[available today] the 50-hour premiere of "ELDEN RING"! The dark fantasy of the masterpiece of difficulty and comfort

On Friday, February 25th, 2022, the Open World Action RPG "Eldenlin" created by Fromm Software will be available soon. This is the latest work in three years since winning Game of the year's SEKIRO:SHADOWS DIE TWICE in 2019. This time, because I got access to such "Eldenlin" before its release, I would like to introduce some comments on this work on the basis of playing for about 50 hours (not cleared). In addition, although there is no storytelling spoiler, but the elements of the system explain part of it, so I hope to read it on the basis of knowing it.

For the crashed world, the player's goal is the King of Helder.

The Demi Gold, holding the great rune, indulged in this force and led to a great battle known as the "broken War". In the barren "narrow land", players will embark on the journey to become king of Elder as "faded people". The story begins when a faded person wakes up somewhere in a narrow place.

The appearance of the player's character can be customized freely.

The broken war, as an important element of this work, was over at the beginning of the story. The so-called narrow place is like a huge ancient battlefield, with collapsed castles, streets and battlefields stacked with corpses everywhere. Because the story of Eldenlin stays at the implied level, it is important for the protagonist's environment and human story-based investigation to have a deep understanding of the storyline.

On the basis of investigation, the text written on equipment and props is a valuable source of information. Yingao Miyazaki (chairman of Fromm Software), who wrote texts in works such as "Dark Seoul" and "Bradburn", is also responsible for writing in this work, and the thick text in his hand is still alive.

Instead of putting on airs with difficult words, use concise language to express the world view of the whole sentence. It is touching to write things not in words, but in words. Mr. Miyazaki conscientiously guards the etiquette of such good articles and famous texts. I envy his ability as a writer. When playing with the product version, it is needless to say that as the material of the story, the ability of the article is also of concern.

"fluffy bar" is not much in "Fromgay". It's a bit of a lovely expression.

Although inspection is important, the story of Eldenlin is easier than that of Dark Seoul and Bradburn. In places like the Blessing checkpoint, a woman named Melina will talk to local topics and white characters and hear local stories. Although it is difficult to say that it is aimed at tens of thousands of people, there is no doubt that it is a bit straightforward compared with Fromm's past works.

By the way, this work is brand new, independent of the past works of Fromm Software, led by Dark Seoul. Therefore, even people who are commonly known as "Fromuge" from this work do not need preparatory knowledge, so please rest assured.

Even 50 hours is not enough for a dense open world.

This work is also an open world, and the breadth of the world that can be explored is amazing. From where the player first woke up, there is a huge castle in the north and a vast peninsula in the south. Because it is an open world, so you can go any way? the author came out of the initial labyrinth and was the first to go south, and most of the exploration took more than 10 hours.

There are dungeons such as ruins and towers in all parts of the narrow land, and each has its own boss. Depending on the location, you will meet the boss on the court, not in the dungeon. In addition, there are many things to do, such as the commission of people, grasslands and trees have the necessary materials for "props production".

When it comes to the open world, the breadth of the world is more prominent than the volume of the game, but this work is broad and deep. There are nearly dozens of dungeons written above, as well as narration stories about people living in narrow places. The author spent 10 hours on the southern peninsula, while the peninsula in the narrow land is less than 1/5 of the total area.

From the "props making" of the menu screen, you can use materials to make props at any time.

After the narrow land of broken war, there is a twisted, crumbling world, that is, the world that is about to end. Of course, there are no busy streets and people there. Instead, the elements related to games led by the maze are completely filled. It is precisely because the simple style is the selling point of the From software can do it. It can be said that this work puts the density of single-channel games almost intact into the open world. To such a deep degree.

On the other hand, it takes into account not only the volume of the open world, but also convenience. There are many strongholds called "blessings" on the narrow land, where you can automatically supplement the "Grail bottle" as a restoration project, use "runes" to strengthen various parameters (Lebel Up), and so on. It can also move instantly between blessings and achieve the so-called "fast travel" function.

Moreover, as long as the contact blessing, once the collected material will immediately come back to life, so in order to make props of the material collection is also very easy. Remember the colony of the material, etc., after bypassing that route, it is possible to come into contact with blessings and then collect them. If not discovered by the enemy, the player's physical strength will not consume anything, so search and material collection can be liked. However, as long as you come into contact with blessings, not only the material, but also the enemy will be resurrected, so be careful not to neglect.

Once knocked down by the enemy, the rune you held before will be left in place. If you die before you take it back, all the previous runes will disappear.

In addition to the fast travel between the blessings, it is also recommended to take the Trent horse to move. Trent can call at any time using the "finger flute of the spirit horse" and can move quickly when riding. Places that can't be reached on foot can also jump through 2 stages, or you can ride players to fight. The attack will leave the original place, and it is also easy to break away from the tactics of warfare with one blow.

However, after the zero-strength Trent disappears, the player will fall. For a period of time after falling off the horse, the player lies on his back defenseless. Because it takes time to return, you will be vulnerable if you are attacked by the enemy during this period. I think it's better to fall off the horse = die.

Trent is convenient, but like players, jumping from a certain height will kill you on the spot. Even if you kill momentum in a two-stage jump, the judgment of death on the spot doesn't seem to go away. If you run around, you may die. Remember that the height of death is the best, but if you are upset, it is recommended to use a single "iridescent stone". If it is the difference between the height of death on the spot, the stone will be broken to tell me.

