by Sven Stumbauer
FromSoftware and its director Hidetaka Miyazaki serve as the Gordon Ramsay of the gaming industry. No matter what, they always cook up some of the most entertaining, challenging, and profound products that don't deserve the sole title of "video game". From Dark Souls to Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, this Japanese development team continues to push the boundaries of what it means to be a phenomenal game. Little would the gaming world know, that in 2022, Miyazaki and his crew wouldn't just push the envelope; instead, they were going to shred it with the release of Elden Ring. Set in the world of The Lands Between and with its story developed by the author behind the "Game of Thrones" series, George R.R. Martin, FromSoftware went out guns blazing to deliver this game to the masses, and boy would it live up to the hype.
An Open World Never Seen Before
In their old games such as the acclaimed Dark Souls franchise, FromSoftware has always opted for a more linear style to level and game development (bar a few secret passageways, of course). In Elden Ring, this script was flipped on its head when the team decided to make a map that puts the "open" in "open world". Elden Ring's map is massive and chock full of content, which can't be said for some other open-world games with only one or none of the aforementioned attributes. As senior Michael Tabares put it:
"I loved the open world and all the secrets and hidden bosses throughout the map." Tabares stated.
From the starting area of Limgrave to the Mountaintops of the Giants, Elden Ring boasts hidden caves, secret underground segments with entirely different maps corresponding to each one such as Siofra River and the Lake of Rot, and boss fights meant to progress the game's story like Margit the Fell Omen to completely optional ones like the Mad Pumpkin Head.
What truly sets Elden Ring's open world apart from the rest of the genre is the freedom it gives to the player. Exploration is the main part of the game that allows you to progress, and by letting the player treat The Lands Between as their oyster, players get to cultivate an experience that's uniquely their own. Whether you go to the Weeping Peninsula or accidentally trigger the Tree Sentinel boss fight at the start of the game, Elden Ring's freedom to explore its beautiful map is what players want, and it's a welcome contrast from previous games from FromSoftware. Senior Dante Vegliante mentions how Elden Ring was a game-changer from an experienced Souls player's perspective.
"Dark Souls games have always been my favorites, yet Elden Ring brought a fresh experience to the franchise. I loved how I could freely explore every inch of the map compared to the more boss rich type of games that the Dark Souls series has," Vegliante commented.
Rewarding Boss Fights
Elden Ring serves as a significant step up from FromSoftware's previous projects not just in terms of map design, but also in the quality and quantity of boss fights that fit with the game's overarching theme of granting the player the latitude to play how they see fit. Amongst the game's over 200 bosses to fight, only 16 serve to progress the story, but that doesn't deprive what would be supplemental bosses from being unique or challenging.
Take for example Malenia, Blade of Miquella, a demigod boss who is largely regarded as the most challenging boss in the base game. While other Elden Ring bosses -especially those that carry valuable Great Runes that provide a variety of buffs to your character, such as being able to recover lost health or increase your maximum HP- use slow but hard-hitting attacks that test the player's timing, Malenia is a foil to that notion. Her attacks are blazing fast, especially her signature Waterfowl Dance, forcing the player to change their playstyle when fighting those kinds of bosses up to that point. Moreover, Malenia doesn't need to be fought, with her location in Miquella's Haligtree serving as a completely optional segment of the game, reinforcing the point that the challenge of your runs can be eased or strained depending on your skill or patience.
Two other Great Rune bosses, Starscourge Radahn and Rykard the Blasphemous, also serve as unique challenges and are labeled by the community as "gimmick" fights due to them being different from the more conventional boss fights, whether it be the use of a particular weapon or a boss being invulnerable aside from a few weak spots on them. Radahn for instance, has an epic setup to his fight as the player meets esteemed warriors at Caelid's Redmane Castle such as Blaidd the Half-Wolf and the legend himself, Alexander the Warrior Jar.
After, the "Radahn Festival" commences, with you teleporting to a desolate sandy area of Caelid where you get to summon the warriors you had just met, setting the stage for an epic battle against Radahn Avengers-style, something that no other boss fight in the game allows you to do.
"One of my favorite bosses in the whole game was Radahn and I still remember the countless hours I put into the game to beat him," Tabares said.
The second boss mentioned, Rykard, is yet another gimmick fight with two unique phases and a cutscene between them. What makes this fight unique is that you can use the unique Serpent-Hunter weapon, a great spear that lets you fire high-damaging bursts of wind at Rykard, akin to a previous boss fight in Dark Souls III where the player fights Yhorm the Giant of the Profaned Capital. This fight poses a challenge depending on how you play before the fight, as using the Serpent-Hunter's wind burst requires Focus Points, or FP, which for players that don't have a build that uses spells or incantations, can be challenging, forcing them to take a more up close and personal playstyle against the God-Devouring Serpent.
