My First 30 Hours With Elden Ring

Elden Ring, probably my most anticipated game in recent memory, is finally upon us. And the game has delivered in spades. I mean seriously, this game is immense. 

Elden Ring is almost an amalgamation of all From Software's recent releases. It's got the bread and butter Dark Souls's combat formula and aesthetic. It utilizes certain stealth mechanics from Sekiro. And there's probably something from Bloodborne too but...uh...mumble mumble....And while George R.R, Martin did have some credit for the work on lore building and story, Elden Ring still uses the sparse breadcrumb tactic From Software loves so well. 

Not to say that story in Eldin Ring is a throwaway. In fact the lore is much easier to stomach and decipher than previous From Software game. The breadcrumb trail is a bit more...breadcrumb-y. But the overarching story is just a stable glue that holds your interest enough so that traversing the gargantuan land of this game feels rewarding all the time. It's nice to have a bit of background and story to help understand why you are fighting who you're fighting. Every item and NPC still get loads of lore, it just requires the player to piece it all together. Even ones who have nothing to give you have such interesting stories and background to them. I've only played very little of the game but I'm starting to understand just how alive the world really is. 

The characters you meet all have a sense of mystery to them and it's fun to find random strangers who end up giving full quest lines. Even the merchants have different personalities (and some even play music!). The difficult part is keeping track of them all since there is no journal or quest markers to speak of. I actually have pages of notes right now to make sure I at least remember to come back to places later. 

This is a very, very small portion of the map, but I'm loving the super rich detail the map has. 

That leads me to the map. It may not be the size of Skyrim or GTA, but damn is it DENSE. Everywhere you turn, there is something new: whether it's dynamic landscapes or creepy ruins and lakes. The people you meet and may change due to the time of day. The environment can be used to your advantage. Boss encounters can occur...well unexpectedly. And each nook and cranny has something that might be worthwhile. So it's always very easy to get lost. It's just bonkers how big this game is. What's more bonkers is that there are no  quest markers or objectives hovering over your HUD. So your journey will only be as expansive as your curiosity and motivation. 

Did I forget to mention that the map is huge? Like, my gosh it's insane. Every turn there is another dungeon or new enemy. It's so distracting that it's starting to become a con to the game because I can't seem to focus on a path. Not to mention the death mechanic drives you to spend your runes (a.k.a money/experience points) as soon as you can. I'm super impressed at the scale of this game but it's like trying to play ten dark souls games in one. Take that how you like it. 

See that huge tree? You can go to it....eventually. 

I'm not very far in beating bosses but man they really punch you in the mouth in the beginning of the game. I forgot just how challenging From could make enemies and, just like on Sekiro, some of the earlier fights are the hardest. I spent an entire hour trying to learn how to parry a boss because I couldn't react fast enough to his attack patterns. Thankfully I was able to bait and anticipate his moves to finish him off. But this is kind of Elden Ring, hours of getting lost and hours of banging your head against the wall trying to kill a boss who kills you in two hits. 

While the mini bosses are getting repetitive (looking at you statue cat), I am just really happy with the varied locations and main boss encounters. I know that I might be regretting those words later, but it's crazy how many enemies there are in this game. Very few recolors and reskins here. 

You're a wizard, Harry...

All in all, Eldin Ring is shaping up to be an awesome game. It's still got a free frustrations that prevent from being called a masterpiece. As the for the amount of contents, the game is ginormous, however, sheer mass of content a good game does not make. It's yet to be seen how repetitive this game will be. But I'm loving the dungeon design. And From Software had nailed the breath of the wild vibe, here. One of the few games to actually do that (that I have played). 

The game is definitely not for everyone. The story is literally in the background with few cutscenes to explain events and the combat is brutal and requires being on your toes all the time. Not to mention how complicated boss patterns can be and how little the game holds your hand. But as a seasoned Soulsborne fan, this is the game for me. Despite these frustrations, this is surprisingly an awesome dark souls experience. 

Welcome to Elden Ring