Taken for a Quickie | Elden Ring Closed Network Test

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We were lucky enough to have a quick look at Elden Ring (thanks Bandai Namco) during its Closed Network Test.

by James Michael Parry

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​@james_parry

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Elden Ring’s the next game from the Dark Souls people, right?
FromSoftware are the creators of Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Sekiro - Elden Ring is their latest adventure, which has creative input from Game of Thrones’ George R. R. Martin.

What’s different about this one?
The biggest differences are a more open-world structure, the ability to jump on command and access to a spectral steed.

Who do you play as?
There were five character classes in the test: Warrior, Enchanted Knight, Prophet, Champion and Bloody Wolf.

We tried out Enchanted Knight first, a class that’s a mixture of magic and strength. Due to the lack of a shield, it proved tricky to get the hang of parrying and evading – though Bloodbourne players might feel at home here.

The Warrior’s default weapons are a pair of scimitars, accommodating some fun combos and a little more of an all-round feel to combat.

In the end, it was the Bloody Wolf that really floated our boat. There’s a definite difference in feel between all the starting classes, so everyone should be able to set off on the right foot.​

These games make a point of being quite tough to play, how was it?
We only had a few hours to explore, but the game certainly throws a lot at you. Lore is, unsurprisingly, abundant, as are a lot of pop-up menus explaining all sorts of screens and player actions.

In combat, standard enemies can easily take you down with a couple of hits and usually attack in groups. You should fully expect to die a lot – just just like in previous titles. If you’re careful, however, you can avoid or get the jump on enemies by utilising the new stealth system. 

The game’s massive bosses might be too much to take on straight away for most players, though, fortunately, you don’t need to fight alone.

There’s multiplayer then?
Perhaps more overtly than in any of From’s past games. While having players invade your game, or summoning someone to help you, has been a feature of past titles, here there’s a bit more of an emphasis - perhaps because a more open setting lends itself to teaming up.

Messages scrawled throughout the world are here too, plus you’ll see the outlines of others exploring in the immediate area and bloodstains that show how other adventurers met their end.​

How was it on the whole?
There’s a lot to take in for newcomers, but the swelling soundtrack and beautiful world of Limgrave set the stage for an epic adventure and push you on.

Elden Ring offers flexibility in play style right off the bat, even allowing players to bring some friends along to help out. It’s possibly the most approachable FromSoftware title to date, though we’ll find out for sure when the full game releases on February 25, 2022.