Elden Ring fulfills two requirements for a good brain teaser: it has a huge world with no limits as to where you can go, and there is a lot to discover as you explore this huge world. Yes, yes, I enjoyed learning Elden Ring. If I understand correctly, previous Dark Souls games were more linear, so opening up the open world is a huge plus for fans of the "Bad" genre for Elden Ring.
However, I first read a few reviews comparing Elden's Ring to Wild Breath. Wild Breath is probably the benchmark for open world games. Unfortunately, Elden Ring doesn't go anywhere without playing in a league at all. The thing about Wild Breath is that if you see a landmark on the horizon, you can (a) get there and (b) find something interesting there. Elden Ring failed on both counts. There is no climbing, no swimming, no limited jumping in the Elden Ring, which has a slight incline as you ride. As a result, there are many places on the map that you just can't get past. Elden Ring stays true to the old-school design, with mountains and water restricting the path, leading players down specific paths. Okay, and there are many more places to explore, but that's not Breath of the Wild.
Also, what you see in Elden Ring is not necessarily what you get. I walked around the interesting buildings in Elden Ring where there are no entrances and little to find. I freed the castle with no suspicious interiors, and some of the buildings had no entrances. I saw the majestic pylons surrounding the strange bridge between the islands, but I saw that there was no way to get to the top and cross that road. The world design in Elden Ring looks great on the outside, but it's not meant to be used everywhere. You can't even climb the roofs of most of the buildings, so it's not even suitable for Assassin's Creed games.
For example, some of my most exciting expeditions in World of Warcraft have taken low-level characters to high-level fishing grounds. This usually means multiple deaths because the lower you are in WoW compared to wolves, the higher your agro radius. In comparison, exploring high-level areas of Elden Ring is a waste of time: aggro range is small and doesn't increase with level difference, monsters are generally slow to react to your presence, and you can get right in the middle of the action. early stages. the game. You can go anywhere without too much risk.
Overall I enjoyed exploring Elden Ring but would appreciate it. If you're looking for a replacement for Wild Breath, you'll have to wait until Wild Breath 2 releases later this year.
