New World

Elden Ring in Test: FromSoftwares Magnum Opus

by Wes D

The connection from Open World and classic souls-leveldesign makes elden ring for the best game of the Japanese.

Elden Ring is a true exception. It does not happen so often that a game also meets all the expectations that you have made. But that you expect a masterpiece and that’s exactly what you get, is really a rarity that may occur every few years. Yes, we take the mouth pretty full, but that’s justified. Elden Ring is one of the best video games that we’ve ever played – and that without playing to be playfully innovative or to offer such a rousing story as a Red Dead Redemption 2. In addition, it is far from being impressive in terms of technical terms. But it also shows that there is no top graphic to be nice and to be amazed again and again.

The plot is not important

Often enough, developer from Software has emphasized that Elden Ring will be more accessible than the souls games, Bloodborne and just as Sekiro: Shadows the Twice. That has and can be honestly only related to the gameplay. On story level, Elden Ring is a fromSoftware title through and through. At Sekiro, one last tried to a more classical narrative, this time you return to indirect storytelling. In Elden Ring, it is not the plot that should shaple you, but the background story, the rich lore. Now you can not find hundreds like in a Skyrim, some quite long books. Instead, FROM software distributes the infants on item descriptions, some cryptic NPC monologues and the environments (keyword Environmental Storytelling).

The actual plot of Elden Ring is extremely simple: you are a stained, an expelled, who comes to the intermediate country to get the splinters of the name-based artifact, to assemble it, and so to become an eldenfürst. However, the fragments are in possession of the children of Queen Marika, quite powerful semi-gods who have little interest to achieve your goal. So you pay a visit after another, it extends down and in the end the throne waiting for you.

No, Elden Ring you really do not play because of his plot. The interesting narrative elements are those who do not serve the game on the silver tray that you have to develop yourself. Just consciously deal with the above-mentioned things and the info in mind, you recognize the contexts and finds out what it has with the individual children of Marikas. This track search makes a part of the fascination of the fromSoftware games. Thanks to the new open world that has given the developers so much more opportunities to hide interesting things in it, this aspect in Elden Ring is all the more exciting. Although the very open structure can also cause you to miss a lot, but you are badly advised if your Elden Ring plays without giving up your own discoverer and departing as often as possible from the main path.

A world that will definitely be explored…

The game releases you very early in the open world. The tutorial dungeon is pretty manageable and you once came to the outside world by whose door, you can pipes directly afterwards to follow the main action. The places of grace, the equivalent to the beacon in Dark Souls, have the direction with their “glitter dust” roughly the direction, but you are maternous to lead this track directly to their preliminary end. Finally, it is the first big “Legacy Dungeon”, quasi a complete “Dark Souls” level with everything that belongs to this: a halfway linear path, which offers always branches, at whose ends waiting, bosses, abbreviations To unlock and hidden secrets. You can do that, you get it immediately with the first right main story boss to do and for those small young heroes on steps 1 to 10 (your start stage depends on the chosen class) no more than an annoying one-time fly.

Especially if you do not have so much experience with the soulsborne games, you should first make a big bow around the first “Legacy Dungeon” and instead issue you at exploring tour in Limgrave’s starting area. That alone is already pretty big and yet only a fraction of the game world of Elden Ring. We would not have thought that the first open-world title of from Software would be so huge. You do not have afraid of long roads, especially not after screen ideas. On the one hand, there is a turbulent wind, your faithful and horned horse (not to be confused with the capital of people in World of Warcraft). In the Oberwelt you can call the huffier almost at any time at the push of a button and thus do not bridge wide distances fleet.

On the other hand, the places of grace are distributed generously in Elden Ring. Especially in the beginning you have the feeling to get past one every few meters. And you can almost at any time by speed trip to such a teleport. Only then if you are in the middle of a dungeon or is in a fight, that’s not possible. And unlike in Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3, you do not have to run only a place of grace to travel to another. Just call up the map, select one of the golden points and a load screen later you are at the desired location.

… and holds so much

However, we would advise you to ride storm winds as often as possible on the back of storm winds through the area and to use the fast trip to healthy. But that will probably make you anyway, because the Open World of Elden Ring understands it excellently to wake your curiosity, so you can not help but explore them. This “behind behind in the distance looks interesting from” torque is all naselang. On the other hand, she often casually stumbles over NPCs, dungeons or simply interesting looking, small scenes, where often an item is waiting for you. You’ll be curious then when you see two chairs on the beach and still sits a corpse. And then, Elden Ring manages and too, to surprise too. Once we opened a supposed treasure chest in an inconspicuous little dungeon, who is not more than a cellar full of rats,… No, we do not betray that better at this point. We do not want to spoil the, um, fun.

