Bandai Namco has released a gameplay trailer for Elden Ring expansion Shadow of the Erdtree.
The chunky 3-minute Shadow of the Erdtree video comes with a spoiler warning for the purist player. It shows off a significant number of the enemies you’ll end up fighting.
It also reveals the expansion, which must be one of the most anticipated in years, will be out on June 21.
A cast of what appear to be bosses or mini-bosses in the trailer include a giant sentient steel bin full of fire, a head-devouring worm thing, a swirling mass of rags with a lion’s head and a bone monster with a telescopic noggin sitting atop a knackered-looking horse.
Oh, and a zombie corpse whose fight appears to begin with the unfortunate fellow pulling a sword out of his own head.
There’s plenty more weirdness to come from the creative team at FromSoftware, then.
“Pure and radiant, he wields love to shrive clean the hearts of man. There is nothing more terrifying,” begins the voiceover for the trailer.
In classic FromSoftware fashion, it sounds like lines spat out by a hand-cranked nonsense generator, but you can bet there’s deep lore to be teased out by enthusiast YouTubers in a few months, once the game is out.
Before this trailer all we had seen of Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree was a teaser image, which depicted the game’s world littered with ghostly gravestones. You can see these towards the beginning of the trailer.
Shadow of the Erdtree pre-orders
The release of the trailer also marks the beginning of pre-orders for the game.
You can pick up Elden Ring plus the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, for up to £69.99. The expansion alone sells for £34.99, while you will pay £44.99 for the version with the digital soundtrack and art book bundled in.
Those who pre-order the £69.99 bundle, or the £89.99 Deluxe Edition (with art books and OSTs for both the original game and expansion), will also get a “bonus gesture,” which can be used in-game.
That not pricey enough for you? Publisher Bandai Namco will also offer an Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Collector's Edition for £249.99. It includes a physical art book, the soundtrack and a 46cm-tall statue of Messmer The Impaler, one of the enemies depicted in the teaser video.
The expansion will be available on PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series consoles, Xbox One and PC.
Bandai Namco says Elden Ring has sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, making it comfortably the best-selling game in developer FromSoftware’s back catalogue.
