REVIEWS

ELDEN RING

Dark Souls 3.75 here!

After a long wait, it was time to dip the virtual pen into the inkwell and record thoughts on what is perhaps the most anticipated title for 2022. I'll be clear: this review will not be the 10/10 dithyramb that Elden Ring received in spades before it was even released. I've already detailed the reasons why this happened, reasons that have not been corrected. Starting sort of in reverse from the traditional review, we'll analyze what's wrong with Elden Ring and why it doesn't get a pass just because it happens to have a certain hardcore fanbase.

The game was as hard on my PC as a bear-hug from a huge bear (obligatory bear-reference in a RageQuit review - check).

As we have already said, the game has several technical issues. Admittedly, the main test system can't cope satisfactorily with the requirements of the game (AMD FX-8370 4.34 GHz, 16GB RAM, Win10 64-bit, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080Ti 12GB). In this case the main culprit is none other than the now outdated CPU. The game was experiencing serious rendering issues with enemy textures not being able to load properly. In a heightened challenging title where combat is based around action-reaction to enemy moveset you can understand that this is a huge problem. To be fair, things improve noticeably when entering "closed" or less system-hungry areas (e.g. Stormveil Castle). Recent patches have not fixed the problem in this aspect.

Okay, the game is really trolling me, I thought, and I guess invisible enemies are a feature.

The truth is that we didn't expect anything to change dramatically with the patches. Elden Ring suffers from optimisation issues that can't be solved with a small patch. Stuttering is now a reality that has been thoroughly analyzed. The problem lies in how the game is programmed to be compiled by DirectX12, which is new for a FromSoftware game since the previous ones used DX11. After conversations I've had with several players the problems exist on (much) stronger problems as well. Elden Ring for some reason requires a lot of single-core power from the CPU (in 2022) and cannot "see" more than 4 cores (personal communication with Great0ldOne). Brute force is probably a solution that can address most of these problems successfully, the more horsepower the better, but it doesn't eliminate them. And that's because the title suffers programmatically. Another example that reinforces this observation is the issue of co-op, or rather the great difficulty of playing co-op. Apart from the rather abstract way the game requires you to invite friends to your game (maximum number of 2 + 1 enemy for PvP), crashes due to networking problems are more than common. Drop-outs are a common occurrence even if one has optimized their network settings to be able to exclusively see their acquaintances.

The real boss in Elden Ring: the simultaneous existence of three players in one game.

And that is the great pity and wonder why a title with such obvious problems should enjoy excellence and reviews that are nothing less than embroidered praise. If the digital box said Ubisoft on it instead of FromSoftware, then things would be very different with memes taking over the internet and vitriolic jokes coming and going. The answer of course is obvious and twofold: a) FromSoftware cashes in by recycling a winning recipe based on the memberberries of its fans (thanks ccwr), b) Elden Ring (ER) is a really great title if we leave aside any issues.

The central hub of the game, where we can upgrade weapons and chat with NPCs for the necessary questlines.

It's not hard to understand from the beginning that ER is a Dark Souls reskin: bonfires are called graces, souls are called runes, movesets, weapon textures have been transferred almost unchanged. Even the level design in some places is reminiscent of the excellent DS1. Of course, several years have passed and plenty of titles and various recipes come back in one way or another to give a different identity to From's new game. The result is that we're dealing with the company's most accessible title, which of course doesn't mean it's a walk in the park for the average gamer. We won't go into elements we've seen before in its older titles (Dark Souls, Bloodborne) from which it draws mechanics, but we'll emphasize the new ones.

Memories of Dark Souls 1.

The main gameplay additions that make ER accessible are a result of the open-world element. Already from the end of the fairly short tutorial the player is confronted with a huge expanse of land, which is capable of overwhelming him. In the first bonfire grace he finds before him (and preferably with high textures loaded) it becomes clear that the game is trying to direct the player towards a general direction by pointing the way with a light emerging towards the wider goal of the area. This is reflected in the game's map, which is an artistic masterpiece in its own right. Of course one can fall into the trap and head that way, but in reality life will be much easier if one explores the map as much as they can. The reason is because each sub-region of ER is full of various mini-bosses that give the necessary runes and equipment to make life easier when it comes time to face the main bosses.

If anything, Elden Ring manages to immerse you in its world right from the start.

