One of the most highly anticipated titles of 2022 is set to release in less than 24 hrs. Within a day, fans of dark fantasy or those with masochistic tendencies will finally be able to get their hands on the highly anticipated title, Elden Ring. Elden Ring is a blended mix of high fantasy with the darkness FromSoftware fans have grown to love and hate; FromSoftware’s latest game, Elden Ring is a creative blend of Dark Souls/Demon Souls with George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. As the player explores the world, they slowly realize that Elden Ring is not a typical From Software game that they have grown to love. With new features, a massive open world, and the gameplay everyone has grown to love, there’s something for everyone. Be aware though, what you think you know about From Software games is about to get flipped upside down.
Story
After character selection, the player wakes up alone as a tarnished soul. Without a Maiden’s blessing, they are cursed to wander the realm and must find their own way to potentially become an Elden Lord. As they stumble out of the darkness, the player will run into murder crab; this crab puts the fear of God into you. Vanquished by this unholy enemy, a maiden and a steed find the tarnished player. Revived with a holy mission, the player sets out on what will be a painstaking journey of discovery.
With a reputation to build and maiden to impress, we set out to earn a maiden’s blessing. At the start of the game, a disrespectful NPC points you in the general direction, however, he is certain that you will not last long. In Elden Ring, it is very easy to get lost. Thankfully, the maiden’s grace will guide you to a lost grace marker (Firelink Shrine); additionally, a marker will show on the top of the screen to help guide you to where you need to go. As you explore the world, it is very easy to get sidetracked due to all the mysterious events and locations there are to explore.
Exploration and More
Once the player unlocks the horse, they are able to explore the map easier. While exploring, it is easy to get lost in this massive world. If you get stuck on a boss, exploring can result in finding a boss you would need to fight later or finding gear that will help on the current quest.
At the moment, we are currently still playing through the story, but the characters that we have encountered each have their own unique personalities. The bosses are larger than life and if you step out of line, they will smack you into an early grave. Each of these bosses has its own issues and when you come across them, you better hope they have mercy on your tarnished soul.
Gameplay
Like previous FromSoftware titles, the player must choose between one of ten character classes. Each type comes with its own unique skills and abilities while also having a unique look visual look. Players can customize their characters but unless they are not wearing a helmet or a shirt, this customization barely matters. What does matter is how the player chooses to skill their character. Preparing to be a mage is drastically different than being a tank.
Elden Ring sticks true to FromSoftware‘s ideology. At no point are enemies scaled to match your level. Either power level to the point you won’t die in one shot or get good at the game.
Like other FromSoftware titles, the player must kill enemies in order to level. Bigger enemies typically offer more points. In Elden Ring, the experience is called Runes. Runes can be found laying around the open map outside of combat; they are the game’s currency and can be used to purchase items, spells, recipe books, and materials. The materials found throughout the world can be crafted into helpful items. Additionally, players can find recipes on dead bodies.
Map Features
Elden Ring‘s core gameplay remains the same as other FromSoftware titles. Make too many mistakes and you will die. Unlike previous titles, Elden Ring has a variety of new mechanics to help the player progress through the story. The game features a map of the world. This map can be used to teleport to lost grace locations, place markers, or scout paths to take to a new area. In each section of the map, a pillar contains a map of the area. Once this map is picked up, the area because illuminated. Doing so reveals that Elden Ring is a lot bigger than any player might expect. Additionally, while exploring, a Light of Grace will help guide you to Lost Grace locations and to the main questline.
Although the map is massive, you never feel the fatigue of such an open area; there is always something going on or something to find. Some world events will not happen until the player completes a certain objective.
During my playthrough, I was able to vanquish the first boss before Andrew was able to. Because of this, an undead caravan spawned in the world and was roaming around. Andrew who had spent his time exploring and had not beaten the boss yet did not see this caravan. These world events can change based on what you have completed during your run and who you have interacted with.
While playing, it is easy to skip the main quest but you can very easily end up somewhere where the enemies are too strong for you. Until you interact with a maiden, you will be unable to level. So at least form a minimalistic pact.
Andrew’s Adventures
During Andrew’s playthrough, he spent time exploring the entire map that he could. Marking all the grace locations on his way as well as many near-death encounters. Most of those encounters ended in death as he wasn’t paying attention to another enemy targeting. Andrew many times would reach out to inform me how huge another area will be along with what mysteries he found on his way even by mistake. Elden Ring will provide so much during its entire playthrough ranging from locations, finding pieces of a map, dungeons to even boss gates or a mini-boss as you traverse the lands. One clip he shared privately while playing is of a huge rock in the distance, but with further inspection, as he got closer it wasn’t a rock as it had wings and it made the Dragon-like enemies around him look like nothing.
Elden Ring’s world on its own is very well on being open world and as you explore the weather, time of day, and the land itself changes. As you default story focused bosses and get into other locations you’ll be in awe.
