I spent an evening in Elden Ring’s Fog Rift Catacombs and experienced the purest despair I’ve ever felt in a FromSoftware game

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is throwing players under a lot of pressure, but an optional dungeon called Fog Rift Catacombs is a particular kind of despair. After spending some time trapped in this place, I can see why—this dungeon is simultaneously the best, the worst, and the most fun thing FromSoftware has ever done.

Of course, this article contains spoiler for this one dungeon. Once you cross the large bridge leading away from the DLC’s starting area, the map might direct your gaze northward to a path that appears to lead to a new Shadow of the Erdtree map fragment you can collect. That’s FromSoft’s first trick. After making it past a fortress where you’re literally under fire from piles of enemies, and surviving a misty valley full of stealthy little gremlins trying to stab you in the back, you’ll see messages from other players that read something like this: “No map ahead, all the more tears.”