Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree hollows out everything you loved about Elden Ring, and it's brilliant

If you're SPOILER sensitive, please do not read this article. Just don't do it. I'll be talking about a bunch of stuff that's SPOILERY. But I'll obviously try and not be too spoilery for those who've decided to keep reading this, and hence, probably aren't as SPOILER sensitive. Right, onwards.

Life In Jars is this YouTuber I've followed for a while. He makes videos that might involve, say, scooping up some puddle water, leaving it in a sealed jar for a while, then coming back to it a few months later. He'll report on the results, which are often tremendous. Look at the LIFE in that jar! The little wriggly lads just wriggling around. The blobs whose job is to float and squidge indiscriminately. A lovely bit of fauna sloshing about there, like a forest dwelling for those who implement the five-second rule. It's a reminder that bog water is rather beautiful, actually.

Having spent three hours with Elden Ring expansion Shadow Of The Erdtree's opening area, I can't help but think of Life In Jars. What resides in the shadowy dome of the Big Tree is horrendous! Miserable! The forgotten creatures and their crumbling homes are grim. But oh my word, the shadows have spawned a beautiful disasterpiece. Just, errr, those other jars? The fun guys with the scoopy arms and little legs? Yeah. I have bad news.

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