Home > News > Elden Ring DLC: Player feedback is that the difficulty is too high

Elden Ring DLC: Player feedback is that the difficulty is too high

Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has received mixed reactions from players on Steam, despite critical acclaim. Many express frustration with the difficulty and performance issues. Players cite challenging combat and disproportionate difficulty, with some suggesting rushed enemy placement and inflated boss health. Performance issues include crashes, stuttering, and low frame rates on both PC and consoles. As of Monday, the DLC has a Mixed review status on Steam with 36% negative reviews.

By Kristen: Jul 24,2024

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree 'Too Difficult' for Players

Despite critical acclaim for Shadow of the Ancient Erdtree, the Elden Ring DLC has debuted to mixed reviews on Steam and persistently faced criticism from players over its challenging difficulty and performance shortcomings on PC and consoles.

Related VideoElden Ring: Shadow of the Ancient Erdtree is NOT What Players Expected

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Slaps Difficult, Harsh Realities onto PlayersElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Debut Met with Mixed Reviews on Steam

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree 'Too Difficult' for Players

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 unfavorable 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 imbalanced difficulty balancing issues, as well as performance issues on PC and consoles.

Players Cite Performance Issues and Perceived Excessive Difficulty

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree 'Too Difficult' for Players

screenshot taken from Reddit

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

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

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree 'Too Difficult' for Players

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.