OK, time for the final game, before we get too deep into the new year.
| #1 | Elden Ring |
|---|---|
| guessed by | UnderwaterFunktown |
| platform | Xbox Series |
| release year | 2022 |
| developer/publisher | From Software |
| genre | action adventure |
| links | Wikipedia |
Yes, I have a new #1. And yes, it is totally boring, the same game everyone likes. But I just enjoyed my experience with Elden Ring... a lot.
As you can see my list contains Demon's Souls for years, so I am no stranger to From Software games and like the style. But Elden Ring did that - and a lot more! I also think Souls games are much less frustratringly difficult as some other genres. Yes challenging, but not that difficult. For instance in a Jump&Run, if I cannot do a certain jump or combination of jumps, I am stuck - forever. If I can't do it, I can't do it. In Souls games I always have options to progress: get another level to boost my abilities, try another weapon, other effects, other spells. Elden Ring adds much more options with crafting items for specific elemental damage or protection against them and also add summons. Also the open nature of the game makes it much easier to stop banging on the boss and go somewhere else for a while - and wherever you go, it probably makes you stronger and add more options to your arsenal. This way a game like Elden Ring avoids the frustrations some games I get stuck are producing.
Souls games excel at producing a certain atmosphere, a world of loss and decay. And Elden Ring is no different. This atmosphere is present in a lot of details in the world and reflects in the gameplay. Yet it is not just simply dark like some games that try to copy the Souls formula. You see remnants of greatness, tokens of hope and power, characters that strive for healing. Namely Nepheli Loux has a questline, in which she falls into despair in the middle, but if you trigger the right sequences she recovers and will become the new leader of Limgrave. This contrast of a decaying world, but still with hope in it and characters that try to make it better, this makes the impression the world does so much stronger as if it only was despair all around.
I also think the game has great art style. I often stopped, just to marvel at the looks I got to see. Some of the new regions took my breath, the first look at Liurnia or Altus Plateau, the first real look at the capital Leyndell, seeing the rotten lands of Caelid - all this was so impressive, so grand. The only other game that comes to mind with a similar effect each time I saw a new region was Xenoblade Chronicles.
Miyazaki said that Breath of the Wild was an influence for Elden Ring. And I can see it, although it doesn't seem obvious. Many early games that tried to take inspiration from Breath of the Wild copied the glider, the ability to climb everywhere, the possibility to see pretty much all of the map from the beginning. In this regards Elden Ring is the opposite: you cannot climb the mountains and they are seemingly unbeatable obstacles, the geography also prevents you from seeing regions you haven't gotten to yet and even in a region a lot is hidden.
But the inspirations from BOTW are more subtle: although you cannot see the whole map, you can see your final goal from the beginning and everytime throughout the adventure: the Erdtree. This is similar to how you can always see castle Hyrule in BOTW. Especially in an open world game which gives you a lot of ways to stray from your main goal, to have always the visual reminder of what you have to do has a great psychological impression. It is also stated from the beginning where to go. Many other open world games have you lose sight of the direction with their main story. Also similar to BOTW you can find things to improve everywhere in the game, but also similar to BOTW you don't get direct markers on the map, but more subtle clues. For instance in BOTW the shrines shine in strange lights, in Elden Ring you find caves by torches or mines you can spot on the map if you know what to look for.
Elden Ring gives you a great experience exploring. I love exploring. I mentioned before how the geography prevents you to see unexplored regions, but this gives you new insights once you overcame an obstacle and rewards you with the breathtaking vistas. Forging your path can be difficult, but if you are tenacious you eventually will find a way and it opens so much new possibilities. But Elden Ring has not only geographical exploration. It also gives you a gameplay with lots of systems to explore and finally exploit to your advantage. Be it weapons, crafted items or spells, so much combinations and styles can be tried. And then there is the exploration of story/lore. The Lands Between have a deep history, but it isn't told to you by some NPC or spoon fed by some cut scene. Instead you get a lot of clues and pieces - in item descriptions, locations, NPCs and so on, that over time fuse together to a grander picture of what happened - if you keep looking and making connections. Elden Ring may well offer the best experience for explorations I have ever seen.
And yes, the games has some flaws, nothing is perfect. But all the flaws I could point out, all the nitpicks I have, they seem pointless in comparison to all the ways Elden Ring presents me with an exciting and unique experience. So yes, it is the #1, at least for this years list.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3Huy2cdih0&ab_channel=BANDAINAMCOEurope
