Elden Ring was released on February 25 to critical acclaim. It brings FromSoftware’s classic Soulsborne gameplay to an open world for the first time. The exploration is enticing and feels freeing, given the game’s lack of marked icons and journal entries. This hands-off approach to the open world is liberating and works very well. However, there is one menu section found in other beloved open world games that Elden Ring would have been better off including: a bestiary.
A bestiary would improve players’ experiences in several ways. First, it would help newcomers to understand enemies’ weaknesses a little better, without having to sacrifice the gameplay’s iconic toughness. It would also provide players with interesting insight into the lore of the Lands Between and the creatures and people that inhabit it. Finally, the addition of a bestiary would encourage players to explore more of the world to fill it out and see everything the game has to offer.
This suggestion is not a criticism of Elden Ring‘s limited menu information as a whole. In fact, its lack of mission journal logs and checkpoint markers should be praised in the same vein as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Ghost of Tsushima. The open world is free and expansive, yet players never feel lost, as the game does a fantastic job of including natural signposts to follow. Sites of Grace (similar to Dark Souls‘ bonfires), alongside buildings and physical environmental markers, entice players to head in the right direction without feeling overly forced. This limited handholding fits the game perfectly. However, menu minimalism is not always for the best. Adding a bestiary to track the creatures and characters of the Lands Between would enhance Elden Ring in several ways.
Some of the most beloved open world games include bestiaries to their benefit. For example, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has a “Monsters” section in the journal and Breath of the Wild‘s Hyrule Compendium includes information on the inhabitants of Hyrule. Adding a bestiary to Elden Ring would help to balance the game for both Soulslike newcomers and veterans. For newcomers, it would be useful to help identify enemy weaknesses. Understanding how to best take down enemies could make things a little easier, especially for struggling players who may need to revisit areas to level up some more. However, it wouldn’t impact the challenge of the combat itself and the core mechanics reliant on perfect timing and patience would still be there for long-time fans of FromSoftware’s games.
A bestiary could also provide Elden Ring players with more background information about the game’s inhabitants and lore. In a world as intriguing as the Lands Between, there is a lot to be discovered. FromSoftware has created Elden Ring afresh, which means that it contains an entirely new universe for players to learn about. For example, some will want to know the origins of certain monsters and beasts and how they exist and behave in this new world. A bestiary could help document some of these answers for players.
A bestiary certainly wouldn’t be out of place in Elden Ring. The game already has an “Info” section in its menus that describes certain aspects of the game and how to interact appropriately with the world. The bestiary could work similarly, with a grid on the left side listing the world’s inhabitants, and the information surrounding their origins, strengths and weaknesses in the center.
This addition would also further encourage players to explore more of Elden Ring‘s beautifully crafted world. FromSoftware has clearly taken a lot of time to reward players who thoroughly investigate the Lands Between. The game’s hidden passages, chests and characters reveal secrets about the world and feel incredibly satisfying to uncover. Completionists and more curious players will be enticed to fully roam the world to fill out the bestiary. Encouraging more players to find Elden Ring‘s hidden gems can only be a good thing.
FromSoftware has certainly gotten a lot right with Elden Ring. Its design, combat and minimalistic HUD combine to create a wonderfully free and satisfyingly challenging experience. However, the world has so much to offer that including a bestiary, as other open world games have done, would really add to the player’s experience. It would potentially aid newcomers without sacrificing the difficulty veteran fans adore and would also benefit players who are interested in learning as much about the game’s lore as possible.
About The Author
from WordPress https://ift.tt/OuiAPBL
via IFTTT
0 Comments