The Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree trailer has arrived, and FromSoftware’s largest, most expansive DLC ever will be released this June. The trailer was received overwhelmingly well with looks at new bosses and landscapes. The game is set in the “Land of Shadow,” where we will apparently be pulled into it by Miquella’s desiccated arm, but a question is…how big is the Land of Shadow, exactly?
Well, thanks to an interview with IGN after the trailer, Miyazaki himself has given us the answer. Or at least an approximation of one. Here’s what he said when asked how big the map of the expansion would be compared to the base game.
“It’s hard to answer without giving away too much and to a high degree of accuracy, but if you think in terms of scale or size, it’s probably comparable, if not larger, than the area of Limgrave from the base game.”
Limgrave of course is one of the first starting zones in Elden Ring, and it’s…not exactly one of the largest. But given how massive Elden Ring is on the whole, I mean yes, that’s still quite large. Here is Limgrave on the map, via Fextralife:
So, Limgrave is smaller than the Atlus Plateau and Liurnia of the Lake, about the same size as Caelid and bigger than the Weeping Peninsula or the Consecrated Snowfield/Mountaintops of the Giants if those are split. But in terms of overall landmass we’re looking at what I’d say might be 10-15% of the game’s traversable space. Again, really large in the context of most maps, but a smaller part of Elden Ring’s map, given how huge it is in general.
Remembering what was in Limgrave, Stormhill, Mistwood, etc, it does seem a bit small to jam in an entire expansion. But Miyazaki is also being a bit coy about what the map actually may be like, so it’s likely there’s a lot we don’t know about the Land of Shadow and how it plays in the game itself. So I wouldn’t read a whole lot into this just yet if you thing Limgrave isn’t a good enough size to support a $40 expansion. This is a “trust the process” moment here.
With four months to go, it’s unclear just how heavily FromSoftware will lean into revealing marketing, as it’s not their usual tactic, leaving the vast majority of game discoveries a mystery until launch. Doubting there will be some giant “Inside the Land of Shadow!” 20 minute featurette, or things other games might get as part of a marketing campaign.
I’m sure it will be great, no matter the size. Just four months to go.
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