If I had a nickel for every time a soulslike was inspired by Italian source material, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice. This second time around it’s Enotria: The Last Song, following on from 2023’s excellent Lies of P.

Enotria is more inspired by Italian folklore rather than a single piece of media, however, and it forms the backdrop of a visually striking world with loads to love about its setting and worldbuilding. To many, this alone is worth playing Enotria for - just to see how gorgeous and creative its environments get.

It’s a game that’s otherwise sadly let down by a convoluted mess of gameplay systems - from swathes of equipment and ability categories to the use of Italian nomenclature for items and status effects. It can be quite to wrap your head around, and that’s before getting to some rather weightless-feeling combat and lackluster boss encounters. However, I still think Enotria is worth a playthrough for its stunning environmental design and occasionally clever level layouts. 

Life of the party

In a world inhabited by puppet-like humanoids, you are the Maskless One, a being that can assume various forms (and thus playstyles) by wearing a variety of masks you find throughout the game. Said masks change the Maskless One’s appearance and provide unique bonuses. One mask, for example, might boost heavy attack damage, while another can increase the number of replenishable healing items you can carry.

Masks form the base of your loadouts, of which you can set up to three. Within a single loadout, you can equip up to two weapons, four active skills (known here as ‘Lines’), six passive abilities which can be unlocked via a skill tree, a parry stone that grants unique effects upon successfully guarding, as well as an ‘Aspect’ which can boost or take away from the game’s five governing stats.

It’s all rather a lot to take on board, and Enotria doesn’t do a particularly good job of explaining it all - even in its early tutorial segments. As a result, you can spend a lot of time wondering just how each individual piece of your loadout will actually benefit you. This is exacerbated by the game’s tricky terminology. 

Elemental damage effects, item names, and even the speed at which a weapon is swung are all written in Italian. I can’t complain about this too much, as it fits with the game’s overall setting and themes, but it does have an impact on readability. By the end of the game, I still had to glance at tutorial notes to remember what effects like ‘Fatuo’ or ‘Gratia’ did to enemies. Maybe I should’ve just booted up Duolingo...

Thankfully, the four main status effects - Dizzy, Wicked, Radiant, and Sick - are easier to understand. But beyond that, they’re much different and more interesting than your usual poisons, paralysis, and so on, in that they all carry a beneficial effect in addition to a negative one.

Dizzy, for example, reduces your overall defense, but also buffs your damage and stamina regeneration rate. Radiant is super cool, causing you to regain health points (HP), but being attacked will trigger an explosion that will deal massive damage to you. I absolutely love this and shows that Enotria does think outside the box in many of its gameplay aspects; I just wish it was all explained a little better in-game. 

All the world's a stage

One thing that doesn’t need explaining is Enotria’s stunning world design. Its sun-drenched environments pop with vivid color, something I’m really not used to seeing in the best soulslike games which are usually suitably dour in tone. Definitely play Enotria on an HDR-capable display if you can; the game is certainly suited for it.

I was also really impressed with Enotria’s level design overall. While not quite reaching FromSoftware levels of intricate, Enotria presents plenty of winding streets, alleyways, nooks, and crannies that encourage the player to go off and explore, all while keeping the critical path easy to follow. It strikes a great balance between linearity and optional exploration.

The game does sadly fall quite short in the combat department. While serviceable for a soulslike, weapon strikes often feel lacking in impact, leading the whole affair to feel fairly listless. It’s not awful by any means, but not as engaging as some of its contemporaries including Lies of P and of course Elden Ring. 

The game is also fairly easy overall; upgrade materials are plentiful, as is experience (EXP) needed to level up. In fact, I’d hit level 60 just a handful of hours into my first playthrough. It’s a relatively short game, too, especially for a soulslike. You can handily clear the game within 20 hours, which enables Enotria to execute very good pacing, and the game does not outstay its welcome.

Sadly, boss fights are also quite a let down with many encounters following the Dark Souls 2 formula of ‘big dude in armor’. There are some standouts with really striking designs - like Zanni The First Mask with his twisted, monstrous form - but even they fall short in the difficulty department. Going up against a towering major boss, only to clear it in less than a couple of minutes on my first attempt was a common occurrence, which certainly felt anticlimactic. 

