Elden Ring

If you're reading this review, your first reaction may be: "WTF is this review so late?!". It's a fair criticism/question, and it was all I could do to not hold off even longer. 

You see, I'm nowhere near close to beating Elden Ring. I probably never will. This reviewer and the words here barely have scratched the surface of the notoriously difficult game over the course of 30-45 hours. 

What's astounding about Elden Ring however, is just how captivating and engaging it's been despite the fact I've arguably been going in circles that entire time. I'm also (mostly) new to developer FromSoftware's brand of gamer masochism-levels-of-difficulty. Little known fact is that I purchased Bloodborne back in the day and returned it within a 24 hour period because I couldn't make a dent in the first boss. Sekiro, I only got ~33% of the way through. I enjoy a certain level of difficulty - the excellent Jedi: Fallen Order comes to mind as a game that has good balance - but there's a certain point where a game feels designed for you to lose and I simply don't have that kind of time (or patience) for videogames.

So I was shocked, and delighted, that my out-on-a-limb purchase of Elden Ring wasn't in vain. It is, without a doubt the most accessible FromSoftware game to date. Not the easiest, but the most freeing with regards to how/when you approach certain areas and bosses. I can't iterate enough that if you're someone who's sitting on the sidelines on this one because it's "too hard", trust it from someone who was the same way, Elden Ring is tons of fun without being annoyingly punishing (most of the time). 

Rise ye Tarnished! To look at the Elder Tree!

"Have I told you of the time I took
a magic arrow to the chest?"

Elden Ring is unlike many other games I've played because there's hardly ever an obvious objective. You're dumped into an open world after a short tutorial and from there it's wherever you want to go. That's probably misleading to many gamers because it's not long until you encounter a horseback boss that will rock you right out of the gate. I imagine many a frustrated player have quit right then and there. What Elden Ring doesn't tell you (more on that misstep later) is that you can just go around the guy and have a largely normal difficulty experience for the first several hours of the game. In fact, I didn't come back to kill that original boss until 15 hours of gameplay in, if that gives you any idea of how not-ready players are for him. And there in lies the Most Important Rule of Elden Ring: if at first you don't succeed, go somewhere else. My rule was more along the lines of: "Let me try 3x and if I don't get close, I'm peacing out." It served me well and led me to find the most wondrous element of Elden Ring: the open world is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

More than probably any game this side of a Rockstar world, there are secrets galore to be found. There's incredible variety. Almost around every corner is something worth exploring. It's easily the best and most jaw-dropping element of Elden Ring. Even at 40+ hours of gameplay and a map that tells me I've "discovered" most of it, I'll still wander around, find a cave or a specific boss, and test my might. There's always this wondrous sense of discovery that keeps the game fresh and enticing. Couple that element with the fact the world is truly open, and you've got the perfect excuse to take a break on that boss that has killed you 7 times, and go somewhere else on the map, likely faring better. The map itself is gorgeous too, with awe-inspiring vistas, creepy swamps/caves/worlds, striking castles and architecture design, and much, much more. On PlayStation 5, it all loads quickly and looks fantastic. It won't be the prettiest game you've ever played, but it's enough to make you stop here and there and take a screenshot. 

"Eww David! What IS that?!?"

Almost equally impressive to the world/map variety is enemy variety and it's the next part of Elden Ring that's so captivting. You never quite know what enemy will be around a corner. Will it be a normal soldier? A caged ghoul with 4 arms? A massive knight in black armor? A literal clay pot that attacks you? Hands? A sorcerer with a ghoulish Greek mask? A floating jellyfish? A troll? There's very little limit to the imagination here and you'll likely die more than once just taking in an enemy's design. This isn't new news about FromSoftware, but I'll be damned if it's not worth mentioning for every single game they create.  

Combat itself is largely unchanged from previous FromSoftware games, for better or worse. This is no God of War, but instead a more methodical, focused combat. That's unsurprising, and there are a lot of different ways you can play the game. Beef up on magic and stick to mostly ranged combat...equip Ashes of War and spam their powerful moves...or just normal hack n' slash. Difficulty is created by harder enemies and/or if you're playing unfocused. BUT, I found it more forgiving than other games from this developer, much to my delight. My "Rule of 3x" served me well and there's been very little "grinding" needed to level up my character and not feeling like I'm stalling out. 

Leveling up is a compelling thing, especially early on, because you can see and feel the impact it has on your ability to handle situations right away. Once you add more health, strength, magic, and stamina, your character is tougher, able to carry more, able to cast more, and deal more damage. This also unlocks abilities to handle better weapons though honestly I found my highly-leveled Broadsword stuck with me for the majority of my game time. 

Jaw-dropping collection of various design styles. This Gothic castle was amazing to behold

Perhaps my biggest complaint with Elden Ring is that it explains almost nothing to you. I can hear the fanboys screaming now: "Jesus man, just git g00d. Look it up online!" And that's often what I did. But I was always perturbed I had to look something up online. Strategies for beating a section or boss are one thing, but learning what a simple item does, or how to increase your flask count, or what something on the map means is obnoxious. Perhaps these are all in the game's digital pamphlet on the "pause" menu (I use "pause" VERY loosely there), but realistically these should be tutorials or very obvious how-tos in the cumbersome, not super-friendly UI menus. 

When referring to other things there's a lack of, there's the story. Somehow, I didn't mind much. This is largely because Elden Ring is so compelling from a lore perspective that you begin to piece some things together along the way and the rest you just chalk up to "I'm trapped in this weird world". I do wish there was a little bit more to go off of (or even some cutscenes when interacting with specific characters for the first time), but I learned to accept the obscurity and ambiguousness. 

Rise ye Tarnished! To SPACE!!

I may not be anywhere close to finishing it and I'm not even sure I know how many more hours I'll put into it, but Elden Ring is something of a marvel. It deserves all the hype and praise it got not only because it's an incredible open world game, but also because FromSoftware solved one of their biggest issues around accessibility without sacrificing the core of the game and what they're known for. There aren't many sequels of theirs I would envision buying, but an Elden Ring 2 is now a Day 1 purchase in my book. 

CONS

• Some gameplay elements need work. I specifically found the lock-on to be the literal death of me more times than was acceptable
• I'm sorry (not really), but the whole "no pausing" thing is so dumb. We have lives. Sometimes my wife needs me, or the dog, or nature calls. I shouldn't have to go find a random bush to hide in to be safe
• Lack of explanation for things that are integral to gameplay. It's annoying having to go online to see what every little thing does
• Menu UI was acceptable but not all that fluid

PROS

• An open world that keeps on giving. It's rich with things to find and do and "stumble" into, leading into play sessions that delightfully have no direction, but tons of excitement
• The world looks gorgeous too, with lots of variety and unique visuals
• Enemy variety is equally compelling and exciting (and terrifying). You're always wondering when you might find some new foe, how they'll fight, and how powerful they'll be compared to you
• FromSoftware's most accessible title to date - I should know - without relinquishing any of the things that have made them special. If you're able to swallow your pride and move on/around foes too powerful, you'll find the game has a lot to offer
• Scratches that itch of leveling up, finding new armor, trying new weaponry, and finding resources to upgrade said armor/weapons
• Gameplay is concentrated and (mostly) fair. Basic on the surface, but rich with re-playability
• The story - or lack there of - is just enough to keep you invested in the lore without worrying about specific objectives or levels
• It should not be undersold how marvelous it is that Elden Ring finally nails the perfect balance of crushing difficulty and an addictive open world on a silver platter for all gamers, not just those of us with the most time on our hands

Rath's Review Score | 9.5/10

Enjoy some other screenshots from my experience!