Elden Ring is one of our all-time favourite games. A Game of the Year winner over at the old site, and a constant allure, calling us back for a bit more time here and there. Now Elden Ring the Tarnished Edition is out and we don’t know if we’re missing out on something, or not…..
Elden Ring Tarnished Edition
FromSoftware has never been a studio to leave money on the table when it comes to definitive releases, but the release of the Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition (alongside its standalone Tarnished Pack upgrade for existing owners) presents a curious proposition for veterans and newcomers alike.
Arriving as the flagship launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2 while simultaneously landing across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox via Patch 1.17, the Tarnished Edition initiative attempts to do two very different things:
- Package the colossal base game and Shadow of the Erdtree expansion for a brand-new portable generation.
- Give existing players a £3.99 / €4.99 / $4.99 excuse to roll yet another character and step foot into Limgrave once more.
The question for those of us who have already sunk hundreds of hours into the Lands Between is simple: Does this modest content drop offer real value for money, or is it merely cosmetic fluff riding on the coattails of a masterwork?
Will the Tarnished Edition tarnish your experience of the game?
What the Tarnished Package Actually Delivers
To understand the value proposition, we have to split the offering into two distinct lanes: the complete Tarnished Edition bundle for Switch 2 players, and the standalone Tarnished Pack for returning Tarnished on existing platforms.
For Newcomers (The Switch 2 Bundle)
Priced at standard modern AAA tier ($79.99 / £69.99), the Tarnished Edition is a massive package.
It bundles the 2022 Game of the Year, the massive 2024 Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, and the new legacy content natively onto Nintendo’s new hardware.
Running at a target 30fps at 1080p, it’s essentially the ultimate portable Elden Ring experience.
What’s more crazy is how it has us thinking we need to buy the game again just to have it on the Switch 2…..Elden Ring is worth it, that’s for sure.
For Veterans (The £3.99 Tarnished Pack)
For existing owners on PC, PlayStation, or Xbox, FromSoftware didn’t lock the new content behind a full-priced re-purchase. Instead, the Tarnished Edition Pack acts as a cheap, micro-DLC update that unlocks:
Two New Starting Classes: The Heavy Knight (a high-Endurance, high-Strength tank built around curved greatswords) and the Idus Knight (a high-Dexterity, agile hybrid build).
Four New Armor Sets: Included as starting gear for the new classes and scattered throughout the world/invasions for existing characters.
Spectral Steed Customization: Three distinct appearance skins for Torrent (including a heavily requested Night’s Cavalry-inspired barding option).
World Additions & Patch 1.17 Integration: New NPC invasion encounters in Caelid and Leyndell, along with base-game availability for several weapon archetypes originally introduced in Shadow of the Erdtree (such as Backhand Blades and Thrusting Shields).
Value for Money or Pure Fan Service?
At four quid (or local equivalent), questioning “value for money” almost feels like splitting hairs.
In an era where single character skins in first-person shooters routinely command £20, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware offering new classes, armour sets, world events, and horse customisation for the price of a takeaway coffee is undeniably refreshing.
Elden Ring is worth every penny and if you already own it, you may as well finish off your collection and go with the Tarnished Edition DLC.
A No-Brainer for Long-Time Fans
If you are the type of Elden Ring player who routinely starts fresh playthroughs to test out niche builds or challenge runs, the Tarnished Pack is an absolute steal.
Early-Game Variation: Starting a fresh run with the Heavy Knight or Idus Knight changes the geometry of Limgrave immediately.
Having early access to high-tier stat distributions and distinct move-sets without having to sprint across half the map to fetch specific weapons makes the opening hours feel remarkably fresh.
Torrent Customization Has Been Missing Since 2022: It became a meme at launch that Elden Ring had no horse armour.
Finally getting visual options for Torrent (especially dark fantasy barding) is a cosmetic tweak fans have begged for since the original release.
DLC Weapon Integration: Injecting Erdtree-style weapons into early-to-mid base game progression via Patch 1.17 fixes one of the expansion’s biggest flaws: having to wait until late-game to play with weapons like the Great Katana or Backhand Blades on a new character.
Where It Falls Short
It is vital to manage expectations: this is not a content expansion. If you have 300 hours on a single Level 250 character and have no intention of rolling a fresh Tarnished or re-clearing the game, the Tarnished Pack offers very little gameplay substance.
The new NPC invasions provide a few minutes of distraction, but this is fundamentally a starter-pack upgrade designed to lubricate new playthroughs.
The Final Line
The Tarnished Edition isn’t trying to redefine Elden Ring.
For Switch 2 owners, it’s a triumphant, baseline port of one of the greatest RPGs ever made. But for existing fans, the £3.99 Tarnished Pack upgrade is as close to a no-brainer as modern DLC gets.
It’s cheap, thoughtful fan service that gives veterans the exact excuse they’ve been looking for to delete a save slot, pick a new class, mount up, and burn down the Erdtree one more time.
