Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC: A Double-Edged Sword of Difficulty and Praise
While Shadow of the Erdtree has received critical acclaim, its Steam reception is decidedly mixed. Players are voicing concerns about its difficulty and performance across PC and consoles.
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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree - Falling Short of Expectations?
Shadow of the Erdtree: A Brutal Reality Check for Players ---------------------------------------------------------Steam Reviews Reveal a Divided Playerbase
Despite pre-release accolades and a high Metacritic score, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree launched to a wave of negative player reviews on Steam (June 21st). While the challenging gameplay was praised, many found the combat excessively difficult, citing poor enemy placement and excessively high boss health.
Performance Problems and Difficulty Spikes
The intensity of battles is a major point of contention. Players report encounters significantly harder than the base game, with some describing enemy placement as rushed and boss health pools as inflated.
Performance issues further compound the problem. PC users report frequent crashes, micro-stuttering, and frame rate limitations, even on high-end systems. Frame rates below 30 FPS in crowded areas are common, rendering gameplay frustrating. PlayStation users also report similar frame rate drops during intense moments.
As of Monday, Steam shows a "Mixed" overall rating for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, with 36% negative reviews. Metacritic shows a more positive "Generally Favorable" rating of 8.3/10 (based on 570 user reviews), while Game8 gives it a 94/100. This disparity highlights the significant difference in player experience.
