I’ve played Elden Ring for over 200 hours and I’m continually uncovering new secrets and mechanics while killing monsters again and over. With so much material, the focus should be on From Software’s newest and maybe finest game for years to come and pass.
Let’s start with the basics. For the first time in a soulslike game, we have an open universe that completely changes the genre. So far, we’ve walked through corridor places in Dark Souls, Nioh, and Bloodborne, which were frequently connected by various shortcuts that aided exploration. We sense amazing freedom in travelling the globe in Elden Ring from the start. We have virtually the entire map at our disposal, and we can travel anywhere our legs, or rather the horse, will take us. Almost, because certain portions will, of course, be unavailable owing to plot blockages. Nothing, however, prohibits us from traveling with a low-level character to a location where every creature will annihilate us. The world is accessible to us, and we may explore it in whichever order we desire. As previously said, we may ride on a mount, which, given the vastness of the earth, considerably aids exploration and sightseeing. True, when we reach closed areas, the phantom horse vanishes and we must walk the remainder of the way on foot, but in open areas, it is a wonderful friend. The game does not impose anything, but instead provides minor suggestions in the form of grace guidance, which consists of golden rays visible on the globe as well as at sites of grace, which are the equivalent of “souls” bonfires. These distinguishing indications will guide us to the game’s next objectives. With such a large scale, such small clues appear to be invaluable. Even if we know where we’re going, we have to figure out how to go from point A to point B on our own.
Closed regions in the shape of castles, fortresses, and other complexes, whose structure resembles classic locales from the Dark Souls series, where we conquer consecutive passages, gather valuables, and uncover shortcuts, serve as objectives tied to the main storyline. The difficulty level in these locations definitely rises. We can sense the game returning to its roots almost immediately, and we have to laboriously go through the next chambers to reach the arena of the tale boss fight. In terms of difficulty, wandering throughout the open world is the polar opposite of restricted areas. There are several benefits in store for us. When we fight a group of foes, our healing bottles fill, we locate places of grace more frequently, and we also utilize a very well-made map. Furthermore, we may flee the bosses on a mount, and if we are vanquished, we can simply retrieve runes, a resource required to level up the character. All of this makes exploration exceedingly pleasurable and pleasurable. I never expected him to use that word to describe souls, yet he does. These features will be especially beneficial to gamers who are new to the genre or who have already bounced back from previous From Software titles. The authors offered their work to new receivers for the first time in such an exciting method, while causing no harm to anyone. Elden Ring also pushes exploration to new heights. The Lands Between are plenty with intriguing locations that conceal some sort of mystery or treasure. When we don’t want to spend any more time in a ruined castle with a ferociously difficult boss, we may explore and uncover optional caverns, mines, ruins, or towers – and have a terrific time doing so. Every time we complete a level, the game awards us with new weapons, spells, or weapon abilities.
And once we’ve obtained new equipment and advanced a few levels, we’ll be able to return to the boss stronger, eventually defeating him and experiencing this particular joy. The fighting skills are just astounding and incredibly adaptable. The battle style is most reminiscent to Dark Souls 3. The confrontations are dynamic, and the defense is focused on shield blocking or evading, but the attacking moves are where the greatest surprises can be found. We may summon ally spirits, endow the weapon with a strong ability that adds a new sort of attack, and knock the adversary down in a variety of ways to inflict a critical strike. The hero may now jump, which impacts not just exploration but, most importantly, confrontations. We not only evade the enemy’s hit by jumping, but we also attack the opponent from the jump. In combat, we also employ a horse, which is even required for some monsters. We develop the character according on our interests, such as combining multiple occupations or creating a hero who specializes in one area. The developers have not forgotten about spell casting classes – we will obtain an astonishing amount of spells and incantations during the game.
While the game environment is quite diversified, with major differences in terrain, the same cannot be true for the optional dungeons. After a while, the recurrence of previously observed visuals and structures becomes apparent. Overall, they are not factors that affect the picture of such an exceptional and engaging game as Elden Ring, but they should be addressed and considered. Without a question, From Software’s most recent release is the studio’s biggest and most ambitious effort, and it outperforms their previous successes in many respects. Never before has open-world gameplay been so thrilling. I still have a lot of sites to visit after fifty hours, and I will surely check them all out to collect riches and kill bosses. Riding a horse to find additional intriguing spots to visit is a lot of fun.
Elden Ring is in a league of his own. The creators had a difficult time reconciling solitaire rules with an open-world game. This tough art went extremely successfully in many ways, while certain sacrifices were required. This one-of-a-kind game, although not without problems, will be enjoyed by both studio fans and newcomers looking to get back into the genre.