The Agonizing Wait for Elden Ring DLC: 5 Crazy Games to Play Now

Published on 2 Jul 2025

Let’s be honest with each other. You feel it too, don’t you? That phantom limb sensation where the controller should be. The muscle memory that still wants to roll-dodge a Crucible Knight that isn’t there. The hollowing has begun.

We, the Tarnished, are adrift. We’ve conquered the Lands Between. We’ve slain demigods, become Elden Lord (or embraced the Frenzied Flame, you absolute maniacs), and we’ve seen everything there is to see from Limgrave to the Haligtree. And now, there is… silence. The agonizing wait for the Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, is a unique form of torment. It’s a void. A vast, content-less expanse where our thirst for glorious, punishing combat goes unquenched.

I’ve spent more hours than I care to admit scrolling through Reddit, dissecting single promotional images, and mainlining lore videos that are 90% pure speculation. It’s not healthy. So I decided to do something about it. I went on a journey—a quest, if you will—to find something, *anything*, to fill the gap. And I’ve returned from the digital wilderness with a handful of gems. These aren’t just placeholders; they’re legitimately fantastic, and in some cases, truly crazy games that will make the wait a little less painful.

The Great Hollowing: A Special Kind of Hell

Why is this so hard? I think it’s because Elden Ring wasn’t just a game; it was a place we lived in. An event. We all discovered its secrets together, shared in the triumphs over Malenia, and collectively gasped at the monstrosity that is the Godskin Duo. Waiting for DLC isn’t like waiting for a sequel. It’s like waiting for a new wing to be built onto your house. You’re still living there, but you’re painfully aware of the empty space, the promise of something more just beyond a wall you can’t break down yet.

But enough moping. We are adventurers. We seek challenge and novelty. Standing still is not in our nature. So, let’s get moving.

Your Dose of Digital Methadone: 5 Crazy Games to Distract You

I’ve curated this list with a specific goal: distraction through excellence. Some of these are hard. Some are weird. All of them demand your full attention, which is precisely what we need right now. They won't replace Elden Ring. Nothing could. But they will command your respect and your time, and right now, that's everything.

1. Blasphemous 2: The Holiest of Punishments

Okay, let’s start with something adjacent. If you love FromSoftware’s cryptic lore, oppressive atmosphere, and brutal, deliberate combat, but want it in a 2D-pixel-art-Metroidvania package, this is it. The world of Cvstodia is deeply, deeply weird, steeped in a grotesque fusion of Spanish Catholicism and nightmarish body horror. It’s fantastic.

The combat is weighty and satisfying, the platforming is tight, and the exploration is top-tier. I initially thought this would just feel like a 2D soulslike, but it’s so much more. It has its own identity, its own rhythm. And it is *hard*. Not in a cheap way, but in a "learn my patterns or perish" way that any Tarnished will immediately respect. It demands you get good, and the feeling of mastering its challenges is sublime.

2. DREDGE: The Cosmic Horror Fishing Trip

Wait, a fishing game? Hear me out. This is not your grandpa’s relaxing day on the lake. DREDGE lures you in with a simple, addictive loop: go out, catch fish, sell them, upgrade your boat. It’s cozy. For about five minutes.

Then the sun goes down. And things get… strange. A thick, sanity-draining fog rolls in. Rocks appear where none were before. You start seeing things in the water, hearing whispers on the wind. You begin "dredging" up mutated, horrifying versions of fish with extra eyes and unsettling descriptions. It’s a Lovecraftian horror game masquerading as a fishing sim, and the atmosphere is so thick you could cut it with a rusty fillet knife. The agonizing wait for the Elden Ring DLC will melt away as you're just trying to get back to port before your mind, or your boat, shatters completely.

3. Against the Storm: The Most Stressful Cozy Game Ever

This one is for the thinkers, the strategists. Imagine a city-builder, but the world is constantly trying to kill you with a magical, apocalyptic rainstorm. You serve a silent, god-like Queen, building small settlements to gather resources before the storm wipes everything out. Then you take what you’ve earned and start a new settlement, pushing deeper into the wilds.