The big world of Elden Ring is impact filled with things to discover, leaving and loose and comes completely without any question marks on the map. Herrje, you even have to find the individual fragments of the map in the game world to get a concrete overview of the land mass. Practical: As in Breath of the Wild, you can mark places with different symbols. You have found a boss that you have not yet grown? Then just equipped with a skull icon and later returned to abundant levels and show the villains where the hammer hangs. Or the sword. Or whatever you used for a weapon.

Repetitions do not stay out

So great the game world is too, she has its prize: You realize Elden Ring that from Software is not an AAA developer with the budget of a Guerrilla Games or even Rockstar. Asset Recycling is your constant companion here. But stop! Before you now think that the Japanese just like Techland, in the case of Dying Light 2, have copied the exact interiors hundreds of paint into the game wine: We refer only to individual objects and graphics sets. An example would be about the catacombs in which you fight against a kind of mini-gargoyles (or something in style). Of those there are several and they all look the same in terms of coloring and architecture. But every single one of these dungeons then has his individual construction and a peculiarity. For example, a different form of potentially fatal trap awaits you in each of them.

It looks almost so as playing from Software here consciously with expectation: you should think that Dungeon B is as well as the previously attended Dungeon A, because the two damn look similar and the same opponent types live. But then the developers manage to surprise you. And so the asset recycling does not fall so much in the end. Someworthy, it is with the recycling of boss guns, which is also available. But then you think of how many different bosses there is a total of in the game and so this fauxpas is fast forgiven.

Every fight a pleasure

Where we are already on the subject of bosses, we come to the main component of Elden Ring and all other games of this kind: fighting. We can not tell any new connoisseurs of SoulSborne titles here. The battles make as much fun as ever. Whether you are the agile, who relies on escape roles and fast, but rather light attacks, or the classic knight in heavy armor hiding behind his shield, both makes enormously a lot of mood.

The fighting are continuously demanding, but always fair. This is because the enemies have clear readable attack patterns and the hitboxes are very accurate. If an opposing attack does not really meet you (and if only for hair width), then no hits will be registered. Here, FROM software has done a work again. In addition, the enormously satisfactory hit feedback comes. To miss a violent heavy stroke against the opposite, just feels well.

However, Elden Ring has not only inherited from Dark Souls and Bloodborne, but also Sekiro. You can actively sneak as well as jump. Who wants, so, like a true assassin by opposing camps, and turns off his adversary from the ambush. Of course, a stealth attack will not kill every enemy directly, but at least the standard fines that are on your level, you make the garaus so scratch.

Greatest possible freedom

This leads us to the topic of class choice and specialization. In contrast to Sekiro, Elden Ring is again a washfast action role-playing game in which it is not only active and becoming so stronger, but can also develop your character completely free. For which of the ten classes you decide to start at the beginning of the game, just as in older from software games determines only with which equipment you start the adventure on which stage you get in and which attributes have a starting bonus. But only because you decide you for a wizard, that does not mean that you can not concentrate on the melee with a large sword in the long term.

In general, the possibilities as you develop are enormously large in Elden Ring. There is a very wide selection of melee weapons, so you have a lot of options. If you want to focus on magic, that’s less than ever a problem. There are many spells in Elden Ring. Hybrid builds are also possible without any problems. And if you feel after several hours the feeling of having traversed you is no reason to start a new game directly. After all, you will receive the option to redistribute your attribute points and can even make it several times. So from Software calls you almost to experiment – great!

The progression in Elden Ring is therefore all the more enormous motivation factor. Every time you are looking forward to Bolle, if you have enough runes (says the new equivalent to the souls from Dark Souls) has collected to increase a level. In addition, you are constantly stumbling about new weapons, armor parts and spells, but often assuming attribute levels that you have not yet to show what stimulates you even more. The interplay of fun exploration and the everlasting thought of making progress and making his character stronger, works perfectly and unfolds a suction effect that does not offer many games in the extent.

The classic Souls experience is on board

How exactly is it about the topic of difficulty and accessibility? Well, let’s say it: Elden Ring is no easy game without any doubt. You will experience passages in which you will always bless the temporal bless, mainly in the small and big dungeons of the game. This is especially true for the above mentioned “legacy dungeons”, which are just classic “dark souls” levels. Just presuppose, from Software would have taken Sens fortress from Dark Souls 1 and built a huge Open World drum.

