Earlier in 2024, Hidetaka Miyazaki, famed auteur of Elden Ring and the Souls genre stated that the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC would only be roughly the same size as Limgrave or 15 percent of the base game. Now that players have laid their fingers on Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, they got much more than they bargained for. Shadow of the Erdtree is significantly bigger than expected.
The realization was further cemented into fact after Reddit user u/GilliamYaeger posted a map size comparison. They overlaid the fully-revealed Shadow of the Erdtree map on the base Elden Ring map.
What they found out is that Shadow of the Erdtree is around 70 percent of the base game’s size. Take a good look at all that content. Spoiler alert if you read too much into the map details, of course.
Also, it’s worth noting that Shadow of the Erdtree‘s Realm of Shadow region has a huge underground layer and series of tunnels that don’t appear on the surface map, just as Elden Ring did.
Having played a good chunk of the DLC myself, I’d even say that Shadow of the Erdtree has more verticality than the base game, meaning more layers and more places to explore. It appears either Mr. Miyazaki deliberately bamboozled us once more or grossly miscalculated his game’s size (which is unlikely).
It’s not a bad thing of course. Some players are already treating Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree as the sequel due to its size. Moreover, you shouldn’t expect to rush it, especially with the DLC’s huge adjustments in difficulty and progress-gating.
Realm of Shadow Map Could Also Be Key to Juicy Elden Ring Lore
Now, back to the topic of the fully-revealed Shadow of the Erdtree map (aka Realm of Shadow/Shadow Realm). A lot of players also noticed just how suspiciously it fits like a glove when overlaid on the inner sea of Elden Ring‘s Lands Between.
The funny thing is, some of the more common speculations before the DLC was released is how the center sea of the map would be the prime spot for a new region. Granted, the Realm of Shadows is a separate area. The game treats its DLC area as some kind of purgatory.
Still, Elden Ring plays fast and loose with its lore. There might be some shocking revelations from eagle-eyed players in the weeks to come. Regardless, there’s more Elden Ring to be had, and more deaths to follow.
