Recent reviews by The Phantom Payne

This expansion pushes the limits of previous fromsoft expansions, with a worlds that while smaller than the original lengthwise feels like it has debetably more depth, with super cool biomes hidden within other hidden biomes. The Asthetics are insane, lots of new gear from weapons to spells, it is simply more Elden Ring and that alone will benefit the game for years to come... but that also comes with Elden Rings few downsides intact.

While there are some incredible bosses both spectacle and fightwise, some take the line that bosses like Malennia and Malakith crossed in the base game and jump even further, creating bosses (and even some enemies) that push even harder against the rigid limits of the souls combat system, which while for the 1% god gamers amongst us will not be an issue, it leads to alot of fights relying on spirit summons and npc summons, which left me more with a feeling of "oh thank god thats over" than hype when the dlc was finished, which is marked difference from fromsoft dlc's past where i play through them every once in a while just to reexperience the heights of Maria and Gael.

This is more Elden Ring, my game of the year from 2022 and if it was yours as well, this is a must play, but patterns keep cropping up in FromSofts design that while not a unsurpassable problem now, may become so if not addressed, despite being insanely bigger than previous dlc's i dont quite think it will dethrone Old Hunters for me but still a solid 8/10.