Elden Ring - Review No Spoilers: 100. Hours Of Gameplay On Pc & Ps5. You Can't Even Imagine
Elden ring spoiler free review
in this elden room review we're going to go through our gameplay impressions from our extensive time with eldon ring which now surpasses 100 hours with the full version of the game if you're wondering if elm ring lives up to the hype or whether you should consider this title if you're not a souls player this review is for you, this is a spoiler free review.
We don't talk about the story or plot, don't mention any specific locations bar map size and availability, and only reveal tidbits of weapons and magic. We've also relegated the article footage shown to the very beginning areas of the game in order to prevent any more spoilers than necessary.
Story & setting
The setting of Eldren Ring bears the mark of an experienced world builder, George RR Martin.
It's clear that his influence on the mythos of the game gave the software a solid base to build upon and created the best foundation for a narrative that Souls games have ever had. Gone are the days of three-sentence introductions and disjointed lore pockets that contradict each other. The world of Elden Ring makes sense and is intriguing, and I would very happily read books set in the lands between.
This makes the setting of the game truly excellent and on par with some of the best RPG universes out there. With George R.R. Martin also came the idea of multiple protagonists that seems to have been inspired by software to improve on their npc character development and progression. They have agendas and take action.
They are happy to share their detailed and nuanced backgrounds. of themselves or the world, in this sense, Alden Ring's approach to storytelling is somewhat different from that of previous Souls titles, but it retains certain elements. But they will be given a full introduction to the world and its inhabitants and be able to obtain further information by discussing it with the NPCs.
They will be more sane and talkative than ever before. Item descriptions are also no longer as obscure, allowing any player to figure things out for themselves and enjoy the story aspects to the fullest. The only things that remain vague throughout the story are your own role as a tarnished and your objective, as you have a silent character and your options are often limited to accepting offers or not.
This may lead some to think there's no character progression in the narrative sense, but that is not the case. As you delve deeper into the story and uncover the secrets of the shattering, you will not only meet many NPCs and intersect with their quest lines, but you will also have the option to pick sides and build your character's story based on those choices. Eldon Ring has woven gameplay elements and the narrative seamlessly together, and it's entirely possible to accidentally fall in with the wrong crowd and take a path you were not expecting, which is a very rpg sort of feeling that was missing in previous Souls games.
Gameplay
While soul games live and die by their gameplay, and Eldon's Ring is no exception.
In fact, it's possibly the best gameplay experience in the article game market today. This is not an exaggeration or a bias towards soul games. It's simply that the software delivered an outstanding product that few games in recent memory come close to. How do you ask? Well, let's get into it. While soul games focus on dungeon crawling, limiting your encounters in progression and providing an easy way for the developers to fine-tune that experience, open world games risk players venturing beyond the intended scope of their level and ruining a crescendo.
This usually results in tool gaining, which is where some areas or features of the open world are locked behind specific tools that have to be acquired by furthering the story. An example would be obtaining a double jump or a grapple that allows you to reach a new path from software that utilizes a different kind of tool gating, and it's done so subtly and well that it doesn't feel like the typical come to this area later of open world games.
This means that your path to new areas and locations feels natural and almost accidental, a combination of exploration, exciting combat and deduction. The tempo of the game rises and falls in pleasant waves, allowing you to keep your pace and enjoy the idol music while you prepare your arsenal and plan ahead for an upcoming battle.
If you simply get lost in the lands between as the days and nights go by, farming materials, hunting for better gear, or even just co-opting with a friend or stranger online, the sheer size of the playground will keep you entertained for weeks, and that's to say nothing of the game's replayability, which we'll get into a bit later in this review.
The combat of the Elder Ring is very much the combat of the Souls Games and then some. While the basic strategy for progression is not to just spam r1 or whatever your r1 is, your options for not doing so are better than ever. From chargeable spells that rain down meteors to summoning a dragon head to bathe your enemies in fire, the range and effectiveness of magic builds are now building toward, if not quite what you expect from DNT or Pathfinder.
In addition, there are over 20 categories of melee weapons, all with unique movesets from fist and claw to colossal halbrids and swords, including whips, twin blades, reapers, and pull arms, and of course there's archery, which is indeed effective, engaging, and not without a variety, as you can pick a great bow or a hand ballista, to name a few.
The basic spells and weapons are far from the end of your combat repertoire. However, as the game deepens available mechanics by giving you easy upgrade swaps via ashes of war, in addition to the spectacular variety of skills, they are not the same as in Dark Souls 3, where they seemed mostly inconsequential and largely ignored by most of the community.
In Eldon Rings, skills are crucial to your character building and you are very spoiled for choice. They make spellblades, magic archers, paladins, and other hybrid builds not just viable but fully enjoyable, while also opening the door to fully featured cosplay characters. Past your build and the truly fantastic customization options for your character progression, combat is also varied in both intensity and style.
The game features a very good assortment of enemies: many bosses and challenging encounters, each of them with a unique moveset, status effects, and surprises to keep you on your toes even as you reach the final areas of the game. Overworld encounters can be resolved both on foot and mounted combat is as good as we've ever seen in a game and, in some instances, preferable due to the size and speed of many of the game's bosses.
