I’m back to discuss my favorite game for the upteenth post. It’s eeither Elden Ring or Dark Souls III, and I’m going to expand on the pros and cons of each game. In the last post, I talked about the bosses in each game and why I gave the slightest edge to Dark Souls III in that regard. With that out of the way, let’s move on.
5. Story/Lore. This is where George R.R. Martin was supposed to have made his mark. It’s what he’s known for, and the reason he was brought in. To build the worlds and write the backstory. I’m assuming that the story was part of that, but I’m not exactly sure how much input he had into the game.
There were many jokes in the communtiy when it was announced that the last thing From needed was a story/world-building man because Miyazaki is beyond compare in this arena. With all the flaws the From games have, world-building is not one of them. Now, what exactly that means has never been clear. But it’s been presumed to mean that he came up with the worlds and maybe the base stories. I will admit I’m heartily amused by the idea that the names were all because of his initials. The vast majority of the main characters have names that start with G (Godwyn, Goddrick, Godfrey, Gideon Ofnir, Gatekeeper Gostoc, Gowry, Goldmask), R (Radagon, Radahn, Ranni/Renna, Rennala, Roderika, Rogier, Rya), and M (Marika, Melina, Malenia, Miquella, Mohg, Miquella, Maliketh, Margit/Morgott, Millicent, Miriel). It’s hilarious, but true. You cannot tell me that it wasn’t deliberate because the sheer number is staggering.
I will say that the story of Dark Souls III is pretty bog standard for the series. Will you keep the fire going or birng on the Age of Dark (age of man)? I will say that the ‘bad’ ending of Dark Souls III, which involves a complicated questline with several NPCs is my favorite ending of all time in all the games. I have not seen all the endings for Elden Ring yet (there are two or three endings I haven’t seen), but of the ones I’ve seen, they’re fantastic as well. But I can’t get married in Elden Ring, can I? Or stab a sword through the face of my betrothed? I cannot! Well, to be fair, I can be the consort of an NPC in Elden Ring, but no sword through the face!
The story itself, though (in Dark Souls III) is forgettable. Get the heads of four Lords of Cinder (the souls, really, but represented by the heads) and place them on the throne. Then, go fight the big baddie and choose whether to keep the fire going or not.
Elden Ring‘s story, on the other hand, is mythical. It strongly reminds me of Norse mythology, which is not my fave, but it’s pproperly epic. Gods betraying other gods (well, demi-gods, but still) is so old school. Divorce and getting a new hubby? New school! Well, not the stepping out on the partner part, but the divorce part. Though to be fair, there’s no real talk about divorce–just lovers getting cast aside.
The story is properly byzantine and labyrinth. There is a gasp-worthy moment that still has me confused. I’m really glad that Krupa from RKG is doing a Lore Masterclass (plus that pun is first rate) so maybe I can get more insight into the lore and story of Elden Ring.
I have to give the edge to Elden Ring in this case. The story is sprawling and sweeping, and it properly befits the epicness of the game.
I will say, having played Dark Souls III in the last several days, I’ve fallen in love with the game all over again. I’ve experimented with different weapons, but I am loyal to my beloved Lorian’s Greatsword. I also have my magicks loadout, which is Chaos Bed Vestiges, Hidden Body, and Tears of Denial.
On the other hand, I swap out my magicks in Elden Ring frequently. With my current character, I have death/night magicks because that is what’s thematically appropriate. But with my other characters, I just use whatever I want whenever I want. I do try to stay thematic, but more loosely. Like ‘mostly lightning incantations’ or ‘only moon sorceries’.
6. Magicks. This one isn’t close. It’s Elden Ring. I could have nattered on about it first for hundreds of words (and am going to do it now), but this is a pretty clear win for the current game. Look, I am the biggest defender of the magicks in the previous games (that I have played). I am the one who sniggered at people who gushed about the magicks in the new game–only to cite magicks from the previous games. They weren’t wrong about the breadth of magicks in this game, but they chose the wrong magicks to highlight that example.
Related to that is:
7. Attunement/Mind/Memory Stones. I will fully admit (and have said several times) that the way the magicks work in the other games has been cumbersome. Having to up your Attunement slots is such a chore and while, yes, there is a tangible result (spell slots), it means that you have to skimp heavily on other things because it’s not a one-to-one ratio. In other words, it’s not as if one level in Attunement meant one more slot. It took four or five, and by the time you’re fifty levels in, that’s not cheap.
Add to that that you need Int. and/or Faith to use the spells (except for Pyros in the first and second game), and it’s not cheap to be a caster.
In Elden Ring, they do away with pesky Attunement slots. Yes, there is the Mind stat, but that’s only for your Focus Points (FP). You get Memory Slots from killing certain bosses, figuring out certain puzzles, or buying them. There are 10 in total, and you can get two more slot with the use of a talisman. Every player can have 12 spell slots (or more likely, t10) by the end of the game.
The magicks are truly out of control in Elden Ring. The moon spells that cost 60+ int, Comet Azur, which is a boosted Soul Stream, Dragon incantations, Frozen Lightning Spear, Elden Stars, and so much more.
Magicks have always been a fav of mine in the From games, and they really kicked it up to eleventy in Elden Ring. FromSoft pretty much threw all caution to the wind and said, “Let’s do this!” It’s like they had all hands on deck and asked them to brainstorm. Any idea was welcome. “Moons that explode upon contact? Great idea, Meg!” “Lava that explodes everywhere? That’s a winner, Naveen!” “Dragon magic? Actually turning into a dragon to do magic? You get a raise, Kaori!”
I love me the magicks in the previous games, but it’s sheer perfection in Elden Ring. I honestly don’t have any notes. Well, one tiny one. Some of the wands and magicks cost too much. On the other hand, though, I was level 150 or so by the end of my first playthrough, so it’s not that outrageous.
I adore the magicks in Elden Ring. I was skeptical that it was going to be THAT different, but it was. And so much better. So much you can do. I feel like a kid in the candy shop. I’m so happy to experiment with the magicks, and being Dr. Death currently is bringing me joy.
8. Quality of Life (QOL). I will fully admit that this is an area in which From does not put in that much effort. The UI is…sparse, and you just kind of deal with it as best you can. All the systems for upgrade and such are needlessly obscure. I think they did that for Demon’s Souls, not really knowing what they’re doing Upgrading different weapons, I mean. It was as if they had a general idea, but then didn’t really know what to do with it. They’ve tweaked every subsequent game, but it’s still been a frustration at times.
Elden Ring is the best of the lot. Upgrading is easier than in the previous games, but maybe it’s also beacuse I’m used to it by now. A really good QOL change was to make it so that if you kill an entire group of enemies, you got some flasks back. That meant that you could venture further from the Site of Grace with confidence, which encouraged exploration. It’s a great feeling to fight your way through hordes of enemy, only to be rewarded for it in a concrete way afterwards.
There are 15 total Estus Flask sips in Dark Souls III. Normally, I carry 10 Estus Flask sips and 5 Ashen Estus Flask sips. In Elden Ring, there are 14 total sips of Flasks of Tears. I split them evenly. 7 Flask of Crimson Tears sips and 7 Flask of Cerulean Tears sips. I am comfortable with that because of the getting flasks back for killing groups of enemies.
That’s all for this post. More tomorrow!