Elden Ring DLC is “definitely a little bit harder,” says director
▼ Summary
– The upcoming DLC “The Forsaken Hollows” for Nightreign is confirmed by its director to be “definitely a little bit harder” than the base game.
– The developers faced challenges balancing difficulty to accommodate both new players and veterans, aiming for a fair but challenging experience.
– The DLC’s design, including a new vertical “Shifting Earth” event, may have been subconsciously influenced by Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
– The expansion will introduce new poison swamp areas, a series staple the developers acknowledge has become a meme.
– The Forsaken Hollows launches on December 4th, adding two new playable characters and other content, including the return of a classic Dark Souls boss.
The upcoming expansion for Nightreign, titled The Forsaken Hollows, promises to elevate the challenge beyond the base game’s already demanding experience. Director Junya Ishizaki confirms the DLC is designed to be “definitely a little bit harder,” continuing FromSoftware’s tradition of using post-launch content to test even seasoned players. Striking the right balance between accessibility and punishing difficulty remains a core focus, ensuring newcomers aren’t completely shut out while veterans encounter fresh obstacles that recapture the feeling of first learning the game’s systems.
Following the initial release, the development team spent considerable time analyzing player feedback on game balance. Ishizaki notes that balancing is inherently subjective, making it a complex task. The goal for the DLC was to refine this balance to align with the studio’s original vision, then introduce new enemies and mechanics that fully utilize this adjusted framework. The intent is not to create an insurmountable wall but to deliver what the team considers a fair challenge that feels rewarding to overcome.
This philosophy extends to how veterans will experience the new content. The director hopes that players deeply familiar with Nightreign will step into The Forsaken Hollows and recapture that initial sense of discovery and mystery, where strategies and enemy patterns are not immediately obvious. The added difficulty is meant to provoke thought and adaptation, not sheer frustration.
Inevitably, comparisons arise with the studio’s previous work, particularly the notoriously tough Elden Ring expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree. While not a direct blueprint, its influence seems present, especially in the DLC’s enhanced vertical level design. The base game’s map was largely horizontal, so the team looked upward for new exploration opportunities. The new Shifting Earth event incorporates this verticality without diminishing the existing landscape, offering a more layered world to navigate. Ishizaki suggests this may be a subconscious influence, as many team members have been playing Shadow of the Erdtree during development.
In a move that will delight, or horrify, longtime fans, The Forsaken Hollows also introduces new poison swamp areas, a signature environmental hazard curiously absent from the base Nightreign. The director is well aware of the community’s humorous expectations regarding these treacherous zones, joking that they aren’t mandated by studio policy but seem to organically appear in designs, almost taking on a life of their own.
Launching with the expansion are two new character classes, the Scholar and the Undertaker, alongside other additions including the surprise return of an iconic boss from the Dark Souls series. This blend of heightened challenge, evolved level design, and classic callbacks aims to provide a substantial new chapter for the Nightreign saga.
(Source: Euro Gamer)
