Fire ring Players will be able to play in the recently released Shadow of the Earth Tree Expansion, but not through a fearsome new enemy or a deadly environmental trap. No, the source of that fear is a simple, screeching bird.
A sparse forest southeast of the expansion’s first checkpoint on Gravesite Plain is one of the first landmarks you’ll see (and reach) in Shadow of the Earth TreeThere you’ll find some of the expansion’s new crafting materials, a difficult human enemy named Logur, the Beastclaw, which drops its namesake weapon when defeated, and a variety of ruined stone structures just waiting to be investigated.
Some of these landmarks are home to eagle-like birds that don’t take kindly to a player approaching. And while they don’t attack, they emit a terrifying scream when disturbed, which apparently catches some people off guard. Scattered on the ground around these areas are messages warning other Tarnished to “listen carefully” and “be careful of noises.” The ghostly emotes associated with the warnings depict brave-looking adventurers assuming the fetal position and raising their hands to the sky in defensive terror.
Similar stories were shared on real-world social media.
“The jumpscare noise birds in this Fire ring DLC is perhaps the craziest thing they have ever done,” said a player on X (formerly Twitter). “It’s not even an enemy you’re fighting, it’s just part of the local fauna.”
“Dude, the bird noises are really making me shit my pants.” another Redditor said.
“Damn jump scares!” said a third
Soulsborne veterans may remember developer FromSoftware using the same trick in Dark Souls 3‘s Irithyll Dungeon, where picking up certain items a loud, terrible scream by an invisible being. The birds aren’t quite as bad, but it can be argued that their quiet surroundings make for a more effective scare.
It is far too early for me to have a well-founded opinion about Shadow of the Earth Treebut it’s at least nice to see that FromSoftware continues to play mercilessly with players.
