I think it’s clear to see that I’m enamored with Elden Ring. Obsessed with it, you might even say. I’ve already put in 3 1/2 hours today and it’s not even 8 p.m. I’m thinking of giving myself a break tonight, but I know how that will go. I’ll start playing around 11 p.m., saying I’m only going to play for ten minutes or maybe fifteen. Then, three hours go by like it’s nothing.
This may end up being my favorite FromSoft game of all time. Many people are saying that, but I’m not quite there yet. I love Dark Souls III so much and it’s brought me so much comfort, I’m not sure where this will end up in the pantheon. I will say it’s already ahead of Sekiro and Bloodborne, but that’s probably not a surprise to anyone.
Side Note: I saw a poll about which is your favorite FromSoft game, uh, somewhere. Bloodborne was number one, to no one’s surprise. But number two was Dark Souls III, which was a surprise. I mean, it’s my favorite game, but I’m used to being the weirdo.
It’s already above Dark Souls II/Scholar of the First Sin, which means all that are left are Dark Souls and Dark Souls III. Dark Souls will always hold a special place in my heart for being the first one I played. The one that broke me and molded me into the twisted soul I am now. I hated it by the time I was done playing it, but then I saw the true beauty my second time through. I can’t play any other kind of game (except cozy ones) and I’m resigned to playing From games forever.
I said resigned as if it’s a bad thing, but it’s not. I find new things, still, after playing each Souls game dozens of time each. Ian is in the DLC of Dark Souls and it’s been a joy watching him play the game for the first time. Well, the second half for the first time–he made it up to Biggie & Smalls before. It’s like a whole new game watching him play and hearing him exclaim over it. So many things I took for granted because I’d seen it a million times became fresh again.
Anyway! Back to Elden Ring. It is my everything right now–and more. That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s perfect. It’s not. I would not give it a 10 right now, especially with all the tech issues on PC. I’m fine with the micro-stuttering and the not shutting down immediately at the end of a session, not to mention the few small slow-downs, but I have a beast of a gaming rig. If you just barely clear the minimum specs, this game is not going to run well. At all.
Fun fact: Digital Foundry, the people who thoroughly discuss the technical performance of games took on Elden Ring on PC–and they were complete in their dismantling of the port. I have included the video below. Watch it before buying the game on PC. Sadly, unless you have a top-notch rig, I would not suggest you buy it on PC right now.
To that end, I am so glad I was able to upgrade before the game came out because I would have been one sad kitten if I could not have played this game or had to wait to play it. I understand that’s an extremely privileged place to be, but it’s also something I can use for the rest of my life. I spend so much time on my computer, having a fast and powerful desktop is a boon.
Let’s talk about what else keeps it from being a 10. Right now, I’d put it at a 9.25 with the possibility of moving up the ladder. The first thing is probably not fair to the game because it’s a me-thing. There’s too much to do and I’m becoming overwhelmed. I’ve had this problem with open world games in general and at least all the content in this game is non-filler (so far), but it’s still too much. I’ve put in over 25 hours and still have barely scratched the surface of the first few areas.
Mobs. They’re still there and they still attack unfairly. In the open world, you can flee on Torrent and/or pick them off one by one so it’s not that big a deal. In the legacy dungeon, which is more like traditional Souls games, it’s harder to escape the mobs because you can’t just hop on Torrent. He’s not available in the dungeons at all. And the corridors are just as claustrophobic as they are in the prior games. I will say you can run by enemies in some places a tad easier than in past games, but it’s still suffocating on some level.
While I appreciate that there is something in every nook and cranny, things are too easy to overlook. They often hide the entrances to dungeons and caves so that you have to look at it from a certain angle to see the entrance. That’s what happened with Sorceress Sellen. It took me five minutes to find the entrance to the cellar where she was–and I only did it by watching Ian and Aoife find it on their stream. I found another sorcerer as I was riding around last night, which was interesting, but neither here nor there.
Hit boxes can be wonky, too. That’s very Souls. I’ve been hit through walls and this is a problem in the closed areas of the legacy dungeons. And the regular dungeons, too, come to think of it. This has always been a part of From games and is now seen as a quirk of the games. It’s still annoying as fuck, though, because it’s not guaranteed that you can do the same.
I also hate the invading NPCs. There’s a reason for it and you can run away from them, but it’s still annoying. There was one who reminded me of Maneater Mildred from the first game and Madwoman from Dark Souls III. She’s a nun in this game, but still wields a clever like the other two. I do appreciate that all the butchers are female in From games, but she was infuriating. Pyro took care of her, but not quickly enough.
I hate the invading mechanic of the games. I was so happy to find out that you had to sign on to be invaded in the single-player portion of the game. Hurrah! I was happy to hear that. Then, I learned that there would be NPC invaders. Ok. That’s always been a thing in the games and whatever. You can run away from them so it’ll be fine, right? Well, yes and no. I have faced three of them and one of them is blocking a bonfire. Site of Grace. Whatever. You can run around her, but it’s still annoying. They are there for a story reason, but I would still rather they didn’t exist. I will never be ok with people just coming into my game at random. Ever. I know so many people love that about these games, but they can stay far away from my game.
Some of the dungeons are too into themselves. There’s one right at the beginning that you need a stonesword key to open. I get one later and open the area. I slide down a ladder into a poison pool, sprint through the poison, and then get promptly killed by a robot chariot with spikes on the wheels. In one poke. Which means it’s a puzzle area. *Sigh*. It’s like the Executioner’s Chariot in Dark Souls II and you have to go into the nooks to hide while fi8ghting off the skellies. There are ghost-like creatures in this one who disappear and reappear and you have to kill them without getting poked by robot chariot. Then, you have to go down a level while still outmaneuvering this chariot. Then–I don’t know what happens next because I gave up. You get killed in one poke no matter what, so it’s just a matter of figuring out the puzzle. Problem is, I don’t want to after dying so many times because there is no checkpoint. This is not fun to me. At all. In the end, I’ll probably look it up so I don’t have to inch along bit by bit, dying after each misstep.
To be clear, I love this game. I love most things about it, but it’s not perfect by any means. None of the flaws are things that inhibit my enjoyment individually, but cumulatively, it is a niggle in the back of the brain–and it’s made me sigh on more than one occasion. Still, in the grand scheme of things, they are a collective blip on the radar when it comes to how engrossed I am in this game. I will be playing it for the rest of the year if not longer; it’s just that good of a game.