Arise ye Tarnished, it’s time to visit the Land of Shadow. The long-awaited Elden Ring DLC: Shadow of the Erdtree trailer dropped after a year of waiting. And it was worth every minute with how much stuff FromSoftware jam-packed into the trailer. The official release date of the long awaited Elden Ring DLC was released too, June 21st.

In the Land of Shadow, Miquella awaits the return of his promised Lord.

Pre-order #ELDENRING Shadow of the Erdtree: https://t.co/X4NyBsLYRC pic.twitter.com/8RTCCxFYUa
— ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) February 21, 2024

At first glance, Elden Ring fans already know that Shadow of the Erdtree DLC revolved around Miquella. He is the twin brother of Malenia when the first poster of the game dropped. But, fans finally learn exactly where we’re headed in the game. Instead of returning to the Lands Between, the Tarnished will be in the Land of Shadow. The Land of Shadow seems to be a darker, creepier funhouse mirror version of the location we’re used to. Which is saying a lot, because Elden Rings main map is terrifying. The new enemies in the trailer look like something straight out of a nightmare in the best way possible.

Adding to that, Messmer the Impaler is absolutely bonkers. Players can expect a challgenge in combat based on his design alone. I know that I’m going to lose all of my runes to him multiple times before I manage to beat him — and I love it for him. It’s not lost on me that his design is similar to Malenia; red hair, a big helmet, and it even looks like he’s able to channel Scarlet Rot. Not only that, in a blink-or-you-’ll-miss-it moment his arm is suspiciously similar to the one hanging out of the egg. He’s another little freak from the game devs’ minds that I can’t wait to meet. From the trailer, we can assume that he’s one of the big bad bosses that we fight.

But what about Miquella? Despite a mention in the trailer, he is nowhere to be found here. It’s safe to say that a chunk of people assumed that Miquella was Messmer at first. Does this mean Miquella is actually the final boss at the end of the DLC? Or will he help us along the way? In true FromSoftware fashion, the trailer asks more questions than it answers.

I, for one, am beyond excited for the DLC to drop this spring. It’s only been two years since the original Elden Ring game dropped. For the obsessive fanbase, however, it feels like much longer. There’s still a few months before the DLC launches on June 21st, 2024.
I’ll leave you with this question for now: are you ready to brave the sliders again to perfect a new Tarnished?

While you ponder the question, you can rewatch the trailer here: