With a month to go until Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, FromSoftware has broken its silence once more to show us a messed up new guy we'll fight in the expansion

GamesRPGElden Ring: Shadow of the ErdtreeWith a month to go until Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, FromSoftware has broken its silence once more to show us a messed up new guy we’ll fight in the expansionWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: From Software)

Contorted bestial Erdtree character with gold mask and dual circle blades

Truly, there are few games that could work me into a lather with a single, context-free image of a new enemy, but Elden Ring is certainly one of them. The official Elden Ring Twitter accountcasually dropped the new nasty boy⁠—who was not featured in the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion’sfirst trailer⁠—this morning.

(Image credit: From Software)

Contorted bestial Erdtree character with gold mask and dual circle blades

The design is chock full of clues and callbacks to the main game, and from the jump my money’s on this guy being a regular enemy or repeated boss. It feels like a lesser version of the stunningLion Dance creaturefrom SotE’s trailer, the way Grafted Scions correspond to Godrick the Grafted or Cleanrot Knights to Malenia.

One thing that seems clear to me is that the cursed Omen⁠—and potentially their deeper lore and origins⁠—are going to figure in SotE’s lore in a big way. This makes sense given the new realm’s nature as a dark counterpart to the Lands Between: maybe it’s a new home (or origin point) for things that don’t fit into the Golden Order. We don’t have too long to wait until we know for sure: Shadow of the Erdtree will launch on June 21, a little over two years since Elden Ring’s original release.

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