Videogame Review: Elden Ring
What more can we say about Hidetaka Miyazaki? (language warning…)
tl;dr: Elden Ring is a masterpiece. It is From Software’s magnum opus. Fans of previous Souls games will love it, but even newbies will be blown away. If you haven’t already (and you probably already have…) go buy it and play it now.
Longer Review:
One of the best ways to relate the greatness of Elden Ring is simply to point out how it is not like most other modern triple A games.
Elden Ring is not an obviously unfinished game that the studio intends to just complete with patches over the next few years like Halo Infinite. Both Elden Ring and Halo Infinite took many years to develop. Both were called vaporware at times. Only one was a complete experience upon release. Elden Ring is not broken on certain consoles nor is it a severe departure from what was promised like Cyberpunk 2077. We were promised “Dark Souls but open world” and that’s exactly what we got. In the same vein Elden Ring doesn’t seek to be a deconstruction of the Souls formula deliberately subverting what fans wanted. Unlike Battlefield 2042 (in terms of gameplay) or Marvel’s Avengers (in terms of story) it doesn’t try to fix what wasn’t broken or disrespect its fanbase. There is no jarring injection of 2022 “woke” politics (aside from the “body type” thing in character creation which some have taken issue with). Simply put it is a Souls game through and through.
Happily, Elden Ring does not require an internet connection to enjoy any of its content. Unlike Gran Turismo 7, the online component, while fun and varied, can be completely ignored. The publisher did not cynically provide one version of Elden Ring to critics to get a good review score and then a different patched version aggressively pushing real money transactions to consumers. Elden Ring features zero microtransactions, loot boxes, or other greedy monetization schemes that give you the feeling a salesman is sitting next to you while you play the game. Elden Ring has no season pass nor any purchasable DLC, cosmetic or otherwise. When DLC does finally drop, if previous From Software titles are any indication, it is certain to be worth every penny. Unlike your typical Ubisoft open world game, Elden Ring respects the player’s intelligence. It doesn’t hold your hand, doesn’t have the protagonist talk to themselves solving puzzles for you, doesn’t give you quest markers, detective vision, or an easy mode. The game offers you a universe of challenges and dares you to overcome them.
It is sad that we should give credit to Elden Ring simply for not doing these things. It calls to mind a great bit by Chris Rock about people wanting credit for doing things they are supposed to do (language warning). We should not have to be impressed when game companies don’t give the middle finger to fans and consumers through the numerous bad practices itemized above. However things have gotten so bad that it just stands out like a sore thumb whenever a triple A release refuses to do these things.
Elden Ring represents Miyazaki’s perfected realization of the Souls formula. It takes from everything that came before it. Bonfires, shrine maidens, punishing difficulty, nonlinear exploration — all of the tropes of the previous Souls games are here. There is also some Sekiro and Bloodborne DNA in here too when we consider character movement and atmosphere. Being open world the game offers tons of freedom to do things in any order you want. No two playthroughs will be alike. There are myriad builds, weapons, skills, and a deep crafting system that will allow you to approach challenges in numerous ways. Co-op and PVP are back allowing you to summon people to help with bosses or invade other players for duels. Bosses are hard as ever (a few will really make you pull your hair out — I’m looking at you Melenia) but extremely satisfying to overcome.
In terms of story, one thing that From Software games do really well is create worlds that have an incredibly rich sense of history. There are always interesting ruins and fascinating lore about golden ages long past. The spirit of Ozymandias pervades these universes and Elden Ring adds to that tradition. Item descriptions offer hints as to the nature of the world Miyazaki and George R R Martin have created. This form of indirect storytelling may not be for everyone. In my first blind playthrough I barely understood why I was even fighting the last boss. However as with other Souls games what you get out of it is a function of what you put in. Explore diligently, complete side quests, finish multiple playthroughs to see different endings, or, watch a Let’s Play or read the wiki. Whatever your choice, you’ll find that the rabbit hole of Elden Ring lore is a treat to explore.
What are some legitimate criticisms of Elden Ring? I can offer two. Firstly, the game did have some bugs on release. The PC version in particular had stuttering and other performance issues. On PS5 there are serious “pop-in” defects even on patch 1.04. Playing on PC recently I can say there are still some stability issues that make the experience inferior to other platforms.
Secondly, the UI needed some tuning to account for it being an open world game. It’s one thing to keep quest requirements and plot points vague in a relatively linear setting like in Bloodborne. But given Elden Ring’s absolutely massive open world where it is super easy to end up in punishing late game areas way too early, the game needed to help players organize their journey a bit more. Recent patches have addressed this with some quality of life improvements such as marking NPC’s on your map. This sort of tweak allows the game to keep its wonderful open exploration feeling similar to Breath of the Wild without players feeling totally lost about how to progress the story.
There are other things I could nitpick, such as annoying enemies or bosses, but they are minor and very subjective issues. While Bloodborne still takes the crown as my favorite From Software game, Elden Ring is right up there in a close second. Miyazaki and his team deserve immense credit as one of the most consistent studios in all of gaming. Perhaps someday From Software will jump the shark. Drunk on their own power, perhaps their next release will be an unfinished, broken upon release, microtransaction-riddled live service called “Souls Universe” — an always online eSports game focused on 128 player competitive battle royals. But for now let’s be grateful to see a competent developer still doing things the right way.
Grade: A