Summons
New to Elden Ring is the ability to summon a horse to ride around with and Noble Ashes to help you in battle. First, the player must find Noble Ashes in order to summon them, but they use up a portion of the player’s magic bar. The second is the inclusion of the horse. The spirit horse allows the player to transverse large parts of terrain with ease. While riding, the player can attack enemies, use items, pick up materials, and even jump from ungodly heights. If jumping from high up, double jumping at the last moment will save you from deadly fall damage, within reason. Throughout the environment, you will occasionally find air pockets that will make the horse jump up high.
Like previous titles, the player can summon allies to aid them in their battles. Certain NPCs can be summoned to help with boss battles after interacting with them in the world. The game also features generic invasion points.
Graphics
Whether you are playing Elden Ring on a 4k tv/monitor or playing the game on 1080p, it is still a beautiful experience. Even on the low end, the attention to detail that FromSoftware has put into the game will leave you speechless. Sitting down and watching the wind blow through the grass or watching as trees sway with a breeze is still jaw-dropping each time you see it. Each character’s detail is extraordinary and at no point did we go, oh there was a weird body part.
Cutscenes in the game are also well rendered and can even bring a tear to your eyes. Whether in a happy moment or when a boss pulls out his weapon, this game’s graphics will leave you in awe.
The only issue we had while playing was character hitboxes and occasional issues with attacks. On a few occasions, arrows, spells, and the vary rare halberd would pass through a wall to hit us. Despite playing offline, these attacks would bypass the environment and still manage to inflict damage. This would become frustrating since our attacks could not go through the same areas.
Other than these minor issues, we never found ourselves stuck in a weird area unable to move. We never saw enemies just teleport from another location. Everything even the bosses’ special effect attacks ran smoothly. The special effects running smoothly were shocking with how many different abilities the bosses can use.
Andrew’s time with the game included playing on a 4K Asus monitor with HDR. He did state with his time exploring the world looked amazing and the enemies he would see a bit more off-putting as he know it would be his demise if he wanted to pick a fight on other locations. He played the game on high settings with little to no issues other than a few frame rate drops.
Controls
Going into Elden Ring, we expected some minor changes to the controls with all the new things being added to the game. Wanting to be surprised, we avoided the open beta so it came as a surprise how smooth the controls felt. Despite the addition of the horse, the horse’s mechanics worked as an extension of the player’s movement. Whether in combat or on the horse, movement in the game never felt staggered or delayed.
Our only complaint with controls is the use of bows and crossbows. Aiming at enemies is too stiff and gives the players fewer options on how to target the enemies. This makes archery in the game feel rather underwhelming despite the amount of effort it seems they put into the game.
Jumping and sneaking in the game also felt smoother compared to some of its predecessors. While sneaking, you are able to hide in environmental terrain to surprise your enemies. With jumping, it no longer feels like you have to push a button in a millisecond in order to jump correctly.
Andrew’s time with the game included his character being the Warrior and dual-wielding two swords. His build will be mainly focused on the power behind the attacks, while dual-wielding you do give up some areas such as having powers until you level up in some areas to having a good defense. The controls themselves were very easy to grasp, which should say the same for most of the other characters minding each will have its own pros and cons when selected.
Audio/SFX
When traveling through different environments, the game’s music will change to fit the atmosphere. However, if you stay in an area for too long, the game’s music will become repetitive and even obnoxious. While the environments provide an ear-opening experience to its music it was something nice to have to play for a bit. The game’s voice acting is believable and makes you feel as if that person really is the character. Each creature has its own unique sounds that allow the player to know what is coming.
Replay Value
FromSoftware always enjoys challenging players. Like other Souls games, the player has the option to choose between a variety of fighting styles. The game also features a new game plus so that players can experience alternate endings, NPC storylines, and locations they might have missed the first time around.
With a massive open world to explore and a variety of items and trinkets to use, the number of playstyles and challenges can be astronomical. The replay value itself is there and with the co-op or invading another player’s world. FromSoftware has got another hit on its hands.
Verdict
While playing through FromSoftware’s Elden Ring, Andrew and I spent countless hours fighting our way through the game’s many enemies. Despite dying on numerous locations, at no point did we feel the game was unfair. With no end path insight, we kept pushing forward and kept learning from our mistakes. Outside of the main questline, players are able to choose their own path and explore a vast open world. With a variety of enemies to fight and combat styles to master, there is no true end. Even if you finish the game’s main questline, there are a variety of activities that will keep you occupied way past the main story.
Just from our playtime alone, we both experience Elden Ring in two different ways. Unless deliberately choosing to, no player’s path will be exactly the same. This is most likely what FromSoftware and George R.R.Martin had intended. Have players explore a vast and thriving open world while being able to disconnect from some of life’s harsh realities.
Despite some fights feeling unfair, there is always something the player can take away from each encounter. If you like solo adventures or a challenging co-op experience, Elden Ring is worth picking up on February 25th.
For our stream playthroughs, check out SFX_Acidic & KillerKDemons on Twitch.
A review code of Elden Ring was provided for review.
