Entering the World of Elden Ring

Entering the World of Elden Ring

by Liam Crampton

The day is March 3, 2017. Nintendo’s new console, the Nintendo Switch is finally here and alongside it is a game that would revolutionize the industry. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s extreme success spawned the explosion of story-based open-world type video games in recent years. Fast-forward to June 9, 2019, and a major announcement was made at the annual E3 gaming convention. Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creator of the Dark Souls franchise, and George R. R. Martin, the author of Game of Thrones, were collaborating to create the game of all games, a gigantic open-world souls game called Elden Ring.

When you start the game for the first time, you are met with a screen that allows you to choose what kind of character you want to play. Each class will start you off with different base stats and tools. You can hack and slash with swords and axes, learn a plethora of different spells to defeat enemies with magic or you can even have a mix of both. This broad character customization allows players to have a unique experience, almost as if two players are playing two different games.

Once your character is complete, you are placed in a vast world that goes on seemingly forever. From the hellish and hideous Caelid to the mysterious underground eternal cities of Nokron and Nokstella, the possibilities are endless. The best part about it all is that for the most part, you are free. Very little of the world is required to explore, if you were really skilled you could maybe beat the game rather quickly, but the best part of the game is exploring new locations, finding secrets, and fighting strong enemies you discover along your journey.

Miyazaki’s previously mentioned Souls franchise is well known for one thing, they are extremely difficult, and Elden Ring is no different. Getting through a Miyazaki game takes practice. The first view you get in the game, you’ll notice a knight on a horse called the “Tree Sentinal”, the earliest boss you run into. New players will run up to him, hoping to take him out, only for it to be over within the blink of an eye. Elden Ring will sharpen your timing, hand-eye coordination, and instincts like no other game. Even small mini-bosses or stronger normal enemies can take you a long time to beat and leave your heart pounding once you finally take them down. The best part is, once the adrenaline calms down, after defeating a difficult boss you truly feel as if you’ve improved, something not many games can accomplish easily. Beating Margit, the Fell Omen, the first required boss, left me pumped with excitement, feeling as if I was ready for whoever was next.

Elden Ring is not perfect though. I will not go out of my way to say the story is bad, because that would be wrong. Elden Ring’s lore and characters are interesting, but they are not the easiest thing in the world to follow. Whether it be strange vocabulary or just flat-out confusing concepts with lacking context, some players tend to skip through dialogue and ignore the story entirely due to how difficult it is to comprehend at times, making it seem like the game is just running around defeating bosses when there is so much intriguing lore and information to be learned.

Despite that, in the end, Elden Ring more than lived up to the hype. Miyazaki and Martin have created the ultimate adventure, the endless world of Elden Ring could take years for everything to be discovered. Even when the day I beat the final boss comes, I am sure I will still come back to this game. It has only been out for a month, and I am confident in saying this game will age like fine wine. The game is $60, pretty pricey, but if you want something that could keep you so occupied and invested that you won’t ever get bored of it, then take on the challenge, and enter the world of Elden Ring.