Elden Ring is without a doubt one of the most anticipated games today, especially for fans of the genre and fans of the original creators of this genre. As one of them (I won the first platinum trophy many years ago at Demon´s Souls on PS3), I was filled with almost sacred awe when the message “You were elected” landed in my email inbox regarding my registration for a closed “network test”. games.
Of course, at the same time, I was a little afraid of what would make the transition to a truly open world with the work of my favorite creators. Because by this time you have undoubtedly read a lot impressions and they saw many videos, I will share with you my key findings in a somewhat more structured format:
An uplifting atmosphere, reminiscent of Skyrim
It bothers me when I see how many people are degrading the brand new game From Software to a kind of derivative “Dark Souls 4”. I understand that, on a superficial view, there are many mechanical, thematic and aesthetic similarities. However, the Elden Ring is truly a brand new world, with its own history and characters. And if you have a sense of nuance, this fact must hit you as soon as you first get into the light of day in the game.
Elden Ring is truly a brand new world, with its own history and characters.
The Limgrave landscape is illuminated by the warm rays of the sun and the magical Erdtree tree. Roe deer or sheep roam the green meadows and forests, the light wind calmly flutters the white waves on the azure sea. This is accompanied by calm, almost meditative music, which even Jeremy Soule would not be ashamed of. This strikes me as a huge change from the depressing, dying, or fading, darkened worlds of the Dark Souls series.
Tough competition remake of Demon´s Souls
If you have experienced A remake of the original Souls game, which was given to us last year as a starting title for the new generation of the PlayStation console by experts on the revival of classic games from the American studio Bluepoint Games, then you know that they managed to erase the game in an incredible way in terms of graphics. Virtually every moment of the remake looks like a beautiful oil painting by a genius painter.
Virtually every moment of the remake looks like a beautiful oil painting.
Of course, this is difficult to follow for the original authors from the Japanese studio From Software, who always described themselves as medium-sized developers and their games did not try to compete with AAA blockbusters in terms of production values (such as character animations, etc.). Nevertheless, I think they have tackled this challenge with dignity, and I insist that the aesthetic qualities of a visual work are more valuable than the technical ones.
Breathtaking views
Thus, although the partial aspects of graphics processing may be relatively weaker than the set bar (this also applies to other production values, for example, the PS5 Elden Ring hardly uses the haptics of the DualSense driver yet), Elden Ring by no means looks bad. You also need to remember the presence of multiplayer and sometimes stunning surveillance when you look into the distance.
The Elden Ring doesn’t look bad at all.
In some places, the Demon´s Souls remake with its huge budget can be comfortably called by Elden Ring. These include standing by the walls of the giant Stormveil Castle or the view of wild storm clouds over the mausoleum on the cliffs. These specific locations will also take your breath away in the picture, but standing in front of them right in the game is an outright disarming experience.
A fundamental change in the system of progress
The vastness of the game world can scare some, as from the very beginning you are surrounded by numerous ruins or caves to explore on practically all sides, around your starting position. So now you get a map (it is drawn only by your discovery or acquisition of the object) and in addition, from time to time “places of grace” in the landscape there is a slight glare towards the main destination.
The vastness of the game world can scare some.
An even more fundamental novelty is the system by which you refill a limited number of medicinal bottles. While in older From Software games you had to return to checkpoints because of this, here energy is replenished for eliminating a group of enemies. In practice, the game pushes you constantly forward in the next survey, without worrying that you will get too far from the last refuge. New additional checkpoints in the form of statues also help.
Even more emphasis on physicality
It’s pretty hard to say how crucial the addition of the absolutely classic jump button is to the gaming experience of the From Software game (in the case of the PlayStation placed directly on the probably most exposed X button). Thanks to this, of course, it is much more a joy to overcome the wilderness in the vast world of play, which then takes on a whole new dimension thanks to your steed and its ability to double jump.
This makes it more enjoyable to overcome the wilderness in the vast world of play.
However, this new mobility will help you not only when exploring the landscape and climbing the highest mountains, but also during the fight. If you attack an opponent from a jump, you get a new type of attack on most weapons, which seems to cause extra damage to the opponent’s “attitude” (mechanics similar to the game Sekiro, but here without a visible pointer). You can, for example, skip the dragon’s attack on your horse.
Unseen, brand new monsters
One of the absolute best (and scariest) features of From Software games is the variety of monsters, where you will come across something brand new in practically every location, not only in the case of bosses, but also monsters. The authors also know humanoid enemies very well, but for me personally, it’s a much more interesting thing, at first glance, I have no idea what to expect from her for moves or attacks.
You will come across something brand new in practically every location.
I am happy to confirm that the Elden Ring will probably be full of such vermin. Already in this limited demonstration, I marveled at the globular tufts of tentacles of various sizes, overgrown carnivorous plants, strange levitating stone earthworms, and many others. The most effective type of fear is always the fear of the unknown, and this will obviously come to us here in a hilly, with an extra portion of underground labyrinths to explore.
The chaos of the open world versus the story
Not only did Corvus express in his comments some concern about the “systeminess and nonsense” of the open world in connection with the traditionally well-thought-out environmental design of From Software. Well, I wouldn’t be afraid of that – accidentally discovering unexpected things in the landscape works as a wonderful motivation or reward in cult story games like Zelda, The Sorcerer, Fallout or Elder Scrolls.
Accidentally discovering unexpected things in the landscape works as a wonderful motivation.
From Software never tried to explain literally everything in their games, they often just hinted at the context. From what I’ve been able to experience in a dozen hours in this demo (which I didn’t even have time to explore properly), the world of Lands Between looks as thoughtful as Boletaria or Lothric. I do not solve itinerant monsters (crabs, dragons), itinerant humanoids (robbers, giants) will certainly be adequately introduced in the lore game. And most importantly: key game locations (such as Stormveil Castle) are still designed in a classic style.
You can affect the difficulty
It seems funny to me how stupid part of the gaming public discusses whether From Software games should have difficulty settings. After all, they have it, it’s not just by switching in the game menu, but directly by the way you play the game. If it’s too heavy for you, take weapons at a distance (especially very powerful magic) and keep your opponents away from your body, it’s much easier than learning the rhythm of body-to-body combat. That’s exactly why I chose the character Enchanted Knight for my first steps in this new world, who has both essential survival aids – a shield for surviving enemy strikes at close range and a magic stick for throwing deadly magic at a distance.
If the game is too hard for you, take your weapons remotely.
Playing in cooperation with other players is an absolutely crucial difficulty modifier, especially if they are your friends and you also connect by voice. If you go to the boss in two or three and keep a sufficient distance from each other, he will never be able to turn around and chase all the players at once. And before you know it, you will develop such knowledge of controlling the game and its enemies that you dare to play even bolder.
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