Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree review – FromSoftware flexes its open-world design

There are two types of FromSoftware game players: those who pretend they understand the lore and me. Shadow of the Erdtree likely has plenty of moments for the former – the people who can somehow decipher the meanings behind Rumpelstiltskin-riddle NPC dialogue or the item description of a pickled carotid artery – but it also has plenty of moments for me, an oblivious boy who likes grand landscapes and cool swords. Riding into the Land of Shadow is as awe-inspiring as the first time you stepped out of the dank cave and into the overworld of Elden Ring. There’s a sense you’re inside the folds of the universe, underneath reality, despite the clouds above telling you otherwise. You’re occupying a space that shouldn’t exist on a plane not meant for human eyes. The gilded light of the Erdtree doesn’t reach this place – only its shadow, its mangled roots dripping with hot corruption. Spectral gravestones dot the landscape as if they are remnants of the Tarnished from that other sphere, whether it exists above, belo