π’ FAUL TARNISHED! IN SEARCH... OF THE ELDEN RING! π’
Someone must extinguish mine flame! π₯
I did a review on Elden Ring almost 2 years ago upon its release. Recently I've been replaying it (yes, Baulder's Gate 3 and Starfield are out, and I'm over here playing Elden Ring π ) and absolutely loving it. I have a bunch more to talk about, so I think a second article on this masterpiece is warranted.
And it's also my page so I can do whatever I want. π
ThereforeβοΈ In this edition of Through the Lens π, we'll be taking a look at fromsoftware's rmagnum opus from 2022: Elden Ring, βοΈ
(and what a ring it is, this is gonna be another of those gush articles, just so you know)
Roll it! π½
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π· UP TOP πΆ
The soundtrack to this game is epic, mysterious, sad, and exhilarating. Everything and more for an open world as massive as Elden Ring's. It fits the tone perfectly, and I highly encourage you to check it out if you haven't. You could even, get this, listen to it while reading this article. π± Scandalous I know.
Elden Ring was played by your boy on release. It took away about a week of my life until I completed it. And it took away another week about a week ago upon my second completion. It is an amazing game, and in my opinion fromsoft's best, and In this piece I hope to elaborate as to why that's the case. π
It is my first souls-like / fromsoft game. And seeing as how it is the most noob friendly, and inviting fromsoft game, it's a perfect place to start off your soulsborne journey. Let's get into the nitty-gritty as to why that's the case, shall we?
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π· THE BONES πΆ
My personal favorite author, George R R Martin, created the lore bible for this fantastic game. What's a lore bible? An astute question fellow reader. It is basically the bones of the game, the bedrock upon which everything else is built. And this specific bedrock is sturdy and most effective.
The story here is the most approachable in fromsoft history. Yes, if you want to get to the real meat of things you will have to dive deep into youtube videos and item descriptions. But seeing how obtuse the other fromsoft stories are, this might as well be Lord of the Rings by comparison. There are NPCs, there are quests, and there is actual dialogue longer than two sentences. Truly, this is the most in-your-face story fromsoft has ever made. π―
The world is brimming with attention and life. It is unique and interesting. The characters and bosses that you meet along the way are varied grotesque and beautiful. This is a sorrowful world at its core. It tells a tale of hardship, but also, light. Themes ever-present in both Miyazaki's (fromsoft's head honcho) and George's works.
Dialogue, music, sound effects, art direction - the list of excellence is long and well-written. Even the most staunch Elden Ring critics can't say a word about the game's presentation. And yes, there are things to be critical of. But this is not it.
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π· HOW OPEN IS TOO OPEN πΆ
Elden Ring takes great inspiration from Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Especially in its open-world design. Gone are the countless map markers and exclamation points on your compass. It's just you, your trusty steed Torrent, and the unknown. It is fitting that the world is called The Lands Between.
There are many hand-crafted areas as well, reminiscent of older Dark Souls levels. many have said that if you take all the big dungeons in this game and stitch them together you will get Dark Souls 4. And you very well might. But what about the lesser dungeons? The smaller dungeons?
Here is where the game's biggest shortcoming lies - a lot of content is recycled and repeated. Can you achieve a game of this magnitude without said repetition? Right now with our current resources, I'd say... no? It's hard to tell. I think necessary sacrifices were made for the betterment of the game. But some repetitions are just asinine.
For instance finding an outer world demon that has destroyed an ancient civilization twice. Once where it has annihilated said civilization, and once more in a random snow cave.
The open world itself however is the best in the genre. I have never experienced anything like it in my 25-year gaming experience. It truly gives you this sense of freedom that no other game grants. Where everything you see is explorable and reachable. A lot of games boast as such, but few can pull it off with the scope and precision that Elden Ring can and has.
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π· FROMSOFTWARE πΆ
This is still a fromsoft game through and through. The systems, how the character moves, the inventory, it is all very Dark Souls. To its detriment in my opinion. Like the item-swapping system is very dated at this point. I mean it's the same as Deamon Souls which came out in 2009... And the stats system and allocation are the same as Dark Souls.
But if you can bear with that, and it's not much to bear really, then you will be aptly rewarded. Once you understand the underlying mechanics of the game, you are free to experience the great content therein. It's a little hump that you have to jump, yes. But well worth it in order to play the greatest open-world game of all time.
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π· LEGACY πΆ
For one thing, it's the best fromsoft game yet. It might not be your favorite, because fromsoft is that good. And it is not without its faults and flaws. But frankly, no product in the history of mankind is perfect. So why should a 200+ hour open-world action adventure RPG be any different? π
Regardless of what you think of its eccentricities, it is a marvelous game. And I think it will be remembered fondly for decades to come. Its art direction is timeless, and its design is built after decades of experimentation. It is honed to a knife's edge, and as such sold more copies in its first month than all the Dark Souls games have in their lifetime. Yes, that crazy.
If you've never played it then I'd recommend you understand what you would be getting yourself into. It is the most approachable fromsoft game, yes, but it is still a difficult game. It has some jank in places as well. There are hurdles to avoid, for sure, but compared to the destination they're nothing.
Shout-out to the πPIZZAπ gang, π€ gang. π€
Playing Starfield made me appreciate Elden Ring so much more. Not that Starfield is a bad game, mind you. It's just not really an open-world RPG like we're used to. I cannot wait to see how fromsoft iterates on Elden Ring's design for their next project. There were plenty of lessons to be learned from Elden Ring, so I am chopping at the bits to see what they come up with next.
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I hope you are having an amazing start to your week! π
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