When Elden Ring announced to E3 2019, the audience massively began to guess what the new project would be Fromsoftware. What is the studio going to surprise? Why the development was so dragged out that they cook this? However, the more gameplay we saw, the more familiar was guessed in the novelty.Now, having played the test version of Elden Ring, I can directly say: yes, this is again Dark Souls. In the fourth … no, already in the seventh or even the eighth time. The only thing that is more or less different from any FromSoftware game, published in the last twelve years, is endless fields that replaced narrow corridors. If in your opinion the study of the open world with the usual combat mechanics looks attractive, then Elden Ring can be calm. However, if you are waiting for something more, you can be disappointed.
According to the covenants of the ancestors
Although formally the authors call Elden Ring a completely new IP, in fact it resembles Dark Souls literally at every step. All the same mechanics (including the pumping system), all the same animations and sound effects, the same plot about the decline of the once great kingdom. Only instead of the keepers of the hearth-the maids, excuse me, fingers, instead of shower-runes, and instead of bonfires … some kind of grace? Doesn't matter. I do not want to remember new terms, especially since the essence has not changed in any way.
It was even the same that it would not hurt to grind for a long time – for example, overloaded menus with uncomfortable navigation
Since everyone has been understanding and so long ago what Dark Souls is, I’ll tell you about the few differences between Elden Ring and predecessors. Hardcores may be unhappy, but fighting here is somewhat easier than in previous games from Fromsoftware: charged strong blows stun enemies, allowing you to carry out powerful finishing, as when going from the back. The same effect will be if you use a strong attack immediately after the enemy’s attack was blocked – yes, they didn’t retort, but simply blocked. Just keep the shield ready. Nevertheless, if the enemy holds not one attack, but a combo, then you should not open up ahead of time – it is better to wait for the right moment.
Since there is a way to travel through rough terrain, the Elden Ring protagonist learned to jump (and attack in the jump). There were no platform tests in the test version, but literally the first thing the game offers to do is to step into the abyss, the fall into which for a hero of any “shower” would be fatal. It is still possible to break into Elden Ring, but for this you will have to cigare from a cliff higher-a dozen and a half meters for a hero will not become a problem.
In the test version, the world is limited by such walls
How to do it with Demon’s Souls , Elden Ring also offers many starting classes (or rather, archetypes) to choose from. I traditionally chose a magician, but I was very surprised that the Hilogue Caster has a good armor and a shield that absorbs a hundred percent of physical damage. With this, you can take all the endurance attacks without loss of health, constantly punishing opponents with strong blows – in past games from Fromsoftware I never felt so strong at the beginning of the journey. On the other hand, at this stage of the game, only four flasks are available to the hero, which can be filled with either a healing potion or a potion of mana. Those who are relied on on a near battle have nothing to think about, but the casters are likely to sacrifice a pair of lechikov for magic. Here is the balance!
Unfortunately, the graphics are not delighted, but only questions. The first character he met seemed to be a victim of Lod: the textures are so soap, as if they are one and a half decades. There are also errors with the loading of decorations
Earth and will
The main innovation of Elden Ring is, of course, an open world: you can go where your eyes look, and only deep ponds and high cliffs are a serious barrier. By mood, the first location resembles Shadow of the Colossus with her deserted expanses and ruins scattered everywhere. In addition to monsters and hostile people, there are also peaceful representatives of the fauna, which will be hunted in search of craft ingredients. But if you are not up to fights, then avoiding battles is now easier than easy: on such large locations, no one will cut off the retreat path, so you can leave all problems on foot. However, on horseback it will be much faster, although it is insanely inconvenient to fight in the saddle. When driving, getting to opponents is much more difficult than on Earth, so most of my time I moved to my two. In addition, outside the battle (if you are not in the dungeon), you can calmly teleport to any open fire, so in fact the horseback is not very necessary.
You can overcome large heights by driving on a horse into an air stream. True, they are rare: there is not a single one on the whole beach
By the way, bonfires here are visible from afar: the developers surrounded them with a golden radiance so that the players did not accidentally miss the control point. The same radiance tells where to move on, so the question of how to advance on the plot does not arise – on the contrary, interest appears first to explore everything else. There are simple outposts in the open world (hello, sandboxes Ubisoft ) and short dungeons that you can run in ten minutes. Among them there are both dark caves in the spirit of the crypt of giants, where absolutely nothing is visible, and the rectangular chains of rooms, similar to the dungeons of the bowl Bloodborne. Unfortunately, they can only be praised for transientity: they do not have time to get bored and quickly lead to the most interesting – a fight with a boss. And the awards personally disappointed me. After passing everything that was available in the test version, I never found some new equipment suitable for my magician.
The dragon is perhaps the only opponent with whom it is more convenient to fight on horseback: it is difficult to escape from his fiery breath without a horse
Despite this, it is interesting to explore the world even within the starting location: there is something curious everywhere, something happens everywhere. A dragon flies to the swamp, and behind the gates of the castle begins a storm that turns into a real hail of wolves. At the ruins of the postal station, giants drag a carriage behind which a long retinue is weaved. Yes, with repeated visits to familiar places, all these details naturally begin to seem only part of the scenery, but for the first time they are really impressive.
The problem is that the gameplay characteristic of Soulsborne does not fit very well on the open world-and the open world, in turn, does not reveal familiar mechanics in any way. Powerful counterattacks now and then smear past the target standing on the step above or below the hero. The harsh dragon cannot leave his lair in the middle of the swamp, and the giant guarding the gate, he himself gets stuck in them. Almost all opponents are easy to drive by a train around all kinds of stones and other obstacles, mocking their stupidity. Because the world is new, and AI was left without the necessary changes.
According to the mechanics of the multiplayer, everything is also more or less familiar, unless the invading red phantoms will no longer arrange an ambush, clinging between opponents. Therefore, most often it comes down to honest duels between red and blue or red and those to whom they invaded. The call of another player for the battle with the boss also works as always: they saw a sign, called a comrade. While the phantom distracts the enemy, the host will have time to treat and plan his own attack. For loners, there is an opportunity to call for spirits-partners, but in a battle with the main https://magic-reels-casino.co.uk/ boss of the test version, for some reason, they refused to appear; All other enemies (except for the dragon) were simple enough so that thoughts about the help would not arise. Finally, for all the passage to me, no one invaded me – but perhaps this is just because I went alone.
Elden Ring does not change a long -known formula, does not invent anything new. She is much more conservative and predictable than the same Sekiro – This will surely cause the public conflicting emotions. Still, it is difficult to get in hype, when the developers once again offer the same thing as always. On the other hand, someone over the past five years could miss Dark Souls. Yes, and there was no full open world in the “souls” before, and if the developers can bring the multiplayer to mind, I will be glad.
What are you waiting for from Elden Ring? What elements are not enough for you for happiness?
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