The next installment in the Elden Ring franchise is coming, and today, players got their meatiest look yet at the lore and story of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
FromSoftware has dropped the full story and lore trailer in anticipation of Shadow of the Erdtree, which releases in exactly one month.
The Shadow of the Erdtree story trailer namedrops one of the most mysterious and anticipated characters in the game, Miquella, the golden hero (and brother to legendary boss Malenia) who has played a consistent role in the background of Elden Ring but has never flourished in the actual game. In the Erdtree DLC trailer, Miquella was revealed
“And so kindly Miquella would abandon everything,” the narrator of the trailer says in its final moments as Miquella was revealed. “His golden flesh, his blinding strength, even his fate. But we are not to kill. We chose to follow. Will you walk with us?”
It’s likely, judging by how much content has been shown off through trailers and teasers, that Shadow of the Erdtree will be comparable to a full release. The price of the DLC starts at $40, which is nearly as much as it cost to play the original release of Elden Ring back when it dropped in 2020.
Elden Ring easily ranks as one of the most convoluted games in recent memory when it comes to lore and backstory. While the experience of Elden Ring is undeniably epic, you seriously need to sit down with some YouTube video essays and practical history books to get a real grasp on what’s going on behind the scenes. Names like Radahn, Rennala, Mohg, Morgot, Godfrey, and so many other important figureheads are glazed over in the actual setting of the game but have thousands and thousands of words of backstory if you’re able to do your own deep digging.
That being said, we expect the story of Shadow of the Erdtree to follow a similar pattern. While we’ve gotten slight looks at characters like Miquella and Messmer the Impaler, little is still known about the extent to which they’ll have an impact on the Lands Between. What’s also exciting about the new trailer is the number of actual people shown locked in battle. While the original Elden Ring had a you-against-the-world feel to it that lived entirely in the remnants of a universe that has mysteriously fallen, the existence of armies, battles, and figureheads leading the charge in real-time should be very exciting to see played out in the context of a world like Elden Ring’s.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree will be released on June 21, when all of the DLC’s story beats will come to life.
