We’ve been patiently waiting for FromSoftware to say a single word about its plans for Elden Ring Nightreign’s DLC, which was meant to include new bosses as well as playable characters. Now we’ve seen it: in a surprise trailer during Sony’s Japan-focused State of Play livestream on Tuesday, the studio debuted The Forsaken Hollows, its first expansion dropping December 4. And one of the studio’s all-time great bosses is coming back.
That something is probably my memory of fighting Artorias in his namesake DLC for Dark Souls, Artorias of the Abyss, released in 2012. While FromSoftware’s games are quite fast-paced today, demanding quick reflexes in fights against the likes of Malenia, that wasn’t the case in Dark Souls. Many of the bosses are lumbering beasts, and even the fastest foes have simple, relatively short attack combos compared to what FromSoftware throws at players today. Artorias was the very beginning of that paradigm shift.
You hear stories about the legendary knight throughout Dark Souls, but it’s not until the DLC that you get to face him: a hero corrupted by the Abyss, driven into a mad frenzy. He leaps around his battle arena swinging a huge longsword one-handed. His range is fierce, and he’ll punish you for trying to step back and heal. His battle serves as a precursor for the many 1v1 duels FromSoft would later make some of the most memorable encounters in the Dark Souls sequels and Elden Ring.
It was a hard fight by Dark Souls’ standards, and also a thrilling way to kick off its expansion after a full game of lore build up. I can’t think of a better fit for Nightreign, which FromSoftware is clearly treating as a greatest hits remix for beloved moments (and fearsome villains) from across its RPGs.
How well will this fight translate to a 3v1 co-op fight? I don’t know! Artorias might need a bit of an AI tune-up to serve as much of a threat in Nightreign. But my #1 wish for the game since launch has been a deeper pool of mid-run bosses pulled from the older games for the sake of variety. I couldn’t ask for a better first pick.
