Elden Ring Review

Now cometh the age of Stars

Tradition has been broken. I, who have taken it upon himself to never play a From Software game that is currently in fashion, have slipped my standards and delved into the world of their latest game: Elden Ring, merely a year after it's ascension. A phenomena of it's time and a touchstone of the genre, the sheer flurry of excitement around the release of Elden Ring, and the lack of decent market competitors at the time of it's release, equalled an increadibly successful performance for the game on it's opening few weeks, spiralling the once-niche style of game into the public eye. Which begs the question- did this game represent the absolute best that Souls has to offer for the public to feast on? Or was it a lukewarm endeavour not quite capturing the majesty of Souls and Miyazaki at his best? Who better to ask then a lunatic obsessive like me?

Dark Souls is one of those deeply important titles for me, one that I discovered far beyond it's heyday by a mere quirk of fate, and one which enraptured me with it's uniqueness. That grim, esoteric world of decay- revolutionary style of investigative narrative, deeply thematic world building, uncompromisingly punishing enemies, humbling set pieces, thrilling climaxes, legendary finale- there's some distilled and purified essence of epic adventure contained within the outwardly janky frame of the original Dark Souls; an essence hard to convey to others with just sitting them down and having them play it. Even when you don't engage with discovering the world and piecing together the narrative and trailing along the side quests and peeling back the mystery: still the modest and impressive impact of that world leaves it's mark on you. That is the power of a great Souls-like.

What makes the From Software games stand out for me, even in this deluge of genre competitors seeking to bring their own stance and creative twist on what they refined, is that unspeakable burst of swelling emotion that rises up when that towering monster looms over you, or when you loom over it's recently beaten corpse. That surging adrenaline from conquering the fantastical, bizarre and impressive; and feeling the weight of that accomplishment through the struggle of the kill- From Software never seem to miss with that special sauce. Even Dark Souls 2, with it's admittedly easier slate of bosses and penchant for reusing enemies, impresses with the scale and ambition of it's spectacle and world. And Sekiro, despite diverging far from the style and world of Dark Souls, was every bit a master of it's own tools and peculiarities as well. (And I've heard similarly good things about Bloodborne.)

Each new face of the genre that From Software unveiled wore proudly it's conceptual uniqueness in every aspect. Souls was epic medieval European dark fantasy, Sekiro was eastern Japanese fictionalised history with fast reaction-based combat. Bloodborne was Gothic and seeped in cosmic dread, rife with stories about transformation and forbidden undefinable elder gods. Elden Ring was less clear. On it's face I thought I sensed a tad more Slavic medieval inspiration but that wasn't the whole story. Actually, the game looked the most like another Dark Souls, which made it difficult to define what exactly it was about Elden Ring which justified it's distinction. Yes, it was open world. Yes, this world was defined with the help of George R.R. Martin; but what about the identity of Elden Ring? Why was that so hard to distinguish from it's peers?

On the tail end of my playthrough I can tell you exactly why. Because Elden Ring is a mixture of every single style of game that From Software has made in their past, from themes to visual styles to reoccurring story beats, bought together in a single celebratory swansong of an epic fantasy adventure. You'll find that spark of what you love and recognise whatever your flavour of Souls. That mystery of the unknowable Cosmic entitles who meddle in our affairs from beyond the known world is alive in the mysteries of the Glintstone Sorceries, the Carian Royal family and the various Outer Gods who's influence shapes many of the Elden Ring's cultures. The decaying and festering corpse of a world is alive in The Lands Between, we recognise that lavish medieval/gothic revivalism in the fantastical architecture, and in the ruins of the land we smell the burning embers of a world recently aflame. The game even features undead pawns of a distant god, this time called 'Tarnished' instead of just 'Undead'. And there's even hints of Sekiro in themes of corruption and giving into maddening power for the sake of perceived good or just perverse selfish gain. Rebirth and transformation dogs the Raya Lucaria plotlines, as they did in Bloodborne. And the fragile grip of recycled power, refusing to let the decrepit and broken pass on with dignity- borrowed from Dark Souls almost beat-for-beat in Queen Marika and her Golden Order.

