“Rise, Tarnished, and be guided by grace to brandish the power of the Elden Ring and become an Elden Lord in the Lands Between.”
The first line of “Elden Ring’s” description, found on the Steam, Xbox and Playstation stores perfectly sets the scene for the game.
Fans of FromSoftware games have been eagerly awaiting “Elden Ring’s” release, ever since it was initially announced at the 2019 E3 convention. “Elden Ring” came out for Xbox, Playstation and PC players on Feb. 25 and fans were eager to finally play the game.
The game can be purchased for $59.99, or the deluxe edition can be purchased for $79.99. The deluxe edition comes with a digital artbook and soundtrack.
“Elden Ring” has received nearly flawless ratings across the board, from reviewers to casual players. “Elden Ring” has definitely lived up to the hype created around it for the past three years.
As to be expected from any FromSoftware game, “Elden Ring” has its fair share of challenges and will by no means be an easy game to beat. FromSoftware is maintaining their reputation of producing difficult games, from their most popular titles like “Dark Souls,” “Bloodborne,” and “Sekiro.”
“Elden Ring” has now joined the lineup of memorable games from the studio and is their best title to date. From outstanding visuals, interesting gameplay mechanics and a powerful soundtrack, “Elden Ring” has almost everything you could ask for in a game.
Like many other FromSoftware games, “Elden Ring” accounts for a multitude of different playstyles. There are 10 starting classes, with a mix of different melee, magic, and ranged starting builds. Regardless of starting class, players are able to further customize their character as they figure out how they want to play the game.
Past FromSoftware games have had somewhat clear paths that players should follow, but “Elden Ring” is completely open-world. While the story does still suggest what way you should go to progress in the game, you can spend hours just exploring the area and encountering tons of optional dungeons, bosses and enemies.
“Elden Ring” has also introduced a mount to the game, making traversing the vast open-world environment much easier. In previous FromSoftware games, players had to cross the map on foot, but “Elden Ring” gives you a horse-like creature named Torrent to accompany you on your journeys.
In comparison to other FromSoftware games, progression and scaling also feels a bit slower paced. Players who fully explore the open-world will be rewarded with better upgrades and be better prepared to enter the required boss fights. “Elden Ring” encourages players to explore the environment, versus just rushing from boss to boss.
Another key feature to “Elden Ring,” is the multiplayer aspect. “Elden Ring’s” multiplayer functions similarly to “Dark Souls.” Players can briefly see phantoms of other players running through the area. You can also read messages left from other players, creating a sense of community within the game.
After beating a boss, you can often find messages from other players, celebrating finally beating the boss. You can also find funny messages throughout the map, or hints from other players to help you progress the game.
While you can beat “Elden Ring” single-handedly, the game encourages you to summon players from other worlds to join you for short periods of time in restricted areas of the map. Summoning other players will (hopefully) make beating bosses, dungeons and difficult enemies easier. When summoning another player as a cooperator, they will stay in your world until one of you dies or if you beat the boss.
Similar to the “Dark Souls” series, “Elden Ring” has a fairly cryptic story for the player to unveil as they progress through the game. It leaves many things vague and up to the player’s interpretation.
“Elden Ring” is definitely worth checking out, as long as you aren’t opposed to a challenge. From unique bosses, a gorgeous environment and a cryptic story, you won’t want to miss out on “Elden Ring.”