In this sense, Elden Ring breaks the mold of the "invisible" wall (pun intended) that existed (mostly) in the first Dark Souls. If the player gets stuck on a boss, all they have to do is leave it temporarily and explore the rest of the world for something more passable and to their liking. He doesn't have to climb an imaginary hill until he learns the entire moveset of a boss in order to make progress. Contributing to this is the fact that the boss fights are just as challenging as their predecessors, but there are so many that they are of escalating difficulty. Assisting in the exploration of the world is the Torrent, a gooey steed that becomes available early in the game. Admittedly, the existence of the mount makes some battles quite easy, as one can patiently cheeseboard them even at fairly low levels. The way to deal with the risk of cheesing in all boss fights and areas has been addressed in two ways. One is the now familiar fog before every boss fight, although the game is particularly generous with the summons of both NPCs and spirits that we can have. The second way is the so-called Legacy Dungeons (the aforementioned Stormveil Castle being one of them). In Legacy Dungeons we essentially enter the stronghold of the Legendary Tarnished of the day, the famous NPCs who have pieces of the Elden Ring after its shattering (any attempt at any Miyazaki game scenario analysis is funny to say the least, even if G.R.R. Martin's... finger is involved). Both the exploration and the design in these bring more to the level design of the classic Souls games, i.e. it becomes entirely pedestrian.

Letting the summonses do the work. We didn't say they do it well.

Having said that, the game is accessible, but this doesn't contradict or detract from the identity of From's games: it still gives evidence sparingly to the point where the abstract narrative and description of gameplay mechanics becomes abstract and even vague. An example (and we come back to this) is the entire mechanism for co-op summons as well as very brief explanations, or lack thereof, for some key mechanics. The paradox also appears that while the open-world gives generous reagents for crafting, a system that has been significantly improved, the UI to be significantly lacking. An example is the lack of item comparison between one's own inventory and the vendor's, which requires either paper and pencil, or the risk of buying something expensive enough for a small profit. Such a quality of life addition would in no way alter the character of Elden Ring, and would save a lot of accumulated time for more important things (e.g. boss wipes).

There is plenty of room for experimentation in weapon upgrades.

Looking at the visual part, the only word to describe the first impression the player gets is: awe. From the opening of the first door that reveals the world for the first time, an uncharted canvas waiting for us to discover its every secret, I was overwhelmed by a feeling of excitement and enthusiasm. Regardless of its technical issues, the game remains gorgeous, every corner of its open world has received much-needed attention. Every spot on the map is designed with care, while the transitions from area to area are reminiscent of old-time titans and hobby reference points like Morrowind. All other elements of the game are familiar to fans and fans of the series since the assets are taken from Dark Souls sometimes with a few modifications.

Words are few to describe the surprise and awe when I first entered the area. Comfortably one of the most thrilling moments in recent years without the game doing literally anything...

I started the review somewhat backwards, listing the negative elements that characterized my experience with the Elden Ring. The truth is that while I appreciate Dark Souls and consider Sekiro perhaps more suited to their philosophy - or to be clear the best implementation of the mechanics of From regardless of genre, I'm not a hardcore fan. This payoff perhaps lends more weight to the final judgement, since it's not shrouded in the treacherous veil of hype. The technical problems I encountered were a combination between an outdated system and poor programming. Admittedly, the release of Elden Ring is nowhere near the fiasco of Cyberpunk 2077. But I personally think that if the blinders come off it will reveal that the emperor is slowly undressing. There are weaknesses that are now systematically repeated with every FromSoftware release, and although they haven't reached the measly levels of any TES/Fallout release of any Bethesda-era TES/Fallout release, it's time they were eliminated.

Until the necessary patches and the required upgrade come out, I'll just be admiring landscapes. That's an occupation in itself in the world of ER.

The above does not ignore the fact that Elden Ring is an excellent game. Aside from the obvious fan service, the gamble FromSoftware made paid off. The open-world has been organically integrated into the solid foundations of the Souls Series gameplay. I think the success of Elden Ring is that the open-world gives it countless combinations of how each player can build the story of their first playthrough. The shared experience of the Souls fanbase transitions from "remember what you were like when you got your ass kicked there and there" to something completely different: how and when they found each secret, how the entire trajectory of their digital avatar changed because they decided to turn left instead of right. The transition from a metroidvania mold to a sandbox was a complete success. Elden Ring was well worth the wait.

How much did you die?

RATING - 92%

92%

Platinum ring.

FromSoftware has opened up metaphorically and its bet has paid off. Elden Ring is a solid contender for Game of the Year 2022 despite any technical issues it may have.

Παύλος Γεράνιος

A native of Hyperborea, Pavlos has long since experienced interaction with the screen. The first games he remembers playing were Gran Prix, Test Drive, Digger and Flight for DOS at a time when most people now had Windows... This didn't deter him and he loved the Mother Platform from the very first moment. He also dabbled in the barren fringe of consoles (always at friends' houses, never his own), but it was the PC that kept him going. A lover of quality titles from all genres, he believes how the story and what the game as a medium wants to say is the main thing, not the label. There are always the exceptions of course...

