Initial Review of Alden Ring: The 20 Hours Without Stopping Are Just the Beginning

I have been battling in the world of Alden Ring for 20 hours since midnight on February 21st. During this period, I explored the vast majority of the plain area (Ningmugfu), arrived at the final boss location in the lake area (Liyenia), and just stepped into the world of the swamp area (Galid) and the underground area (Hifra River).

Unconsciously, my map exploration area has expanded several times compared to when I started the game, but the gray covered areas still remind me that there are countless wonders and adventures waiting for me to discover in the border area. However, at this moment, I still want to temporarily slow down my journey in the golden world and share my stage sensations with the players who are looking forward to this game. After all, 20 hours is far from enough to fully experience the game Alden Ring.

A dreamy golden world

With the mission of fading, passing through the fog and stepping out of the gate of the drifting cemetery, what caught my eye were the golden trees that ran through the sky and a vast and boundless wilderness. The first impression I had of the Alden Ring in the open world was vastness.

Unlike the box court style enclosed scenes in the Dark Souls series, the first map of Alden Ring adopts a broad plain design, allowing players to overlook the final destination of this area from their place of birth. The scattered buildings and relics are scattered in the wilderness in front of their eyes, and they can directly ride their horses and move towards their goals wherever they want. This intuitive and atmospheric map representation will naturally arouse players' desire to explore the world, and each time they reach the destination, there will be corresponding rewards.

Golden Tree is a signpost that guides players in their direction

For players who want to go straight to the main storyline, the blessing area (bonfire) in Alden Ring will display a light indicating the direction of the target. Follow the blessing to easily find the position of the main storyline level. Players can also find stone tablets in specific locations. After unlocking the map, they can not only check their own location at any time, but also select the blessings that have been opened on the map and teleport them directly, making exploration of the open world faster than ever before.

In the process of constantly exploring maps, my understanding of the scale of the Alden Ring map is also constantly changing. As the black mist that originally shrouded the map was blown away, my footsteps gradually expanded from the initial small area to the entire plain area, and then extended to even more distant lake and swamp areas. I even discovered a new area underground that was as gloomy as the underworld.

As my exploration scope expands, my discoveries also become more and more. In the plain area alone, I have opened nearly 40 blessings and more than 10 small dungeons. In addition, with outdoor bosses and sealed dungeons, the large map can be said to be fully filled. It took me 10 hours to fully explore the areas that had already appeared repeatedly in the beta and various demonstration videos before. As a reference, there are a total of 6 main areas, including the plain area, in "Elden's Circle", and the game's internal capacity can be said to be explosive.

Map Event: Wolves vs. Bears

As far as the four regions I have already set foot in, the scenery in each region is completely different. The plain area is well lit and has a wide field of vision. In the distance, a huge golden tree rises into the clouds, while two slightly smaller golden trees stand on both sides of the plain, guiding players in their exploration steps; The lake area is mainly composed of puddles and shoals, with thick fog floating in the scene, which hides many malicious sneak attacks; The color tone of the swamp area is ominous red, and the poisonous swamps everywhere indicate that the battle here will be difficult to move forward; Compared to the previous few earthly worlds, the time in the underground underworld seems to have stopped, and the breath of death fills the entire region.

Each area is not only different in scenery, but also has a diverse ecology of monsters and environmental creatures, making the world of Alden Ring appear particularly realistic. The various regions are directly connected by the open world map, and players can choose to skip the initial area and ride directly to the later map. Such a free way, limited by technology and scale, has not been well demonstrated in previous soul series works. This time, "The Alden Ring" perfectly interprets the feeling of exploration.

Still exciting castles and dungeons

I used to worry that Elden Ring would dilute or even lose the stunning level design of the Soul series due to its use of an open world, but it turned out that I was overthinking it.

In the initial plain area, there was a large level that the main storyline must pass through - Stomwell City. This type of large castle is exactly where the "soul flavor" lies in the Alden Ring. The super three-dimensional architectural structure that reaches up to the sky and down to the abyss, the winding roads and interconnected elevators and shortcuts, as well as the familiar malice emanating from those corners, all remind me of those years of suffering from time to time.

On this basis, due to the fact that our Fading Ones now have knees, the exploration logic for jumping back to the level has also undergone significant changes. In the past, we could only move forward along the road, or climb up and down through a ladder, at most falling continuously along the edge of the wooden board. But this time, the faded ones can skip the windowsill and walk up to the eaves, even jumping horizontally between two high platforms, making the exploration process unprecedentedly three-dimensional. During the process of flying eaves and walls in the castle, I unexpectedly discovered a friendly NPC. After triggering the storyline with her, I could see her summoning talisman in front of the boss's door. Taking her with me to fight can help us share the firepower, which is also an old tradition in the series.

This time, the player base is blessed, and NPCs will gather here, making it very lively

In addition to Stomwell, there is also a slightly smaller castle in the south of the plain called Morn Castle. Although this place is not as large as Stomwell City, there is no shortage of soul flavor. As a castle that must be explored outside of the main storyline, the enemy configuration here further highlights the malice of the production team. The uniqueness lies in the fact that there are two forces fighting fiercely here. As long as we cleverly lure them, we can enjoy the benefits of fishing. If we can kill the boss at the bottom of the level, we can also immediately acquire powerful weapons.

