Highlights

  • Elden Ring is a massive game with over 200 bosses and 130 hours of content, and Shadow of the Erdtree is large as well, introducing 70 more bosses and 40 hours of fresh content.
  • FromSoftware reuses some assets in the expansion just as it did with the base game, but it ensures each feels distinct and worthwhile.
  • Standout areas like the Darklight Catacombs are a great example of FromSoftware's mastery at reusing assets.

FromSoftware has made some pretty sizable games in its time. The studio's debut game, King's Field, was an incredibly ambitious first-person dungeon-crawler, Armored Core came out of the gate swinging with a challenging mech combat game, and Demon's Souls introduced the world to the now-beloved FromSoftware action-RPG formula. But FromSoftware didn't stop there. Each new FromSoft entry has been more ambitious than the last, with Elden Ring being the shining jewel in FromSoft's crown.

A true magnum opus, at least for now, Elden Ring is an absolutely gigantic game, boasting well over 130 hours of content. And now with the recently released Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, Elden Ring is an even beefier juggernaut, containing over 40 hours of new content. But while all of Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree's content is original, the two aren't afraid of repeating some assets throughout their lengthy runtime, and that's far from a bad thing.

Elden Ring Dragonlord
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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree's Reused Content Doesn't Feel Cheap

Elden Ring's Base Game Had a Lot of Repeat Content

As mentioned up top, Elden Ring is a huge game, featuring far more content than any FromSoftware game that came before it. Where the first Dark Souls had just 26 bosses, and Bloodborne had just 22, Elden Ring has well over 200 in its base game. Naturally, not all of these 200+ bosses can be expected to be completely unique, and the same can be said for all of Elden Ring's optional areas and dungeons. But while FromSoftware reused some boss designs and level assets in Elden Ring, it did its very best to ensure that any reused piece of content still felt distinct and worthwhile in some way.

A good example of this is Elden Ring's many repeated boss designs. From Crucible Knights to Erdtree Watchdogs to Godskins to Magma Wyrms, Elden Ring features a multitude of reused boss designs, but each one is given some kind of unique trait that sets it apart from all of its other iterations. For instance, some reused bosses will have an extra attack in their moveset or will have a unique elemental buff, and some bosses will fight in a pair or a group. Similarly, though the architecture and visual design of some optional areas like catacombs and underground dungeons can look very similar across the game, Elden Ring will always give each area a unique layout, some different enemies, and occasionally even an additional gimmick.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree's Repeat Content Feels Just as Rewarding

Though it is technically just a DLC, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is surprisingly massive, featuring over 70 new bosses, and a ton of new areas. Much like the base game before it, Shadow of the Erdtree decides to reuse a few of its assets to pad out the DLC's runtime, but again, FromSoftware has tried to ensure that each repeated asset has some distinct flair that keeps it memorable and rewarding. In fact, in some ways, Shadow of the Erdtree's repeated assets can be even more rewarding than those in the base game.

One of the best examples of this is the Darklight Catacombs. Though this dungeon looks very similar to a few that have come before it, including a handful in the base game, it has a unique gimmick in that the entire dungeon is pitch-black. If players manage to navigate their way through this dark dungeon, they'll be treated to a solid boss fight, and then an entirely new, even larger optional area. Repeated boss fights are also made worthwhile by often rewarding the player with much-needed Scadutree Fragments.