

You’re gated by the fact that some enemies you run into might be too strong for you to fight, but you can run away from those until you’re ready to face them. That’s the other big benefit of Elden Ring: Almost nothing has been gated off against you, like it has been in other FromSoftware games. If you’re in the midst of a dungeon crawl rather than out in the open world, some of these quality-of-life upgrades will go away, but you can always leave a dungeon or a boss fight and go explore more and keep on leveling up before you return to the challenge.

There are even miniature checkpoints between bonfires, thanks to little statues scattered around the world. Out in the open world, defeating enemies will regenerate some of your health, so you don’t have to go all the way back to a campfire to refuel. It’s easier to keep on top of your health bar, too. Elden Ring solves that problem immediately, giving the player fast travel and a horse to ride. If you want to visit the blacksmith to get your weapons fixed (and they will break, just like in Breath of the Wild), you’ve got to walk all the way there. There’s limited fast travel and no horse that you can ride in Dark Souls. The first Dark Souls feels like an open world, but certain areas are gated for story reasons, sometimes behind difficult bosses. There was a point in my life where I didn’t have that patience, but I do now, and reader, you might have it yourself.īut Elden Ring includes many mechanics that no previous FromSoftware game has had. Dark Souls is actually quite slow, methodical, and deliberate. I didn’t need to beef up my reaction time.
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But then, after learning how to meditate and experiencing significant depression during the pandemic, I returned to the first Dark Souls and was surprised. I knew they’d get hard later, so I assumed I wouldn’t enjoy them, and I quit. I tried out Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2, although I didn’t get very far in either one. I don’t know about you, reader, but that turned me off of these games for years. They instead have an association, fair or not, with a certain kind of elitist gamer who loves to gloat about the amount of punishment they’ve endured by playing these supposedly super-hard games. Is Elden Ring the next Skyrim or the next Breath of the Wild that you’ve been waiting for? Or is it going to frustrate the hell out of you and make you wish you hadn’t spent your money on it? I can tell you this much: Elden Ring bears a lot in common with those games, but it also has some undeniable FromSoftware elements that may turn you off.Īlthough FromSoftware games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne have sold plenty of copies, they definitely don’t have the same reputation that Breath of the Wild and Skyrim do. Review: Elden Ring is FromSoftware’s best, most approachable, and difficult game yet
