Elden Ring is the epic dark adventure many of us crave for
Hello! Sorry for being late to the party. I tried to hold back until I got a PS5 or a gaming rig capable of running the game, alas, it was not meant to be. So right now I had to borrow a PS4 Pro (thank you Zanais_ for that, please go give him a follow) and played that version of Elden Ring.
Anyway, onwards to the review.
Elden Ring is, down to its very core, Dark Souls, set in this monstrous map where absolutely nothing feels safe. It’s the kind of game where you need to be on guard, all the time, even for a Souls game. At least in previous games, even in Bloodborne, you can find a spot where you feel confident nothing is going to one-shot you. Elden Ring doesn’t give you that sense of security, as even the most simple torch-wielding enemies can just pop up out of nowhere.
The Lands Between, the world where Elden Ring takes place, is a champion among open world maps. You’re free to explore locations with your steed and discover treasure and death hiding in every corner. It’s a vastly rewarding experience. The last game map I’ve thoroughly enjoyed was Breath of the Wild and Grand Theft Auto V, because of their careful attention to detail. Even if there’s nothing on the horizon, they made a great job at making it look interesting and a place to chill. Elden Ring succeeds at that, whether the hill you climb on opens up to a wide dark vista, to getting ganked by a horde of enemies, or a treasure chest that kills you, or getting smashed by a giant, everything oozes with mystery and intrigue. If you’re a fan of the late Kentaro Miura’s Berserk, Elden Ring does a fantastic job at making you feel what it's like to be in that dark and vicious world. (It helps a lot, I suppose, that Elden Ring director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, is a big fan of Miura and drew a lot of influence from Berserk, like the similarities between Knight Artorias and Guts, among many things).
I do miss the intricate world design of Dark Souls, where areas interlock each other, open passthroughs as shortcuts to the main hub, or you can see previously visited areas while traversing new ones. Some regions of the Lands Between continue to be connected in a more subtle form, and shortcuts in dungeons and castles remain. Elden Ring though, allows you to plan your approach when entering castles. They give you options between the hard way or the harder way, and maybe a secret way that may or may not be intentional, which can be ridiculously fun.
Because of the sheer size and volume of the map, there’s a lot to explore. From a traversing caravan, to a cult in a forest, you will encounter many curious and strange things. Bosses lurk about and out here in the open wilderness of the Lands Between, there is no fog gate to protect you. Normal enemies can jump in during intense boss fights and some of them–at least for me, will just happen to appear behind you and ruin your day. That’s okay. Take a deep breath. Have some water. Take a minute to play Wordle. If this is your first time playing a game from FromSoftware, the first step is mastering your patience.
The map doesn’t adjust for you. We can point to some games where it waterdowns some enemies to match your player level, to provide some sense of “free exploration.” Elden Ring doesn’t do that. You can very much find yourself in a place that is meant to be traversed at a higher level. Souls games have always provided players with a high risk, high reward system. And that’s never been brighter as it is in Elden Ring. If you push forth toward a dangerous terrain, you might win yourself some weapons and armor and plenty of runes (the currency you will need for purchasing items and leveling up). In fact, some farming spots have already been discovered and making their rounds on the internet. I’d advise against this though, as it ruins the first time experience.
Elden Ring is, by no means, an extremely hard game. It’s challenging, sure, but personally I did not find it as relentless and merciless as Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls 2 and Bloodborne. But this game will definitely ask a lot from the players.
Combat is so Dark Souls 3 and I wouldn’t be surprised if Elden Ring was originally called Dark Souls 4. But movement has been refined, it’s faster, and even drinking from your flasks to replenish health feels faster than any Souls game out there. The biggest difference is the ability to jump and having a horse called Torrent. It makes for interesting ways of combat–or fleeing from battle. You can also crouch and sneak up on enemies, adding a layer of stealth and this is great, because you will be finding yourself in spots where you’d want to take the stealthy approach and backstab all the enemies you find. Enemy awareness, I’ve noticed, is lenient. You can engage in loud combat with one enemy and not aggro the one standing a few feet away from you. Though you should maintain distance, just in case you come within that range that triggers them. Fighting more than one enemy is always a big risk.
The amount of weapons and armor in the game is vast. If you’ve always been a “Fashion Souls” fans, then you’d be quite impressed at the wardrobe selection. What I find overwhelming is the amount of spells available in the game. Almost all of them are worth using. Once you manage to obtain a few certain spells, you’d probably never want to use any melee weapon ever again. This was the same issue I’ve had with Demon’s Souls from the PS3, spells are broken, and it’s still broken in Elden Ring. It’s amazing. You can also craft items with all the things you pick up here and there. It allows you to make certain items on the spot, which can be really helpful depending on your situation.
Unfortunately, I cannot comment on PvP. I’ve yet to try this. But given FromSoftware’s history, I can guess PvP and summoning will be smooth. I’ve seen plenty of areas in the game that seem to be designed specifically for PvP. I’m already excited for DLCs and expansions.
Elden Ring is a massive achievement. Even though FromSoftware has basically recycled an old but tested formula. The idea here is sticking to what fans love and carefully making it bigger. It’s hard to see where they can go from here. Maybe FromSoftware can get away once with a bigger map for Elden Ring 2. Or better, as they always do, surprise us with a new IP.