So much of that rich majesty of those worlds is brought to contend in Elden Ring that honestly it isn't any wonder that Elden Ring needed to be an Open World in order to contain all of it. I've no idea how these distinct worlds and conflicting ideals would feasibly exist in a Souls-traditional world space. In many ways it's the scale of The Lands Between, with it's vast distinct regions, cultures and topographies, which brings this game together. And the sheer dedication of the team in treating that world with respect, filling it with believable wonder and naturalistic opportunity, which allows the lore the space it needed to breathe. I know there's a breed of player out there who scoffs at open worlds like these, lacking glowing objective markers and checklist boxes and enemy forts to clear, but the subtle mastery of design The Lands Between demonstrates is just so much more rewarding for those willing to engage with it.

There's something so naturally gratifying about discovering Golden Seeds dropped from minor glowing trees placed with precision for progression, exploration and natural believability that makes me smile to notice. The amount of effort that went into deciding how many instances of that important item should exist in each area, where to place them to be useful but not artificial and damaging to the world cohesion, and how to reward exploration without just shoving them at the end of winding caves; it's a care for the art that we just don't get to enjoy that often. Same for the Sacred Tears kept in the church ruins dotting the lands, or even the field-armaments you can find in caves or adorning roaming bosses. None of them are dropped in the world without justification and purpose, for all it's size Elden Ring refuses to pad itself with filler- it respects itself, and incidentally it's audience, far too much for that.

The question of 'how will a Souls game translate into an open world' was my most burning mystery in the many lead-up months to release. How would difficulty progression be handled, would the integrated narrative suffer and had the series simply given up on the interlinked map so neatly boasted by the original Dark Souls. What the team opted for was a hybrid world design split between the open field exploration dotted with contained cave dungeons, open field bosses, mysteries, puzzles and sweeping scale, whilst key narrative points, containing the Demi-god bosses around which the story is centred, are contained within more traditional horse-less sprawling hubs called 'Legacy Dungeons'- providing that experience we expect for this style of game.

Legacy Dungeons are almost like old school Zelda dungeons; themed around the region they're set in with unique environmental hazards and enemies and the odd puzzle here and there. They are, of course, also packed to the brim with secret mob items and illusionary walls and shortcuts leading back to Sites of Grace (this game's version of the Bonfire) you thought were long gone behind you. With the inclusion of a proper jump to the player's repertoire, however, the basic design philosophy behind these world spaces has really been revolutionised. What were before mostly linear trundles through maze like dungeons that had their off-shoots for extra loot and lore tid bits, but the core path was largely set in stone, has evolved into a multi-pathed exploration adventure rich with verticality, precarious ledges, secret rooftop shortcuts and sneaky side ladders through open windows. You'll still get some Dungeons that funnel you towards the same locations, but the vast majority of them provide the kind of freedom of approach you'd really expect from an immersive Sim, only with the various RPG-check-gates replaced with more to-the-point climbing and logistic conundrums.

And of course the sheer variety of the various regions of The Land Between warrant draw on that urge to explore and discover. From the scarlet-soaked skies of the ruined land of Caelid, turned over and raised by Scarlet Rot cursing the land with poisonous pustules, to the ice-swept hilltops of the Mountain of Giants with it's vast frozen lakes and the various dotted monolithic corpses of the slain and discarded Giant kin. And of course there are the classics we expect from Souls games, Caelid doubles as our putrid swamp with a particularly foul poison affliction, Miquella's Haling Tree is a match for the World Tree that once led to the Ashen lake, et cetera. And then there are lands which spark a whole new sort of wonder, like the time frozen ruins of Crumbling Farum Azula, seemingly cursed to forever be in the midst of being ripped apart by a raging tornado. And the sheer majesty of Leyndell, littered with corpses of dragons as it wraps around the heft of the sky-dominating Erdtree, it's a spectacle to rival even that of old Anor Londo, the Dark-Souls-era city of gothic sky scrapers itself. Elden Ring's world is gorgeous, diverse, intelligently built, rich in lore and seeped in the grand thrill of a spectacular epic.

