It feels like a lifetime ago that FromSoftware officially announced Shadow of the Erdtree, the first portion of DLC en route to Elden Ring. Somehow, it's been less than a year. Nevertheless, when that single image was teased on social media – on February 28, 2023, less than a year after the base game arrived in March, 2022 – it sent the esteemed action-RPG's fervent fan base into a frenzy, with internet commentators across the board dissecting, twisting and turning the 16:9 still in innumerable ways in their bid to make sense of it.
I was one of those people, asking in the immediate wake of the DLC's unveiling: Is Shadow of the Erdtree the Elden Ring Miquella DLC we've wanted all along? A full 327 days later and I'm no closer to answering that, which for me, marks both a blessing and a potential curse for Elden Ring's next long-awaited and highly-anticipated steps – be that in the Lands Between or wherever else its sword may fall.
