New Game 1 Elden Ring, When Elden Ring was announced, the gaming world was set ablaze with anticipation. As a collaboration between Hidetaka Miyazaki, the visionary director behind the acclaimed Dark Souls series, and George R. R. Martin, the legendary author of A Song of Ice and Fire, the hype surrounding this new title was immense. It wasn’t just another action RPG; it promised to be a genre-defining experience that would blend the brutal challenge of Miyazaki’s previous works with the intricate storytelling and expansive world-building that Martin is known for.
Now that Elden Ring has been released and played by millions worldwide, it has more than lived up to the hype. With its vast open world, intricate lore, and groundbreaking combat mechanics, Elden Ring is proving to be one of the most influential games in recent memory. Here’s a look at why Elden Ring is a must-play, and how it has set a new standard for the action RPG genre.
1. The Visionary Creators: Miyazaki Meets Martin
At its core, Elden Ring is a product of two brilliant minds coming together to craft a game that pushes the boundaries of what action RPGs can achieve.
- Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director of FromSoftware’s previous titles such as Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, is known for his unique approach to game design. His games are often characterized by challenging combat, minimalist storytelling, and deeply interconnected world-building.
- George R. R. Martin, whose A Song of Ice and Fire novels inspired the Game of Thrones series, brings a deep understanding of intricate world-building, moral ambiguity, and complex, multi-layered characters. His involvement adds an epic, dark fantasy flavor to Elden Ring, creating a universe rich in lore and history.
Together, Miyazaki and Martin have crafted a world where players can lose themselves in both exploration and story, creating an experience that feels vast and meaningful in every corner.
2. A Vast, Open World to Explore
One of the most significant departures from the linear level design of previous FromSoftware games is the massive, interconnected open world of Elden Ring. The game offers a sprawling landscape known as the Lands Between, an expansive and diverse world that encourages exploration.
Key Features of the World:
- Nonlinear Exploration: Elden Ring is one of the first FromSoftware games to feature a true open world. Unlike Dark Souls or Bloodborne, which were more confined to specific areas with rigid pathways, Elden Ring allows players to traverse its world at their own pace. There are no fixed paths—you can venture off the beaten track, discovering hidden dungeons, secret bosses, and even alternate endings as you go.
- Dynamic Environments: The world of Elden Ring is alive and changing. The game features a day-night cycle that can impact enemy behavior, environmental hazards, and NPC quests. The game also features weather systems and seasonal changes that keep the world feeling dynamic and reactive to the player’s actions.
- Imposing Landscapes: The game’s world is filled with gothic castles, foreboding forests, ruined temples, and ancient catacombs. From Software’s renowned art direction shines through in every corner, with breathtaking vistas and haunting environments that tell their own stories.
- Mounts and Vehicles: Players are given the ability to traverse the world on horseback, making travel across the expansive maps quicker and more fluid. The mount, Torrent, plays a crucial role in both exploration and combat, adding another layer of strategy to the gameplay.
3. Combat: Refined, Yet Brutal
At the heart of Elden Ring is its combat system—one of the most critical components of FromSoftware’s success in the action RPG genre. Elden Ring builds on the core mechanics from Dark Souls while introducing new elements to keep the experience fresh and dynamic.
Combat Highlights:
- Challenging, Tactical Combat: As with previous FromSoftware games, Elden Ring features a methodical combat system that emphasizes timing, precision, and strategic thinking. Players must manage their stamina, learn enemy patterns, and time their attacks and dodges to perfection.
- Combat Styles and Customization: The game introduces greater flexibility in how players approach combat. Magic, melee, and ranged combat are all viable options, with a rich skill tree that allows for a variety of builds. Players can specialize in different types of combat or mix and match skills to create their ideal warrior. The addition of Ashes of War, special combat techniques that modify weapons, offers even more customization.
- Boss Fights and Difficulty: FromSoftware is renowned for its challenging boss battles, and Elden Ring is no exception. Boss fights are massive, multi-phase encounters that test the player’s skill, patience, and adaptability. The game’s bosses are some of the most memorable and visually stunning in the series, each with unique attacks and lore.
- Mounted Combat: A standout feature in Elden Ring is the ability to engage in mounted combat. On horseback, players can use a range of weapons to fight enemies at high speeds, adding a new dimension to the battle system.
4. Deep Lore and Intricate Storytelling
One of the defining features of FromSoftware’s games is their minimalist storytelling—a style where the player must uncover the story through exploration, environmental clues, and cryptic dialogue. Elden Ring continues this tradition, but with George R. R. Martin’s influence, the game features a richer and more fleshed-out backstory.
Key Lore Features:
- The Elden Ring and the Shattering: At the center of the story is the Elden Ring, an ancient artifact that once governed the Lands Between. After its mysterious shattering, the world fell into chaos, with the gods and their followers fighting for control over the remnants of its power.
- The Demigods and the Great Shards: The world is ruled by powerful demigods, each possessing one of the shattered pieces of the Elden Ring, called Great Runes. The player, known as the Tarnished, is tasked with collecting these runes to restore the Elden Ring and become the Elden Lord.
- Environmental Storytelling: As in previous FromSoftware titles, much of the narrative is told through the environment, item descriptions, and cryptic dialogue from NPCs. The lore is rich, filled with tragic tales of fallen heroes, gods, and kingdoms, waiting to be uncovered piece by piece.
- Multiple Endings: The game also features multiple endings depending on the player’s actions throughout the game, further encouraging exploration and replayability.
5. Multiplayer and Co-op Play
One of the standout features of Elden Ring is its multiplayer modes, which allow players to cooperate or compete in the same world.
- Co-op Play: Players can summon friends or other players into their world to assist with difficult boss fights or explore together. The game’s cooperative mechanics are more expansive than previous FromSoftware games, with easier ways to join and leave each other’s worlds.
- PvP: Elden Ring also includes robust player-versus-player (PvP) mechanics. Players can invade each other’s worlds, either to hunt down invaders or to challenge other Tarnished in one-on-one combat.
6. Why Elden Ring is a Game-Changer
There are several reasons why Elden Ring is considered a game-changer in the action RPG genre:
- Expansive Open World: Elden Ring offers one of the largest, most detailed open worlds ever seen in an action RPG. It feels alive, constantly offering new areas to explore, secrets to uncover, and dangers to overcome.
- Freedom of Play: The game provides a level of freedom that many previous FromSoftware titles didn’t. Players can approach the world and combat in a variety of ways, creating a more personalized experience.
- Refined Combat: While staying true to the challenging combat that fans love, Elden Ring introduces new elements that make the system feel fresh, including mounted combat and the use of magic in new ways.
- Epic Storytelling: With George R. R. Martin’s contribution to the world-building, Elden Ring boasts a rich, multifaceted story that draws players in and rewards deep exploration of its lore.
- Multiplayer Innovation: The improved multiplayer and co-op play options make the experience even more enjoyable, allowing friends to tackle the game’s challenges together.
Conclusion: A New Standard in Action RPGs
Elden Ring is a landmark game, not only for FromSoftware but for the entire gaming industry. It combines the best elements of action RPGs with a vast, open world and a deep, engaging narrative. With its challenging combat, stunning visuals, and memorable world, Elden Ring has quickly become a game of the year contender and is already shaping up to be one of the best RPGs of this generation.