But the world is only ever the backdrop, especially in a Souls game. At the end of the day the weight of the world falls on the performance of the gameplay and how it feels to traverse these lands, slay these bosses and embark on that incredible quest to become the Elden Lord. In this Elden Ring doesn't bring anything wholly new for Dark Souls veterans. Much as we all assumed when first seeing the gameplay, Elden Ring plays like a improved and updated Dark Souls driven to what is perhaps the utmost limits of it's creativity. Yet in the raw control scheme, attacks, dodges, weapon arts and invincibility frames-  the game plays near indistinguishably from Dark Souls 3. Which actually in itself makes it difficult for veterans to get to grips with the new jump button and it's genuine utility in certain bosses or against certain sweeping attacks. It's nowhere near as essential as Sekiro's equivalent, so it can be easy to forget about in the thick of a Legacy Dungeon's nasties.

What From Software did to really change up the static nature of the combat system was to introduce 'Ashes of War'; a way to discover new weapon arts and slot them into your current weapon as you see fit, allowing players to swap out the special attack of a favoured weapon to something better suiting their play style, essentially customising the way each weapon behaves. It's a really cool way to change up 'weapon rut' which Souls games typically get used to thanks to the amount of resource investment that needs to go into making new weapons useful- teasing just shy of a hundred Ashes with some genuinely powerful and situation changing Ashes sprinkled in there. Like one which summons a glittering long blade from the tip of your weapon to slice from afar with cutting magic damage, and another that summons a phalanx of glittering mage knives that disrupt the flow of an enemy just enough to land some free hits. Of course, this adds another reason for even martial focused builds to focus on managing their FP bar as they level up, cosying up to the Souls tradition of slowly making all level of stats somewhat essential to any class build. (Except 'Arcane'. It's difficult to justify 'Arcane' for anything other than meeting the Dragon Powers threshold.)

Unfortunately Ashes of War can only be swapped out on conventional weaponry, not for the various legendary and special armaments you'll find dropping from bosses or awarded for impressive quest resolutions. These weapons feature their own unique weapon arts that only work with those specific weapons, such as fired beams from heavy attacks and a sweeping leap-back swing for my favoured scimitar. Which means the lore loving fighter who loves to wield a piece of the world's history as their main weapon just won't get to engage in the Ashes of War system which is shame because it really is a clever way of providing gameplay variety previous titles could be lacking. Although these unique Weapon arts do tend to be impressive enough to be something you'd probably want to keep around anyway. I don't want my Moonlight Greatsword to not shoot ice beams afterall, do I?

Of course the Ashes of War and their weapon arts only feel so good to use because the Magic system of these Souls titles has been subtly overhauled to be more entertaining to divest into. Incantations and spells are more versatile and flashy this time around, and cast just quick enough to be actually competitive in proper in your face fights this time around. Ranged spells have been rained in for their distance coverage so you can't cheese bosses by sniping from the other side of a vast arena and most bosses have been designed with counters for stragglers so as to no longer make magic use the 'easy mode' of the Souls franchise. I speced for high Int in my build and I can happily report not a single instance of nearly one shot-ing a boss like what happened with the Lord of Storms in Dark Souls 3. (Of course, those that min-max can get those insane damage numbers they're looking for if they're dedicated.)

Another new tool to the belt of our combat repertoire comes from Spirit Ashes, a collectible item for calling forth AI controlled creatures and monsters from the world to fight for you. Of course, with the way that enemies can get steamrolled by multiple combatants there are some heavy restrictions on how and where they can be used. Only one can be summoned at a time, in summon locations. (Which are typically enclosed boss rooms) And spirits can't be summoned during multiplayer, co-operative or competitive. But barring those restrictions, these Spirit Ashes are another reason to scour the world for hidden caches of goodies as some of these Spirits bring huge boons to the toughest battles. Jellyfish that fire beams of small building damage whilst you keep bosses busy, tankier Ancestral followers who will do the distracting for you, and probably everyone's favourite Ash, the Mimic Tear which essentially clones the player and whatever powerful gear they're equipped with. (With the right set up, this is the easy mode that magic used to be.)

