Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree trailer looks absolutely beautiful

It's been two years since Elden Ring was first released to such insane (and well-deserved) critical acclaim. Much to no one's surprise, it won the award for 2022's Game of the Year, as its mix of horrifyingly good open-world design and challenging bosses captivated players worldwide.

Needless to say, players wondered for a long time where we would come back to the Lands Between with new content this time around. So it's exciting that we finally have an answer to that question and, better yet, a look at what's to come.

First, and mostly, the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion looks absolutely beautiful. FromSoftware's world-building and level design was always some of the best in the industry, and it appears this time is no different. The Erdtree has a different look from the base game and it is jaw-dropping. Interestingly enough, the infamous tree isn't represented by a ghostly golden light like it used to be, and instead, it looks to have a more "physical" form (perhaps signaling the DLC could take place in the past). The new land to explore, presumed to be the Realm of Shadow, also looks breathtaking. However, it's filled with many of the dangers players should expect from a FromSoftware game.

We also got our first look at some of the game's new bosses in the form of Miquella and Messmer the Impaler. In case the former sounds familiar is because he's the brother of Malenia, the toughest boss found in Elden Ring (which means we totally won't struggle when we get to fighting him). Players can find Miquella's cocoon after fighting the Mogh boss in the base game, so perhaps this same place is where we'll be able to access the highly-anticipated expansion.

Best of all, we won't have to wait (too) long to finally play FromSoftware's biggest DLC to date. The expansion is set to release on June 21, and it has a cost of 40 dollars. It may seem a little bit of a high price (since complete games like Helldivers cost that much), but given the amount of content we're about to get we'll gladly be there once it releases.

So, are you ready to return to Elden Ring's world for another challenging experience?