"Elden Ring" has gained a large internet following. Within the game's first months, tens of millions of copies were sold. In this case, do high sales equal a great game?
I've always held open-world role-playing games that combine both single-player and multiplayer elements in high regard. Though it is lacking multiplayer options and crossplay, "Elden Ring" still has a large online community. On PlayStation 4 alone, I am summoned to another player's game in just about a minute of placing my summon sign. People tend to enjoy replaying the boss fights with others, despite the inability to summon a friend or other player (except for PVP) once the area's boss has been defeated.
Combat feels fair for a "Dark Souls" game. It takes practice, patience, and skill to find an opening against nearly all of the bosses, even if you take the slightly easier path and choose to play as a mage (one of many options). The bosses in "Elden Ring" and their fighting styles stay true to their backstories and provide a challenge that makes the player inevitably leave at least one boss fight, explore, level up, return with a plan, and rage quit a few times along the way. Each defeated boss provides the player with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.
The game also has stunning visuals. Except for Caelid, every single part of the map is gorgeous. Limgrave, the starter area, appears to be a magical woodland. Mount Gelmir has beautiful, snowy mountains. Anywhere you are in the game, you can also see the enormous Erdtree, a focal point in the plot.
The story is something that you do have to search for in "Elden Ring." Like other "Dark Souls" games, the story of "Elden Ring" is told through limited nonplayable character dialogue and item descriptions. This isn't necessarily a bad thing-- the NPCs don't have any filler dialogue, and the items are received typically once enemies are killed. The only downside is that it may take a while to farm enemies of all of their possible item drops to read up on the lore. The excellent writing from Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R. R. Martin (best known for the "Game of Thrones" series) makes it worth every minute. Each new piece of lore from item descriptions provides intrigue and insight that fuels immersion and keeps the player playing. There are numerous endings that the player can choose from, which helps the game's replayability.
Altogether, "Elden Ring" is an astonishing game for anyone who's up for a challenge. It's not the RPG anyone new to gaming should start with, but it is an RPG to work towards. The shocking story, beautiful scenery, stimulating combat, and the ability to play with friends allow "Elden Ring" to remain relevant, repayable, and praiseworthy.
