Elden Ring Shadow of The Erdtree Trailer: Thoughts and Reactions
Finally, it’s here! Or at least the trailer- we know it exists. Elden Ring’s “Shadow of The Erdtree” DLC is coming out on June 21st, right in time to dominate the summer. I’m sure many of you have countless questions. I mean, sure it looked cool, but realistically, this trailer leaves a lot of intrigue. Realistically the only way to get anywhere with this is to try and answer questions by asking them. So let’s dive in.
But first- a note: This is about to be very lore heavy and mention things that will make no sense and be of no interest to you if you don’t play Elden Ring or know the lore.
Initial Thoughts
This looks like it’s once again going to be a very dark DLC. Which, they usually are, but this one especially looks really dark and twisted, especially in a game that overall wasn’t as macabre as it could’ve been. The world design, lighting, and new enemies (especially this) indicate a tone of brutality that hasn’t really been seen in Elden Ring in the same way it was present in a game like Bloodborne, which took pride in the absurd amounts of blood you could cover your character with. I can’t deny, I’m intrigued by this approach and how they will handle it. The Lands Between is definitely hostile, but it feels like a real, lived in world, with an ecosystem and so forth. This looks like a nightmare.
There is a clear, classic Souls theme of inversion. Throughout the trailer we see a lot of enemies that look…almost familiar, but are in fact some sort of different, twisted variation. A lot of these look straight up terrifying. There’s a longboi snake monster that is like 7 feet tall and lifts you in the air with it’s mouth. There’s a Durge-esque (deep Star Wars reference) creature that looks suspiciously like Malenia in it’s body language and size. There’s this thing-
This is a Wickerman. Like the Iron Maidens from Demon Souls, it’s based on a real thing. In the good old days, 1st century BC, the Druids would use a device like this to sacrifice people and animals for their pagan rituals. Pretty disturbing, obviously, but it will make a stellar boss. I’m excited to face this monstrosity and hopefully kick it’s ass. I doubt that will happen. But we can hope.
The new combat additions look awesome and intense. Ninja kicks, wings…probably 10 other things I missed. I already see some A tier armor sets, which means there’s definitely some S tier armor out there. The craziest stuff is almost certainly not in the trailer. Which is why the fact that everything we saw is already bonkers gives me a lot of hype for what I think will be in the DLC.
Now it’s time to get to some of the big “mailbag” questions everyone has about the DLC. Specifically, the “who, what and where?” This is about to get nerdy, so watch out.
Where is this?
This is the Land of Shadow. While we can’t be entirely sure what this is, it’s probably an inversion of some kind of the Lands Between. There will probably be a lot of “this looks like where this is on the main map but different.” The monsters and some of the humanoid bosses will likely be horrific inversions of normal game enemies. I fully expect this world to be much more hostile than that of the main game. My main question is: will the wildlife be more aggressive? What critters will we encounter? How messed up is this location?
From a lore perspective, there’s a lot of questions too. Supposedly, this is where Queen Marika first stepped foot in the “Lands Between”, which confirms some connection between them. It’s described as “a land purged in unsung battle.” Why and how did Marika end up there first of all places? Is it connected to her rise to power? What unsung battle is being fought? Who’s winning?
The whole mystique behind the Land of Shadows feels very important. There’s definitely something earth shaking, world flipping here, but I don’t know what it is. What I do know is that this is a place in which one should not fuck around. They show a hippo with porcupine spines in the trailer. Nope. I’m out. If this place has these things running amuck, I may be in for a rough time.
But, let’s briefly, discuss some lore theories that have been discussed by the community and I myself have
The Land of Shadow is the Underworld: This theory holds that perhaps the Land of Shadow is a sort of a “second stage/ place of resurrection/ afterlife” type location within the universe of Elden Ring. The specific idea here though, is more Underworld/Hell based. So, afterlife yes, heaven no.
The Land of Shadow is The Lands Between in the past: This theory holds that the Land of Shadow is a past version of The Lands Between and we will be encharged with fixing some sort of time-loop or paradox.
