Hidetaka Miyazaki justified maintaining Elden Ring's difficulty level by stating that lowering it would "break the game itself." He believes that the sense of achievement players gain from overcoming challenges is a fundamental part of the experience. Turning down the difficulty would strip the game of that joy, which, in Miyazaki's eyes, would break the game.
One player commented on the asset use in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, stating that it "kinda just feels like they just put all of the assets from the base game in a blender and hit pulse a few times." The player expressed disappointment and was hoping for more innovation in the DLC.
The user rating for the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC on Steam has fallen to "mixed" due to player complaints about difficulty and performance issues, particularly on the PC version3. Despite the DLC's stunning presentation and world-building, some players have criticized it for issues such as capped FPS, stuttering, and certain boss design.