The Spirit and Protection counter is a simple combat system.

In this work, players are equipped with up to 3 weapons on their right hand and left hand to fight. There are various types of defense, from dagger, dagger and other weapons to the defense type headed by the middle shield.

With swords and shields, it's also good to distinguish between attack and defense. You can wield swords and large swords, and there are ways to shoot from afar with magic and bows. In order to equip all kinds of weapons, you need certain parameters, but at least use physical departments such as swords and guns to distinguish from magic systems without entities, so there is no problem as long as you strengthen the projects that are suitable for each. Melee weapons focus on "muscle strength" and "skills", while magic systems focus on "intelligence" and "belief".

In Eldenlin, the enemy's attack power is generally very high, basically taking 1 or 3 times of damage will be defeated. If a person fights with multiple enemies, he will die immediately, so avoid fighting at the same time, seducing each other one by one, or fighting on narrow passages and bridges, and want to work out some kind of tactics. In addition, "spirit", "guarding the counter" and "fatal blow", no matter how they fight, are the key to fighting.

Spirit refers to the companion who fights side by side with the player. Consumes FP and can be summoned on the spot. There are many kinds of jellyfish, such as three moving wolves and venom jellyfish. Due to the increase in the number of attack steps and the corresponding increase in firepower, the battle with the enemy suddenly became easier. In particular, the wolf was so powerful that he almost knocked down the humanoid, sagging boss.

Although it is also gratifying in terms of attacks, it also has a great sense of presence in terms of recovery. Because you have your own and spiritual body, the other person's goals will be scattered. As a result, it is easy to restore the player's physical strength and endurance. Depending on the place, there are situations that cannot be summoned. If possible, it is better to use them actively.

The guard counter is a counterattack skill that can be played immediately after an enemy attack with a shield. Because it is a counter, it can not only attack safely, but also can be used easily as long as it can be defended. Compared with Paris, which has a good opportunity to repel the other side's attack, the author is also grateful to you for many times when playing.

This work has the elements of destructive posture, and the effect of the protective counter is very great. If it is a nobody's enemy, the basic blow, even the humanoid boss, can collapse in a few shots. In the meantime, a "fatal blow" can cause a lot of damage.

The only weakness is targeting the guard counter and using a lot of endurance. Defense itself can sometimes be physically exhausting, and if you continue to fire the counter, you won't be able to move in the twinkling of an eye. In addition, there is also a hit judgment in the launch of the counter, and the technology is interrupted when it is attacked by the enemy on the way. The management of endurance and timing of counterattack are very important.

The fatal blow is a familiar trick in the "Dark Seoul" series. From behind, after Parry's success, when she loses her posture, the attack will succeed when she approaches the enemy. It does more damage than an attack with a weapon, and it works for the boss, depending on the type.

As it has been written, Parry has a hard time. The protective counter consumes a lot of physical energy, so it can't be fired continuously. In this way, aiming from behind is the easiest thing to do. If you encounter a humanoid enemy, it is recommended to lock the object first, and then go around to the back. As long as it is the majority of the enemy, it can strike a fatal blow from behind. It is much easier to search because of the ability to bring down unknown enemies one after another.

Whether it's play, convenience or death, it's complete.

So far, I have written about on-site exploration and combat systems, and what is noteworthy in Eldenlin is play and convenience. Blessing exists in different places, it has a convenient feature such as fast travel and upgrade, and immediately collect any material by touching Blessing, which is easy to project production. Use the spirit to fight together, or a defense counter that can be reliably played only by protection. The elements of convenience can be improved more or less.

It has received a variety of considerations in the exploration and combat system, and it is very comfortable to play. This is the player's game experience first, with Fromm software style of elaborate craftsmanship. Because it is completely new, the consideration of novel layers and beginners may also be included in Eldenlin.

In online mode, you can confirm the messages left by others.

On the other hand, it can be said to be as harsh as walking on the line between difficult and unreasonable. The enemy is a nobody worthy of the name, but the boss is strong. However, the boss, who was initially thought to be invincible, can also see the hobbies and weaknesses of movements in the memory of several times of death. Then the situation gradually changed and finally won. The enemy is not unreasonable. Only when we know that we are strong can we fight. In order to win, we can die no matter how many times.

The author, who has played "Dark Seoul" series, "Bradborn" and "SEKIRO", may have died more than 100 times in this work. I think this is also difficult enough for gamers who like the From game.

This is an open world full of the absolute density of dungeons, and as a "game of death", powerful enemies are pouring in. On the other hand, there are plenty of systems related to exploration and combat. Eldenlin skillfully blends easy to play and difficult to play. From now on, you can hear the deathbed of the people who play next.

(Wen Xia Wunei is good)

"people who buy PlayStation 4 software packages can upgrade to PlayStation version 5 at no extra cost. In addition, if you buy a PS4 download version of this work in PlayStation Store, you can download the PS5 version at no additional cost.

Buy the PS5 download version of this work at PlayStation Store and download the PS4 version at no extra cost.

For Xbox Series X | S/Xbox One version, "ELDEN RING" corresponds to "Smart Delivery". Once you buy a game, Xbox Series X/Xbox One, you can play any game console.

©BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc./ ©2021 FromSoftware,Inc.