Torrent the horse is the new traversal option brought to us, to manage the giant swathes of land between the various world regions (that and the handy-dandy map-teleport option which rockets the franchise forth to the modern age. Thank god the Bonfire-only teleports are dead.) Torrent is entirely optional and whilst there are some large field bosses clearly designed to be fought with the faithful steed aiding you in agility and it's huge double jump, the beauty of Elden Ring, and indeed all From Software Souls games, is a near complete freedom in how you choose to approach any boss. I seriously challenge the sanity of anyone who chooses to fight an enemy like Decaying Ekzykes on foot, but the option is there to do so.

Speaking of, I suppose it's time we touched on the beating heart of the Souls genre- the bosses. Given it's scale it is perhaps only natural that we see a return of the repeating bosses that Sekiro suffered from, although thankfully the issue is nowhere near as pronounced as it was with that game. Large mini-bosses will pop up time and time again across your adventure, sometimes promoted to full boss with a health boost, and sometimes demoted to 'powerful sub enemy' in that way which drives home the progress of the player's strength and skill throughout their journey. The game distinctly lacks the abundance of throwaway bosses that characterise Dark Souls 2, however. Even the more innocuous mini-bosses can surprise you with some vastly improved new move or second phase when they come around again for the sequel bout, and one such returning boss in particular, Godskin Duo, has earned something of a reputation as a decently tough discount Ornstein and Smough. Which is both high praise and damning condemnation in that special love-hate relationship that all us Souls fans maintain with our most challenging foes. 

Of course, there are bosses and then there are Bosses; the climatic showdowns against important dignitaries of yore that carry the weight of their legend into battle. You know the difference immediately, from the moment you cross beyond the threshold and are thrown into a cutscene. Dramatic, foreboding, spectacular- the grandeur of these bouts are what last with Elden Ring players. The 'water cooler' moments they swap stories about with their friends. Set piece spectacles that, in a manner befitting a rising tide design, seem to grow in majesty the further you progress. And the fights themselves are suitably tough to match the presentation. Elden Ring pulls no punches throwing out it's first major boss as 'Margit, The Fell Omen', a boss who utilises the dreaded mixed-timing attack scheme which used to be reserved for late game tricksters when this genre was still fresh eyed and young. His punishment is swift to most players, a steel wall of skill they need to surmount in order to qualify for the true scope of the world. And he is only the beginning.

As I think back on the swathe of major game bosses I think honestly don't think it's recency bias which draws me to say Elden Ring has some of the biggest eye-popping spectacle when it comes to its boss lineup that From Software have ever delivered. With each of the Demigods alone boasting incredible second phase transformations that can be shocking or beautiful or just plain jaw-dropping. The Grafted hand of a dragon seemed impressive until you witness the Scarlet Aeonia blossom into a seraphim terror. And of course the accompanying orchestral grandeur of the soundtrack heightens these moments to brilliant effect. Not since the finale of Dark Souls 3 have I felt a game give me shivers of excitement from soundtrack alone as when I went up against Elden Ring's final encounter- that alone was a moment worth braving the entire campaign for.

One aspect of Elden Ring I found myself pleasantly surprised by was the quality of the character questlines, all miles more interesting and evolved than From Software have ever delivered before. Such content would hardly have even warranted a mention in previous reviews, but the level of effort that went into turning the journeys of all of the core cast into fully fleshed substories with various sub characters, interesting developments and even specific boss fights- made these stories standouts in their own right. Previously Character questlines felt more like chance encounters with largely disconnected folk who were ostensibly on the same journey as you but found themselves usually preoccupied by esoteric and meandering personal journeys that ended before you could really form any attachment. Did I really care about reuniting the Onion Knight and his daughter in Dark Souls 1? As much as I would about reuniting any father and daughter- the people themselves were irrelevant.

