Yesterday I went over watching many different gameplay videos of players playing Elden Ring closed network test. I watched both experienced Dark Souls players alongside players new to the genre.
I also read information online and I came to a rough conclusion, that Elden Ring might be the most accessible Soul-like game ever created.
When I say Soul game or Souls-like, I say it because many players who played Dark Souls III mentioned that the game has very similar mechanics and playstyle to Dark Souls III.
However, the game is not a prequel, sequel, or a spin-off of the Dark Souls franchise. There are plenty of similarities, but there are some things that are fundamentally different. Some changes seem to be made deliberately to make the Souls-like game genre more accessible to a wider audience.
Elden Ring is being developed by From Software, the same company that developed Sekiro: Shadow Die Twice, Bloodborne, the Dark Souls franchise, and Demon’s Souls (also the Remake for PS5).
It might be the more accessible Souls-like game ever made, and one that was developed to appeal to a much broader audience and maybe take out the Souls game out of their niche and make it more appealing to more gamers.
Souls Games Are Brutally Punishing
I don’t need to tell you that Souls games are very challenging and punishing. Although Souls games retain elements from roguelike, and don’t have features like randomly generated levels and perma-death.Some games are more punishing than others—but they are still brutal, have a high learning curve, and are skill-based.
Thing is that players love these games as they are. Because they are punishing, it poses a real challenge, that also feels very rewarding once you progress, beat bosses and be able to finish the game–let alone in an even harder difficulty.
It’s like the satisfaction of solving a puzzle, but much more prominent in the emotional satisfaction intensity.
“It’s Not For Everybody”
You probably heard that so many times, that souls games are “Not for Everybody”. True, true, but maybe it’s time to make them appeal to a larger audience.
Many people just either quit playing the game of frustration and lack of time. Some blame the game for really bad design—it feels bad knowing that many others can finish it, and they can’t.
Some say that they don’t mind the difficulty. I mean, fighting bosses again and again, but the problem is that they hate starting all from the beginning and it takes minutes to get to the boss again.
In between, it’s not that it’s hard for them, it just takes valuable time that they can’t spare—but they like the challenge.
Bringing Souls Games to the Masses
So how do you bring souls games to the masses, try to attract more to play soul games? — Well, you try to remove or minimize some of the annoyances that make it frustrating for players to play in the first place, while still maintaining what makes them so fun and addicting to fans of the genre.
In Elden Ring, the difficulty is still there. The game still feels very much like Dark Souls III in terms of fighting mechanics but makes significant changes which I’ll mention here (feel free to mention more).
- Open World – no more narrow corridors but open worls that gives players freedom to evade engagement, fight monsters of their choice, explore and progress in their own pace and path while still maintaining a linear progression which the player can easily reognize and push through if they want to progress through the main storyline.
- Strong Emphsis on Magic – magic, so it seems, is very powerful and prominent part of Elden Ring. It features stunning visuals, but the core thing is enable players who don’t have fast reaction time in melee combat, to deal damage from far using spells or combine the two. Many players love playing sorcerrer/wizard characters in action RPGs as well.
- Cross Platform – this game is not exclusive, it will be released pm February 25, 2022–for Xbox Series X|S, PS5/PS4, Xbox One and PC. Another thing that shows the intention of the company to try to reach as many players as possible, rather make it exclusive to a console.
- More Vibrant Settings – Still a relatively dark fantasy game, but it features beautiful more colorful settings and for many, it’s much less depresing playing in this world compared to let’s say Bloodborne. Some really like the dark horror setting, others just get depressed by it.
- Death Mechanic & Spawn Locations – probably one of the most important things that really defined how punishing a game is. Because this is an open-world game, if you die in the open world, instead of having to start from a single point on the map, you’ll be able to choose either spawning at “Sites of Grace” which several of them available on the map or at “Stakes of Marika”, which are spawn locations that are closed to points of interest, like boss fights for example.
I’ve already seen gamepaly by PlayStation Access that shows that if you die in the Dragon boss fight (“Flying Dragin Agheel”), you can spawn very close to it and fight it again (check it out here at minute 12:00).
This is a HUGE DIFFERENCE, being able to fight a boss all over again without walking minutes to get to it in case you die. This probably will be the key features that might convince those who dislike souls game, to give it a shot.
Keep in mind that if you die, you still lose you runes (used for upgrading your character and gear) but like DS3 and Bloodborne, you can retrieve them by going to the location of death and picking them up (maybe for some you’ll need to fight the thing that killed you, not sure) - Precise Aiming Mode – I am not 100% sure about that, but I’ve seen some weapons like the crossbow that requires precise aiming. I think they made these weapon to balance things and make so precise aiming will be requires for some of the range weapons. Just balancing the other things that make the game “easier”.
- Traverse the Map Fast using a Mount – you can also fight and traverse the map on a horse mount, called “Spectral Steed”. This is essential considering the open-world map design. You can jump and double jump and get to far places much quicker and easily avoid enemies.
Speaking of which, you can easily avoid and disengage even some boss fights. Come back later when you are ready. - Mark Important Locations – The game shows some points of interest on the map, but players can also put their own markers. Again, make it easier for players so they can get to those points quicker and make it less frustrating when needing to do some backtracking.
- Co-op & Spawn Spirit to Help in Battle – The game also has co-op and the option to spawn a spirit that can help you in battle if you play alone (not avaialble in multiplayer). You’ll find “Rebirth monuments” that can be used to spawn a spirit that will fight alongside you (it can die if it’s HP reaches zero).
These are just a few points that clearly show the game design direction of Elden Ring and how it’s made to be more forgiving, but still, maintains its difficulty when it comes to fighting enemies. It just cuts on the areas where many players see as a “waste of time” and brings other changes to make the game more appealing to those who otherwise, would blindly skip the game from From Software.
Your Thoughts
What do you think about Elden Ring in that aspect as an experienced souls player or casual gamer. Let me know in the comment section below. Thanks for reading.