The story of this DLC is going to be talked about for years to come in so many different regards.

Not only is it the one and only DLC for what is widely considered to be one of the greatest games ever made, but there was so much speculation and hype around it, no one really knew when or where it would come, or what it would contain.

Now it has released and has received unanimous critical acclaim, it has now been officially dubbed the best reviewed DLC expansion of all time. An honor previously held by The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine.

CD Projekt RED even took to social media to acknowledge and commemorate the work FROM have done on the game and FROM replied in an equally respectful way.

It is truly an honour to be placed alongside Blood and Wine, one of the all time greats. We are humbled by your kind words. Thank you.

— FROMSOFTWARE (@fromsoftware_pr) June 22, 2024

But this isn’t the whole story. Because since launch the DLC has actually been getting review-bombed on Steam and has dropped to ‘Mixed’.

It’s not uncommon for User Reviews to differ wildly from critical reception – and in fact is relatively common these days – but the reasoning for this one is particularly interesting.

Aside from other discrepancies users have picked out, the overriding sentiment seems to be that the DLC is….too hard! It’s no question FROM games present a challenge and historically the DLC for games like Dark Souls has been notoriously brutal! Shadow of the Erdtree definitely doesn’t hold back either, that’s for sure.

But while some of that has been celebrated by critics, it seems users are just not enjoying their time in the Realm of Shadow and are letting their voices be heard.

You do wonder if Bandai Namco and FROM will be able to claw this back somewhat in the weeks ahead, but considering the attach rate of the DLC and the volume of reviews left, it’s also fair to say the game is selling pretty well!

How are you finding your time in Shadows of the Erdtree?