Accessibility

There aren’t a ton of accessibility options in Enotria: The Last Song. However, what’s here is welcome. There are colorblind modes for deuteranopia, tritanopia, and protanopia and you can even adjust their strength on a scale of zero to 10. There is also subtitle support for 13 languages (as well as an Italian dub for voiced audio, which is a nice touch).

Should I play Enotria: The Last Song

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How I reviewed Enotria: The Last Song

My playthrough of Enotria: The Last Song lasted about 14 hours and I experienced most of the game’s boss fights and locations with plenty of exploration and item hunting mixed in. I also endeavored to try out a bunch of different loadouts via the Mask system.

I played Enotria on PS5 with a DualSense Edge controller on an LG CX OLED TV, almost exclusively in its 60fps performance mode which I found to hold up extremely well with little if any frame drops at all. The 30fps graphics mode is similarly stable and provides an impressive bump in detail, though I found the game to be more enjoyable and fluid at the higher framerate option.

First reviewed October 2024.

Chinese games are increasingly making a name for themselves on a global scale, although their impact beyond domestic borders has been mostly limited to the free-to-play scene through titles heavily influenced by Japanese anime. This is in part reflective of tastes within the Chinese market generally, a sector dominated by PC, mobile and free-to-play gaming, although as a result of this divergence in tastes it has made it difficult for titles beyond those like Hoyoverse’s Genshin Impact to resonate internationally. Could Black Myth: Wukong change all that?

It’s difficult to say. While the game has certainly captured imaginations pre-release for its richly-detailed worlds inspired by historical China and Journey to the West, even as it has dealt with controversy over its sexist and misogynistic remarks against female players, from a gameplay perspective the final experience is one that feels lacking in numerous key areas. While it certainly looks capable of standing toe-to-toe with the biggest Western AAA titles of the moment, actually sitting down with the game is a different story.

Although no means without merit, this is a game that is screaming for more polish and refinement in its moment-to-moment gameplay. Instead of feeling truly immersed in this journey through classical China, every strength the game had is compounded and diluted by a plethora of other issues that accumulated in a frustrating case of form over function.

Mythol-ouch-ical

Playing as the Destined One, you face various Yaoguai that roam this mythical world, exploring everywhere from barren desert-like landscapes to towering mountains and dense forests as you face and harness the powers of Chinese mythological beings and enact revenge. The journey of the novel which inspired it has been adapted cross-culturally and across every medium for centuries, so it should come as no surprise that the tale of revenge and into new worlds feels right at home in a game. It’s perfect subject matter for adaptation, although in this case its adaptation is surprisingly lacking in story and character.

Narrative is certainly not the focus here. Mythological beings both friend or foe rarely feature for more than a single-scene cameo, and without deep prior knowledge of Chinese myth, the fact each is meticulously recreated from Chinese legend means little. The game barely builds these beings to feel as omnipotent or powerful as they really are; a surprising choice when emphasizing their status would certainly have elevated the stakes of some battles. Journey to the West tales are dominated by the joys of the characters accompanying Son Wukong, and with creatures of myth barely more than an obstacle for a single boss fight before being forgotten and without a companion by your side, this is stripped for something solitary and unfortunately cold. 

Worse, this lack of character and lack of true introduction to any mythological being we fight robs the game of drive or a clear end goal, and it often feels aimless as you wander through environments unsure what the point is of continuing on our path. It feels unbalanced, an issue which permeates much of the game far beyond its lacking story.

Although often described as a soulslike adventure, this is much more of a typical action adventure in the realm of titles like Bayonetta in terms of action (albeit with a staff as your solitary weapon of choice). A few familiar mechanics pioneered by Dark Souls have clearly influenced and been integrated into the title: your flask in this instance is a gourd you consume in the heat of battle to restore your health. 

Still, this is otherwise a traditional action title, fast-paced and combo-driven without the deliberately-laborious nature of uninterrupted animations that allows for more reaction-based action and freedom. A well-timed dodge and a good counter means more, but learning a boss’ strategy is similarly key to victory - button mashing won’t be enough.

