Despite critical acclaim, Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has received a mixed reception on Steam, with players voicing concerns about difficulty and performance.
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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Falls Short of Player Expectations
Shadow of the Erdtree Presents a Brutal Challenge for Elden Ring Players ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree's Steam Debut Marked by Mixed Reactions
Steam Screenshot While boasting a top Metacritic score pre-release, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree launched to a wave of negative player reviews on Steam. Released June 21st, the DLC's challenging gameplay, while praised by some, has left many frustrated by its demanding combat, perceived imbalance, and performance issues across PC and consoles.
Performance Problems and Difficulty Concerns Top Player Complaints
Reddit Screenshot The expansion's intense battles are a major point of contention, with players reporting encounters feeling significantly harder than the base game, sometimes disproportionately so. Criticisms include poorly designed enemy placement and excessively high boss health pools.
Performance problems are also widespread, with PC users reporting crashes, stuttering, and frame rate limitations. Even high-end systems struggle to maintain 30 FPS in crowded areas, impacting playability. Similar frame rate drops during intense moments have been reported on PlayStation consoles.
Metacritic Screenshot As of Monday, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree holds a "Mixed" rating on Steam (36% negative reviews). Metacritic shows a "Generally Favorable" rating of 8.3/10 (based on 570 user reviews), while Game8 awarded it a 94/100 score.
