Elden Ring is perhaps one of the most remarkable games to be released this year. Though ultra-modern in terms of its execution, Elden Ring is at heart an old-style game, and boy does it work. It has extremely deep world-building and lore, a simple premise (seek the shards of the Elden Ring, and become the next Elden Lord), and utterly compelling gameplay that makes up almost all of the game’s 100+ hour playtime (and that’s just on the first run-through). There’s minimal dialogue and, if you don’t count the short cinematics at the start and end of the game and the 30 second introductions to most bosses, no cutscenes. All of this is, of course, just a long-winded way of saying that Elden Ring is a game, and it’s not trying to be anything else. It’s not trying to be a deep exploration about the human condition; it’s not trying to peddle the latest political fad; nor is it trying to be – as so many AAA games now are – a 2nd rate movie with half-an-hour’s worth of plot stretched to cover 60 hours of activity. It’s a game, pure a simple, and it’s brilliant.
Having picked their starting class (everything from tank, to spell-caster, to blank-slate), players are quickly turned loose into one of the most remarkable game worlds ever made: The Lands Between. While the locations of Dark Souls (to which Elden Ring can fairly be called a spiritual successor) feel like a nightmarish journey through surreal, hellish landscapes, The Lands Between ticks every box on the fantasy-world checklist. Lush green plains give way to crystal studded lakes and sunken cities. Vast gothic structures sit atop imposing cliffs, ringed with lakes of fire. There are icy tundras, fetid swamps, and arid deserts. Not to mention underground cities, invisible wizard’s towers, hidden dungeons, and dragons galore. And towering above it all: the huge, golden-leafed Erdtree. It looks stunning, and is just the sort of world any adventurer would want to explore.
And explore players will, as exploration is actively encouraged and rewarded. If an area catches your eye, then you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be some treasure or secret just waiting for you to discover it. This is a world that actively rewards you for staying engaged. Sure, you could simply hop onto that elevator and ride it to the bottom, not bothering to look around, but chances are you’ll miss that hidden landing behind you. Also, there is little or no ‘set-dressing’: if you can see a location, no matter how far off in the distance it is, you can get there. Oh, and if an area suddenly terminates in a dead-end that looks like it should be important, try hitting the wall a few (or 50) times. It may just be a secret path.
This push to encourage players to explore runs deep in the game’s design. First off, the inclusion of Torrent, a ‘spirit horse’, means that players can run away from most encounters that they’re not yet ready for. Also, there are no quest markers and no journal. Of the multiple endings available, while some are the result of following a distinct ‘quest’ (which you have to track yourself or turn to the internet for help – this game gives nothing away), most of the endings will become available simply through exploration. (On that note, whenever you’re given the chance to talk to someone, make sure you keep trying to talk to them until they start repeating dialogue – otherwise you’ll miss both items and quests).
But what does Elden Ring offer players beyond the delight (and occasional terror) of exploring its vast world? Primarily, a delicious blend of tension and release, of frustration, determination, elation and self-satisfaction like only a Dark Souls game can deliver. Unlike other games where players get points and level up, Elden Ring uses the tried and true formula of the Dark Souls games: killing foes grants XP (or runes, in this case) which can be used at ‘Sites of Grace’ to increase your character’s level (another tip: definitely level up your vigour to around 40). However, if the player dies before they’ve managed to reach a Site of Grace, all runes are dropped where the player fell. If the player manages to get to them before being killed again, they can recover their lost runes. If they die before that, however, all the runes are permanently lost.
This means that the better you’re doing, the more you have to lose. Yes, it’s harsh, but without it, the game would lose a lot of its impact. The first time a troll literally jumps out at the player will have them madly running for their digital lives. Likewise, when a dragon comes tearing out of the sky, mouth open and bathing the ground in flames. Or when that slow moving, tentacled-blob which you think ‘oh yeah, I can walk past that’ suddenly launches itself at you with terrifying speed. It gives a very real sense of panic and excitement, which makes it all the more satisfying when you finally return and defeat whatever it was that terrorized you. (The hands! The hands!!!) There’s the thrill of jumping from ruin to ruin, knowing a single misstep will plunge your character into a pit of frenzied monsters, the elation of finally beating that boss which has pounded you into the ground 30 times over, and the delicious sense of revenge you have when you get your hands on a weapon or spell which means that (at least for a while) you truly do have the upper hand. Not to mention the thrill of hiding behind a rock while a dragon roasts it, dodging out of the way of a human-sized warhammer at the last minute, or pulling off a perfect parry which opens your foe up to a lethal riposte. In short, it’s an adrenaline-fiend’s dream.
Selling more than 12 million copies within 18 days of its release, Elden Ring has been a runaway success, and it’s easy to see why. Many large games (30+ hours) start to show cracks at around the 13 hour mark – some flaw in its design that slowly but surely becomes more and more irritating. The fact that Elden Ring can happily sustain over 100+ hours, with headroom for more (newgame+ which lets you keep all your weapons and levels) speaks volumes as to just how well designed and executed this game is. Elden Ring is not just the evolution of the Souls formula, it’s the pinnacle of it.■