Yet it is possible to have too much of a good thing, and the impact of overcoming a boss fight is lost when your game is little more than a 30-40 hour boss gauntlet. For all the world is visually impressive at a glance, it soon becomes clear that much of its beauty is mere set dressing, as we continue through a railroaded corridor with little room for deviation from the path for much of our adventure. In the moments where players could diverge from the path, it felt almost discouraged due to the game’s baffling lack of a map, often leaving me lost on where to go next or fighting waves of enemies thinking I found the answer, only to reach a dead end.

Then again, even if we did have a map, it would simply emphasize how little time we have to adore the stunning scenery. It’s only by getting lost that there’s time to appreciate these environments, as you otherwise spend little more than a minute or two walking through a few brief corridors before being thrust into yet-another battle arena for a mini-boss or major opponent. Boss fights are an overabundance to the point of robbing us of exploration and puzzles, with many chapters hitting double-figures and throwing them at you in such frequency they merge into an amorphous blob where few are memorable by the time the credits roll.

Boss Myth: Wukong

The bosses that do stick out in my memory unfortunately do so for the wrong reasons. A lack of polish in some fights leaves them feeling unfair, especially when it comes to the game’s numerous optional side-bosses. In the Black Bear Guai fight I felt I finally turned a corner in my struggles to overcome this boss as I understood his pattern of abilities. As he jumped in the air, I moved out of the way of his momentum, sure I would dodge, only for him to contort his momentum to my new location in a way that would seem impossible considering his movement and trajectory.

In a fight against the electrical Tiger Vanguard I would find it difficult to dodge his attacks without reaching higher ground on rocks placed inside the arena. Yet it would also be possible for him to destroy these platforms and leave no solace from his attacks, often causing my inevitable demise in a manner that felt undeserved.

In cases where these boss fights don’t feel unpolished, they simply lacked an excitement or edge to make them feel anything more than average. It’s an unfortunate summary for much of the game. There’s little here that will offend, and indeed it's easy to find joy in aspects of Black Myth: Wukong’s world, visuals and combo-driven action. One of the major factors that got me through the game to its end was how refreshing it felt to see this Chinese setting come to life, bringing to life a world and mythology so rarely portrayed and explored in the medium despite the rich tapestry any game in this setting can explore. At times the way this culture is brought to life left me slack-jawed in awe.

At others I’m merely left frustrated. It’s a lack of polish and time that makes this a game difficult to recommend without numerous caveats. The groundwork for greatness is here. With fewer, more refined boss fights, more expansive environments accompanied by a map to help players when they’re lost, and a bit more story to give the whole adventure direction and purpose, I truly believe there is potential for something special in Game Science’s next project provided the lessons from this experience are internalized.

As things stand, I’m reminded of a nostalgic era of PS2 AA action titles with exceptionally high levels of polish and that’s no bad thing! These were not always the most refined games in the world, often lacking a spark to elevate them into the realm of greatness, but there was always fun to be had in such experiences. I expected more, and don’t think I’m alone in this. 

Accessibility

The game is mostly lacking in accessibility settings, with controls unable to be customized except when using keyboard and mouse, though it does offer a colorblind mode. Subtitles are available for dialogue, but text is small, difficult to read in many circumstances, and can’t be altered. 

Should I play Black Myth: Wukong?

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How we reviewed Black Myth: Wukong

I completed the game in just over thirty hours using an Asus ROG Ally on its 30W Turbo setting at Medium-Low graphics. The game was able to run at 60fps with only occasional drops in this configuration. This setup also allowed for the game to be played both on a large monitor and on the handheld device itself. 

I realized something while playing through Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree; it’s been a proper long while since we’ve had an honest-to-goodness FromSoftware soulsborne expansion or installment of downloadable content (DLC). Seven whole years, to be exact, since Dark Souls 3’s The Ringed City expansion, and while that’s certainly a fondly remembered content pack, it pales in comparison to the overwhelming scope and ambition present in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Simply put, Shadow of the Erdtree is massive. Game director Hidetaka Miyazaki has compared the size of the DLC’s map to that of the base game’s Limgrave area. This isn’t inaccurate (so long as you’re also factoring in the Weeping Peninsula and maybe even a bit of Caelid), but the sheer variety of biome design and a smattering of huge legacy dungeons make Shadow of the Erdtree feel so much larger than that aforementioned size comparison.