Despite Elden Ring's optional bosses being stellar in their own right, the game's main bosses that directly progress the story appear to be highly favored by Columbus Students. Senior William Owen recounts his favorite fight overall:
"The fight against Godrick the Grafted was my favorite. When I saw him rip off his arm and graft a dragon's head in its place, I knew he had the most aura in the entire game," Owen remarked.
Owen isn't alone with this sentiment either, as Vegliante also heavily favors another one of the game's main bosses.
"For me, my favorite fight was against Godfrey, First Elden Lord who is fought right before the final two boss fights in the game. His design really struck me due to his armor and the lion on his shoulders and his second phase was one of the coolest cutscenes I've ever seen. He is a super balanced fight as the player can get punished but also have ample openings to heal and deal damage," Vegliante added.
The boss fights in Elden Ring are a perfect blend of immersion, challenge, and reward. When you fight any boss in the game, the experience feels cinematic and as if you're truly there in The Lands Between. Furthermore, the challenge they give to the player serves to make the joy of beating them that much sweeter. Whether it's the first boss of the game or the last, that feeling of satisfaction never goes away and it's one that FromSoftware and Elden Ring have largely perfected in this game.
A Dazzling DLC
Normally, DLC is a step down from the original game's content and story. However, FromSoftware and Elden Ring somehow made an experience comparable to or at times even better than the base game, raising the bar on their successful DLC track record such as Dark Souls III's Ashes of Ariandel and the Ringed City or Bloodborne's Old Hunters. Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is a more-than-worthy companion to the base game and is the highest-rated piece of downloadable content of all time. Set in the Realm of Shadow, a land discarded of any hope, the setting and experience of this DLC push the limits of challenge and exploration even higher than FromSoftware's already established pedigree. By having the player deal less and take more damage at the beginning of their journey and incentivizing them to collect Revered Ashes and Scadutree Fragments to revert these nerfs, players are put into a situation where they aren't able to initially blaze through the DLC and focus on immersing themselves in the Realm of Shadow and all it has to offer.
Even with all Scadutree Fragments and Revered Ashes earned, however, the DLC is a step up from the base game's difficulty. FromSoftware responded to the player base's comments about the base game's ease in relation to previous soulsborne games and thus created bosses with more complex movesets and less predictability. Initial community feedback, despite being somewhat mixed due to the DLC's initial difficulty, serves as a testament to FromSoftware's ability to listen to its community and amp up the challenge if need be.
Alongside creating its unique realm in Elden Ring's map and world, the DLC also calls back to previous titles by referencing other bosses in games such as the Dark Souls franchise.
I absolutely loved the fight with Rellana in the DLC. Her design was incredible and her two swords reminded me of when I fought Pontiff Sulyvahn in Dark Souls III," Vegliante said.
Overall, while the DLC has been out for just shy of three months, it is a remarkable feather that can be put in FromSoftware's cap. With genuine conversations over it being a candidate to win Game of the Year at 2o24's Game Awards, the innovation, challenge, and intrigue of Shadow of the Erdtree will be etched in video game lore for eternity.
Final Thoughts
Almost every decade, a game comes out that fundamentally changes the industry and remains emblazoned in the memories of those who hear or play it. Elden Ring, despite its relatively short lifespan, is setting itself to be that once-in-a-decade gaming experience. In a genre that has almost already seen it all, FromSoftware managed to deliver an experience like no other. Everything, from the dazzling world, the combat, and to the enemy and level design, proves that this isn't just a product; It's a celebration of gaming and a punch in the face to Triple-A studios worldwide. FromSoftware made a near-perfect product with no microtransactions, no generation of hype off an established intellectual property, and with full consideration of its fanbase in the making of the base game and its DLC, and that doesn't even scratch the surface of the game's pros. From intriguing characters to enrapturing questlines and endings, this game is truly one that plays out differently for every player.
"Elden Ring is truly a fan favorite game for all types of players," Vegliante concluded.
In summation, here's some food for thought. Every sport or industry has a golden standard: someone who is the highest benchmark possible for success and greatness. Basketball has Michael Jordan. Football has Tom Brady. Soccer has Lionel Messi. For gaming, we may have just found our newest addition to that club. In the next ten, twenty, or even thirty years, the only question in gamers' minds when seeing a new product or game be released won't be its price tag, hype, or graphics. The question will instead be "Can it be better than Elden Ring?"
Screenshots from the author's gameplay
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