Elden Ringwas recently released on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation and is the latest entry in FromSoftware’s so-called “soulsborne” series, which includes critically-acclaimed titles likeDark Souls,Bloodborne,and Game of the Year-winnerSekiro: Shadows Die Twice.Impressively, FromSoftware has found more ways to dazzle critics than ever before, exemplified by the game’s whopping97 Metascore on PlayStation 5.
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The praise and attention thatElden Ringhas been getting has unsurprisingly turned a lot of heads, and many people are now considering diving into thepunishing world of soulsborne gamesfor the first time. For such people, or perhaps veteranSoulsplayers who are unsure whether to purchase the game or not, we’ve outlined some ofElden Ring’s pros and cons to help with that decision.
7Loved: The Open World
The most notable change to the soulsborne formula introduced inElden Ringis the addition of an open world. FromSoftware certainly didn’t ease their way into the open-world genre, as they implemented an enormous, diverse map that is meticulously designed with things to do and enemies to kill around every corner.
The open world is also a great addition to the soulsborneformula, as the vast range of areas to visit at any one time lets players move on fromtough bosses. This ensures that players never get stuck on one fight, and can come back to it later at a higher level.
6Loved: The Art Design
One of the many features that people love about the soulsborne games is the sense of adventure. This is led by the series' wonderful art design, which tantalizes players into fully exploring areas and progressing through the story to see what’s next.
Elden Ringfeatures the best art design in the series yet, thanks to its incredible range of intricately designed open spaces, castles, and caves that feature a great blend of low andhigh fantasy.
5Didn’t Love: Technical Issues
Unfortunately,Elden Ring’s launch has been hampered by some technical issues. The issues aren’t game-breaking for most people and don’t come close to disastrous launches likeCyberpunk 2077, but any technical issues are too many.
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The game’s technical issues are predominantly on PC, where many players are reporting frame rate stuttering. The issues are expected to be fixed sooner rather than later, though it goes without saying that they should have been fixed before launch.
4Loved: The Enemy Variety
Impressively,Elden Ringpopulates almost all of its many biomes with numerous new enemy types. This ensures that the areas don’t just look different from one another but provide unique playing experiences too, as players are forced toadapt to new enemy attack patterns.
Considering how much effort FromSoftware clearly put intoElden Ring’s world design, it would have been easy for them to cut corners with the enemy design and simply re-use a selection of them throughout many areas – but instead, they supplemented the variety in areas with a near-equal variety in enemies. Although some bosses are repeated, there are more than enough unique encounters to ensure that the duplicates don’t feel cheap.
3Loved: The Build Variety
To compensate for the huge range of enemies and bosses that players must contend with inElden Ring, the game offers a wide range of classes to choose from and stats to level. That’s not all though, as there’s also a multitude of swords,bows, spells, talismans, ashes of war, and much, much more for players to utilize to give them an edge against the many enemies.
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Despite the wide variety of playstyles and weapons on offer, FromSoftware has ensured that they all feel balanced and enjoyable to use.
2Didn’t Love: The Animations and Graphics Fall Short of the Demon’s Souls Remake
Bluepoint Games’Demon’s Soulsremake was released in November 2020 and gave a fresh coat of paint to the game that kickstarted the soulsborne series back in 2009. The game far exceeded many people’s expectations, with a game that visually and technically surpassed every other soulsborne game by quite some distance. FromSoftware’s Hidetaka Miyazaki even said thatElden Ring’s “graphics-creation staff felt pressure more than anyone else” due to the remake.
Although, as mentioned before,Elden Ring’s art direction is incredible, it’s a shame that its graphics and visuals fall short of the 2020 release.
1Loved: The Level of Freedom
The sense of freedom, choice, and independence thatopen-world gamesprovide has been instrumental in the genre’s sharp rise in prominence over the last decade.
Elden RIngdoesn’t quite have as much freedom asThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which even lets the player take on the final boss as soon as the tutorial is finished – butElden Ringis only a few steps behind – as although there are a handful of mandatory bosses that gate portions of the map, players still have a huge range of directions to head in and bosses to fight at any one time.
Elden Ringis out now on PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
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