2 years 2 months ago
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My last Elden Ring hands-on was illuminating, to say the least. As I got turned to mulch by a mechanical chariot, split in two by an ulcerated lizard, and bullied by a beast man, I simply... gave up. I said to myself, "I'll come back to this later. Yeah", with that final "yeah" escaping from my lips like a wisp of steam from a kettle.
The game boiled me alive, but its open world accommodated these feverish outbursts far better than previous Souls games. There were vast swathes of map to help bring my temperature back down from simmer to sparkling. One thing troubled me, though, and that was the rate at which I'd zip between bosses in-between distractions. It felt like I lacked the focus needed to keep up with Elden Ring's open world.