Shadow of the Erdtree doesn’t waste any time reminding you that you will die frequently, as an early encounter with the Divine Beast Dancing Lion boss is brutal. Inspired by Chinese lion dances, it turns out that this boss is actually two dudes in a coat masquerading as a monster and not some horrible abomination dreamt up by its creators. It’s just like all those kids in Saturday-morning cartoons pretending to be adults when they hid themselves under a trenchcoat and combined their height to sneak past concert security.
As discovered by YouTuber BonfireVN (via Endgadget), Divine Beast Dancing Lion is comprised of one person in the front who attacks while pantomiming as a monster, while another crouched enemy in the rear controls the body. This is pretty accurate to how real-life Chinese lion dancers perform, and From Software went so far as to animate both of the deadly dancers beneath the costume. It turns out that not everything has to be a grotesque monster after all. It’s a lovely extra layer of detail, even though you won’t have time to see it because you’ll be too busy dodging its attacks.
If you’re just getting started and you’re finding Shadow of the Erdtree to be pretty tough, you can check out our Elden Ring DLC guides hub for some tips and tricks. The expansion has been a critical hit–GameSpot’s first review in 2024 that scored a perfect 10–and The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red has congratulated From Software for breaking a long-standing record set by the Polish studio.
