After ten hours with the Closed Test of Red, we have already made a fairly accurate impression of what Elden Ring hides, before its launch on February 25, 2022. We reveal all the secrets we have discovered in the Midlands.
FromSoftware had spoiled us. Demon’s Souls was quite a surprise for the player used to a few soft years in terms of difficulty. We died and fell into their traps. Dark Souls surprised us again by creating a cohesive map that would set the style of the rest of the games. For Dark Souls 2 and 3 we already knew what to expect, but with Bloodborne and Sekiro we had to relearn how to play again. Fight, even with our customs. Unlearn the previous game to understand the new challenge.
The truth is that when you first advance in the Elden Ring, you are filled with a certain sense of familiarity. It will be your first acid test, the one that will open a debate that will last well beyond its launch next year. It is a debate that we have to have, since the control scheme, many of its animations, strategies and movements are recycled from Dark Souls. If you can play Dark Souls 3, you can play Elden Ring. There is no adaptation or learning period.
To this base is added the jump and sekiro stealth and a few more movements, which will be differentiators. The new ones kickback allow us to launch a quick offensive after a normal defense (without parry); jump attacks can destabilize the enemy and leave him at our mercy, while the famous, but not always useful Weapon Arts of Dark Souls 3 are here replaced by the Ashes: a series of abilities that we can associate with each weapon (they are not unique) and that I have found, without a doubt, the most useful of any From game. Not just more so than Dark Souls 3, but more essential than Bloodborne’s trick weapons or Sekiro’s techniques.
Looking at the horizon
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So where is the novelty at the Elden Ring? In its open world, No doubt. This is where you feel like a fish out of water. Where your learning begins to understand how to discover all the secrets hidden in the Midlands. And trust me: there are a lot. Its structure is adequate, the one that forgets about mission systems that turn the freedom of an open world into linearity. That feeling of discovery It is what it shares with Breath of the Wild, nothing more; here there is no parasail, no puzzles, no climbing mechanics (although there are crafting). But it is, indeed, the best inspiration, because the possibility of moving in any direction without knowing what you are going to find is very powerful.
Thus, you can climb to the top of a rock or a tower, scan the horizon and the same question will always assail you: “What’s that?” Sometimes you will discover a hidden grotto that leads you to some mines or catacombs. Others you will find dangerous enemies, or an NPC that is sheltered from the rain and warming itself in a bonfire. On one occasion, for example, you will look out over some cliffs and find an islet. And, again, you will ask yourself: How do I get there? And I think these are the moments where the magic of Elden Ring resides.
Of course, as an action game, here all these secrets are usually focused on the exploration and combat. Going deep into a cave will lead you to small optional dungeons who usually have their traps, their enemies and, of course, their boss and their subsequent reward. They have reminded me a bit, to do the simile, of the Bloodborne Chalice Dungeons, but instead of being completely separated through the Hunter’s Dream tombs, they are integrated into their world here.
In open field the distances are enormous but now we have a mountYou will have to pay attention to these dungeons to see how their concept evolve, since many have a somewhat similar design and are sometimes smaller and more limited than we would like; As in Chalice Dungeons, their bosses are also less inspired (with honorable exceptions), more underboss with less complex patterns and far less powerful.
In open country, the distances are enormous and to solve them better we have our horse, or rather goat (because it is a cross between goat and horse), called Torrentera. It is one of the most agile mounts that I have seen in an open world and I really like its invocation, since we will not waste a second in being mounted on it, choosing a less realistic option to appear, but much more efficient than having to call him and walk to him. In addition, it is useful in exploration and mandatory if we want to access some places on the map, thanks to its double jump.
Here we find another of those moments when habit plays a trick on us. Face that dragon falling from the sky is a very arduous battle, as it will often take flight and cover a large area with its blazing fire. It is difficult to change the chip and realize that you do not have to flee on foot, that you can use your mount to escape; But when you do, there is no going back You begin to understand that yes, although there is an aura of familiarity and a lot of material taken from the Souls saga, there are also moments for surprise and to change old habits.
