![]() ![]() And maybe Elden Ring just isn’t designed for that stealth-oriented play style. At no point in my (relatively few) hours in the Lands Between did I feel that I had control over a location, a consistent ability to clear an outpost by taking advantage of blind spots. Maybe that’s not actual mastery over the levels but instead just gaming the systems.Įither way, it’s a feeling that was lacking in Elden Ring. And if it’s easier to kill enemies by going back through the levels, then it, in turn, makes the more onerous task of going forwards easier. Killing enemies increases your morale level, which boosts your strength. What’s great about Wo Long is that it rewards that play style through the Morale system. ![]() The design is fantastic because it wholeheartedly leans into and even amplifies the hostility inherent in the Soulslike genre. They don’t need to be hidden in the nooks and crannies, crouching in underpasses or dangling from architraves because they can hide in plain sight. Enemies can be anywhere at any time they are the unseen blades - and often the seen blades - who can overwhelm with sheer force. The open world means that, compared to its predecessors and Wo Long, you need to be more alert, more aware of your surroundings. Everywhere I went, it was to fight or flee. In Elden Ring, I found it counterintuitive because there was no reprieve. I’ve never loved open-world games as many others do, but I generally appreciate their freedoms: to run away from tough fights, to doddle about in lavish environments, to take my time. Instead, you can ignore outposts entirely, bypass groups of enemies, and go off the beaten track to find your own way forwards or sideways or any which way you please. You don’t always need to take Path A from Point A to Point B. There’s less intrinsic repetition in exploration in that game. It’s not an easy mode, but it is easier and no less satisfying.Īnd that brings the conversation back to Elden Ring. Backtracking, then, feels like you’re circumventing the systems. ![]() Enemy paths and awarenesses are tuned for when you’re first making your way through a level. Like many of these games, much of Wo Long is designed to provoke forward-facing difficulty. They enable you to traverse the landscape in reverse, opening up many more opportunities to dispatch foes through stealth. Each new bonfire or battle flag is a new spawn point. The antagonistic atmosphere of the Lands Between was only amplified by the sophistication of its design.īacktracking and repetition are part of the Soulslike’s core gameplay loop - except it’s repetition with variation. For me, the world design was at odds with the game design: the promise of endless beauty and wonder locked away behind boundless hostility. Even so, despite all the accolades and acclaim, it couldn’t grab me. It will very likely herald a paradigm shift in Soulslike design in the coming years as other developers study and replicate it. Judging by the critical response, it’s fair to say that Elden Ring’s open world is one of the best in gaming history. Often, that word brings negative connotations - I usually associate it with other words like “slovenly” or “basic,” depending on the context - but I consider it a strength on this occasion. The design is archetypal of the genre and, compared to that of Elden Ring, unsophisticated. ![]() It has discrete levels with a limited number of paths to take from beginning to end. A large part of that is the linearity of Wo Long. But finally, in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, I think I’ve found an answer.Īlthough several factors play into it, they all boil down to a sense of mastery over the game environment. As I found myself enjoying the janky, low-rent Thymesia and Steelrising more than FromSoftware’s opus, I still couldn’t place it. Or maybe it was the absence of a clear narrative impulse - though that would be an odd thing to ask of almost any Soulslike. For a while, I thought it was maybe that it lacked the allegorical resonance that Demon’s Souls had. Throughout the past year, I’ve pondered why Elden Ring didn’t connect with me in the way it has for so many others. ![]()
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