17 Comments

  1. Notice: Function WP_Object_Cache::add was called incorrectly. Cache key must not be an empty string. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.1.0.) in /home/admin/web/ragequit.gr/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6031
    class="comment byuser comment-author-104373 even thread-even depth-1 has-avatar">

    αγαπημενη συνηθεια να διαβαζω ρηβιους παιγνιδιων που δεν θα παιξω ποτέ στα ταιμ αουτς των αγωνων των μπακς.
    ωστοσο, σε λιγο θα γειρω και δεν μπορω ακομα να καμω undo την εικονα που γεννησε η φραση “γιδομορφο ατι”.

    αναθεμα σε, λογοπλαστη ρηβιούερ.

  2. Εάν σε παρηγορεί, λίγες φορές κατάφερα κι εγώ να το δω. Το επικαλούμουν και έπειτα περιφερομουν στον κόσμο σαν αιωρούμενος αψιδοπόδης σαμουράι.

  3. [QUOTE=”Bathory, post: 595311, member: 102742″]
    10/10 παιχνιδαρα
    [/QUOTE]
    Δεν είναι το ριβιού του Baldur’s Sins 3

    [MEDIA=youtube]9tO9JC0xS-U[/MEDIA]

  4. Γατακια. το παλικαρακι το τελειωσε χωρις να κανει damage (ο ιδιος).

    [MEDIA=youtube]yKoJQhB1JAk[/MEDIA]

  5. Βλέπω κάτι λαθάκια στο κείμενο [S]ΠΟΥ ΒΓΑΖΟΥΝ ΜΑΤΙ[/S], αλλά σκέφτηκα ότι παίζει να είναι τίποτα μέτα φάση. Όπως το γκέημ είναι απίστευτο και σοκαριστικό παρά τα κουσούρια του εδώ κι εκεί, έτσι και το ρηβιού παραμένει τέλειο και σοκαριστικά γαμάτο παρά τις μλκς αυτές που μόνο κάτι γέροι προσέχουν. Λέω μήπως ταράχτηκε ο συμπαθής βιοκαφρούλης κατά τη σύνταξη του κειμένου και είπε να πάει να ψιλογαμηθεί κιόλας. Ήδη από τις πρώτες προτάσεις κάνει την εμφάνισή του ο δαίμονας. Το αναφέρω απλά επειδή μου έκανε εντύπωση μιας και δεν είχα συνηθίσει κάτι τέτοιο, κατά βάθος οκ ζμπουτς μας.

  6. Ναι ρε το σιγούρεψα πρώτα, δοκίμασα να το διαβάσω και με την τηλεόραση ανοιχτή, το κινητό κλειστό, έβγαλα το καναρίνι από το κλουβί μπας και, ανοιγόκλεισα το ψυγείο καναδυό φορές, αλλά δεν άλλαξε κάτι. Και τρέφω υπερβολική αγάπη για την πλούσια χαίτη σου για να μην αναφέρω τίποτα. Όπως δεν θα άφηνα μία κοπέλα να περπατάει στο δρόμο με όλη την πλάτη έξω, επειδή το πουλόβερ έχει σκαλώσει στο σουτιέν ένα πράμα. Τρου στόρι.

  7. [QUOTE=”soad667, post: 595342, member: 102682″]
    Βλέπω κάτι λαθάκια στο κείμενο [S]ΠΟΥ ΒΓΑΖΟΥΝ ΜΑΤΙ[/S], αλλά σκέφτηκα ότι παίζει να είναι τίποτα μέτα φάση. Όπως το γκέημ είναι απίστευτο και σοκαριστικό παρά τα κουσούρια του εδώ κι εκεί, έτσι και το ρηβιού παραμένει τέλειο και σοκαριστικά γαμάτο παρά τις μλκς αυτές που μόνο κάτι γέροι προσέχουν. Λέω μήπως ταράχτηκε ο συμπαθής βιοκαφρούλης κατά τη σύνταξη του κειμένου και είπε να πάει να ψιλογαμηθεί κιόλας. Ήδη από τις πρώτες προτάσεις κάνει την εμφάνισή του ο δαίμονας. Το αναφέρω απλά επειδή μου έκανε εντύπωση μιας και δεν είχα συνηθίσει κάτι τέτοιο, κατά βάθος οκ ζμπουτς μας.
    [/QUOTE]

    Δεν έχεις τσίπα πάνω σου βρε Σόδα; Πώς κατηγοράς έτσι τον [USER=102592]@Northlander[/USER] μας; Εντάξει, έκανε κάποια λαθάκια [ISPOILER]υπό την επήρεια κάποιας αδιευκρίνιστης ουσίας[/ISPOILER]. Δε φτάνει δηλαδή που πόσταρε το ριβιού μέσα στα άγρια τα μεσάνυχτα, μιλάς κι από πάνω για λάθη; ΕΣΧΩΣ!!!111!!!