Getting all the Ashes makes our repertoire of attacks according to each situation widerIn fact, even though the statistics system (and inventory, equipment …) is the same as the Souls, I have had the feeling that the game favors mixed classes a bit more. You can always specialize in a skill and maximize your skill points, strength …, of course, but I have the feeling that if you are a warrior you can rely more on magical skills. Both carrying the classic wizard staff or seal of miracle worker, and thanks to the Ashes mentioned above. These abilities allow you to consume Concentration Points (mana) and make your weapons acquire magical properties. It’s not just about new attacks, like the Weapon Arts in Dark Souls 3; now we can invoke a strong gale, some daggers, a magical greatsword, a powerful lightning that falls from the sky (a bit unbalanced, really) or a strong stomp that destabilizes the enemies. Collecting all the Ashes makes our repertoire of attacks according to each situation broader, so every dungeon and every corner of the Midlands is worth exploring, Not only for the sheer fun of it, but because these objects can become very defining.
Now, there is a new type of object that can cause controversy: it is the invocations. With different PC costs, we can summon all kinds of creatures in combat. I have seen from wolves, a wizard, a barbarian (attention with this one that is really powerful), a group of ape men and even a jellyfish. The point is that, although sometimes they do not last many rounds, it does happen as with every assistant NPC in the world of FromSoftware: they serve, and much, to entertain the enemy while we prepare powerful offensives or spells. Summoning the barbarian against the final boss of the Red Trial, while casting powerful bolts, for example, makes things pretty easy. The difference with the NPCs is that we will not only find them at the door of a boss, but we can use it whenever there is a corresponding signal, which is usually almost always. In some moments, yes, we will not be able to ask for their help and I think these are going to be the toughest matches of the whole game, without a doubt.
We could call these invocations offline. They are inaccessible if we already have another player summoned. As we have seen in the trailer, it seems that FromSoftware has wanted the multiplayer mode by Elden Ring, but the truth is that it works practically the same as in his previous online works. The difference here is that the open world changes the structure. Along our way, we will find summoning totems that favor finding signs of cooperative or competitive, but we still have to resort to these objects to attract people to our game, instead of resorting to a simple menu in which to select a concrete friend. I really do not see at the moment that there is much change in this facet as you try to sell.
Get up, no light
The Elden Ring story, for its part, it remains one of the great mysteries that we will not solve until the final game. Although it shows that this Necrolimbus It is the beginning of the game, there is no intro here and there are many closed areas that may contain information about the enigmatic Elden Circle. As we already knew, we are a without light; that yes, it is revealed to us that we do not have a lady either and, therefore, we do not have the opportunity to become stronger. Of course, this will change soon, when Lady Melina approaches us, proposing a mutually beneficial agreement. Thanks to her, we can do… well, what we always do in Dark Souls: level up. Sometimes, we can also have small conversations with her that will reveal her purpose by accompanying us. In addition, she will be in charge of giving us our goat, because we will not get very far without it.
Elden Ring is going to be a very big game in terms of proportionAfter 10 hours walking inch by inch every square meter of this Necrolimbus, the Test area, one thing is clear to me. Elden Ring is going to be a very big game in terms of proportion. It was said in an interview with Miyazaki that you could finish the main story in about 30 hours. I don’t doubt his word, but I do doubt that your first game is not even going to be approximate. There is so much to discover and explore in a single area so small and cut out of the map that you can perfectly be in the Midlands tens and tens of hours. It is confirmed that there are 6 main dungeons (the little that I have seen of one, the Castle of Storm Veil, has an incredible design, really large and complex), so this world will consist of, at least, six well differentiated environments and each one with its multiple optional dungeons and secrets to discover. The Network Test doesn’t even cover one of these environments, but rather a cut-out zone, so by calculating it is easy that this could be FromSoftware’s longest game for a completist exploring every inch of terrain.
I think this Test makes it very clear what Elden Ring is. Much of what I had in mind has been fulfilled: it is a game where the feeling of discovery is powerful. I also think that video compression can be a bit misleading: at native resolution, its visual design It is fabulous and very attractive, although it is clear that this is a game that was raised for the previous generation of consoles (a bit like it happened to Dark Souls 2). I also think that the kinship with the Souls saga is evident and especially with the refinement of the formula of its third installment, to the point that it could be perfectly called Dark Souls 4, in the same way that The Phantom Pain brought the open world to the Metal Gear formula. I have also found a game that, for the moment, seems somewhat more affordable without a completely ruthless difficulty both in the confrontations and in its structure. There will be challenges and difficult moments (a rider in the middle of a meadow beat me good), but I think Elden Ring intends to seek other sensations, that of a completely new, attractive and complex exterior and interior level design. A new expression of the always complicated and tough open world genre.