A reader reveals how much he’s enjoying Elden Ring but wonders whether its extreme difficult means it’s not been reviewed fairly.
Elden Ring has been my current gaming obsession, almost literally. Even when I’m not playing it I’m thinking about it or watching videos or listening to podcasts to pick up hints and tips. However, I can’t decide if it deserves all the accolades.
Firstly, the positives. It might seem a slightly daft one but the value for money. For less than £50 I received a new next gen AAA game that was full length and from a fairly major studio and with the physical release I got some stickers, a woven patch, a poster, and some postcards. That’s frankly crazy and almost unheard of these days. I’m old enough to remember when every new release had some kind of keepsake, even just an instructions booklet.
The game also has striking visuals. Granted, as a next gen and current gen release it might not have the same impressive graphics as, say, Horizon Forbidden West, but even so it has a unique design that is different to so many games that it stands out. It’s a testament to the game and the art style that it never feels boring.
I also enjoy the more measured combat style, where every hit feels like it matters and each victory feels significant, no matter how small. The exploration is also a huge amount of fun, with so many varied enemies and a landscape that invites players to get lost in. It doesn’t hurt that the horse riding is possibly the best I’ve ever experienced in gaming. And the horse double jump is mwah chef’s kiss.
I’m less enamoured with the inventory system and menus. They seem to me somewhat confusing and complicated. I had to look up how to equip something to my pouch. To be fair to Elden Ring it’s not the worst offender. To me, The Witcher 3 has by far the worst menu and inventory system, to the point that I can’t level up because it baffles me. Why can’t games have simple easy to use inventory menus? For me Zelda: Breath Of The Wild is a great example of how to do it.
My main complaint is the difficulty. I know it’s a never-ending argument. I’m slightly on the fence. On the one hand I admire the creators for sticking to their guns and making the game they want to make and not succumbing to pressure to create something purely to be profitable. And judging by the numbers it seems the game is defying expectations, I think if I’m correct outside of FIFA, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Call Of Duty it’s the most successful launch title ever.
[It’s the most successful since Red Redemption 2, not counting FIFA and Call Of Duty, other games before that may also have sold faster – GC]
Would difficulty options really dilute experience? Surely Dark Souls veterans could still play on hard mode and the game would be accessible to a new audience. Should Elden Ring still be considered a masterpiece when it is only accessible to a certain group of players? I honestly don’t know.
The glowing reviews would indicate that the games difficulty shouldn’t detract from its quality. However, I would argue the reviews might be slightly bias. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying this was intentional, but reviewers must have by the nature of the game have had preconceived bias towards Elden Ring. Most games take a slight degree of skill to finish and therefore be able to make an informed comment on, but this is likely in the grasp of even those with limited skills.
FromSoftware games on the other hand arguably take a great degree of skill and dedication. Given the time constraints on reviewers it is therefore likely that those who reviewed the game probably already possessed those skills and had previous knowledge and experience with other similar games and therefore Elden Ring was more likely to be a game they already had a bias, unconscious or otherwise towards. Would the game have reviewed as well if it wasn’t as niche? Who knows, possibly.
At the moment I’m undecided. Regardless of whether I eventually get to a point where I can actually finish the game, I can see it is obviously very well made and there are many valid points as to whether it deserves the praise lavished upon it. However, does a game deserve to be heralded as one of the best ever when it excludes a large portion of players not based on their individual likes and dislikes but based purely on skill and patience? I guess only time will tell.
By reader matc7884
The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
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