I'm going to tell you all a story with a moral, and it's a moral that will keep you alive when you get Shadow of the Erdtree for yourself later this month. Picture the scene: lucky enough to be given a preview of the upcoming Elden Ring DLC, I've spent the best part of an hour exploring the Belurat Castle Settlement, all decrepit ruins rising up to parapets made ragged by time and the elements. And I'm no friendly tourist, cheerfully going hand-to-hand with anything that gives me even the slightest side-eye – and I mean that literally. As I discussed in my love letter to Shadow of the Erdtree's new Martial Arts, my default introduction to any new form of life in Belurat is to punch it in the nose, and maybe give it a couple of kicks in the crotch if the chance arises. Sure, the individual strikes don't do much, but that isn't a problem when they're unleashed with the furious speed of an overly caffeinated woodpecker.
All this serves to give me a healthy confidence as I march up to the first fog wall, brushing blood and viscera off my smoking knuckles. I've barely used any other weapon so far, but why fix what ain't broke? In the courtyard past the golden mist, the Shadow of the Erdtree Divine Beast Dancing Lion lunges at me, a toothsome maw framed by twisted limbs and crackling lightning. Fearless, I lunge back – convinced to the marrow that victory would be mine!