It’s a roguelite city-builder, and it is one of the most brilliant genre mashups I have ever played. The pressure is immense. Every decision matters. Do you accept the new group of Beaver settlers, knowing you don’t have the housing? Do you open that dangerous glade, risking the ancient horror within for the promise of fertile soil? It’s a constant, exhilarating balancing act that will occupy every last one of your brain cells. There's no room to think about Miquella when you're trying to keep your Lizard-people from leaving because you ran out of pickled goods.

4. Sorry, We're Closed: A Different Kind of Dread

Sometimes you need a break from epic fantasy and just want some good old-fashioned dread. I stumbled upon this gem and was instantly hooked by its vibe. Sorry, We're Closed channels classic survival horror in a way that feels both nostalgic and fresh. You follow a woman, Michelle, as she navigates a world teeming with demons and conspiracies after interacting with a strange entity.

The thing that got me was the deliberate pacing and the sheer style of it. It’s not about jump scares; it's about a creeping, pervasive sense of wrongness. It reminds me of the first time I stumbled into Caelid—that feeling of "I should not be here." It’s a narrative-driven experience that will pull you in and make you forget all about your quest to become Elden Lord. For a few hours, at least.

5. Ultrakill: Pure, Unfiltered Adrenaline

Alright. Let's go in the complete opposite direction of Elden Ring's methodical combat. Ultrakill is… a lot. It’s a retro-style FPS that looks like it was made in the 90s but plays like it was sent from the future. The tagline is "Mankind is Dead. Blood is Fuel. Hell is Full." and that pretty much covers it.

You play as a robot that heals by showering in the blood of its enemies. The action is blisteringly fast, acrobatic, and utterly insane. You are constantly sliding, dashing, and ground-pounding while juggling a wild arsenal of weapons. There’s no stamina bar. There’s no blocking. There is only violence. It’s so over-the-top that it becomes a glorious, gory ballet. If Elden Ring is a precise duel with a rapier, Ultrakill is a knife fight in a phone booth with a gallon of espresso. It's one of the most intense games on the market right now and a perfect palate cleanser.

But Will It Scratch That Itch?

No. And that’s the point.

Let's be real. Nothing is going to feel like the first time you stepped out into Limgrave. You can’t replicate that specific cocktail of awe, terror, and limitless potential. Chasing that dragon will only lead to disappointment. Instead, the trick is to find other dragons. Different dragons. The fast, bloody dragon of Ultrakill. The existentially dreadful dragon of DREDGE. The tactical, rain-soaked dragon of Against the Storm.

These crazy games aren't a replacement. They're an antidote to the waiting. They're a reminder that our favorite hobby is vast and varied and full of incredible experiences. When the trumpets finally sound for Shadow of the Erdtree, we’ll be ready. And we’ll be better, more well-rounded gamers for the journey we took while we waited. Or maybe you just want to relax your brain with something simple, like some Fun Chess Puzzles. No judgment here.

Frequently Asked Questions (From One Hollow to Another)

Are any of these games actually *like* Elden Ring?
In spirit, maybe. Blasphemous 2 shares that DNA of challenging combat and cryptic storytelling. But in terms of gameplay, not really. This list is about finding different kinds of greatness, not a carbon copy. Think of it as appreciating different genres of music instead of just listening to the same band on repeat.

I’m not great at super-hard games, which of these should I try?
Definitely DREDGE. Its core loop is very approachable, and the horror is more atmospheric than punishing. You can play at your own pace. Against the Storm also has adjustable difficulty levels, so you can learn the ropes before cranking up the challenge. Steer clear of Ultrakill and Blasphemous 2 if you're looking for a relaxing time.

Why is waiting for DLC so much harder than waiting for a new game?
I touched on this, but I think it's about proximity. The game is right there, on your hard drive. The world exists. It feels like the party is paused, not over. With a new game, it's an abstract concept until it releases. With DLC, it's a locked door in a house you already live in, making the agonizing wait for Shadow of the Erdtree all the more present.

Okay, honestly, when is the Elden Ring DLC *really* coming out?
If I knew that, I’d be shouting it from the rooftops! All we have is speculation. The best guesses point to sometime in early-to-mid 2024, but FromSoftware is famously tight-lipped. The best thing we can do is forget about it… by playing other crazy games, of course.