to no one's surprise... game good. the new areas and legacy dungeons are sick, many of the bosses in the DLC are my new favorites for the entire game, i respecced over ten times to experiment with all the crazy new weapons, and the deflecting hardtear adds a fantastic new layer to combat (so much that it feels like it should've just been a main mechanic). it obviously can't recapture the sheer scale of the game it is now buried within, but those "holy shit" moments of discovery that make elden ring so special are still very much alive.

like the base game, there is plenty of annoying stuff to pick at here, but the best bits of it provide an experience unlike anything else. the art direction is fromsoft's best, the slate of bosses are the most fun, challenging and interesting in the whole game, the new weapons and mechanics (notably the deflecting hardtear) freshen up the gameplay while also addressing some issues with the combat of the base game (although, I will say it'd be way better if the deflect mechanic had just been added to the core moves instead of being tied to the physick), and the legacy dungeons feel like old school fromsoft in the best way imaginable. it good.