With that in mind, it’s also accurate to say that Shadow of the Erdtree is absolutely just ‘more Elden Ring,’ and that includes both the good and the bad. Compelling new weapon types and phenomenal level and boss design are occasionally marred by performance issues and the odd 10-string-hitting standard enemy that made me want to yeet my controller into the abyss.

Still, such issues aren’t nearly enough to muddy the experience I had with Elden Ring’s DLC. Most DLC packs, at best, typically offer a handful of extra levels or bits of gear to unlock. But Shadow of the Erdtree isn’t ‘most DLC packs.’ There’s enough content here to practically be considered a game in its own right; now I just wish there was a standalone version available. 

Between the Lands Between

The narrative of Shadow of the Erdtree takes place a good ways into the base game; you’ll need to have beaten Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood before access to the DLC area opens up in the latter’s arena. There, you’re greeted by a new non-player character (NPC) by the name of Needle Knight Leda, who invites you to the Shadow Realm in an ongoing search for Miquella the Kind. If you’re even remotely brushed up on Elden Ring’s lore, you’ll know that Miquella is one of the game’s most impactful characters despite never once making an in-game appearance… that we know of, at least.

The search for Miquella will take you all across the Shadow Realm, which feels like a compact, dark reflection of The Lands Between. In place of the Erdtree, the colossal Scadutree looms in the far distance, appearing far more broken and warped when compared to the shining radiance of the former. 

Similarly, areas in the Shadow Realm are typically analogous to Lands Between counterparts, but they always feel a little off. Deliberately so. The Gravesite Plains, for example, appear to be a more run-down and wartorn variant of Limgrave, while the Cerulean Coast by contrast feels like an amalgamation of Liurnia’s waterlogged environs and Caelid’s rot-stricken swamps. There are still plenty of surprises to be had in terms of environmental design, however, with some late-game areas in the DLC looking utterly breathtaking visually and unlike anything we see in the base game.

It’s worth noting, though, that these are some of the most detail-dense areas in the entirety of Elden Ring, and that means that performance often takes a hit on both console and PC. One area in particular, later in the DLC, is particularly dense with objects and plenty of foliage, causing the framerate to noticeably plummet. It’s far from unplayable, though do expect your framerate to occasionally dip to around 30-40fps on the console version’s Performance mode while you’re here. 

Fight like a lion

Shadow of the Erdtree’s art direction is unsurprisingly on point, then, but how are the dungeons? As in the base game, Shadow of the Erdtree features several legacy dungeons spread throughout the map, named so for their being what you’d expect from classic FromSoftware level design.

FromSoftware is on point here once again in Shadow of the Erdtree, with dungeons made up of intricately-woven pathways, rooms infested with monsters and valuable loot, and intelligently-placed shortcuts that make backtracking much less of a pain. And while there’s very little here to match the sprawling, mazelike, and ingenious design of the base game’s Stormveil Castle or the Academy of Raya Lucaria, Shadow of the Erdtree’s legacy dungeons nonetheless offer more of that treacherous, exploratory level design you’ve been craving for two-plus years since Elden Ring’s launch.

The first legacy dungeon you’re likely to visit is Belurat, a clearly once prosperous city populated by the beastlike Omen, now brought to ruination by war and tyranny at the hands of Messmer - the DLC’s flagship antagonist. As mentioned, Belurat and legacy dungeons like it fall just shy of the intricacy found with some of the base game’s locales. That is until you reach the Shadow Keep and Specimen Storehouse - a sort of two-parter legacy dungeon that combines a dangerous fortress with towering verticality. It’s one of the highlights of the DLC and took me hours (and not an insignificant number of deaths) to fully explore and pick clean of lootable goodies.

