Little is known about what Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC will consist of outside the lore extrapolations made by fans, as well as assumptions made based on what previous FromSoftware DLCs have offered. This may be the case for a while, too, because Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon’s release date falling in August could mean that FromSoftware’s focus will be on marketing the mech-customizing shooter instead. Likewise, it will be interesting to see how Elden Ring’s DLC stands out from other open-world competitors, such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Elden Ring is certainly not the only impressive open-world game to have launched in recent history, and many fans may have already had their fill of unabashed exploration from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild several years earlier. However, it is difficult to deny how much of an impact Elden Ring has had since its launch, which has only made the excitement for its confirmed Shadow of the Erdtree DLC that much greater If Elden Ring’s DLC gives players a new environment to explore, though, that could help it excel as a counter to Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Hyrule.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Largely Repurposes Breath of the Wild’s Map
To be fair, the differences between Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s environments are not indistinguishable. Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom does feature a substantial amount more to its environment than in Zelda: Breath of the Wild, even if it seems like a lot of that comes from the verticality of midair locations. Rather, it is potentially great news that Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is repurposing Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s map because that means fans get a bunch more hours in the same landscape they may have adored before, but this time with Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s confirmed features.
Still, many fans are disappointed that the sequel is not drastically different considering how much development time was presumably given to it since its predecessor launched. This opinion could change once fans actually get their hands on the game and see for themselves how much is different or new, but this is currently an area that Elden Ring’s DLC could strive to iterate upon in an original way.
Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC Could Bring Players to a Brand-New Map
Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC could exploit some fans’ disappointment in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s map by featuring a completely new environment. It would be terrific to see another region in Elden Ring’s Lands Between that perhaps lies past the clouded parts of the map, and it would be simple enough to say that the DLC’s role in Elden Ring lore takes place there for whatever reason.
FromSoftware seems to enjoy offering a different perspective on its games’ worlds with stories taking place in the past, such as in Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters DLC, and that premise could give a new perspective on familiar locations as well as new regions in Elden Ring. There is an argument to be made about Elden Ring not needing to change much of its own map, similar to how Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom did not necessarily need to. In fact, because Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel, it would make more sense for Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule to be wholly unchanged unless something cataclysmic occurs in its opening.
Elden Ring is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
