Shadow of the Erdtree has ground me into dust, which is why I recommend it

Why does this feel so hard?

Complaining that a FromSoftware game is too difficult is tricky, and it's a debate we've dug into before. It feels to me like Shadow is overall more unforgiving than the base game, with more ambushes, more damage from standard enemies, and more bosses with overwhelming attack patterns. Being efficient with my runes (experience points) and cautious with my save points while playing through the main game, I felt adequate to almost every challenge. In Shadow, I am lost and struggling, and learning how to get out of the bigger fights alive is taking some time.

I ran this experience by a friend who has played most of the mainline Souls games. The add-ons for these games should be hard, my friend told me; nobody who made it this far into the main game wants a $40 DLC to feel like a pushover. My friend also noted that Souls games had traditionally focused more on technique, memorization, and, yes, perseverance, than level grinding, min-maxing, and extensive wiki reading. That's what they like about Souls games. What I like—exploration, research, essentially winning through attrition—will be easier to do once the wider world has gotten its hands on this expansion.

Mechanically, FromSoftware has also tried to make Shadow as similar an experience for as many players as possible. Two items in the game, Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes, offer attack/defend and spirit companion bonuses, respectively, that are separate from the main game, and they only apply while you're in the DLC. Specifically, those bonuses apply percentage boosts to your existing stats, rather than a flat base number boost. I've hunted down as many of those blessings as exist in the areas I can get to, and I do not feel like I've got a significant edge on the first major boss, but they've helped a good deal.

That tough road ahead looks fun

Because your humble reviewer, now feeling especially humble, has not made it very far into the map, the plot, or even the equipment of Shadow, I can't be too explicit about what's ahead. Based on what FromSoftware has provided reviewers, and on what others have seen and said, I think anyone who really enjoyed the base game and has a mind for patiently progressing through numerous defeats will get their money's worth from Shadow. If you haven't beaten Mohg yet (the long way), and you're not sure how much time you want to put in before you try this expansion, you really should wait to see if you get there first.

The first two bosses are cool as heck—in a devastatingly fatal way. The new spells, techniques, and weapons—especially including hand-to-hand fighting, or the "Dryleaf Sect"—make me want to keep trying. I want to beat a Furnace Golem on horseback, learn all the new spells in the Cathedral of Manus Metyr, and visit the more brightly colored Hinterland and Stone Coffin Fissure. And I want to complain with my friends about the Abyssal Woods, which I'm sure are an absolute nightmare of traps and surprises.

I don't have any particular technical notes about how the game runs, because it is essentially running the same for me as the base game does. By the time I get to any area bogged down in frame rate stutters, we can assume a patch will have arrived. Your mileage may vary, but probably not by much off your prior experience.

But first, I'm going to go back to the base game for a bit to level up some more and pick up a few more items. Most of all, I'm going to let the people who are really great at these kinds of games get through it, share their knowledge, and then play it my way. Shadow of the Erdtree is definitely an expansion, both outward in area and upward in base difficulty. If you've already purchased it and find yourself bouncing off it, give yourself some time, some grace (in-game and out), and come back when you're ready.