Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree vs Stellar Blade
One extends a punishing open world; the other tightens into parry-perfect arena fights — both demand mastery, but of different kinds.
Updated 25d ago
Best-in-class single-player DLC if you finished base Elden Ring — Land of Shadow rivals a full game, and patch 1.14 tamed Consort Radahn's combos.
Nails Sekiro-tier parry combat in third-person — the June 2025 PC port hits 70+ FPS at native 4K and runs at 60 on handhelds.
By the numbers
Prices checked Sep 9; they move faster than we refresh, so confirm on the store page.
Recent-review figures are Steam's own last-30-days window, read Sep 9.
| Measure | Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree | Stellar Blade |
|---|---|---|
| Value Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree wins on value | ||
| Price now | $35.17 −12% · GameBillet | $43.99 −27% · GameBillet |
| All-time low | $31.49 | $35.40 |
| Cost / hour | $1.37/hr $35.17 · 26 h main story | $1.94/hr $43.99 · 23 h main story |
| Off its low | +12% low was Aug 2024 | +24% low was Jun 2026 |
| Main story | 26 h | 23 h |
| Health Stellar Blade wins on player health | ||
| Steam reviews | 70% 104k reviews | 94% 94k reviews |
| Recent reviews | 53% 200 votes · vs 70% lifetime · souring | 88% 927 votes · vs 94% lifetime · souring |
| Peak players | — Not yet charted | 5,501 Aug 2026 · ↓ 59% MoM |
| All-time peak | — | 130,770 Jun 2025 · now at 4% |
| Support | ||
| Last patch | — | 12 months ago |
| Patch cadence | — | 0 in last 90 days |
| Steam Deck | — | Platinum |
Key differences
Which one is for you?
Pick Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree if
- You finished base Elden Ring and want 35 more hours in the same world
- You enjoy obscure progression where Scadutree Fragments are tied to exploration
- You're prepared for FromSoft's opaque questline tracking and steep boss fights
Pick Stellar Blade if
- You want a linear action game with no open-world detours
- You love Sekiro-style parry combat and perfect-block mechanics
- You're on PC and a port that scales from a handheld's 60 to a desktop's 120
Bottom line
If you already beat Mohg and crave a bigger, weirder Elden Ring, pick Erdtree's 26-hour main story; if you want tight parry combat without open-world sprawl, Stellar Blade's 23-hour arc at $1-2 per hour is the sharper buy.