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The first 6 hours of Elden Ring is so much vaster than I could have imaginedLarge and in charge
Large and in charge
I’m happy to announce that rapper Rick Ross is richer than he’s ever been. That’s according to a song from his latest album: “Richer Than I Ever Been”. He may be referring to his own pockets, but it can’t be a coincidence that he’s perfectly summed up yet another of my earlyhands-on sessionswith FromSoftware’s action-RPGElden Ring.
That’s because I’ve now been able to return to the starting area of Limgrave, this time on PC and with unfettered access to all the nooks and crannies we’ll be exploring in just a couple of weeks time - and I found it to be richer and more vast than, well, it had ever been. FromSoftware have tweaked some things and removed some barriers from last year’s closed network test, so in a single six-hour excavation, I discovered just how ambitious this game really is. Limgrave is way bigger than I first thought. Here’s what I found.
Elden Ring Hands-On Preview: Everything We Learned After Six Hours With The GameWatch on YouTube
Elden Ring Hands-On Preview: Everything We Learned After Six Hours With The Game
Early on, I returned to Limgrave’s catacombs. I’d scoured its dingy depths before in the closed network test, so I knew where the bastard goblins were hiding. I could visualise the glint of each loot drop. And yet I got floored repeatedly. The goblins had grown cojones in the intervening months, suddenly able to stack a Bleed debuff with their wild swings. This meant that if they landed only a few hits, I’d explode in squelch of red.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Torrent, your spectral steed, is essential in most cases, letting your traverse these wide open spaces with a hop and a clop. The terrain keeps you on your hooves too, with approaches to these fortresses funneling you down winding paths or encouraging you to sweep the landscape like a hawk. You never know what’s ahead. One time I ducked behind boulders as an ancient titan bombarded me with arrows the size of cows. A fiver? No, entry could cost your life, mate.
Cut to a castle overrun with harpies sporting Attack On Titan flesh-monster faces. They kneel on a pile of corpses and raise their machetes to the sky in unison. They celebrate a victory of some sort, as one victim smoulders on a cross. Later, tight alleyways and deathly drops lead to an optional boss. Part lion, part man, he wields a massive greatsword. He reminds me of Artorias, in the way he pirouettes and leaps into the air with ease. And in much the same way, there’s no room to think with this guy. No blocking! He’ll blast through your shield. This is FromSoft doling out a lesson with a rub of the hands: “Let’s see how they deal with this one, hehehe.”
I also found a giant troll lurking in the depths of a mine, packs of monstrous canines tearing at flesh, while ballistas guard bridges. Stand still and risk impalement. Colossal bears scratch bark off trees, then they lunge at you. Not to mention that time I encountered some worms. Yes, worms constructed of rocky spheres and with purple eyes. They were docile too, a rarity in Limgrave. Some stood erect, while others slithered about doing their thing. Then I discovered that they’d surrounded a large basin with a mysterious crest in its centre. “Enter evergaol?” Errr, sure.
Next thing I know, I’m standing in the same basin but the world has gone black. Walls of rushing air prevent my escape. There’s this strange purple glow in a patch of grass, so I approach it cautiously. It seems out place in Limgrave. Then a Bloodhound Knight emerges from the undergrowth. Again, he’s not friendly. He’s got a curved sword and crawls along the ground on all fours, ready to pounce. A bit like the Dancer Of The Boreal Valley fromDark Souls 3, I think, before I die in seconds.
My time with Elden Ring was streamed remotely via PC, so I still can’t vouch for how it’ll run on our rigs. The stream was also a touch laggy in places, which made it difficult to get a feel for how framey it might be. If it’s any consolation, it looked really nice at maximum settings.
Oh, and there’s a boss down there alright. A gigantic lizardy-thing, covered in boils and lesions. It writhes and hurls itself at you with real unpredictability. Nope, didn’t so much as scratch it. One I said I’d come back to later.
I never did. Before long I’d entered theRoundtable Hold, Elden Ring’s hub area and a place that looks like it will act as your Firelink Shrine equivalent. Knights and priests are gathered here, offering you conversation and aid. A blacksmith too. And someone who hugged me and gave me a buff? I’m intrigued to see how this place develops as you make allies, enemies, or whatever else in the full game.
Elden Ring is shaping up to be the perfect pub game. While everyone else chats about the footy results and Gaz being a mad lad, you and your mates can sit around your own little roundtable, talk Limgrave and share all of the different things you discovered. “Then…and THEN!” is what this game prompts. I can’t wait to discover more.