The Land of Shadow is separated from The Land Between by a “veil” above the Erdtree: In some of the images, both from the main game and the DLC, it looks like the sky is…not all there. The Erdtree appears to exude a “membrane” of sorts. It' seems possible that the Land of Shadow is the land or one of many lands past this membrane.
The Land of Shadow is an alternate version of The Lands Between: Plain and simple. This theory, my personal favorite, holds that the Land of Shadow is a dark alternate of The Lands Between, an evil alter-ego in a different universe.
The Land of Shadows is the crater in the map, it’s location displaced: Once again, pretty straightforward. The Land of Shadows could be a missing piece in the maingame map that got displaced through some cataclysmic event.
Who is this?
This is Messmer the Impaler. My assumption is that he impales people, first because he impales the character in the trailer, and second, because he’s called Messmer the Impaler. There’s no obvious clues that he’s specifically related to anyone, but there’s a lot of clues that he’s related to everybody. The snake is giving Rykard, the name is giving Miquella/Malenia lineage. The overall face shape and vibe is giving Omen/Godrick spawn. Once again, let’s look at some individual theories:
Messmer is a forgotten child of Marika and Radagon: I like this one. It seems the most logical, considering that Messmer is clearly very powerful and also probably some kind of god. He also has red hair, like Radagon, and has an M name.
Messmer is an evil alter-ego of Miquella: Like Marika/Radagon, Messmer could be an alternate form of Miquella, one with different intentions.
Messmer is Marika’s brother: This feels like a bit of a stretch based on what we know, but we don’t know much. Just because Marika is never mentioned as having a brother in the main game doesn’t mean she doesn’t have one.
Messmer is some other god, one who isn’t directly connected: Very possible.
Messmer is the person who impaled Marika with the Elden Rune: This is a reasonable take. He is called Messmer the Impaler. But overall, there isn’t much evidence for or against this so it’s hard to say. It could very likely have been the Elden Beast that did that.
What the hell is this?
Answer: No fucking clue. This thing terrifies me. It’s got human feet and two sets of teeth. It’s like nightmare fuel for the Devil. Unfortunately, after studying this image for far longer than I am comfortable with, I do have some ideas of what it could be.
An Omen God of some kind: The horns and humanoid appearance suggest an Omen. In fact, that’s probably definitely what it is, but the context still remains a mystery. It could be an Omen God, one unique to the Land of Shadows that we haven’t heard of.
Mysterious Child of Marika and Godfrey: Much like Messmer is thought to be a child of Marika and Radagon because of physical characteristics such as red hair, so too could this unnamed monstrosity be another Omen child of Marika and Godfrey, like Morgott and Mogh.
Godrick in a Lands of Shadow form: Godrick’s soul is dead and his body is alive in the base game. But it’s possible, if the Land of Shadow is some kind of Underworld, that he’s alive here, in some vestigial, warped form.
Why is Miquella here?
So, why is Miquella here? That’s the lead-in question of the DLC. What is so urgent in the Land of Shadow that Miquella felt the need to leave The Lands Between? This question is also heavily tied to the actual nature of the Land of Shadow. Well…let’s consider some possibilities.
Miquella must solve some wrong done in the past: If the Land of Shadow is in the past, maybe Miquella is here to fix some time problem, like a loop or paradox.
Miquella is here to defeat someone or something: Pretty self explanatory.
Miquella is trapped here: Perhaps he doesn’t mean to be here, or was trapped after entering, which is why we have to go liberate him.
Miquella has changed teams and is now a villain: Doesn’t seem likely based on the trailer and supporting texts, but would also be a very Fromsoftware move.
Honestly, I don’t know. I do know that this DLC is going to be electric. It’s going to re-ignite a game that is already in many respects, a cultural phenomenon. “Shadow of the Erdtree” is going to fundamentally change a world that so many of us are already familiar with and I think it’s going to dominate the summer. Until then, we wait.
Elden Ring’s “Shadow of the Erdtree” DLC will be out June 21st.
