A game like Elden Ring certainly isn’t for everyone, but this Souls-like epic is evidence that with the right ingredients you can stir up the formula and produce the creme de la creme of action role-playing games – oh, and George R.R. Martin’s name attached might help too.
He is responsible for the creation of one of the biggest fantasy novels of all time, not to mention the hugely successful TV series, a video game like this is something we never expected from a novelist of this calibre.
George R.R. Martin’s work with A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones was his inauguration to stardom, but can his name alone entice players to Elden Ring? It shouldn’t have to.
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Regardless of the name, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware’s Elden Ring is a genre masterpiece in its own right.
Elden Ring is a first-of-its-kind, open-world, action-RPG.
All we’ve known from games in a similar vein – Dark Souls, Demon Souls, Bloodborne, Skiero, the list goes on – is a linear path to completion and hellish boss battles that sees frustration pour from the ears of players around the world.
While the rivers of frustration remain, it’s refreshing to see the Souls-like world shaken up a bit and hand players this newfound freedom – freedom in a game that refuses to feature an “easy mode”.
What is a Souls-like game?
It basically means that when the player dies, you have to start all over again.
While there’s a lot more to it than that, the premise remains.
The development team, FromSoftware, led by the game’s director Miyazaki Hidetaka (Dark Souls), has been working on Elden Ring for over four years.
It was announced back in 2019 for a 2021 release – unfortunately, like most games these days, it was delayed until February 25, 2022.
What was George R.R. Martin’s role in the game’s creation?
Martin essentially built the world of Elden Ring; the mythology, the lore.
Creators of the game have described Martin’s work on the game as an “epic poem”.
This is something that became more and more evident the deeper I delved into the game’s extravagant, open world.
It really is like a big, beautiful, horror-filled poem.
While I didn’t come across anything that highlighted or confirmed Martin’s involvement, it was just exciting knowing he played a part.
I’ll be honest, I’m not usually a fan of the souls-like genre of video games; the last one I played was Demon Souls, and that was a slog.
Before that, I played Bloodbourne, albeit for about 30 minutes before I gave up.
Yet there are a few things Elden Rings brings to the table, roundtable if you will, that set it apart from the rest.
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At the time of writing this review, I’ve played a bit of 20 hours of Elden Ring, 14 of those hours spent on my main character.
I went through the tutorial three times before I found the role that was right for me.
Stepping into the shoes of three different classes; Confessor, Samurai, and Astrologer.
I finally settled on the Astrologer: ranged magic is often considered easier so I thought I’d take whatever leg-up I could get.
Character customisation is extremely detailed, from the colours of your hair roots, the amount of chest hair your character has to individual eye colours and body proportions.
Once you’ve named and made your character you’ll enter the world of Elden Ring.
There’s no dramatic action-packed cutscene to gee you up, just a series of illustrations that paint a historical picture of the world and where it’s at from the time you begin playing.
Within 30 seconds of starting a new game, (minor spoilers) I was killed, although it was seemingly meant to happen, much like in other souls games.
The player is presented with an enormous challenge only to be struck down.
Enemies are tough, as is expected.
But it’s this challenge that drives the player forward.
It’s not just completing epic boss bass that gives you that sense of accomplishment, general enemy mobs offer rewards too.
Taking out a camp full of enemies is a great, easier way to chalk up runes (runes are used to level up your character).
Once that last solider is defeated and your flasks refill, allowing you to breathe again as you move on to the next area.
While more often than not there’ll only be some bodies to pillage when you’re done, on some occasions you’ll find some loot, whether it’s a piece of armour or a weapon, in a glowing chest.
Questing through the world is also a unique experience.
Elden Ring is dependent on your memory as there’s no quest log.
Often upon accepting a quest you’re on your own, on some occasions you’ll be given an item.
Those items sometimes have information attached to them as a reminder of where you’ll need to go.
But if in doubt, perhaps make a note of certain questlines as you go.
While exploring, you’re guided by a compass, and while it’s not the kind that tells you exactly where your next objective is, it’s a useful tool for locating your dropped ruins and finding waypoints.
Although you can skip through dialogue, it pays to listen carefully to what NPCs have to say.
I’d also recommend speaking to the same NPC more than once, new dialogue options can appear after two or three conversations.
Scattered throughout the world are various Sites of Grace, much like the campfire in previous Souls games, this is where you can rest, refill your flasks, and level up.
Upon resting, most enemies will respawn.
The Sites of Grace can also feature swirls of light that point the player in the direction of a quest or something special.
One new addition at Sites of Grace is the ability to change the time of day.
Different times of the day offer different enemy encounters.
Some quests also only allow you to proceed at certain hours.
The ability to ride around the lands on a mount is welcome beyond belief.
Sprinting through the lands, avoiding aggressive enemies, launching into the sky from a spirit spring – it’s exhilarating.
You can also fight on horseback should you choose to, it makes fighting oversized mini-bosses feel a bit more evenly matched.
On PlayStation 5 there are two graphical options; Prioritise Framefrate, which boosts the framerate to 60fps with an adjusting resolution, and Prioritise Resolution, which enables 4K resolution with a 30fps lock.
Both settings shine, even on high framerate settings, you’ll enjoy the stunning scenery and terrifying boss battles.
I experienced some minor graphical bugs, while prioritising the framerate I experienced world textures loading in front of me.
I also had a moment where the game’s server disconnected mid-boss fight, sending me back to the main menu.
But those things are easily forgiven.
It’s obvious Elden Ring doesn’t come without its frustrations, in fact, it’s just as frustrating as other games in the genre.
What Elden Ring presents differently is the plate of resentment comes with a big helping of beauty and marvel.
No, it’s not Skyrim and it’s nothing like Game of Thrones, but if you’ve always been uncertain about picking up a Souls game, or always wanted to give it a go but haven’t found the right one – this is your chance.
Elden Ring is an open-world marvel, an ode to games of the past, and a sign that souls games have an incredibly bright future.
Elden Ring scores 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Elden Ring is coming to PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S as well as PC on February 25.
9News was given early access to Elden Ring by Bandai Namco AU for the purpose of this review.
Source: 9NEWS
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