Despite critical acclaim, Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has received mixed player feedback on Steam, sparking debate over its difficulty and performance.
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Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree: A Challenging New Reality ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Steam Reviews Reveal Mixed Reception for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Steam screenshot While boasting top Metacritic scores pre-release, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree launched to a wave of negative player reviews on Steam. Released June 21st, the DLC's challenging gameplay, while praised by some, has frustrated many due to intense combat, questionable difficulty balancing, and performance issues across PC and consoles.
Performance Problems and Difficulty Concerns
Reddit screenshot Many players highlighted the expansion's demanding battles, feeling they're significantly harder than the base game, with some citing "rushed" enemy placement and excessively high boss health.
Performance problems also surfaced, with numerous PC users experiencing crashes, stuttering, and capped frame rates. Even high-end systems struggled, reporting sub-30 FPS in crowded areas. Similar frame rate drops during intense moments were reported on PlayStation consoles.
Metacritic screenshot As of Monday, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree holds a "Mixed" rating on Steam (36% negative reviews). Metacritic shows a "Generally Favorable" rating of 8.3/10 (570 user reviews), while Game8 awarded it a 94/100 score.