This just means that you would like to play longer in those dungeons after a death longer passages until you can eventually make it until the saving next place of grace or unlock an abbreviation. As a fan you are looking forward to the usual ingenious leveldesign on the one hand. However, if Elden Ring is your first game of this kind, the risk of frustration in the “Legacy Dungeon” is likely to be greatest for you.

The Open World prevents frustration and grind

Elden ring offers more than enough elements that help to avoid frustration. We have already mentioned a few, for example, the fast travel system and the generous distribution of the places of grace. You can even get from a “legacy dungeon” from fast travel. If you are in the middle of such and finds that the enemies there are still too strong, so the game does not stop the game of just traveling somewhere and first go upwards in the Oberwelt.

In general, the latter is a very important factor in Elden Ring. In the old games, it has been usually considered: if your BOSS XY does not get defeated, it does not continue for you due to the relatively linear structure, which is why her in well-known areas of souls. In Elden Ring you do not get to such points. Yes, if we talk about bosses that are part of the main story, you must (at least partially) down. But if you splash the butt once one time, you can always visit a place that you have not explored, the huge Open World thank you.

Only if your targeted objects want to farm, make it materials to enhance your weapons or resources for the new crafting system, which makes your useful consumables you visit well-known places. Otherwise, there is always something that you do not know and brings you the necessary runes to go upstairs and better for the next story boss fight.

In addition, there is still the multiplayer with the option to call up to two other players to help. On the other hand, you can use the support of ghosts in Elden Ring. You will receive a lot of magic in the game, with which you conjure such undead helpers. That does not work everywhere, but with boss fight but as good as always. The ghosts are then drawing the attention of the enemy and some of them make sharing properly harm. We are honest: we have often made use of them and they also simplified the fighting. This possibility of being able to reduce the degree of difficulty in individual moments themselves, without having to leave the game world, so to speak (ie as in other games calls the options menu to reduce the difficulty, which is of course not possible in ELDEN ring) is Great.

Beauty does not need Next-Gen technique

It was already clear in advance that the graphics from Elden Ring would not tear out trees. On the one hand, fromSoftware has never been known to deliver titles at the highest optical level. On the other hand, it clearly tells the Open-World game that it was developed primarily for the PS4 and Xbox One. Like a Next-Gen product, Elden Ring is not really out. But nevertheless, we thought about gambling: “Boah, that’s nice!” This is once again on the grandiose style design. In every area, so much attention to detail has flowed and the composition of architecture, flora and lighting mood is constantly hit into black. For something like that, it does not need a raytracing and Co. and then the sensational soundtrack is added, which perfectly accompanies every scene.

However, it is particularly disappointing due to the non-state-of-the-art technology that the performance of ELDEN ring leaves much to be desired. We played it on the PS5, where the choice consists of a graphics and performance mode. So nice Natives 4k too, we are reluctant to get 30 fps. Thus, a lot after a short try out our choice on the lower resolution performance mode and a target rate of 60 fps. However, they are not always achieved. In the Oberwelt, it is not uncommon that the brand is noticeably below. Elden Ring is never at the latest Sony console at any time to a refueling orgia, but is always well playable, which is why this leads to no dot deduction. Nevertheless, from Software should urge with patches for improvement, because it can not be that the much pretty horizon Forbidden West running with 60 fps continuously and not elden ring.

Conclusion

Criticizing Elden Rings Mankos is hardly anything other than whining at a high level. Yes, the asset recycling could have been easy to say, so it seems to be similarly negative as in Dying Light 2. But from Software has almost managed to make it even a strength in which you play with our expectations. This does not create every developer.

Ultimately, you just have to say that the strengths are clearly outweighing – and so great that we can not help us to put the masterpiece as Elden Ring. That from Software would succeed his first Open World game so well, we have already thought about the votes for the closed network test at the end of 2021. But that’s how it would be so huge, we did not expect. That makes it clear to an impressive work, which has earned his place in the video game balances among other large milestones like Skyrim, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Breath of the Wild.

Elden ring

Per

Usual strong combat system

Huge world worth exploring

Grandiose “Legacy Dungeons”

Enormously many weapons, armor and magic

Prospection motivates unemployed

Hard, but always fair fair

Accessible thanks to many freedoms

Open World prevents dead ends

Fantastic style design

TOP SOUNDTRACK

Puzzles of the Lore makes mood

Contra

Elden Ring | REVIEW | From Softwares Magnum Opus

Performance on PS5 not optimal

Noticeable asset recycling

5/5 stars

Buy Now Elden ring!