FromSoftware’s epic fantasy RPG Elden Ring was named Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2022 today, beating out serious competition from Santa Monica Studio’s action-adventure blockbuster God of War Ragnarök. There were some eye-catching titles like Horizon Forbidden West, A Plague Tale: Requiem, Stray, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 in the battle for gaming honor this year, but it’s really down to the PlayStation exclusive, well, the Elden Ring. To my delight, the latter deservedly won. Both games, both extraordinary in their own right, represent the best that modern video games have to offer. But only one of them truly captures the essence of the medium.
There was a hot moment, with the feeling that God of War Ragnarök, the most nominated title at The Game Awards 2022, would take the prizes. Before proceedings concluded in the main course, Ragnarok had already won in six categories, including Best Storytelling and Best Performance. And as with all award shows, the novelty bias is always at play. (There’s a reason it’s called Oscar season.) Ragnarok came out last month, while Elden Ring came out in February. Despite its continued brilliance, memory can deceive you. In the end, FromSoftware took home the two biggest awards of the night: Game of the Year and Best Game Direction, capping off a great year for Japanese developers.
Elden Ring vs. God of War Ragnarok: open world approach
Between Ragnarök and Elden Ring, it is the latter that pushes the game into new territory. The open world genre has suffered a lot of abuse in recent years: Elden Ring has taken it apart and then remade it in its image and likeness. He rejected the trappings of the genre, completely got rid of thematic markers, infinite map icons, meaningless map tasks and side quests, and really blew up the open world. There have been games that have done this before, most notably Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but Elden Ring builds on it. Where Breath of the Wild rewarded exploration and exploration he is The reward is in Elden’s ring.
Take the Elden Ring map for example. In most open world games, maps aren’t actually cartographic representations of the lands the player is exploring. It’s just a checklist. All they communicate is, “Go here, do it. Now like this, do it again. But the Elden Ring map encourages, no, players to look at it. Do you really look at the rock formation north of your site or those ruins at west There are no icons to tell the player what they will find there, but there is a sense that it will be a good thing.
The Elden Ring map invites players to take a closer look.
This is rare in video games. There are very few games out there that are brave enough to invite you on your own adventure, without feeling the need to become your guide. Just look at the other Game of the Year nominee, Horizon Forbidden West, an open world adventure that constantly fears handing control over to the player. The map’s many icons capture you on every journey, detracting from an otherwise good game. (Don’t get lost, but Ragnarok, while not entirely open world, also has a map. However, during gameplay, I didn’t really need one and felt purely cool.)
Elden Ring vs. God of War Ragnarok: Storytelling
The Elden Ring and Ragnarök are also on opposite ends of the video game narrative spectrum. Ragnarok, winner of Best Story at The Game Awards, truly tells a gripping and deeply personal story. It deals with complex themes of parenthood and puberty, deals with prophecy and destiny, and delivers a successful Hollywood-style ending to the Norse epic. It’s a good story. But it is also traditional.
Ragnarök features some of the best video game writing of the year, but its storytelling isn’t all that different from a movie or a novel. It takes players for a ride, but never gives them kingdoms. This is where the true power of video game storytelling lies. Player agency distinguishes the medium from other art forms. Elden Ring excels there. It allows you to write your own story. There is, of course, an intentional narrative in the game told through ambiguous item descriptions and scattered lore. And curious minds can always head to YouTube to find out what they’ve been missing. But the stories you invent as you wander the in between lands are the ones that stay with you.
Game of the Year nominee A Plague Tale: Requiem is driven by its narrative.
Image source: Focus Entertainment
That’s not to say that traditional storytelling always pales in comparison. Just look at narrative-driven games like The Last of Us or A Plague Tale: Requiem, the latter being nominated for Game of the Year. These games tell unforgettable stories, but games that feature a blank page, which players can fill in as they please, represent the medium’s true potential as a wholly unique art form that movies and books cannot imitate.
Portraying the sterile mercenary fantasy in Fallout: New Vegas and mythologizing my actions and decisions in the Mass Effect trilogy are some of my favorite gaming memories. In the Elden Ring, you can be a chivalrous knight helping maidens through its dangerous landscape, or you can be a wayward rebel defeating beasts and beauties. Or, if you’re really good, you can just be a naked guy with a giant bat and wander the minds of the game’s deadly bosses. it’s your choice.
Elden Ring vs God of War Ragnarök – the real game of the year
To be honest, it’s part of the nature of RPGs like Elden Ring. I will not bear that God of War Ragnarök is not an RPG against it. It is, as I said, a different game. It offers a curated experience that blends deep gameplay with emotional depth. And in the margins of its impressive combat sandbox, it’s surprisingly resilient. But Elden Ring takes the road less traveled and allows players to find their treasure. Where Ragnarök excels in flowery moments, the Elden Ring exercises restraint, almost like a game mechanic, and stands as a true champion of the medium.
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