Elden Ring is an action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.

The game was released to the public on February 25, 2022, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Elden Ring has been one of the most anticipated games since its announcement in 2019, and fans jumped onto this game as soon as they could.

Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S 

Release Date: 25 February 2022

Genre: RPG/Action

Storyline

Elden Ring takes place in the world of The Lands Between, which is a realm between the world of the living and the world of the dead. The Lands Between is ruled by the Elden Ring, which is a source of immense power. However, the Elden Ring has been shattered, and the fragments have been scattered throughout the world. The player takes on the role of the Tarnished, a person who has been exiled from society for their sins. The Tarnished is tasked with reuniting the fragments of the Elden Ring and restoring its power.

One awesome thing about this game’s storyline is that you will rarely be able to predict what is going to happen next, as you could probably easily do in a lot of other games nowadays. You’d follow a river and may expect to find some sort of crafting material but you end up finding a dungeon filled with enemies and traps. A lot of the time you’ll also be rewarded for your curiosity and exploration nature, you’re reward could come in the form of a new weapon, a new Ash of War, a valuable consumable, a new creature for you to summon, a new spell or a new NPC that you’ll be able to talk to. 

Gameplay

Elden Ring is a game that focuses heavily on exploration, combat, and storytelling. The game features an open-world environment that is larger than any of FromSoftware’s previous games. The player can explore the world freely, and there are no loading screens between areas.

The game’s combat system is similar to FromSoftware’s previous games, such as Dark Souls and Bloodborne. The player can use a variety of weapons, including swords, bows, and magic, to defeat enemies. The game also features a horse that the player can ride to explore the world more quickly.

The game’s bosses are a major part of the gameplay, and FromSoftware has promised that Elden Ring will feature the largest number of bosses in any of their games. Each boss has its own unique abilities and weaknesses, and the player must learn how to defeat them to progress through the game.

The Open World Elements

Where this game really tends to shine is when it comes to the exploration of castles, dungeons, catacombs and a lot of other enclosed areas as well. If you are familiar with the Dark Souls game and have played it then you’ll notice that Elden Ring gives a similar feeling to that game in these areas, as the game challenges you to find every single hidden path there is to find, whilst still being able to keep everything around you constrained. 

When you emerge from these areas, out into the open world, you’ll get the feeling that this environment isn’t as polished as what you had just experienced. You might also come across mini-dungeons or overland areas that will actually require you to be a much higher level than other narrative counterparts that may be nearby. So, in this game you should definitely be ready to endure a lot of trial and error as well as some needless deaths here and there. 

The main form of transportation that you will have whilst you are exploring this world is by horseback, which has its own ups and downs. Your steed, whose name is Torrent, is summonable, moves quickly and can double jump. These abilities that your steed has then allows you to venture off to places where you normally wouldn’t have been able to get to, but then the question of ‘whether or not you were actually supposed to go there’ becomes a problem. Combat, whilst mounted, is also quite a chaotic experience as you’ll be able to use a combat style of more hit-and-run attacks rather than actually fine tuning your combat method. 

Some of the dungeons that this game has hidden in it are extremely challenging to find and a lot of players probably won’t be able to find them without watching a walkthrough tutorial. 

Soundtrack

The game’s soundtrack is composed by Yuka Kitamura, who also composed the soundtracks for FromSoftware’s previous games. The soundtrack features a mix of orchestral and electronic music, and it perfectly captures the game’s haunting atmosphere and enhances the overall gaming experience that you have when you are in this game’s world.

Conclusion

Elden Ring has been one of the most anticipated games since its announcement and has even won awards, such as the Most Anticipated Game award at The Game Awards in 2021. The game’s open-world environment, stunning graphics, and haunting art style make it a must-play for fans of FromSoftware’s previous games. The game’s combat system and bosses are also a major improvement over their previous games, and the multiplayer mode adds even more replayability to the game. So, do you think that is enough to convince you to go out and purchase this game for yourself?