Elden Ring: A Great Game

Now that I have beaten Elden Ring I have a new opinion about the game and that is that this game is great. But you might be wondering, why? At first I thought Elden Ring was somewhat flawed. With its combat and storing telling. But after beating the game I realized that is what makes this game great. But I think Elden Ring’s Success comes down to three major things; Exploration, Freedom, and Scale of this game.  

     First of all, Exploration. A key part of Elden Ring is the open world and how much you can truly explore. In total there are 5 main regions and 8 sub regions. With each of these regions being different in their own way. For example, the first region, Limgrave. Limgrave can best be described as a basic area. It's a grassland area with a forest to the east, a swamp in the middle, and shores to the west. Plus, there is Stormveil Castle that looms over the region. Limgrave is the perfect beginning area. The enemies are unique but not over the top crazy. The enemies consist of soldiers, soldiers on horses, giant bats, trolls, a dragon, and more. So enemies you would expect to see in a beginning area. The next main area you will most likely encounter is Liurnia of the Lakes. And you can probably guess by the name, this region is a large lake. Liurnia is the largest region by far. The massive lake in the center reaches from Limgrave all the way far north to the next region, The Atlas Plateau. Plus, there's towering cliffs that shroud the lake in the dark. Liurnia is by far the most diverse. Enemies include; soldiers, giant shrimp, wizards/witches, large wolves, zombies, and a lot more. I would say Liurnia is one of the best regions in the game.

     Next, let's talk about the freedom Elden Ring gives you as a player. I can not stress enough how much freedom this game gives you, from the weapons, spells, armor and basically everything you can do in this game. A great example of your freedom is during the first major dungeon, Stormveil Castle. You can simply go around the castle and head to the next region. And don’t fight the main boss. If you can’t defeat the first boss you can just skip it. That’s true freedom. But, this freedom does come with a downside. If you choose to skip over bosses and dungeons you will miss out on both; armor/weapons and the experience. Plus, the next region you go to will be more challenging. Now to weapons freedom. You get to choose whatever weapon you want. If you want to use a classic sword and shield, a massive hammer, abundant magic, daggers, or even a sword where you jump in the air and fly towards your enemies, you can. I absolutely love this because it means you aren't forced to use any specific weapon, and every new playthrough can be different in so many ways. Plus the armor adds to this freedom even more. The armor can vary from basic knight armor, robes, golden armor, rags, dragon armor and so much more. Some armor gives buffs, some are just really cool. Personally, I like mix-matching different armors till some look cool.

     Lastly, let me talk about the pure scale of this game and how other games don’t come close to Elden Ring size. I’ve played A lot of video games but I’ve never played a game that has the same size and scale as Elden Ring. The only game that can somewhat compare would either be Red Dead Redemption or any of the Dark Soul games. Red Dead because it’s open world game is massive as well and Dark Souls because it's also made by the same developers. Elden Ring has a massive map with so many things to explore, and each region is unique and cool in its own way. Plus, there’s a ton of NPCs (Nonplayer character) quests that help you understand the world and unlock cool items. And to add to that; the bosses are both interesting and cool. From the first boss to the last one, each has unique designs and lore. For example, the first boss Godrick the Grafted. His whole deal is that he does grafting, which is the art of attracting tissues together. So, when you meet Godrick he has a grotesque amount of extra limbs all over his body. He also wields a great ax and a smaller one he holds in one of his grafted arms. He does grafting so that he can gain power so that one day he can become Elden lord. In my opinion, Godrick has one of the best design and voice actors in the game. 

     Elden Ring is hands down a great game with so many things to do, that gives you so much independence, and has a size that doesn’t come close to any other game. If you enjoy open world games with an amazing and interesting world, or the choice to do whatever you want, this is a perfect game for you. This game has hard bosses and you will be dying a lot, so try not to be frustrated. And remember “Prepare to Die”.