God, Elden Ring is a pretty game. Even after 100s of hours wandering the Lands Between I still can’t get enough of the way FromSoftware manages to forge beauty from bleakness in its landscapes on PS5 and Xbox. Judging by these new Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree snaps showing off the Land of Shadow’s stunning environments, the studio is still in top form.
Ahead of the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree launch on June 21, FromSoft appears to have popped up at Seoul’s Play Expo 2024 event with a large panel showcasing various areas from the upcoming expansion for one of the best games of all time.
Though a few bodies of water are shown, none of them, thankfully, appear to be poisonous swamps – I’m watching you, Miyazaki. Instead, we’re treated to gravestone-filled forests, arched ruins, and glintstone-hued fields. There’s even an old chateau which, if the best horror games have taught me anything, is definitely filled to the rafters with spooky beasties.
Perhaps my favorite picture of the lot is, surprisingly, the final one on the Ruliweb post – a towering crevasse with a river at its base. I can’t be the only fantasy head who didn’t immediately think of Arwen’s run-in with the Nazgul in The Fellowship of the Ring – I see a vague Lord of the Rings similarity, my internal monologue shouts ‘yippee!’
We’re still weeks away from Shadow of the Erdtree and I’m already floored by the artistry at work here. Let’s just hope Messmer doesn’t mess everything up…
For more of the latest on the best PS5 games and best Xbox games in the land of RPGs, check out my Stellar Blade 2 wishlist for the potential sequel to ShiftUp’s hit. Additionally, take a look at the Fortnite Kingdom Hearts leak that could bring the iconic RPG game series to Epic’s shooter.