As fans celebrate the arrival of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, we’re yet to delve into the true size of the newly introduced realm. Even though Hidetaka Miyazaki and the team at FromSoftware may have given a fair idea of what to expect, there’s a big detail that was never given out before the launch.
Many of us are yet to uncover the hidden mysteries of Shadow of the Erdtree, but a popular content creator for the franchise has made one thing clearer for everyone: how large we can expect the map to be, even if we may have been misled to believe it’s just the size of Limgrave.
It’s Like 5 Limgraves on Top of Each Other
In my review of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, I mentioned how the game felt extremely fresh, even though parts of it may resemble older areas to be found in the base game. Initially, FromSoftware wanted us to believe that the new realm (Land of Shadow) will be the size of Limgrave, with some complexities.
However, as VaatiVidya has rightly pointed out, the game is simply five to ten times that. In fact, you can find castles, dungeons and hidden areas as you’re traversing the first few spaces of the map. The way they’re designed will give you the impression of exploring multiple dungeons at once while also being open enough to keep larger landscapes in sight.
If you’ve played Elden Ring before, you may be expecting secret bosses and NPCs that traverse these areas. You wouldn’t be wrong, and to make things a bit more complicated (yet enjoyable), there are eight new types of newly introduced weapon types found in different areas.
VaatiVidya has discussed this before in a video that highlights the creator’s experience with the first three hours of the game. As it turns out, some areas are indeed more complex than fans would imagine them to be.
Shadow of the Erdtree Uses Map Design Wisely
In the base game, Limgrave is mostly an open space that’s less frequented by fellow residents of the Lands Between and filled with dungeons here and there. However, this simply isn’t the case with Shadow of the Erdtree.
Instead of just a big space, there are a lot of different terrains above and below that require skill and courage to wander. While traversal itself may not feel like a daunting task, many areas require you to be careful enough to dodge tricky situations and enemies, while also demanding some platforming that the base game didn’t have.
While this may not directly pose a threat in the face of Elden Ring players, it comes a quality-of-life feature for the DLC to spice things up. Unlike Limgrave, challenges here now also lie in how players navigate the large map, and not just in bosses and dungeons.
What are your thoughts on Shadow of the Erdtree’s map size? Let us know in the comments below.
