Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree 'Too Difficult' for Players

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC Receives Mixed Reception

While lauded by critics, Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has sparked a divided response among players. Steam reviews reveal a significant number of negative comments focusing on difficulty and performance issues across PC and consoles.

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Harsh Realities and High Difficulty in Shadow of the Erdtree

Despite pre-release Metacritic acclaim, the June 21st launch of Shadow of the Erdtree was met with a wave of negative player feedback on Steam. While the challenging gameplay was acknowledged, many players found the combat excessively demanding and the difficulty balance uneven.

Performance Problems and Difficulty Complaints

Player feedback highlighted intense battles, with many claiming encounters were significantly harder than in the base game. Criticisms included poorly designed enemy placement and excessively high boss health pools.

Performance issues further compounded the negative reception. PC players reported frequent crashes, stuttering, and frame rate limitations. Even high-end systems experienced frame rate drops below 30 FPS in crowded areas, impacting gameplay. Similar frame rate drops during intense moments were also reported on PlayStation consoles.

As of Monday, Steam reviews for Shadow of the Erdtree show a "Mixed" rating, with 36% negative reviews. Metacritic's user score sits at 8.3/10 ("Generally Favorable") based on 570 ratings, contrasting with Game8's 94/100 rating.