Dark Souls... a mythical name for some. For others, it would rather send shivers down your spine. To be honest, I would rather fall into the second category. I've never been hooked on games from From Software (the Japanese studio behind the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne or even Sekiro), nor even on all those that resulted from this movement. And yet, there's no denying that this Elden Ring discussed here has some appeal to me (and others like me, as I've seen on social media).
What could cause such an attraction for a game a priori not for us? I think the answer is simply two words: "open world". This is indeed the promise of this Elden Ring: to offer an open world, unlike its big brothers, whose progression was more linear.
Open worlds, in 2022, we know lots of them, with certain archetypes. We have the open world of Rockstar, with GTA and Red Dead, very scripted. That of Ubisoft, often much criticized with its towers to activate. Or even very instanced open worlds, which we often see in MMOs. And then, we also have a very libertarian open world school, offering a multitude of possibilities to players without guiding them directly towards a specific path. It's a bit like the school of Zelda BOTW. And that's where the open world of Elden Ring leans.
The game begins with a classic character creation phase, with a rather complete editor, which allows you to compose many different types.
You must also choose your class, which will have an impact on the starting characteristics of the character. Most of the archetypes are classic (warrior, thief, priest, etc.), but there are 2-3 that look quite original (the Samurai for example, or the prisoner). Now, I feel like class affects starting stats and gear, but that's about it. For my part, I remain basic to discover the game with a Vagabond, a sort of wandering knight.
So here I am, me, a "young" novice in the world of Souls, who arrives in Elden Ring. And the first thing that strikes me: it's austere. Ah yes, don't expect (at least not immediately) to see shimmering colors and light. It's dark, damp, and even a little dirty. The atmosphere is a little anxious in this tiny cave which welcomes our first steps.
And we must recognize that the game does not take us by the hand. Not a lot of information on the screen, a clean interface. Fortunately, a small tutorial allows us to learn the basic commands. But for the rest, I had the impression that the game told me: "Come on, manage yourself!". And that's what I did. First enemies eliminated, a crossing point discovered (which allows you to come back to life)... and a kind of mini-boss waiting for me. And here is the drama. A badly placed blow, here I am open to a counter-attack... and no more Juju! The red message "You are dead" presents itself to me as indelible proof of my incompetence. But don't panic, the waypoint unlocked just before allows me to come back to life, not without having lost a few runes along the way (but I don't care, I don't know what they're still used for!). And here I am again facing this mini-boss, and better prepared, I finally manage to deliver the coup de grace.
The progression therefore continues, while I begin to hope that the game will not be a succession of dark, damp and dirty caves (in any case, I have the impression that these three adjectives will come up often!). And that's good, because after a simple open door, I'm seized by a landscape that offers itself to me, sharp with the dark corners, um... well, you get the idea. Ruins, a tower that soars in the distance, a kind of collapsed bridge, and above all a majestic luminous tree that halos the area with a yellow glow. It must be said that the effect is rather striking.
However, I quickly see that the world around me remains hostile. There reigns a kind of melancholy there... and then, the giant mounted on a kind of mutant horse reminds me well, with hammer blows on the head, that here, death lurks at every turn. And so here I am brought back to the sad reality: I'm really going to have to manage. Here I am immersed in a world that clearly does not want me well and I will not have much support to back me up. I am there, without knowing where to go, without knowing what to do. I don't even have a clue what I'm doing here and what my end goal is.
The path is difficult, but we will not necessarily be alone in this hostile world. From Software had the idea of implementing a message system, which can be left on the ground for other players. Thus, I find, as I progress, messages left by others, which can give indications on what to do, tips, advice... A rather interesting idea. But unfortunately, that's not taking into account the stupidity of the players, some taking malicious pleasure in giving false indications or shamelessly trolling. In the end, what could have been a nice idea to facilitate mutual aid breaks the immersion a little bit. Not to mention the pleasure of discovery. Fortunately, this system can be disabled.
After about half an hour of exploration, I find a new waypoint allowing me to meet Melina, who introduces herself as a Servant, supposed to lead the Shinless like me. In particular, it can give me the possibility of using the runes collected in the world to increase my level, and therefore my characteristics. She also offers me a whistle to summon a spectral steed.
So I continue my exploration, I kill enemies, I rest, I spend the runes acquired to level up (and there you go, they're for that!), I find new equipment. The world of Elden Ring is still quite pleasant to wander around, even if clearly, it's not the house party. The atmosphere is dreary from chez morne. But hey, we generally use the term dark-fantasy for this type of universe, it's not for nothing! But nothing to do, I still have this unpleasant feeling of not knowing what I'm doing here, and I can't get over it. I just know that I am a Shatterless and that I must restore the Circle of Eden. I understood that there is a story with a queen, Marika, and whose descendants, demi-gods, reign over the current world. But other than that, I really don't see what I'm doing here. And it's really confusing. Well, no choice, I'll try to find out a bit elsewhere. The official website gives some indications with this synopsis:
Arise, Shinless, and may grace guide your steps. Harness the power of the Circle of Elden. Become Lord of the Underworld.
In the Underworld where Queen Marika the Eternal reigns, the Circle of Elden, the vital source of the World Tree, was shattered.
Marika's descendants, all demigods, claimed the Circle of Elden shards, also known as major runes.
Thus began the Shattering, a war emanating from the madness of their newfound power. A war that sounded the renunciation of the Supreme Will. Thus will come the hour of the Dull, they who were once denied golden grace, and who were exiled from the Underworld.
You who have perished and yet live, journey to the Underworld, beyond the Sea of Mist, to stand before the Circle of Elden.
And so become Lord.
There at least, it is a little clearer. So Marika's descendants are the bad guys. They broke the Circle of Eden and stole the shards. We will have to take them to restore the Circle and become the Lord. Well, there it was, it wasn't that complicated! Ok, now I see a little more where I am. So I'm going to have to find Marika's descendants and steal their shards. Anyway, that's what I take from it. I imagine that the rest of the adventure will be a little more complex than that.
But at least it allows me to move forward more clearly. Even if I still don't know exactly where to go, I know a little better what I'm looking for. And my walk in search of a demi-god to slay brings me in front of what seems to be a castle, where a strange creature challenges me. A fight is obviously on the way. Fortunately, just before, I was able to use a summoning stone, which allowed me to call another character (a Sorcerer) to help. It is obviously an NPC, but I imagine that this system can be used to call another player for help, a Coop mode being implemented.
And yes, my fears were well founded, here comes my first real fight, with what seems to be some kind of humanoid chimera (the chimera is a mythological animal, usually with the head of a lion, with the body of a goat and a tail of snake). A rather successful design, the monster is really very impressive. And so are his attacks. I spent almost 90% of my time doing more rolls to dodge his attacks than kicking him. And besides, my buddy the Sorcerer got killed after 30 seconds! But it was a good fight, nonetheless. Very impressive.
There you go, it's been roughly three hours since I played Elden Ring. What do you think of these three hours of play? Well, to be honest, I don't really know. There is indeed something that makes me want to continue to see the rest, it's undeniable. Not to the point of saying to myself when I'm not playing "When can I play again?", but still. Now, is it really for its qualities that I want to continue or is it to try to understand why this game is incredible for many players? Because as it stands, after my three hours spent in this universe, I must admit that I still have trouble understanding all this enthusiasm. It's a good game, that's for sure (despite some obvious flaws, like a little stiff and not very instinctive gameplay). Does that make it a revolutionary game, which will forever mark the history of video games as some claim? Quite frankly, I doubt it. Maybe I'm wrong. And I'm going to keep playing it to get to the bottom of it. See you later for my conclusion!
