Opinion: Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree desperately needs a "boss replay" feature

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, by all means and measures, is a masterpiece. It is a must-play for anyone who enjoyed their time with the base game and needs another reason to return to the Lands Between. However, there are still a few features that feel missing from the game, especially after the release of Shadow of the Erdtree expansion.

Most notably, a dedicated "boss replay" feature, which is something many fans have been asking for. While you can technically replay bosses as many times as you want, doing so comes with the caveat of having to rely on getting summoned by other players.

However, if you don't want to engage with the multiplayer aspects of the game, you don't have any other choice than to start New Game+ to replay bosses. As such, having a dedicated "boss rush" or "boss replay" mode, akin to Sekiro's "Gauntlets" would be a fantastic addition to Elden Ring as well as the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.

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A "boss replay" mode can add a ton of replayability value to Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

FromSoftware games are primarily known for their boss fights, and Elden Ring is no exception to this. In fact, compared to all previous "Souls-borne" titles developed by FromSoftware, Elden Ring features the most diverse and spectacular cast of bosses. Many players would love to have another go at them without being forced into starting a fresh new playthrough.

A boss rush mode would be a great incentive for players to return to the game, without being shoved to NG+ (Image via FromSoftware)

However, as of writing this article, there are only two ways you can replay the boss fights in the game: co-op and New Game+. Admittedly, neither option is a fitting alternative to a dedicated "boss rush" mode. While on PC, you can still rely on co-op to replay certain boss fights, on consoles, it's more of an exclusive feature.

Much like any traditional multiplayer game, playing FromSoftware's games online on consoles requires you to have an active subscription to Xbox Live or PlayStation Plus. And if you're not willing to pay the monthly or yearly rental for those subscription plans on consoles, you're relegated to NG+ if you want to replay boss fights.

A boss rush mode won't be too far out of FromSoftware's league considering they already featured similar modes in their prior games. Both Sekiro and Armored Core 6 featured a boss rush mode where you can replay bosses irrespective of your story progress, granted you've already beaten said bosses in a previous playthrough.

Armored Core 6 featured a more linear mission-based structure, so that might be considered an exception. However, Sekiro, much like Dark Souls and Elden Ring, features an open-ended progression system. If a boss rush mode was possible in that game, it certainly is possible in other FromSoftware games as well.

A boss rush mode would make it possible to battle against bosses like Malenia, which are locked to Elden Ring's end-game (Image via FromSoftware)

FromSoftware can make the entire boss rush mode separate from the base game, perhaps like the Colosseum mode, accessible via the Roundtable Hold. The boss rush also doesn't need any additional rewards tied to it since getting to fight the iconic bosses from the base game as well as Shadow of the Erdtree is a reward in itself.