![]() ![]() ![]() Build a better TarnishedĪs sadistic as it is, Elden Ring is already the most empowering game FromSoftware's made in the past 10 years, and it's not even close. Just look at the boss with a pumpkin for a head. The headache is worth it for the over-the-top hostility and silliness this brings to the game, though. Somewhere at FromSoftware is a designer with little devils on each shoulder competing to come up with the most deranged shit, and all three of them deserve a raise. Not knives on their legs knives for legs. Wolves literally fall out of the sky, giant crabs pop out of the ground and pummel you into mush, eagles with fucking knives for legs dive-bomb you out of nowhere. FromSoftware is fully off its rocker, chucking whatever evil bullshit it can think of into its dark fantasy soup – and, somehow, pulling it off. With all of this, Elden Ring has some of the most "fuck you" enemy and encounter design I've ever seen. There's a field of those giants doing their most hideous Attack on Titan impressions, a forest filled with floating jellyfish that turn red when you piss them off (ask me how I know), a mine that may as well be world 2-1 from Demon's Souls, and an invading NPC that jump-scared me with blasts of blood magic. Like the talking tree that turned into a demihuman after I hit it with a sword (it did not ask to be hit with a sword but I understood what it meant), the massive black horseman that only appears at night, and the ancient golem that could pass for a miniboss. Elden Ring encourages you to strike out on your own, and some of my biggest breakthroughs and most memorable encounters were found off the beaten path. So far, it's even less guided than the likes of Dark Souls – but again I've only explored, by my estimation, none percent of the world. ![]() I start Elden Ring as I mean to go on: impulsively pursuing whatever I see first. First, I need to see a woman about a horse. I'll come back for you later buddy, I think to myself. Having learned my lesson from the giant, I begin the next arm of my adventure by laying low and hiding in bushes to sneak past the armored horseman blocking my path. I should probably unlock that mount from the trailer, not to mention a way to spend my Runes (not Souls) to level up, before pushing too deep into the margins of the world. The demihumans are stationed around a dark cave that catches my eye, but with no torch to light the way forward, I reluctantly return to the starting area, noting the location of the cave. You can nail basically any enemy with a critical hit of some kind if you hit them hard enough or parry well enough, making these finishers an important part of many fights.Īt one end of the beach, I find a mercenary guarding a Faith-type incantation that cures poison, while the other stretch of coastline is peppered with goblin-like demihumans, plus some reanimated skeletons that have to be double-tapped before they stay dead. ![]() Fortunately, two hits from my beginner spell stuns these things and opens them up to a devastating finisher denoted by an orange marker, which will feel familiar to Sekiro fans. "I head down a cliffside path to a beach populated by what can only be described as the world's least appetizing octopus balls"Įmboldened by the giant's death, and intrigued by the smithing stone shard it dropped – I can't imagine what that's for – I head down a cliffside path to a beach populated by what can only be described as the world's least appetizing octopus balls. That's right, folks: we're back to the Dark Souls 3 magic system, and it still rips. You can also divide your flasks (you start with four) between crimson flasks for HP and cerulean ones for FP, patching up your wounds or fueling your spells as needed. This keeps you from constantly running on empty as you explore, effectively extending how far you can reasonably travel without needing to rest at another Site of Grace. When you vanquish a group of enemies – or, if you're a stubborn idiot, one big enemy that you probably shouldn't be fighting yet – you get a few flasks back based on the difficulty of whatever you killed. I use up all the Flasks of Tears that recover my health and mana (or FP for Focus Points) in the process of killing the giant, and am therefore relieved to recover some flasks after the fight. I don't know it yet, but this is the start of a terrible addiction to sorcery. On the third try, I lean more on the magic that came with my starting class, the Enchanted Knight, and manage to kill the big guy. Naturally, I immediately come back and get killed again. Because I stubbornly ignore the game's suggested direction, the first enemy I encounter is a fleshy giant which quickly flattens me. ![]()
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