So finally Elden Ring is upon us. Some say it’s a Dark Souls meet Skyrim kind of game and with that note, I dive right into it with open arms. The game sounds and look amazing.
Elden Ring is an action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game, directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, was made in collaboration with fantasy novelist George R. R. Martin, who provided material for the game’s setting.
Elden Ring takes place in the realm of the Lands Between, sometime after the destruction of the titular Elden Ring and the scattering of its shards, the Great Runes. Once graced by the Ring and the Erdtree which symbolizes its presence, the realm is now ruled over by the demigod offspring of Queen Marika the Eternal, each possessing a shard of the Ring that corrupts and taints them with power. As a Tarnished—exiles from the Lands Between who lost the Ring’s grace—summoned back after the Shattering, players must traverse the realm to ultimately find all the Great Runes, restore the Elden Ring, and become the Elden Lord.
Gameplay
Elden Ring is an action role-playing game played in a third-person perspective and features elements similar to those found in its predecessors, the Souls series as well as Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, with gameplay focusing on combat and exploration. Director Hidetaka Miyazaki explained that players start with a linear opening but eventually progress to freely explore the Lands Between, including its six main areas, as well as castles, fortresses, and catacombs scattered throughout the open world map. These main areas are interconnected through a central hub that players can access later in the game’s progression—similar to Firelink Shrine from Dark Souls—and are explorable using the character’s mount as the main mode of transport, although a fast travel system is an available option. Throughout the game, players encounter non-player characters (NPCs) and enemies alike, including the demigods who rule each main area and serves as the game’s main bosses.
Combat in Elden Ring relies heavily on character-building elements found in previous Souls games and related intellectual properties, such as calculated & close-ranged melee-based combat with the use of skills, magic abilities, as well as blocking and dodging mechanics. Elden Ring introduces mounted combat and a stealth system, the latter being a core gameplay element from Sekiro; these features are expected to encourage players in strategizing their combat approach with each unique enemy they encounter. The game makes use of a player character stamina bar after being absent from Sekiro, although its overall influence over combat was reduced compared to previous FromSoftware games that utilized it. Unlike in Sekiro, resurrection mechanics after in-game death are not available, however some elements were added to ensure players’ progression within the game.
Miyazaki stated that the customization in Elden Ring would be richer, as players are able to discover different skills through their exploration of the map instead of unlocking skill trees as in Sekiro and differing from the pre-fixed weapon skills of FromSoftware’s previous games. These skills are interchangeable with a large variety of weapons which, alongside equipment, magic abilities, and items players can craft using materials found within the world, can be used to customize the player character.[4][6] The game also features summoning mechanics, where players can summon a large variety of collectible spirits hidden throughout the game’s world map, including previously defeated enemies, as allies to assist them in battle. Similar to the Souls series, the game’s multiplayer allows other players to be summoned for cooperative play.
Elden Ring is OUT NOW! for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
The game is already pre-downloaded and now it’s time to play.
See you all next year…:D
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
MINIMUM:
OS: Windows 10
Processor: INTEL CORE I5-8400 or AMD RYZEN 3 3300X
Memory: 12 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 3 GB or AMD RADEON RX 580 4 GB
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 60 GB available space
Sound Card: Windows Compatible Audio Device
RECOMMENDED:
OS: Windows 10/11
Processor: INTEL CORE I7-8700K or AMD RYZEN 5 3600X
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 8 GB or AMD RADEON RX VEGA 56 8 GB
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 60 GB available space
Sound Card: Windows Compatible Audio Device