Friendship ended with Ranni the Witch, now Dryleaf Dane is my best friend

Shadow of the Erdtree, like all prior FromSoftware expansions, features a generous collection of new weapons, armor sets, and items for you to obtain, all littered throughout the Shadow Realm. And much like the base game, you’ll need to pick the map apart with a fine-toothed sawblade if you want to find its most valuable treasures.

Naturally, the new weapons are the highlight here, and I ended up swapping between a bunch of them by the time I finished the DLC. An early stalwart was Milady, a light greatsword that manages to balance the power of a chunkier weapon with the agility of lighter ones. I was also a huge fan of the Dancing Blade of Ranah, a pair of swords that come with a unique Ash of War skill that turns your Tarnished into a whirling dervish of death (provided you remember to dodge attacks in time).

But for me, the cream of the crop has to be the Dryleaf Arts - a weapon in the form of handwraps obtained early on from a monk NPC named Dryleaf Dane. I’ve wanted a true hand-to-hand weapon option in Elden Ring since launch. And unlike fist weapons like the Caestus, the Dryleaf Arts offer a unique martial arts fighting style that feels exceptionally powerful. It’s what I ended up running with for the majority of my playtime with the DLC, and I’m really looking forward to bringing them into a fresh New Game Plus run.

One last thing to note on the weapon front is that FromSoftware has rather generously made most stat requirements to be on the lower side. This means that no matter your build going into the DLC, you’ll by and large have the stats to give everything a go, making it very easy for players to find a new favorite to bring back into the base game.

And, if you’re finding the Shadow of the Erdtree’s enemies and bosses to be a little too tough, new items within the Shadow Realm - namely Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ash - can boost your attack and defensive stats permanently (though only while you’re in the DLC area). I found these helped to even the odds in the most difficult encounters, but I also felt like I needed them to even stand a chance, thus highly encouraging thorough exploration of the map to find these items. 

18 inches of Messmer, and his friends

I’ve saved the best element of Shadow of the Erdtree for last - that being its almost universally excellent boss fights. One thing that was apparent as I progressed through the DLC is that there’s a great amount of variety when it comes to its strongest opponents.

For example, Belurat’s boss, Divine Beast Dancing Lion, is astoundingly creative, angrily hurling its body in all directions in an attempt to hurt you. As you whittle away at its health, it’s able to bring several elemental effects into the arena, including lightning storms and icy blizzards. And in a very nice touch, if you defeat the boss while one of these elements is in play, its associated weather effect will remain after the fight.

Then, capping off the Castle Ensis legacy dungeon is Rellana, the Twin Moon Knight. This towering humanoid foe wields a pair of swords that are imbued with Fire and Magic elements as the fight progresses, unlocking her deadliest abilities. I spent a long while on Rellana, and if I had to guess, I think she’ll be the ‘gatekeeper’ boss of this expansion, presenting an early difficulty spike similar to Bloodborne’s Father Gascoigne or Dark Souls’ Ornstein and Smough - albeit much harder than either of those encounters.

Overall, the high quality of these fights had me begging for a boss rush option for Elden Ring, each one managing to throw in surprises when it comes to their design and move set. Some of them do still suffer from a particularly irksome post-Dark Souls 3 design element in that they’ll have seemingly endless combos that are a nightmare to fully avoid. However, as in the base game, a huge part of these fights is the learning process, and boy does it ever feel good to finally put down a boss that’s been giving you hours of conniptions.

Overall, Shadow of the Erdtree is must-play content for fans of Elden Ring. It manages to condense that open-world experience elegantly on a smaller scale. There’s more than enough content here to justify the higher price tag (relative to your average piece of DLC), and the experience was so fulfilling that I’m dying to tackle it all again with a completely different build in mind. If you loved Elden Ring, you’ll simply adore what’s on offer in Shadow of the Erdtree. 

Should I play Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree?

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How we reviewed Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

My playthrough of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC took just over 30 hours on Xbox Series X using the Victrix Gambit controller. This included thoroughly exploring most areas and defeating all bosses required for progression as well as many optional ones. After besting the DLC’s final boss, there were still some parts of the map left unexplored. So if you’re a completionist, expect to spend upwards of 50 - possibly even 60 - hours in order to see and do absolutely everything.