A new trailer for Elden Ring (but not Shadow of the Erdtree) dropped today, giving us a hope at finally understanding what we need to remember going in to Shadow of the Erdtree. The trailer, called “The Journey So Far” is a recap of the story of Elden Ring, at least as much of it as you can fit in just under 4 minutes.
It serves highlights the most important parts of the story ahead of Shadow of the Erdtree’s imminent June 21st release. Most of the footage is either re-used footage from prior trailers for Elden Ring or in-game footage, but re-cut in order to make the story as coherent as a From Software story can possibly be.
But, who has time for that? You’ve played Elden Ring (and you’ll have to play quite a bit of it if you want to play the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC), you probably paid some attention. This is just a recap, then. So, we decided to go over the trailer and summarize it even more loosely, so that you can go in to Shadow of the Erdtree remembering everything that the devs want you to. In order:
The Elden Ring brought prosperity to the Lands Between.
Then, it got shattered, and the shards ended up in the hands of the Demigods.
They fought a war, the Shattered, but there was ultimately no victor, leading to an erd without a lord.
Then, a “Tarnished of No Renown” (that’s you) came from Across the Sea of Fog to the Lands Between.
This might be the only new piece of information to most players: that the Tarnished you play as is as new and clueless as you were when you first played.
Melina meets the Tarnished and swears herself to them, in exchange for getting Melina to the Base of the Erdtree. The Tarnished accepts.
The Tarnished, on their journey, got very strong.
The Tarnished met several unlikely allies.
During this, we are shown D, Diallos, Tanith, the Two Fingers and their maidens, and Blaidd.
The Tarnished also fought “fearsome foes.” There is no mention of how many times they died to them.
During this, we are shown Malenia, Mohg, Rykard, Radahn, and Godrick the Grafted.
Ultimately, the Tarnished did/will “stand before the Elden Ring and become Elden Lord.”
After the bulk of the trailer, it then cuts away to show clips from the Shadow of the Erdtree gameplay reveal trailer from a few months ago.
So, there you have it. The trailer isn’t meant to show or tell us much new, and it doesn’t (aside from that the Tarnished came from “across the Sea of Fog”). But, it does reframe everything to easily remind us of the most important bits. Which, more importantly, makes it clear what the developers want you to keep in mind before hopping in to Shadow of the Erdtree, where at least some of this information is likely to come up.
Beyond that, there isn’t too much to this trailer. It does avoid most of the minutiae that can make Elden Ring more confusing and complex, but it does a good job of reminding us of both the story and feel of the game. And, in light of the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree release on June 21st, we’re starving for anything we can get. And to think, soon we will be lost in an entire different realm’s byzantine lore and strange connections…
Share this article:
Graves
Graves is an avid writer, web designer, and gamer, with more ideas than he could hope to achieve in a lifetime. But, armed with a mug of coffee and an overactive imagination, he'll try. When he isn't working on a creative project, he is painting miniatures, reading cheesy sci-fi novels, or making music.
