The Land of Shadow doubles down on Elden Ring's best trick: you think you've mastered the cadence, and then the map folds open sideways. The Scadutree system forces build tinkering again, which I loved after 150+ hours of comfy Blasphemous Blade gameplay.

Boss design hits a new high. Messmer might be my favorite Souls encounter—perfect overlap of spectacle, readable telegraphs, and 'just barely' dodge windows that punish panic rolls.

Still wrapping this playthrough but already sketching a fast-roll Arcane/bleed build exclusively for DLC invasions.