Finally! Finally, a game has come out that does not hold the player’s hand, but gives the opportunity to decide for himself what and where you will do. I was so tired of games that make you run from marker to marker that I was absolutely delighted with the open world of Elden Ring.
Open world
From Software’s new game reminded me of Zelda: Breath of The Wild. I think they have a very similar approach to creating an interesting world. Both here and there you are given only general instructions about what you should do, and then you and only you decide. You can go absolutely in any direction and everywhere you will still stumble upon something interesting – you can find some important item or start a side quest. .
The coolest thing about this approach is that even the main plot task does not directly show you the place where you should end up, but you must listen to instructions from the characters about what you will meet, and figure out for yourself where you need to go to complete the game. For me it’s just amazing!
Another similarity I noticed to Zelda is that both games have multiple open world dungeons that have the same design but offer different challenges of wits.
The open world is the only major innovation in Elden Ring compared to other From Sofware games. Gameplay, animations, mechanics copied almost verbatim from Dark Sousl 3. But I can’t say that this is a disadvantage. Frome in Solsy managed to invent some kind of magical gameplay formula that works from game to game, gives positive emotions and, it seems to me, will work for many more games in a row. So why change something that works great??
Personally, it was just hard for me https://roaring21casino.co.uk/login/ to tear myself away from Elden Ring. When I just started playing and came across an optional boss, I decided to try to fight him and quickly realized that he was not at my level yet. But I couldn’t stop. I understood that this fight was for me now, as a weakly leveled character, too difficult and it was better to go and level up and come back.
. but I just couldn’t leave. I just couldn’t and continued to fight with him for several hours in a row and eventually killed him. Moments like these, when you overcome a difficult challenge, give you unforgettable emotions. And Fromov’s games always have perfect balance and a polished formula that delights the player at such moments.
Now let’s move on to the disadvantages. And I want to say right away that although I will say a lot about them, this does not mean that because of them Elden Ring became a bad game for me. I just think that there are no perfect games, and you can’t miss things you didn’t like just because you think the game is good overall.
The biggest problem for me with Elden Ring in particular, and in From Software games in general, is the lack of a sane plot.
Don’t get me wrong, these games have a lot of lore! That is, the world of Dark Souls, BB, Elden Ring is very well thought out and, if desired, you can carefully study it by reading descriptions of objects and carefully listening to the characters and ultimately get a complete picture of what is happening in your head. Having done this, it even becomes clear what exactly the events took place in these games. I have no complaints about the lore in Elden Ring either.
There are also interesting side stories – in the world you can often meet characters who will begin their chain of quests. And often they tell an interesting story.
But when I play Fromov’s games, what I really miss is an interesting main plot, where some kind of hiccup would occur, it would continue with a series of interesting events, and then I would watch the climax with enthusiasm. Of all the From Software games, there was only something remotely similar to this in Sekiro. In Elden Ring there are some cutscenes, there are characters who sometimes tell a story, there are descriptions of objects from which something can also be learned, but these things should be an addition that reveals the plot, and not its only component. In Elden Ring, I often found myself thinking that I was playing a very complex fap game rather than a story-driven game! Since, during the passage of the same Elden Ring, dozens of hours passed, during which I did not receive new information, but simply beat enemies.
Separately, I want to say that I didn’t understand at all why George Martin was involved in the development. After all, Elden Ring is a copy of Dark Souls in absolutely everything. The game could easily be called Dark Souls 4. I saw absolutely nothing out of the ordinary for From Software.
What emerges from all this is that Elden Ring, to me, felt rehearsal. I was never interested in finding out what would happen next (there’s simply nothing to find out here), but I just cleared and explored the area, killed the boss and went to the next one.
It’s a pity that From Software don’t want to develop, but continue to copy the proven formula word for word, reusing assets, without even changing fonts, interface, animations and mechanics, but only bolting an open world onto it.
Yes, the formula still works and Elden Ring is fun to play, despite all that said! But it’s a shame that the Froms decided not to follow the path they started in Sekiro (they didn’t add a lot of new mechanics and try to put even more emphasis on the story), but simply made Dark Souls 4 in a new setting and with an open world.
What I want to say about Elden Ring in the end. For Sols fans, hardcore gaming fans, and those who enjoy free worlds, Elden Ring is a masterpiece, despite its flaws! These players will get exactly what they want and expect. They will receive a game that is ideal for their needs and will delight them!
But those people who love the plot and various mechanics in games may not be completely satisfied with Elden Ring. But even so, I’m sure this game will bring a lot of pleasure to everyone. It’s definitely worth it for everyone to play, suffer and overcome! At least try.