  8. Πάλευα χθες με αληθινά bosses από αυτά που σε βγάζουν νοκ-αουτ για μέρες. Τι να μας κάνουν οι Μαλεενα και τα δρακάκια.

    Επίσης προς υπεράσπισή μου δεν ήταν άγριο μεσάνυχτο, σχεδόν ξημέρωμα ήταν για Ελλάδα.:solaire:

  9. επιβεβαιωνω.

    ειχα την αναμφισβητητη ΤΙΜΗ να διαβασω ισως πρωτος το πονημα του νορθλάτε.
    εχμμμ, τελειως πρωτος. απ οσα υπονοεί ο σοδας, ισως να μην το χε διαβασει καν ο ιδιος. 😆

    [SPOILER=”σπόιλε”]
    [ATTACH type=”full”]3205[/ATTACH]
    [/SPOILER]

  10. [QUOTE=”soad667, post: 595342, member: 102682″]
    Βλέπω κάτι λαθάκια στο κείμενο [S]ΠΟΥ ΒΓΑΖΟΥΝ ΜΑΤΙ[/S], αλλά σκέφτηκα ότι παίζει να είναι τίποτα μέτα φάση. Όπως το γκέημ είναι απίστευτο και σοκαριστικό παρά τα κουσούρια του εδώ κι εκεί, έτσι και το ρηβιού παραμένει τέλειο και σοκαριστικά γαμάτο παρά τις μλκς αυτές που μόνο κάτι γέροι προσέχουν. Λέω μήπως ταράχτηκε ο συμπαθής βιοκαφρούλης κατά τη σύνταξη του κειμένου και είπε να πάει να ψιλογαμηθεί κιόλας. Ήδη από τις πρώτες προτάσεις κάνει την εμφάνισή του ο δαίμονας. Το αναφέρω απλά επειδή μου έκανε εντύπωση μιας και δεν είχα συνηθίσει κάτι τέτοιο, κατά βάθος οκ ζμπουτς μας.
    [/QUOTE]

    Μπήκα και εγώ να το αναφέρω για να διορθωθούν, αλλά διαβάζοντας τα post, κατάλαβα ότι είναι feature😅

  11. [QUOTE=”Northlander, post: 595362, member: 102592″]
    Επίσης προς υπεράσπισή μου δεν ήταν άγριο μεσάνυχτο, σχεδόν ξημέρωμα ήταν για Ελλάδα.:solaire:
    [/QUOTE]

    Ε ΟΚ, άγρια χαράματα τότε. Εκεί θα κολλήσουμε; :Ρ

  12. Κρίμα για τα προβλήματα που δε σου επέτρεψαν να ευχαριστηθείς το τίτλο (έστω προς το παρόν).
    Πιστεύω ότι το σύστημα σου παίζει περισσότερο ρόλο απ’ όσο πιστεύεις. Είδα και εγώ στο steam reviews του τύπου “5800x, 64gb ram και 3080 και έχω FPS drops” αλλά πιστεύω ότι είτε θα σταματήσαν μετά τα πρώτα patches, είτε απλώς δε θα σχετίζονται με το game αν δεν είναι υπερβολές. Το λέω καθάρα από τη δική μου εμπειρία με τον (τυπικά “recommended”) 8700Κ σε 1440p που ήταν μεν top of the line για intel τότε αλλά έχει κλείσει 5ετία σχεδόν….

    Επίσης, κάποια πραγματάκια διορθώθηκαν πιστεύω.
    Προσωπικό παράδειγμα: Κάτι micro-dips κάτω από 60 που είχα όταν πλησιάζεις στο Stormveil Castle σε μια χαρακτηριστική περιοχή που φυσούν κάτι άνεμοι διορθώθηκαν από τη μέρα στην άλλη όταν πέρασε η 1.02.

  13. Για αυτό το λόγο προσπάθησα να είμαι αντικειμενικός στο performance. Ο υψηλός βαθμός του, παρότι το παιχνίδι είναι ξαναζεσταμένη κονσέρβα είναι κυρίως λόγω του πλούτου που παρέχει από μάχες αλλά και εξερεύνηση.

  14. [QUOTE=”tommas, post: 595464, member: 102723″]
    patches,
    [/QUOTE]

    Ποια patches; Πιο πολύ είδαμε τον Patches, παρά patches.

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