In the first 20 hours of my play, I discovered a total of 5 large levels. The design styles of these levels are completely different, some are huge castles, while others are underground lava caves. Based on the two castles in the plain area, I speculate that there will be at least 12 large levels in the entire game. In terms of quantity alone, it may not be as high as the nearly 20 levels in Dark Souls 3, but it is also enough to leave a soul imprint on Alden Ring. Of course, I also look forward to discovering more after fully exploring the entire game in the end.

small dungeons are also maliciously full

In addition to these carefully designed large levels, there are also countless small dungeons densely distributed on the vast map. These dungeons are not complex in structure and are basically a single level. If proficient, they can often be fully explored in a few minutes. But this type of small dungeon is not a common type of filler in similar games. Although it is not closely related to the main storyline, there are also many useful resources in small dungeons, such as materials for weapon upgrades. After killing the boss, players can also obtain many practical battle ashes and weapons. As long as players are willing to explore, boss battles in large levels will become less difficult.

In addition, many battles in small dungeons also imply a tribute to past classic works, and I believe veteran players will be very happy to see them. I obtained battle ashes in a dungeon that looked like "Immortal Slash", and with a high amount of damage, I could cut off the enemy without dying. And in a dungeon, I also met an old friend who had tricked us for generations, and when I saw him chasing into the world of the Alden Ring, I could only say that it was true love.

Masterpiece of Soul Series Combat

If I were to describe the combat system of The Elder Ring, I would say that this system is a carnival of works by Eigo Miyazaki. The combat system of this game is based on "Dark Souls 3", and the character's attack, bounce, rolling feel, and even the detailed actions while drinking medicine are all standard styles of the Soul series. The feeling of the orthodox sequel is overwhelming.

On the basis of continuing tradition, Elden's Ring also incorporates gameplay from brother works such as Blood Curse and Only Wolf, such as the powerful heavy blow that can directly trigger execution in Blood Curse, the special attack module for dual wielding weapons in Dark Souls 2, and the bending stealth and assassination in Only Wolf. These feature systems that we used to master proficiently have now reappeared in Alden Ring, and I believe fans will not be disappointed.

In addition, the Alden Ring has also added several new systems. Firstly, in terms of operation, "defense counterattack" has been added. After using a shield to withstand an enemy attack, press the heavy blow to use it. This move has high resilience and can be executed directly when hitting a humanoid enemy. Its application scenarios are very wide, and pairing it with a high defense shield can significantly reduce the difficulty of the game.

In terms of skills, Elden's Ring has added war ashes and ashes. War Grey is equivalent to a freely customizable combat technique+metamorphic system. After obtaining War Grey, players can freely embed it into weapons/shields/bows (except for special weapons), and then use corresponding combat techniques. War ash can also spoil equipment, making it very convenient to disassemble and assemble at any time. There are also a wide variety of combat techniques in this game, including the trendy "EX Curry Stick" like the Kalia Sword, as well as specialized combat techniques suitable for PVP, which players can choose for themselves.

The ashes system is similar to summoning objects. After obtaining the corresponding monster's ashes and receiving the summoning bell, you can summon at a specific location. Summoners play a very important role in battles. When encountering a group of small monsters, we can summon a pack of wolves to fight and break free. When dealing with some difficult bosses, we can choose jellyfish, which have thick blood and can pull hatred, to relieve stress. It can be said that Miyazaki Hidetaka is kind.

Summoning NPC+ashes can effectively reduce the difficulty of BOSS battle (Phase 1)

The enhancement of combat system evolution on players is obvious, but do not assume that the combat difficulty of Alden Ring will decrease as a result. In this game, the overall strength of the enemies is quite high, and the attack rhythm is in line with the fast combat of Blood Curse. It is easy to be confused by the enemies if you make a hasty move. The difficulty design of bosses is also becoming more and more self indulgent. Taking the boss Greg in the depths of Stoneville in the plain area as an example, he not only frequently uses large-scale storm attacks, but also releases fast earth shaking attacks on close characters, which requires us to jump and dodge. His fast attack speed will compress the player's operating space, and the chaotic battles are not like the feeling of traditional soul type bosses.

In addition, the numerical value of a boss is often terrifyingly high. If you don't have enough strength and try to only push the main storyline, it is easy to be taught to be a human. Therefore, when encountering enemies that cannot be defeated, it is advisable to stop attacking and return to the big map to continue exploring to improve your strength.

The attack rhythm of BOSS is often so fast that it can be overwhelming

Fighting not only occurs in large levels and dungeons, but also intersperses throughout the process of exploring the entire map. Players will encounter many unique wilderness bosses on the big map, such as the Big Tree Knight who was already wandering on the inevitable path in front of players in the early stages. This guy is the "Miyazaki Hideyoshi Takahashi Battle Style" in this game, and players who have confidence in the operation can go and challenge him. In the ruins of the Dragon Breath in the center of the plain, players will trigger battles against dragons. The dragon's attack mode and vast battle area will guide players to ride horses and fight against it, quickly move to avoid the Spitfire and kill it with a return rifle. This battle will help players establish a special understanding of horse warfare.

What left a deep impression on me was the huge mobile spirit temple on the plain of the spirit temple. Its sturdy body is impenetrable, and it needs to destroy the crystal stones in its feet to knock it down. After the battle, a new building may even appear in place. All these battles scattered throughout the entire map are experiences that the Soul series has never experienced before. The unique and non repetitive boss design always attracts me to keep moving forward, just for the next more exciting battle.

An unfinished summary

To be honest, I am not a player who enjoys open world games personally, but during the first 20 hours of exploring Alden Ring, I did not feel any repetition or boredom, and my desire to explore maps even increased. This feeling may come from the desire to improve combat power, or from the curiosity to witness more wonders, just like when I was addicted to the Soul series in those years.

This time, Alden Ring attempts to attract more players to join the ranks of "suffering" with a more approachable attitude. The PS5 version I played has a stable frame rate and satisfactory loading speed. Although there is still a feeling of slower ground vegetation loading during horse racing, overall it is acceptable. My 20 hour experience is just the tip of the iceberg in the gaming world. I hope everyone can walk their own path in the border and ascend to the throne of the king of Alden.