I’ve made a post about almost every single Souls game that Fromsoft has released. Each one of them excels and provides something unique, and Elden Ring is easily the culmination of Fromsofts experiences. It’s a critically acclaimed game, and rightly so.
Elden Ring plays, again, very similarly to the other Souls games. There’s very few differences in terms of actual combat and gameplay loop, but it adds features that we’ve never seen before in a Souls game. There are three features that makes Elden Ring stand out amongst the others, and it’s: Jumping, a mount and an open world.
Elden Ring takes place in a barren world called The Lands Between. It’s a vast island (I think it’s an island) with many different climates. Throughout this land, you’ll find caves, castles and monuments – all of which contain something unique. To help with the new open world setting, you now have a dedicated jump button and a mount. Two things that we haven’t seen before, and they’re excellently implemented. The mount feels tight to control, and the jumping is also slick. Parts of the combat is even implemented into these features, making the fighting even more varied than before. Although most of the game is very well crafted and unique, you’ll come across some reused assets. This isn’t something new in Fromsoft games, and we’ve seen bosses become normal enemies before, but it’s more apparent in Elden Ring. It’s not unusual, since the game is massive, but fighting the same boss multiple times when exploring different dungeons can feel a bit jarring. Optimally, we’d have a unique encounter each time, but we all know that it might be a bit much to ask for. Especially since the quality and quantity of this game is absurd.
The story is easier to keep up with than the previous games, and there’s more focus on “politics”. But of course, there’s always going to be something bigger going on behind the scene in these games. Famous writer George R. R. Martin helped write the lore of the game, of which Miyazaki then “remixed” into his own perverse little creation. A fun and inspiring collaborative work, which is arguably more interesting than the previous games. Of course, that’s very subjective, but I think so.
The world is beautiful, and both the environments and bosses are some of the most memorable to date. Fighting Radahn in a vast desert is a peak gaming moment for many, including me.
Arguably Elden Ring is the easiest of all the games. Since it’s so open, it allows you to change course if you’re ever stuck. There’s always something else to explore, and if you’re like me you’ll probably be fairly over powered when you meet the bosses. The weapons are also much more unbalanced than before. I played it on release, so I don’t know how the balancing is now, but when I played it some of the weapons could entirely decimate certain bosses and made many of the encounters a breeze. Playing like this can often destroy the charm and the satisfactory feeling that comes from overcoming the many challenges in these games, but I did it anyway… 😀
As usual, you can’t have a Souls game without online coop and PvP. Sadly though, I felt like the online aspects of Elden Ring was a lot less impactful than previous games. It might have been because of the vast world, and how it splits the playerbase into even more areas, but I never felt the same online presence as I did in the previous games – this was during release as well, when the playerbase was at its peak. I might have been unlucky, and I know that they’ve released dedicated PvP arenas, as well as there being an online mod which allows seamless coop throughout The Lands Between.
Questing is even harder than before though. Fromsoft has always had extremely vague quests which for most players will require a guide to complete. I tried doing them blind, but I couldn’t do it since the world was too big and my brain too small. I’d lie if I said that I’d want it to be different though. The vague quests has almost become a staple of Fromsoft games, similarly to invasions and difficult combat.
Elden Ring is a beautiful game, with charming characters, cool equipment and memorable battles. A rich story that you can dive deep into, and an online community with its own little culture (even if I got unlucky at release). Elden Ring has cemented itself as the “perfect Fromsoft game”, and will always stand as a monument in gaming culture and history.
It’s an easy 10/10 game, even with its flaws.