There isn’t much time for gaming between work, university, or school during the week.
That makes it very important that the limited gaming time is spent on the right title.
Thankfully, I’m definitely not wasting these precious hours, as I’m playing the hugely popular Elden Ring.
The vast world of Elden Ring draws you in and doesn’t let go until you’ve seen it all and died to everything.
I realise that by this point, Elden Ring has been spoken of so frequently that you’re liable to stick your fingers in your ears and sing God Save the Queen at its mere mention but do bear with me.
This isn’t a review or an analysis of the game’s mechanics; I’m just going to talk about it in its capacity as evening entertainment.
My schedule doesn’t permit much time for gaming – I start work at 7am and end at 5pm, and when you throw in Gauteng traffic, you’re not looking at a lot of free time.
As a result, the hour or two in the evenings before I pass out in bed are currently spent exploring The Lands Between in all their grim glory.
For the most this involves one of three things: beating my head against a boss, exploring an area to find its varied secrets or farming Runes to upgrade gear, buy spells or level up my character.
This may not be quite as exciting as the discussions of sprawling visuals and awe-inspiring boss battles that are often lauded, but it is arguably a more accurate representation of the game.
Any cave can lead to truly wondrous sights and a swift death if you’re not paying attention.
You see, Elden Ring may be a game that has awe-inspiring moments of glorious combat and breathtaking views, and it may have moments that make you sit back and appreciate what you’ve just seen or done, but this isn’t what you’ll spend most of your time doing.
If you’re more like me, which is to say “good enough” at the game, most of your time will be spent on the little moments between the epic high points.
These little moments will make up the bulk of the game, and though they may not be what you gush or rage about to your friends, they are what you’ll truly remember.
For instance, moments like exploring a new area when your health is low and FP exhausted and that pesky Scarlet Rot is close to sending you back to your last site of Grace very much sooner than you’d like.
A terrible status condition found specifically in one area of the game; the Scarlet Rot is a significant problem if you catch it.
Another example is spending ten minutes trying to negotiate a cliff face on Torrent (because taking an extra five minutes to find the intended path is too much effort) and finally reaching its top to find a site of Grace or a new Evergoal to attempt.
Even just times of struggling with a mid-level boss – a boss who everyone’s heard of but not one of the big names like Margit the Fell or General Radahn the living meteor.
These aren’t moments you’ll regale your friends about, but it’s certainly something that you’ll remember.
And that, I think more than the visuals and the awe and all the rest, is what Elden Ring does best.
It’s the legion of small moments of pleasure and pain that truly breath life into the game, the little memories you make that you’ll fondly recall later.
These small moments make Elden Ring unique to me, and that is why I will continue to play this game for weeks to come.
It’s an experience second to none and one I would strongly recommend.
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