He could immediately go to the final boss and end the adventure. At Elden Ring, such a decision is made by fanatical From Software followers. Miyazaki made the mystery of the world, perfunctory dialogues, enchanted in their own names and unattainable ambitions, considered his calling card. How to make a great land surrounded by internal conflict, fallen lords and disintegration into many pieces, become the second home of hundreds of thousands of Mathematics? The genetics of open worlds are very common – sooner or later, the concept will go into recycling. It is no different in the last work of From Software. The indigenous fans of the genre counter argue the creators’ choice by compromising. However, I would rather call the merger of Martin and Miyazaki a great challenge overshadowed by gigantic ambition. Several dozen hours after reaching the first square meters of Pogrobno – it was worth it.
Routine kills. Literally
We routinely die in the Souls series. The Elden Ring breaks a criminal record in this respect. Miyazaki suddenly wanted to consolidate the great, huge places with the prosaically smaller ones, so that the concept of the In between Lands was born. I won’t be revealing when I define the Elden Ring as a collection of everything owed From Software. The fight system with the possibility of Sekiro jump, counter-attacks after blocking attacks, using magic under the clause of incantation, scaling the character for given skills. Castles, dungeons or underground cities located on a seemingly huge map of the world. The mirages of adversity we’ve struggled with in Soulsborne from the beginning. In each boss – optional or fictional, we can see a part of the old battles. Reproduction, or rather routine, has always been a part of From Software’s work. Ever since the gates to Boletaria opened, we’ve been dying to rise, break through hordes of exactly the same enemies, and fall prey to the boss. And so to victory, to be caught in the snares of routine again. The case of Miyazaki’s games is interesting because this feature takes on a completely different meaning.
It develops a bit of persistence in the recipient and tempts with exploration. Stories that are incomplete at first glance, which only gain in importance while wandering through successive chambers, courtyards and ambiguous conversations. And so the whole Elden Ring – in a word, nothing that we would not know anymore. The question is whether this is any kind of derision on the honor of From Software? It begins traditionally. The fall of the rulers, a fraternal quarrel over the rights to the Elder throne, an enchanted queen and a broken world. An opening worthy of all previous studio achievements. You build your Zmatowień by choosing one of ten classes. Due to being a great traditionalist, it breathed me into knightly battles. I have been doing this since Demon’s Souls. I already knew everything well, the construct of the world surrounded by a glow of grace’s light and a great golden tree in the distance. I lost the clash with the overcoked boss, I moved to the proper game. The wind-blown Pogrobno region is stuffed with ruins and mysterious figures every few kilometers. One ray as a navigator, the rest is taken over by our cognitive intentions.
The Elden Ring effectively reminds us of its origins. The first teasers of the game appear before my eyes, which talked about the end of the Souls series as such. The Lands Inbetween is the land of all souls. However, anyone who thinks that if he has already played one game of the cycle – knows them all, is wrong. Even after completing the Elden Ring, I wouldn’t say that. This world calls in mind when you turn off your console. Hidetaka Miyazaki conducts some kind of therapy in our heads. How to make a person become addicted to routine immediately and not complain at the same time? Create a genre of challenging gameplay without forgiveness for mistakes and rewarding patience. To go into the uniqueness of the world and the minimalism of its history. This is a recipe for the perfect game. Though the Elden Ring is not perfect. And it won’t.
Fashion for dying
From Software has built an unprecedented trend. We suddenly craved some ruthlessly difficult games. The community has even spawned a kind of players who like souls-like only, as if not recognizing the rest of the titles. Too strict and restricted approach. According to some, the Elden Ring favors newcomers. Perhaps this is what overwhelms them with this world. The map is completely secret. To discover its fragment, we are looking for special monoliths. And the road can be capricious and can effectively deceive you. I also know cases where the player consciously does not use the help of the steed, Strugga. Citing the satisfaction resulting from the independent exploration of the Between Lands.
The creators themselves seem to understand it. Any castles or dungeons block Struga’s summons, which suggests faithfulness to tradition until death. Commercial interest proves that From Software has grown into a modern hardcore messiah. Funny because it does it against all odds. If any other company released a product in a similar technical condition to the Elden Ring, there would be no end to hate. A victory for concept, world design and gameplay beyond visual standards. The creators, however, did not hide a slight embarrassment when they saw the renovation of Demon’s Souls. Let us remember that this is a project of a completely different scale, locked in the strict frame of the genre. Playing with tendencies embarrassed many players.
The Elden Ring has everything it deserves. From mechanics to world design. Nothing is foreign or redundant here. Recycling could not be avoided. It’s the curse of the open worlds, no matter how successful the game is. The flexibility of the scenario allows you to visit the location in any order. There is no unambiguous direction of the road, no specific marker being the only destination. You will go up the hill on your own, deciding the fate of the land. You dedicate yourself to looting dungeons or acquiring Runes. The light only guides you, I don’t pull your hand. The awareness of numerous failures and uprisings will not give way to you for a moment, but you know how addictive it is in Miyazaki. Especially after completing the story. Will the adopted form stay with From Software forever? The fathers of the species led him out into the open world themselves. And there will be no better land this year. To read in three years, when Miyazaki undertakes another mass therapy of players’ minds.
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