You know that FromSoftware game everyone was dying for? Well it's here, and now everyone is dying in it instead. Elden Ring has been touted as the culmination of everything the developer has worked on since Demon's Souls. And while it is a bit more approachable than its predecessors, the player body counts have been racking up only three days after launch.
Elden Ring Enjoys One Of the Biggest Launches In Video Game History
Not many games enjoy the kind of reception that FromSoftware's latest has received. Almost every major publication that reviewed it has given it the highest possible score – and that includes TheGamer. Our Lead Features Editor, Jade King said, "Elden Ring is a masterpiece. It can be easy to slip into hyperbole when critiquing a game of this prestige, one that has been marred by anticipation for so long that we all expected it to be good, or to usher in a new era of gaming majesty like we’ve never seen before. Despite all of these expectations, it manages to accomplish a feat none thought possible."
This resulted in Elden Ring becoming the number one highest rated game on OpenCritic. Although at the time of writing, it has dropped down to second spot with 96 points. It seems a lot of people just liked watching the game too, as it garnered the most concurrent Twitch viewers of any FromSoftware game – and this was even before it launched. Of course, all of this means that sales went through the roof. It stands at pole position in terms of boxed sales in the UK – leaving Horizon Forbidden West and Pokemon Legends: Arceus in the dust.
But That Hasn't Stopped It From Getting Review Bombed on Steam
With every great achievement comes a bunch of people who want to tear it down. However, the review bombing wasn't a result of some misguided jealousy, but in fact due to the PC version not running smoothly. Many of the user reviews cited stuttering and lack of stability for the low scores. Unfortunately, the issues were much larger than anticipated, and weren't fixed in the day-one patch.
FromSoftware has acknowledged these issues and outlined what needs to be fixed, but no timeline was provided. The same issues have been plaguing the Steam Deck version as well. However a coder at Valve noted that they will be fixed next week.
The Character Creator Is So Extensive, People Are Making Handsome Shrek And Gigachad
As the cult kaiju movie Pacific Rim taught us, in order to fight monsters, we need to create monsters of our own. Just like its predecessors, Elden Ring is filled with nightmarish monsters that will ruthlessly cut you down at the slightest mistake. But the game's detailed character creator has given us a chance to create monsters of our own – and of course, you know what that means.
The likes of Handsome Shrek, Gigachad, Joker, Guts from Berserk, and many more have been spotted roaming The Lands Between in search of glory – most find a painful death instead.
Player Messages Are Already Exactly What You'd Expect
As if Souls games aren't hard enough on their own, other players will try to mess with you via the game's messaging system. And this stands true for Elden Ring as well. When they're not tricking you into jumping off cliffs or slamming yourself into walls for hopes of a secret passage, these messages include silly jokes that Souls fans are all too familiar with, such as “try finger but hole,” or calling every animal a dog.
