Elden Ring DLC: Prepare to Rage! Director Warns of Brutal Difficulty!

Prepare to die... a little bit more. That's the underlying message coming from Junya Ishizaki, director of the upcoming "Forsaken Hollows" DLC for Elden Ring's spinoff, Nightreign. While the base game already offers a significant challenge, Ishizaki has confirmed that the DLC will be "definitely a little bit harder." Don't panic, though; he assures us it's "not ridiculous."

Elden Ring DLC: Prepare to Rage! Director Warns of...

This shouldn't come as a huge surprise to anyone familiar with FromSoftware's history. They're notorious for cranking up the difficulty in their DLCs, often pushing players to their absolute limits. Think back to Artorias of the Abyss in Dark Souls, or the Old Hunters in Bloodborne – brutal, yet rewarding experiences that tested everything you'd learned in the main game. It seems Forsaken Hollows is following in that tradition, aiming to provide a worthy challenge for seasoned Nightreign players.

The balancing act, as always, is the tricky part. Ishizaki acknowledged the complexities of catering to both casual players and hardcore veterans. "The main takeaway we had post-release was just there was a lot of trouble trying to get the balancing right," he told Gamespot, suggesting the development team has been closely monitoring player feedback to inform their approach to the DLC.

Interestingly, Ishizaki also discussed the influence of Elden Ring's "Shadow of the Erdtree" DLC on "The Forsaken Hollows," even if it wasn't intentional. He highlighted the new "Shifting Earth" event, which incorporates more verticality into the gameplay. This mirrors "Shadow of the Erdtree's" departure from the predominantly horizontal focus of the original Elden Ring map. As someone who spent countless hours wandering the Lands Between, I can appreciate the desire to explore new dimensions (literally!).

"[The] idea behind that was that the original map was definitely very horizontally-focused, and when looking at that through the lens of working on DLC, we were thinking where else [was there] to go but up, right?" said Ishizaki. "We can add verticality to this and do it in a way that doesn't detract from the horizontal aspect of the map. So that was where that came from; trying to figure out how we can add to it in such a way that it expands upon the verticality." Smart design, if you ask me.

Adding to the misery... er, excitement, "The Forsaken Hollows" will also introduce new poison swamp areas. This is a surprising, and frankly, welcome addition, given the base game's lack of this classic FromSoftware staple. What's a souls-like game without a good old-fashioned poison swamp to test your patience?

Launching this week on December 4th, "The Forsaken Hollows" promises a wealth of new content. We're getting two new playable Nightfarers – the Scholar and the Undertaker – along with other additions, including the return of a classic Dark Souls boss. So, sharpen your blades, stock up on antidotes, and prepare for a slightly more challenging journey into the Forsaken Hollows. It's going to be a rough ride, but if FromSoftware's track record is anything to go by, it'll be worth it.