Jake Swiss

An Amazing Open World game. As a person who never played FromSoftware title, the style and gameplay of Elden Ring was different for me, yet it expanded how I view video games. EXPLORATION: What makes this game so immersive is the fact that it throws you in the world with little to no instruction. Now, you might be thinking "Well I need instruction for a video game". Well Elden Ring manages to pull off its world of mystery and exploration. It's up to you the player, to discover and to explore on your own without the need for the game to hold your hand. It's fun and gives me an immediate dopamine surge to find out that I had to grip a sword with two hands to hold and strike with heavier damage without the game telling me so. It's the fun it that YOU are the person who discovers and seeks to how things operate. Now, the world of Elden ring is a bit smaller than I expected, however this didn't hinder the Open World aspect at all. It's what is in that world than how large it is. There are bosses to fight, NPC's to meet, and items to collect. A lot of Open World games have a ginormous map with nothing on it. Take it for cyberpunk 2077, a game which map expands miles of cities, deserts, and towns. However the things to actually do in that huge map was lacking. No random encounters, scary enemies, or any other Open World aspects that Elden Ring has. Elden Ring's map is small, but yet filled with danger, mystery, and strange items to help you on the way. BOSS Fights: As a Beginner, I died over and over to a Tree Sentinel. A large, armored creature on a horse wielding a Golden Halberd along with a shield. It's not all about pressing the "swing and slash" button, it's more about studying your enemy and planning your next move. This also includes blocking, dodging and having the right amount of gear you need. Boss fights are what define a FromSoftware game. Games like Red Dead Redemption 2, GTA V, and Cyberpunk 2077 have a Combat system not even close to the scale that Elden Ring possess. Games usually have a block and a punch button. However in Elden Ring, there are many ways to avoid getting pummeled by an enemy. You can do a roll, you can block with a shield, you can slide back. Or you can make your attack by waiting for the boss to make their move before you make your strike. Depending on the animation of the Boss's swing, you can find a way to block or to just counter attack. The Bosses do not feel recycled, so any fight is different, creating a sense of learning from your enemy. TECHNICAL: I played on my 3070 overclocked along with a series x. The game is of course a FromSoftware game, meaning there are framerate spikes all the time and you will just have to get used to it or just use a Display that supports VRR. It's an amazing open world RPG game with amazing combat mechanics, Bosses, and collecting and savaging. One of the best RPG games of all time 9/10