On Feb. 25, the Japanese game studio FromSoftware released their most anticipated title yet, Elden Ring. Rising to the top charts on platforms such as Steam and the Xbox Marketplace, the game is a breath of fresh air for AAA gaming.
In light of the stink being emitted from Dice and Activision-Blizzard, Elden Ring provides players with an RPG experience similar to other Dark Souls-like installments from FromSoftware.
“It seems like everyone, even people who don’t usually partake in FromSoftware games, is playing Elden Ring. It’s currently the seventh most played game on Steam based on number of concurrent players and has a score of 97 on Metacritic, putting it on track to be this year’s highest rated game,” the Verge remarked.
Gamers will experience a main story that will take them a week to complete if played as a day job (wouldn’t that be the life?). Alongside the main missions are side quests equating to 75 hours of additional content. All in all, Elden Ring will take 126 hours to complete, according to IGN. For my true completionists and achievement hunters out there, I don’t even want to think about the hours you all will put in.
The game has received a 10/10 Masterpiece rating from IGN, further emphasizing the immediate influence of this game.
“FromSoftware takes the ball that Breath of the Wild got rolling and runs with it,” said IGN. “Elden Ring … is one of the most unforgettable gaming experiences.”
In the game, you play as a relatively unknown character; yet, through playing the game, you develop your character into a fierce warrior.
Within just a few days of the game’s release, players have discovered how to exploit the game to “farm,” or level up their character with ease and speed.
“To level up fast in Elden Ring, you’ll need to accumulate Runes quickly. There’s a spawn in Greyoll’s Dragonbarrow that players can easily one-shot with the right equipment. Each takedown will net players around 1,000 Runes, making it a lucrative farming strategy,” Dot Esports reported.
The game has no waypoints. The HUD is minimal. Some of the NPC’s actions are unpredictable, creating an open-world experience unlike any other. Clearly, this type of experience is challenging and not for the faint of heart.
Despite its niche nature, the game has surpassed FromSoftware’s previously best-selling game by 26%, according to Games Industry.
Further bolstering its formidable spot among other games is its popularity on the Steamdeck, Steam’s new handheld console.
What appears to be a competent competitor to the Nintendo Switch, the Steamdeck is made for the hardcore gamer, enabling them to bring their games with them wherever they go. This is nothing new. Ever since GameGear was released, gamers have been playing on-the-go. But this addition to the platform lineup has boosted sales numbers for Elden Ring, placing it within the top-five games sold on the Steam marketplace.
On Monday night the game’s multiplayer servers underwent some much-needed maintenance. Like any game, the launch has not been flawless. Players have complained about framerate issues, as well as controllers not working for PC players.
“Lots of PC players have been reporting issues with Elden Ring not recognizing their gamepad, even when their PC does,” PC Gamer reported. “We’ve had mixed results among PC Gamer staff members, but avoid alt+tabbing out of Elden Ring if possible, as that seems to have triggered our issues,” they informed gamers.
The Beat @APU 