Elden Ring combines an open-world and Souls difficulty. Is it a success?

It’s crazy to think that the original Demon’s Souls for PlayStation 3 was released in 2009. A fun game in its own right, it set a precedent for From Software and wannabe developers that created the “hard but fair” Soulsborne/Soulslike sub-genre. I’ve experienced some hits and misses since Demon’s Souls. I won’t get into the misses. But, I will talk about a hit: Bloodborne. I absolutely loved Bloodborne. Perhaps too much. I say this because I feel like I’ve been unfairly comparing other games in the sub-genre to it. Inevitably, I did that to Elden Ring. Released in 2022 by From Software, Elden Ring has solidified itself in gaming culture. Calling it a success would be an understatement. This game was, and still is, a critically acclaimed paragon. But, would a gamer that doesn’t vibe with open-world games like myself feel the same way?

Elden Ring takes place in The Lands Between. The Lands Between was once blessed Marika, a maiden turned goddess tasked to watch over the massive world. During her tenure as a deity, Marika established the Golden Order. One of her higher officers, Godfrey, was banished from the Golden Order along with his followers: the Tarnished. You play as a Tarnished, a term used to describe a fallen warrior stripped of power. Unlike the rest of your kin, there’s a special something about you that allows you to resurrect from the dead. As such, you get to traverse The Lands Between and collect shards of the Elden Ring: an accumulation of powerful energy called Runes that shapes the foundations of the world’s reality. It’s hard to say what will happen once the Elden Ring is made whole again, but the Tarnished has risen and is up to the task.

Elden Ring returns gamers to a high fantasy world that’s more aligned with Dark Souls. Think Lord of the Rings, but massive. The lore and narrative behind Elden Ring is about as big as the game itself. But, that’s often to its detriment. Once again, this is a From Software title where players have to fill in a lot of the blanks or find a story guide. Nearly 70 hours in and I still had little idea why I was doing what I was doing, killing what I was killing, and talking to who I was talking to. Some people enjoy that type of storytelling. I don’t. I kind of expected it to shake out this way, so it’s neither a pro or a con. As usual, I would have preferred some “whys” behind what I was doing.

To call the world of Elden Ring massive is an understatement. This game takes the concept of an open-world and amplifies it. For me, this was another good and bad thing. As mentioned, I’m not a fan of open-world games. The last one I finished in recent memory was Ghost of Tsushima. I liked it, but traversing ancient Japan’s beautiful landscapes got tiring. The good thing about that game was that there was usually some indication of where to go. In Elden Ring, you’re dropped into one of the most beautiful worlds of all time and left to figure it out from the start. I asked some friends about what to do starting out and the reply was essentially the same: “Just go explore and walk around.” Now, in all fairness, I will say that the game’s version of Bonfires (Grace Points) have some small indicator of the direction to head. However, it’s still a very wide and spacious game with a lot of wandering. Their advice for starting out didn’t assuage me from feeling overwhelmed.

I rarely, if ever, gravitate towards games like this. I like structure. I like contained environments. I like some sense of openness and freedom without the fear of getting lost. In Bloodborne, I was always aware of what I had to do, but if I wanted to take a stroll off the regular path, I was not only rewarded but I was able to find my way back to where I needed to go. In Elden Ring, taking a different path leads you to endless discoveries. These discoveries could be items, resources, caves, castles, ruins, mines, and treasures. When it comes to the collectable discoveries, there was a downside: I had no use for more than 90 percent of them. That right there is emblematic of my issue with open-world games: tons of stuff that has zero use. Still, there was an undeniable thrill of excitement that comes with finding a new Grace Point, hidden cavern, or pathway. Whether by foot or by steed (Torrent is the best boy) discovery was a major aspect of Elden Ring’s gameplay.

So, if I didn’t vibe with the open-world, how about the Soulsborne gameplay? When the game starts, you’ll be treated to the usual amazingly in-depth character creation tools. There are a variety of classes to start with, but they ultimately don’t matter since you can use your Runes to level up your stats to your liking. (Later in the game, you’ll be able to use an item to completely re-spec your character.) You have the usual: a health bar, a magic bar, and a stamina bar. You have multiple weapons and armor. You have various tools for healing and attacking. There are flasks that can be modified to your liking that restore health, magic, and provide special effects. This is one aspect I appreciated because farming grasses (Demon’s Souls) or vials (Bloodborne) could get tedious. Knowing that I have an unlimited supply of healing was comforting. Over time, these can be improved with special items. One of the coolest features in Elden Ring is that the flask will be restored after killing groups of enemies. It’s a nifty reward, and gives incentive to make sure no enemy is left standing.

Most enemies and the majority of the bosses are aggressive. They are in-your-face and relentless. Many of them have a three to four hit combo. I played the game with a build that focused on magic, with a touch of dexterity so I could handle a weapon that looked cool. I threw in some bonuses for health and stamina as needed. Thus, my strategy was to stay away and cast spells until my enemies went down. In the instance an enemy closed the gap, I’d end mash the dodge button or try to finish them with a sword swing. The swath, range, and speed from most foes was intense. As of this writing, I still have no idea how gamers of any skill level would be able to play the game with a melee build. I was under the impression that starting the game with a magic user would be good for acclimating to the game. Instead, I found it necessary. Pelting enemies from afar with spells seemed like the only safe way to not get killed in one to two hits. Maybe with some more time and dedication I could have figured out a better way to go about combat, but that seemed like work. This was beyond the “git gud” strategy. This was like a lifestyle change. I’m good at appreciating that from afar. I can see why most fans of Elden Ring have sunk upwards of 300 hours into it. I just can’t do it when there are other games to play that are more my speed.

It’s worth noting that Elden Ring is one of the more forgiving From Software titles. Yes, dying causes you to lose all your Runes and it’s inevitable that you’ll die again before reclaiming them. However, there’s some stuff that helps with making the overall journey a bit more user-friendly along with the above mentioned flask restorations. Grace Points also serve as checkpoints. They are EVERYWHERE. So, it’s easy to run into them when you need them to rest and restore. Some boss areas even have special points called Shrines of Marika that let you avoid the walk of shame back to a boss’ chambers. There are summons that you can call into battle that help distract bosses. One of my favorites was Tiche; this girl was a BLESSING. We really made a dynamic duo. Enemy variety was through the roof. Environment variety was through the roof. Again, the game is HUGE. But in spite of all this, I found myself getting bored after my tried and true strategy of “death from afar/above” started to ware thin and I didn’t feel like reallocating my points to try new builds.

Before wrapping up, it’s worth noting that Elden Ring hads one of the best, varied soundtracks from a From Software title. Voice acting was as top-notch as expected. And it should go without saying, but this game was quite a sight to behold. The variety was astonishing. Despite my griping, I will look back on Elden Ring fondly. But, after getting one of the many endings, I had enough and see no reason to ever go back. Open worlds aren’t my thing. Period. No matter how polished and epic they are. I’m glad I’m able to say I’m one of many Elden Ring players. But, I’m not one of many Elden Ring fans. Unless you fancy both open worlds and the difficulty of Souls, you’re going to struggle to get into it.

Overall, 7/10: Put a ring on it if you know what you’re getting into. Elden Ring has massive size and scope coupled with classic Souls gameplay.