Die and knight cycle.
At first, it’s happening so slowly that you barely notice it.
Even out under the vast, open skies of these Lands Between you aren’t safe.
In this world, you start as nothing, no-one.
But then, little by little, your power grows.
Bandits and wolves and soldiers turn to demons and witches and fey, and your power grows again.
As your power grows, so too does the challenge, and the wonder of the journey before you.
Before long, you feel you just might be strong enough to challenge the demigods themselves.
This is an ebb and a rhythm well-known to fans of From Software games by now.
In this, Elden Ring is surprisingly successful.
Generally, their damage output will be laughable and they can only be summoned in certain areas.
Everything comes at a price, or with a tradeoff.
It’s another way the gameplay has been subtly opened up.
Whether Elden Ring successfully pulls in new players or not remains to be seen.
“Elden Ring remains a glorious game…”
There are a few, small downsides.
Elden Ring lacks a bit of polish here and there.
Gameplay-wise, not all new features are created equal.
Melee or ranger classes needing ready access to arrows or thrown items might well feel differently, however.
Add to that FromSoftware’s unforgiving and unforgettable gameplay loop and this is something truly special.
