I have been going on and on bout Elden Ring versus Dark Souls III for the past several days. I am trying to figure out which one I like better than the other. I have listed several pros and cons of each, but I’m not done yet. Let’s continue.
One thing I love about Elden Ring, though I suspect the hardcore fans may not agree with me, is how From made the point of entry easier. Not easy, mind, but easier. They wanted this to be a cultural phenomenon, and it certainly was. I am amazed at how popular this game was in the culture as a whole, and not just the niche society who usually appreciates the games.
I know there are some hardcore fans (read, dudes) who are salty that the games have changed at all. This has always been the case since the first game. Whining about things that make the games earlier. In this case, they’re mad about the spirit summons. The mark of a real FromSoft fan is to fight the bosses solo, but that is not enough. You must be naked and level one and don’t level up anything. You can’t use a shield or magic or pyro or, or, or.
I have said a million times that if that’s how you like to play, you go with your bad self. But the insistence that everyone has to play the games the same way is irritating and annoying. So is the whining that the bosses in Elden Ring are too hard to fight solo. “The bosses were designed to be fought with spirit summons!”
Well, yes. That’s the point of bringing in a new mechanic–to tune the game around that brand new mechanic. I know this is really hard to believe, but they may actually want people to use that new mechanic! So if the bosses are really hard solo, well, that’s how this game rolls. And, clearly, some people have found ways around that because there have been no-death runs. I’m pretty sure that the people who have done that are not bringing in spirit summons with them.
Fans are the worst sometimes. They want new and innovative, but they also want the core of the games to remain the same. Mind, the core is what THEY consider important, which may not be what the devs consider the core.
I’m pretty sure that difficulty is something Miyazaki considers when he plans the games. However, he has said that isn’t the main point of the games. Do I believe that? Not really. But I do think he cares more about the exploration than the difficulty.
They made it quite clear from the beginning that this was not your daddy’s Dark Souls. I mean, it’s got a lot of the Dark Souls DNA in it–of course it does. It’s been called open world Dark Souls IV, both derisively and not.
I don’t want to be swayed, but the RKG lads have started their Elden Ring Retry. Krupa is planning it to be a year-long in three series. One episode a week, which was how it used to be. They recently have been dropping whole series for Producers (Patreon tier), Netflix-style, but that would not have been practical for this game.