I play various games every month, but I haven’t touched any other games since Elden Ring (PlayStation 4/PlayStation 5/Xbox One/Xbox Series X/PC) was released. I am playing.
Elden Ring, an action role-playing game released on February 25, is a hit with 12 million copies sold worldwide. Although an open-world game set in a vast field, it is a very difficult title, also known as a “game of death”.
The volume is also huge. According to the official introduction, it takes about 30 hours to clear the story, but the number of detour elements such as dungeons and NPC events is huge. I’ve actually played 200 hours in the first week, and I’m finally nearing the end (with a lot of activities left unattended).
Eldon Ring (Amazon)
Eldon Ring |
■ Lots of mechanics to make you want to explore
This work is developed by FromSoftware, but even the author who has played the company’s masterpieces such as “Dark Soul” and “Bloodborne” thinks that the response is quite impressive, and the difficulty is enough to retry many times. Also, the map is so vast that it can’t be compared to the Souls series, and I’m uneasy about whether it can be fully explored.
It’s a work like this, but there’s a mechanic that makes you want to explore, die without breaking your heart, and it’s addictive. For example, the early bosses “Tree Guardian” and “Abomination, Margit” have been occupied by SNS and the media and become hot topics, and low-level challenges will be killed in seconds. That’s why players explore the vast realm thinking “let’s run away from this guy, explore and level up.”
The author also challenged the “tree guardian” at the beginning of the game, and escaped because he couldn’t bear the fear of being killed by just being hit by an opponent. I challenged enemies and dungeons around me to level up and protect equipment. Xiaoyu’s enemies are also very strong, and it’s hard to fight back when he says “earn” (laughs).
There are various enemies on the vast map, not only dungeons hide equipment and events, so you should take a detour to level up, but it’s easy to forget the purpose of defeating the boss.
Finally, after 3-4 days of exploration, I came back to myself and challenged the tree guards to win. In the next game of “Margit”, I gave up a run, and when I felt like I had seen through the surrounding area, I tried again and beat it while getting bumped a few times. As such, I think the mechanics that make you want to search are unique to hard games, because the bosses are strong.
Also, most dungeons have blessings (Recovery & Fas and Travel Points) at the entrance, and most dungeons have a BOSS room in the front. However, the door to the boss room is closed and is opened by releasing the mechanism behind the dungeon.
Many role-playing games have bosses behind dungeons. If you can’t beat them, you can only go out and upgrade and try the dungeon again. However, in this work, once the gimmick is solved, even if you go out, you can quickly travel back and immediately re-fight with the BOSS, so you can explore and expand the map or challenge another dungeon at will. level when relaxed.
■ Map search is also stress-free
When exploring the vast map, the essential functions of the open world such as map, compass, map pin are firmly implemented. Plus, there’s a system that points you where you need to progress the story, so even if you’re done with a long detour, you’ll be able to return to the mainline immediately, so you can search without worry. What impressed me most was that I was able to get a horse right from the start and immediately ran free in a wide field.
New systems such as “Shield Counter” that receives the fighting side with a shield and decides the counter, “Fighting Action” that uses the counter, and “Ash” that summons a spirit body to fight together have been added, and the capture range has been expanded. In particular, “Ash” is Excellent props that can be tricked into and attacked by enemies in difficult places like boss battles, a great help for beginners.
On the other hand, many of the enemy’s attack actions have accumulated a lot of time, and it is difficult to grasp the timing, so it seems that the heavy roll before has become a bit unavoidable, and the enemy’s attack is played in time. Also, judging from this work, you can jump even without sprinting, and jump avoidance and air strikes may be the keys to capture, so even someone with experience in the Soul series like me can enjoy fresh combat. (This means that even experienced people will die many times…).
The author who thought “Fromm’s work is a parry!” tried to parry in the early stage and was defeated, but once he knew the strength of the defender’s counterattack, even if he had the same shield, he also had a strategy. (I ended up using Parry’s strategy after I got it in the middle of the game…).
■ Wide range of strategies, it’s fun to watch people play
This game has a wide range of builds, and you can go on an adventure with a variety of state fluctuations and equipment. In addition, except for special equipment, equipment can be replaced, you can customize weapons more freely than ever, and enjoy the fun of capturing.
That’s my theory, but I think you only feel the freedom of “Elden Ring” when you compare yourself to someone’s game. I’m in close combat with a swordsman with “technical” status, but my friend is a magic-only build mercilessly firing beams at a small fish. Also, when I searched for videos on YouTube, I used different tactics, and I couldn’t think of the same game, like Dragon Breath, piercing enemies with shields in both hands. All who do.
Interestingly, not only the build, but also the playstyle and capture order are different. I want to challenge the boss at the lowest level and win at the last minute, but my friend keeps leveling up and killing the boss instantly. Some video contributors ignored the first boss and beat the midfield boss.
It’s fun to watch them play the same game like this, but play it completely differently, as if there’s such a strategy, and I haven’t gotten through the first week. Still, it motivated me on a second build week like this. I admire the high degree of freedom in “Elden Ring” that makes it possible.
By the way, I’m playing with my friends on Discord’s server. There was almost no screen sharing, just the mysterious space where everyone was playing Elden Ring and talking about Elden Ring. At first, we shared information like “where is the difficulty” and “where are the weapons”, but gradually the story became out of sync as everyone’s build and capture orders were different. A friend of mine beat the boss he was fighting against in seconds (laughs).
Conversation isn’t involved, but it’s brave to play a game while connecting with a friend on the phone because the person on the other side of the screen is struggling just as much as you are. It is very reassuring to play while listening to the screams and cheerful voices of the other party, so it is recommended for those who are prone to heartbreak. However, when I want to concentrate, I relentlessly mute the speakers…
It can be seen that “Elden Ring” is a masterpiece with a very high degree of freedom and how many ways to enjoy it. It’s a tough game, no doubt, but when you break through, you get a sense of accomplishment. As mentioned above, there are a lot of mechanics that won’t break your heart, so I want as many as possible to challenge! But if you’re too fit, your life will fall apart like mine, so be careful.
Eldon Ring (Amazon)
