Elden Boring
When I first saw the trailer for Elden Ring, I thought an open world Dark Souls wasn’t exactly a good idea, because Dark Souls games tend to become tedious in the later areas. Now, after spending 153 hours with the game, I still think it has been a bad idea.
All games are Skinner boxes. What makes From Software games special is that they rely on a variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement, while most games rely on a fixed-ratio schedule. Technical jargon aside, your typical game rewards the player (more or less) on a regular basis, while From Software games reward players now and then. This is what makes the games so addictive and that’s the main reason people keep getting drawn to them, since a variable-ratio schedule tends to reinforce behavior the best (i.e., it’s the most addictive). That works very well for a linear game of around 50 hours, but Elden Ring takes it a bit too far, almost extinguishing behavior at times (i.e., it can be quite boring).
It doesn’t help, either, that graphics are severely outdated, while having the performance of something like Cyberpunk 2077 with RT on. Most of the time the game looks like The Elder Scrolls Online, with very low-resolution textures and 20 years-old vegetation. The animations are also outdated and controlling your character doesn’t feel so good, making the combat slow and clunky. On the plus side, the art style is great, with masterful use of color and some of the best, most majestic, architecture ever seen in a game. Also, for the first time, we get to see dynamic weather and a day-night cycle in a From Software game.
There are numerous additions to the Souls formula, which make the gameplay more pleasant and more welcoming to new players. Out in the open, you benefit from having a mount, which allows you to escape dangerous situations, and I haven’t encountered any mandatory boss in the open world (can’t say if there is one), all can be skipped by moving along. Sneaking also makes some encounters less difficult, while exploration, especially in dungeons, benefits tremendously from jumping. Likewise, stamina doesn’t get depleted while exploring the open world and defeating small groups of enemies replenishes your flasks. In the beginning, you can level up quite easily with the help of the new herb-picking mechanic. You can make a lot of runes by selling weeds and mushrooms. Also, you can now craft things on the go, but you will have to find tomes with recipes in the world. On the other hand, you can hardly find smithing stones for upgrading your weapons. These can be found only in caves initially and you have to go through a lot of enemies to get them.
As usual, the lore and plot are cryptic (though less so than in the other games), which would be great if they were just a bit interesting. They are not. They tried to make it appear more interesting by associating with G.R.R. Martin’s name, but, if you’ve played the other Souls games, you can easily notice the huge amount of copy/paste, with some changed labels. There are some interesting characters, though. Good luck not missing their quests in this vast open world with no markers!
The combat is moderately satisfying for the most part, if you can ignore the aforementioned clunkiness. It doesn’t help that a lot of bosses are fast like those in Sekiro, while you are slow like in… well, Dark Souls. What does help is the enormous variety of weapons, spells, and incantations, as well as a lot of buffing items. You also have summons with you all the time, but you can't activate them in all areas. Still, you can activate them when it matters. Weapons are infused with special attacks (“ashes of war”) that can be changed at the bonfires ("sites of grace"), and these are the best-looking animations of the combat. Needless to say, they can be of great help, too. All Souls game had a lot of replay value, but the enormous weapons and accessories variety offers Elden Ring more than any other so far.
The best areas in the game are the so-called legacy dungeons. They have some of the best level design From Software has ever made and the best bosses in the game. Often, their graphical design is also beautiful, especially when contrasting it with the blandness of the open world. I would have enjoyed the game a lot more if it was just Dark Souls IV, with these dungeons connected by a hub, as per tradition.
As it is, the enjoyable moments in the game are few and far between. For all the additions to the formula, for all the complexity of the combat system, for all the weapon and enemy variety, it remains a sophisticated exercise in ennui.
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