By making use of the open world nature of Elden Ring to develop fully fleshed out stories that intertwine with the main narrative but branch in their own satisfying directions, Elden Ring gives their side cast much more flesh on their bones allowing them to feel like real characters we can come to care about even in the disjointed way we interact within a Dark Souls world. Don't get me wrong, you won't become best friends with the wolf man, (as much as his fan girls may wish otherwise) but you may just learn enough to care about his fate and how you effect it. Even Melina, who's personal narrative is irrevocably tied to the core path, feels more entwined with the player simply for how her journey matches with your own. In the way that Dark Souls 3's Fire Keeper felt close to The Ashen One and Dark Souls 2's Emerald Herald really didn't. I really enjoyed these side quests and came away honestly saddened about the predictably sad fate that befalls these Tarnished locked on their collision course with one another by way of their shared destiny.

For the main quest Elden Ring employs that characteristically esoteric storytelling style where understanding the events of today is wrapped in deciphering the lore of yesteryear and reading item descriptions to do so. However this time around Elden Ring borrows from Sekiro to provide us some thankfully chatty and forthcoming NPCs who explain the bare basic of what you're actually trying to do clearly. (At least, much more clearly than "There's a bell somewhere high and somewhere low; good luck figuring out which direction they're in, moron!" Thank you, Dark Souls 1's Crestfallen Warrior) Many of the core bosses also announce themselves in their cutscene, grounding them more in the agency of the plot instead of just being mindless shadows of once great beings like they've been in the past. (Again, something that Sekiro largely pioneered.) That standard makes it stand out that much more than a certain core path boss doesn't have anything to say to you, and merely picks up his hammer and proceeds to beat you with it.

Although if there is one comment I feel I need to make, and I'm not sure if this even counts as a criticism if I'm being honest, the core god around which most of the worlds events revolve: (this game's 'Gwyn', if you will) 'Marika, The Eternal', is such a mystery it's honestly a little frustrating. Gwyn too only appeared at the very end of Dark Souls 1, but all of his desires and drives were written plainly in his actions and his legacy of the prolonged first flame in a manner that made it accessible to appreciate the weight of taking his charge. I can merely guess at why Marika sets in motion the events that she does, what she expects out of the coming of the Tarnished, what she even wants out of the world. She almost seems less like a character and more like an unknowable force of nature, which was perhaps the intention to set her apart. And if so then I have to concede, I don't think there's ever been another From Software centre of events figure quite like her.

Summary

Elden Ring feels like a culmination of all From Software's greatest hits throughout the years all collated into a vastly rich and deeply engrossing dark fantasy world that stands near-unparalleled in it's calibre. It's bones feels familiar from the moment you touch the controller, but the newer meat filling out the rest of game's body is substantive enough to keep the game feeling fresh and new, and the kind of gameplay variety that all but demands replay value. The epic adventure of the game reaches the kind of apex we've come to expect out of a top tier Souls-like masterpiece, but inflated to a scale that compares against any gaming fantasy world legend. This is what happens when a collaborative work of art is built with mastery from every angle. Illustrators, 3D artists, musicians, narrative designers, systems engineers and direction. Even the voice talent seemed to understand the notes they were meant to hit to create the style of game this needed to be. In many ways this feels like the plateau of this genre type, which few others will be able to even glance at let alone hope of reaching. It's easy to see that Elden Ring will be the standard to which dark fantasy adventure is judged for years to come. Of course, this game is coming with my heavy recommendation, even for franchise and Souls-like strangers this is a title that will welcome and punish you with as much vigour as the veterans. As for my arbitrary grade, well that's pretty easy as well. This game is a legend and a masterpiece, if it is to be topped it will only be From Software themselves redefining what this style of game even stands for. Which means that today, in the realm of Souls-likes, Elden Ring is a S grade game; truly a must-play game. Now go, fellow Tarnished, reclaim your lost grace and take your place, as Elden Lord!