Elden Ring Impression: I’m the Bored Centaur Who Likes to Explore

I remember one of my favorite pastimes is exploring the Dark Souls universe and I am surprised by this blog; I discontinued my adventure for Dark Souls prepare to die edition. Should I resume my half-finished journey? That was many years ago when I started dabbing my feet into blogging. Met a few gaming bloggers for sure, but most of them have abandoned their blogs and/or have moved on with their lives. I don’t blame them. All things have an expiration date. Even I deleted my old blog when I lost the motivation and the inspiration to write. My naïve self didn’t realize that by nature, gamers are overall just competitive folks, or perhaps as my friend said, people are just more honest and open to how they really feel online, which most of the time really has nothing to do with anyone but the individual. I wish I understood this sooner. My blogging journey would have been more of a pleasant experience. Writing about my gaming adventures was one of my favorite things about blogging but it’s also the least popular among readers. Somewhere along the way, someone is going to get offended and that is something I cannot control.

So here I am now continuing my adventures. If anyone enjoys this sort of content, welcome. Happy you are joining me. I decided to play Elden Ring. By now, most” hardcore souls/borne fans” have probably already completed the game. Once upon a time, I was a Fromsoftware enthusiast too. I once resonate with the game developer as being a tiny entity that rose from the ground and came on top. It makes a great tale. In fact, it’s a classic tale that works pretty well in video games even in books and it speaks a lot to those who enjoy those types of games. It does give you a sense of tremendous amount of achievement when you defeat all odds. For someone like myself who often got overshadowed by my peers for having neonate features that made me look a lot younger than my actual age, it felt really good to say I beat Dark Souls and got the platinum trophy, although it was my patience more than skills that got me through.

Fromsoftware brands itself for making difficult games and what you buy is what you get. You buy games to get slapped in the face repetitively. Now that doesn’t sound fun. But for some people, they like a good slap in the face, a challenge that reminds them they are not dead. Not just yet. It feels good to feel pain and overcome hardship. Well, that’s just my opinion, but is it?

Quote from an Interview done by The New Yorker

I bet Rooney, the suicidal girl from the survival horror game Nightcry would do well with Fromsoftware games. Only when our lives are threatened, that’s when we fight for it with all our might! Yes, go ahead and laugh at people like me. I suppose me and Rooney are the same. I don’t think I ever said I was sane. I mean “It’s okay to be undead just have a level head,” I quote the Blacksmith from Dark Souls II. Not everyone is fit for this type of game. Not everyone is born with perseverance. So, no hard feelings. Just move on and stop being a hater.

Drawing of Rooney from NightCry — Rooney from Nightcry picture source

So, what there's not to love about Elden Ring? It's a massive fantasy open-world game that got me just aimlessly exploring.  In fact, I don't know if I am going to the right place. That is a bit of a problem in my book. I'm not a fan of open-world games.  There's no sequence to anything. I just roam the landscape and pick up plants for crafting.  Certain areas made me feel as if I am in heaven. Some pretty sights to see over the cliff by the sea.

Looking over the sea in Elden Ring — I feel as if I am already on top of the world even though I haven’t beat the game yet!

Standing by the bald evil in Elden Ring — Standing next to the bald eagle. At least I got more than one companion. Did I ever mention I love trees?

So far, I defeated a few optional bosses found in the caves; one field boss named Tibia Mariner which wasn’t all that difficult and Margit, the Fell Omen. All the other boss fights are too difficult for my under-level character at the moment. I really don’t want to have to summon other players to help defeat a boss. It can be quite fun if you are into multiplayer games, but not for those who play for the atmosphere. Luckily, you can always summon NPC if it’s available.

I wonder why this game is not called Dark Souls 4? It kind feels like a souls game. Just look at the picture below. I suppose this one feels like you are playing inside a fantasy instead of a fairy-tale book.

Views from the Cave in SIOFRA RIVER — View from the cave in SIOFRA RIVER. I wish I could live there. I am already somewhat of a cave woman anyway.

It’s so magical and I love that! I could just escape to its world and never come back to reality. As I mentioned before in my blog, I love books and games. Plus, the monster designs are actually pretty impressive and fun to battle with.

hawk-like animal in Elden Ring attacking player fiercely — The monsters in Elden Ring feel very real at the same time fantasy-like. If you look closely, it’s clutching two blades with its feet.

It’s like going to a zoo–except that I get to be more interactive and engaging with the environment. How awesome is that? And yet, I still don’t know if I will ever complete the game. All it is, it’s just a polished souls’ game, which is a great thing. However, this game requires massive time investment if you want to enjoy it to its max. And I wonder is that why I had the game sitting on the shelf for almost a year now? I’m not ready to invest my time in it. In the back of my mind, I feel that my time should be used for something else more worthwhile. But at the same time…it’s a great game to pass time.