Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree vs Nioh 3
Elden Ring DLC demands 60 hours of prep; Nioh 3 demands 30 hours of one-shot patience — pick your poison.
Updated 10d 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.
Punches above its sequel weight — Nioh 3's Samurai/Ninja stance system is Team Ninja's sharpest combat to date, despite empty-zone pacing.
By the numbers
Prices checked Aug 7; they move faster than we refresh, so confirm on the store page.
Recent-review figures are Steam's own last-30-days window, read Aug 7.
| Measure | Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree | Nioh 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Value Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree wins on value | ||
| Price now | $35.17 −12% · GameBillet | $38.45 −45% · GameBillet |
| All-time low | $31.49 | $38.45 |
| Cost / hour | $1.37/hr $35.17 · 26 h main story | $1.42/hr $38.45 · 27 h main story |
| Off its low | +12% vs $31.49 low | At its low vs $38.45 low |
| Main story | 26 h | 27 h |
| Health Nioh 3 wins on player health | ||
| Steam reviews | 70% 104k reviews | 79% 19k reviews |
| Recent reviews | 58% 186 votes · vs 70% lifetime · souring | 68% 227 votes · vs 79% lifetime · souring |
| Peak players | — Not yet charted | 2,279 Jul 2026 · ↓ 17% MoM |
| Launch peak | — | 3% of Feb 2026 launch peak · as of Jul 2026 |
| All-time peak | — | 87,778 Feb 2026 |
| Support | ||
| Last patch | — | 8 weeks ago |
| Patch cadence | — | 2 in last 90 days |
| Steam Deck | — | Gold |
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
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Nioh 3
Feb 2026 – Jul 2026
Key differences
Combat depth
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree builds on base game's tactical freedom with new weapon types and bosses.
Nioh 3's Samurai/Ninja stance system is Team Ninja's sharpest combat, rewarding stance-switching mastery.
World navigation
Scadutree Fragments tie progression to exploration in a dense, obscure open world.
Nioh 3's open-field traversal is marred by empty-zone pacing between combat encounters.
Difficulty curve
Steep boss fights, but patch 1.14 tamed Consort Radahn's combos for fairer challenge.
Relentless retry loops where mid-bosses one-shot you for 30 hours without mercy.
Which one is for you?
Pick Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree if
- You finished Elden Ring and want 35-40 more hours of content
- You enjoy obscure progression systems like Scadutree Fragments
- You tolerate vague questline tracking and opaque difficulty
Pick Nioh 3 if
- You loved Nioh 2's stance-shifting combat and want it expanded
- You can handle Soulslike retry loops with frequent one-shots
- You own a PC or PS5 with steady 60fps for precise parry timing
Bottom line
If you beat Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree is the clear choice (9.4/10). Otherwise, Nioh 3 offers superior combat depth for players ready to endure its harsh retry loops.