Elden Ring's Expansion: Difficulty Concerns Emerge

Despite critical praise for Shadow of the Erdtree, the Elden Ring DLC has debuted to mixed reviews on Steam and continued to face criticism from players over its difficulty and performance issues on PC and consoles.

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screenshot taken from Steam

Despite garnering critical acclaim and securing the top-rated Metacritic score for video games prior to its release, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree debuted to a wave of negative reviews from players on Steam. Released on June 21, the Elden Ring DLC received praise for its challenging gameplay, but many players have expressed frustration over its strenuous combat, perceived difficulty balancing issues, as well as performance issues on PC and consoles.

Players Cite Performance Issues and Perceived Excessive Difficulty

Many players cited the fierce intensity of the expansion's battle as a key issue, stating that fights feel even more challenging and sometimes unfairly difficult compared to the base game. Some players' reviews on Shadow of the Erdtree pointed out that enemy placements felt "hurried," in other words not thoroughly designed, and that "bosses have excessive health bars."

Players likewise reported performance issues, with numerous PC users reporting crashes, micro-stuttering, and capped frame rates. Some players, even those with high-end systems, reported frame rates dropping below 30 FPS in crowded in-game areas, making the game difficult to play. Similar issues were also reported by players on PlayStation consoles wherein frame rates drop drastically during intense moments.

screenshot taken from Metacritic

As of Monday, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has an overall Mixed review on Steam, with 36% negative reviews. It is currently rated as 'Generally Favorable' with a score of 8.3/10 on Metacritic based on 570 user ratings. Meanwhile, Game8 has given Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree an overall rating of 94/100.