Elden Ring

Elden Ring is yet another title in the portfolio of FromSoftware, which in 2009, with Demon's Souls, started the trend called soulslike: RPG games characterized by a high level of difficulty from the first minutes of gameplay. As it happened during the creation of other flagship games of the studio, the role of the main designer was performed by Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Story

Following the pattern of games from the series commonly known as Soulsborne (which includes Demon's Souls, Dark Souls trilogy and Bloodborne), the main plot in Elden Ring is shrouded in mystery, and the player can try to discover and piece together scraps of information while meticulously completing subsequent stages of the game.

The action takes place in the land of The Lands Between, divided into six kingdoms. Each of them is ruled by one of the demigods, whom we have to defeat in order to get the fragments of the Elden Ring. It was by breaking this mysterious object that the main character, one of the so-called Tarnished, returned to The Lands Between from exile. Previously, he was unable to do so, as he lost the grace of the Erdtree, illuminating the entire land with a golden glow.

In creating the story of the world of Elden Ring, FromSoftware enlisted the help of George R. R. Martin, best known for the book series A Song of Ice and Fire, on which the HBO series Game of Thrones was based. His work was to some extent modified by the authors of the game, which resulted in creation of a complex and dark fantasy world.

Gameplay

At the beginning of the adventure we create our own protagonist, determining his gender and appearance - this is a departure from the studio's previous production, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, where the hero was imposed from above. Elden Ring puts a lot of emphasis on RPG elements, offering the user freedom in character development, which together with a wide arsenal of weapons and spells allows you to adjust the appropriate tactics to each situation.

One of the main attractions of the title is the complex, arcade combat system. Clashes with adversaries take place in a dynamic way, and each attack is very precise. FromSoftware is famous for creating demanding productions and Elden Ring doesn't deviate from this rule - every duel should be treated with caution, and the variety of enemies requires us to constantly invent new tactics.

Clashes with powerful bosses are an important part of the game. The developers made sure that in Elden Ring every such battle was exciting and ruthlessly held the player accountable for his mistakes. As was the case in Soulsborne games, the design of all bosses is well thought out and unique, and due to the storyline of the title, an aura of divinity and heroism is created around each of them.

The world design has undergone a significant change in relation to the studio's previous games. This time the available terrain is fully open, vast and filled with smaller locations with a more corridor-like structure. To move faster, we can use our mount, which can be summoned at any time of the game. Moreover, nothing stands in the way of making blows from its back and fighting with enemies.

Coop

In addition to playing alone, there is also an option to summon other players to our world in order to deal with opponents together in the co-op mode. As in Dark Souls, up to four people can fight at the same time, but their cooperation can work for a longer time - not only until the time of killing the boss.

Technical issues

Despite using the same engine on which, among others, Sekiro or Bloodborne were created, Elden Ring takes full advantage of the latest technologies, such as HDR and 4k Ultra HD. The art style successfully reflects the darkness and harshness of the world presented, and its design makes up for technical shortcomings in terms of texture quality and model detail.