For hardcore Elden Ring players going into Shadow of the Erdtree, director Hidetaka Miyazaki promises optional bosses as brutal as Malenia

The Elden Ring DLC will have optional bosses as hard as the infamous Malenia, according to game director Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Miyazaki spoke to IGN in a new interview, and shone a light on some of the more hidden elements of Shadow of the Erdtree. The latest trailer for the DLC just debuted earlier today, and aside from revealing a June 21 release date, it also highlighted a brand new adventure in the Lands of Shadow, to do with Miquella, brother of Malenia.

"Our general approach to difficulty has of course not changed to Elden Ring," Miyazaki said, when asked about how FromSoftware approaches catering to veteran players. "We want to create a challenging experience that tests the players and that gives them a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when they get through these struggles.

"However, we do want to stress that there's still a freedom of approach and a breadth of strategy to these encounters," the director continued. "And that means both how you approach them if you want to face these challenges or come back to them later and circumvent them and find another way around and come back when you're ready."

Miyazaki then revealed that it's this same philosophy that FromSoftware is carrying into Shadow of the Erdtree. "And again, to our more hardcore players, they will find optional bosses who have been tuned in a similar way to the likes of Malenia, who I'm sure you remember from the base game, who are not crucial," Miyazaki concluded on the matter.

Malenia, Goddess of Rot was a brutal boss to face off against in Elden Ring's base game, even if she was found in an entirely optional area. Miyazaki's comments make it sound like the new Elden Ring DLC will have optional areas to house its optional bosses in, which could mean we're in for a bigger adventure than we thought.

Head over to our Elden Ring DLC trailer live coverage recap for a full look at all the announcements by FromSoftware today.