RPGamer 2024 Awards – Best Expansion

« Best Remake / Re-Release

Best Expansion

Best Battle System »
2024 Best Expansion - Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Winner

Runner-Up

Even if it didn’t feel like the default answer for the year, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is an entirely worthwhile endeavor all by itself. Containing what feels like an entire pre-Elden Ring FromSoftware game within, Shadow of the Erdtree is a proper capstone to the main game, fleshing out its remaining Demigod and old Marika herself in the process. Unlike the narratively distant add-ons to previous FromSoftware RPGs, this instead feels distinctly connected, if parallel, to the events and themes of the original.

Most impressive remains the world design which, through clever use of vertical space and imperfect maps, has the player peeling back and exploring unplumbed depths of the Lands of Shadow. Revealing ever-increasing stretches of land to cross, mountains to ascend, and rivers to follow to the bottom of the world, the narrative dives deeper into the horrors of a land beset by generations of misery and forgotten wars. New weapons and playstyles compliment the already vast array of player options while FromSoftware gets to stretch some creative muscle in how it expands upon the elements of the base game. Even with some questionable progression mechanics and a final confrontation that’s just a bit too much, Shadow of the Erdtree loomed large.

 

 

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail was always going to struggle to provide the same level of adoration as Endwalker. While the previous expansion could offer the culmination of everything that came before it, Dawntrail faced the daunting task of almost starting again with a new arc for the MMORPG. While it admittedly takes a little while to fully find its stride, Dawntrail eventually turns a corner and demonstrates great emotional payoff and once again shows why so many fans have leaped on board across the years and how the game has kept going from strength to strength. Coupling that with more stellar boss fights and some fantastic location designs, Dawntrail remains a strong addition to Final Fantasy XIV.

 

by Zack Webster and Alex Fuller