This makes games feel artificially huge and intimidating, with few incentives to make progress. Open-world games tend are often overstuffed with fetch quests and collectibles to increase playtime and engagement. But it presents a meaningful widening of that Soulslike/Metroidvania gameplay loop: Explore until you hit a dead-end, and then pick a new direction. The overall interface, art direction, character progression, and multiplayer systems feel just like Bloodborneor Dark Souls III. Elden Ring mechanically and artistically functions just like every Souls game. Beyond that backtracking gameplay loop, they both offer mostly linear experiences.
The Souls formula at large emulates Metroidvanias in that you’re free to explore everything but can only progress in certain areas after you’ve acquired an upgrade or item. But what if you decided to clear out every inch of the map first? For that to even be an option is mind-boggling.Įlden Ring’s vastness feels like an evolutionary leap forward for a studio that doesn’t experiment much with its approach to game design. A nearby NPC tells you to head to the castle in the distance. Right away, you can go wherever you want, and do - or at least try to do - whatever you want. If you’ve seen preview footage of the game, you know it’s coming, but you don’t know when.
Bandai NamcoĮlden Ring lures you in with the predictable and familiar and then subverts your expectations by thrusting you into its open world. Elden Ring’s world is vast and beautiful, but also terrifying.