Elden Ring's 'Shadow' Raises Concerns over Difficulty

While Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has received critical acclaim, its Steam reception is more divisive. Players are voicing concerns about difficulty and performance.

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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree - Falling Short of Expectations?

Steam Reviews Reveal a Divided Opinion on Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Steam Screenshot Despite pre-release accolades and a high Metacritic score, the Elden Ring DLC, released June 21st, has drawn significant negative player feedback on Steam. While the challenging gameplay is lauded, many find the combat excessively difficult, unbalanced, and plagued by performance issues across PC and consoles.

Performance Problems and Difficulty Concerns Dominate Player Feedback

Reddit Screenshot The expansion's intense battles are a major point of contention. Players report encounters feeling disproportionately harder than the base game, citing poorly designed enemy placement and excessively high boss health.

Performance issues are also widespread, with PC users experiencing crashes, stuttering, and frame rate limitations. Even high-end systems struggle to maintain a smooth 30 FPS in crowded areas. Similar frame rate drops during intense moments have been reported on PlayStation consoles.

Metacritic Screenshot As of Monday, Steam shows a "Mixed" overall rating for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, with 36% negative reviews. Metacritic's user score stands at 8.3/10 ("Generally Favorable") based on 570 ratings. In contrast, Game8 gives it a 94/100 rating.