Don't worry, the Elden Ring DLC dims the exceedingly bright Bandai Namco logo so it can no longer hurt you

The Elden Ring DLC is set to be a massive undertaking for soulslikers with over 10 new bosses and "around 100" new weapons soon invading the Lands Between, but (arguably) the expansion's biggest change comes right when you boot up the game. 

Company logos are far from the most memorable part of any game - let alone FromSoftware's - but a special exception can be made for Elden Ring and the Bandai Namco logo that flashes up before you reach the title screen. That's because the bright white logo has progressively turned my 20/20 eyeballs into wrinkly raisins over the last few years. ( Hyperbole, sure, but it is pretty damn bright.)

YouTuber Iron Pineapple has now confirmed that the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion is making a change to the dazzling opening, based on what they had seen in a preview event. "I forgot to mention the biggest change with the Elden Ring DLC," they tweet. "[FromSoftware] changed the background color of the Bandai Namco logo so you don't get flashbanged when launching the game anymore."

Exactly what the logo looks like now is uncertain but we'll be sure to update this super important story as we learn more. Regardless, FromSoftware seemingly nerfed the experience of watching logos. Who would've guessed?

Dimming the lights, drawing the curtains, shushing the housemates, and crowning my skull with a Razor headset was an Elden Ring ritual for me at the time of the game's release. I was always ready to get whooped by bosses and cannon fodder alike... until the Bamco logo blared and beamed me into another, much whiter dimension. 

Shadow of the Erdtree is instead beaming us to the Land of Shadow, making the dimmed logo an appropriate change. Our Elden Ring DLC preview said the expansion was the best thing it could possibly be: "more Elden Ring, but way harder." However, you can somewhat control the expansion's difficulty using a new item, "Miquella's footsteps." 

FromSoftware’s Hidetaka Miyazaki hopes to take the “bits that didn’t go so well this time with Elden Ring” and improve them in a “future title.”