains five new bosses, a few new NPC questlines, and a ton of new weapons and armor sets, and its overall design bears a rather striking resemblance to Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

While Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is filled with original ideas and intriguing new features, there are parts of the DLC that feel as though they've been inspired by Dark Souls 3's The Ringed City, and this is especially prominent in the DLC's level design and visual design. Though it offers another open-world jaunt, Shadow of the Erdtree's map is much more vertical than its base game, meaning that a lot of areas are stacked on top of each other, thus making better use of the vast open-world space. Dark Souls 3's The Ringed City did a similar thing with its own level design, tasking players with ascending tall towers and exploring various side paths along the way.

Quite a few areas in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree also look familiar to Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City. For instance, the early DLC area, Belurat, has medieval architecture that looks very similar to The Ringed City, and both ancient cities feature some heavily aged ruins. The later area, The Shadow Keep, also has some serious Dark Souls 3 vibes, with its abandoned church and castle ramparts feeling very similar to Dark Souls 3's Lothric Castle. The optional Jagged Peak area in Shadow of the Erdtree can also be easily compared to Dark Souls 3's optional Archdragon Peak area, with both revolving around dragons.

Shadow of the Erdtree's Enemies Bear Some Resemblance to Those in Dark Souls 3's Ringed City

There are a ton of new enemies in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, but much like its world, some of them bear an interesting resemblance to Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City's enemies. Across the Lands of Shadow, players will encounter shadowy figures that patrol the various cities, villages, and plains. These enemies feel quite similar to The Ringed City's own corrupted citizens. There are also several new Fire Knight enemies and Messmer Soldiers, some of whom feel similar to The Ringed City's Ringed Knights. The monstrous Bayle the Dread might also have fans remembering the infamously difficult Darkeater Midir.