As early as the release of "Eldon's Ring of Law", the sound about this game that looks like "Dark Souls 4" has already appeared, after all, the art style, combat style and even "You Died" are the same as the "Dark Souls" series, and it is difficult not to associate people in this direction.
It's better to hear than to see, and now that everyone has been racing at the junction for a day, it's time to turn over this old account to discuss and discuss. In fact, this article was originally just a boring "Eldon's Law Ring" review, but I think it seems a bit redundant to send reviews when the whole world is reviewing... So I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the face of Eldon's Law Ring to new players, and at the same time compare it with the Dark Souls series to talk about whether this game is considered Dark Souls 4.
By the way, thanks to the deluxe version activation code sent by Bandai Namco, I was addicted to the art setting set for several hours...
>>> probably the least memorable part of Dark Souls: open world map design
To say that the biggest difference between "Eldon's Ring" and "Dark Souls 3", I think many people will say that it is an open world map.
However, as far as the current game experience is concerned, the highlight of the Eldon Ring map is actually those large dungeons and castles of the Dark Souls. There is a complex indoor labyrinth that is as cramped and depressing as before, full of shortcuts, blind spots, enemies and various treasures, and after running around the map, I found that sudden enlightenment phenomena such as "this is just there" also occur from time to time, and from this point of view, it is still very "Dark Souls".
Compared with Dark Souls 3, I think that the "malice of Hidetaka Miyazaki" in "Eldon's Legal Ring" has been much less, and compared with "Dark Souls 1", it is the difference between heaven and hell. Even so, I still feel that the labyrinth design of "Eldon's Ring" is not simple, and the jumping and sneaking from "Only Wolf" gives the maze a more complex and three-dimensional design idea, and also makes the solution of the maze more diverse. When I use the pure physics profession of samurai to open up the wilderness, there are many different ways to pass the level, such as frontal, stealth, and long-range, and after jumping on strange terrain or unlocking shortcuts, there are endless push map routes, presumably the options for prophets and astrologers should be more abundant.
For now, Tuitu is one of my main pleasures in the eldon's Ring of Law, but it may have something to do with games I usually like to play with very interesting map designs like Red Trace: Ritual of the Night, Renwang 2, and so on.
After leaving the Dark Souls labyrinth, the biggest difference between Eldon's Ring of Law and Dark Souls is revealed: the open world.
I've always suffered from American open world PTSD, and I've taken a distant approach to the avalanche group's "do open world for the sake of doing open world" design ideas. In my opinion, an open world must at least have its own ecology, and what can be interacted on the map must be more complex than "put a few monsters here, stuff a few NPCs there, and do a few rewards and sidelines" – in this sense, The Ring of Eldon is still qualified.
There are many animals such as goats and birds on the map, and if they don't bother them, they will have their own behavior; the game's guidance mode is not the traditional open-world "full of question marks", but with special visual effects visible to the naked eye to attract the player's attention; there are many types and ways of random enemies, at least these ten hours have not made me tired, in short, I will not be bored when exploring the big map. Of course, this open world is not without shortcomings, after all, there are many monsters in the map that are difficult to fight, the death penalty is still high, and sometimes it is still very discouraged when you are bored...
Strictly speaking, dark souls 3's levels are also very closely linked to levels, such as when you raise the flag in Bordeaux in cold valley, and the next second you arrive at the undead settlement. However, Dark Souls 3 needs to be loaded when switching levels, and the connection between the two maps is naturally omitted, and the open world of "Eldon's Law Ring" makes up for this gap, creating a vibrant, dynamic, and immersive game experience that Miyazaki Hideko did not have in all of his previous works.
>>> another place where Dark Souls is not: art style and plot
While exploring the map, I suddenly realized that There was something wrong with Eldon's Ring of Law, as if it wasn't a Miyazaki game. I thought about where this feeling came from and came to the conclusion that the world of Eldon's Circle of Law was too bright.
In the world of Dark Souls, 99% of the characters are hostile to the protagonist. They are either corrupted, delirious old-day decent characters or evil monsters who can't communicate at all, hiding in pitch-black castles or sewers waiting for the yin protagonist to take a hand (scolding you, sewer double-paying king). Most of the NPCs who are with the protagonist are still somewhat physically and mentally disabled, or they are as frustrated as brothers who have nothing to complain about you. In the midst of infinite repression, the protagonist can only embark on a journey to find the salary king alone, silently bearing everything.
But in Eldon's Ring of Law, things are a little different.
Almost everywhere in Nyingev you can see the golden tree that rises straight into the clouds, and the land under its illumination is exceptionally bright. This brightness is very different from the brightness of the top of the cologne in "Dark Souls 3", quite a feeling of "quiet years", but it is similar to the honey of "Dark Souls 2". Ningafu is scattered with a variety of ecological settlements, such as the goats and birds mentioned above, which usually live freely and have their own behavioral AI, and the protagonist will be frightened to escape when he is close, which is very interesting.
Sometimes I can notice fireflies in the forest at night, so I stop and "pay attention" to the fireflies and observe how they fly. This kind of physically and mentally relaxing bridge section is so normal, so normal that I have a little doubt that Miyazaki Hidetaka will hide some traps in some seemingly harmless horn and disgusting me.
Like Dark Souls, The Ring of Eldon describes a once great and prosperous world as it fell apart, drawing on a large number of myths, legends, and monsters that are not popular today, such as the Celtic Druid story. But the main plot of "Dark Souls 3" is essentially "if you don't pass the fire, you will send it", full of powerlessness in the struggle of fate; the main story of "Eldon's Ring of Law" is simply "to be crowned the king of The Eldon Ring", which is not as sad as "Dark Souls 3".
Of course, I haven't actually opened Nyingover and Stonewell Castle, nor have I been to places other than Nymgover (I've been shopping), and I don't know if the ending of "Eldon's Ring of Law" will take a sharp turn and give the player a stab in the chest. Considering that Hidetaka Miyazaki had previously made it clear that there were "cesspools" poisonous swamps in "Eldon's Ring of Law" similar to the French Fortress, and also made it clear that the plot of "Eldon's Ring of Law" was a collapsed version of George Martin's worldview... It's still not easy to think that the whole "Eldon's Law Ring" is so relaxed, and here is just to talk about my personal feelings.
>>> better character development and combat than Dark Souls
One second, I still felt that the gap between "Eldon's Law Ring" and "Dark Souls" was not small, and the next second I was immediately educated by Hidetaka Miyazaki.
When fighting the evil mega mallet, I originally wanted to use a small round shield to shield the counter, but I forgot that I was dual-wielded, causing the shield to become a combination, and then I was slapped by Malkit twice for seconds, and the blood pressure rose wildly. This immediately awakened my dusty memories: when I opened "Dark Souls 3", I used my skipping skills to kill the knife brother at the beginning, rushed to the knife against the Losrik Knight, and then was killed by the Loslik Knight because I accidentally cut out the bow with my left hand... At this moment, it is exactly the same time and moment.
Truth be told, at first glance, the cold weapon combat part of Eldon's Circle of Law is almost exactly the same as Dark Souls. Many of the attack actions and mods in Dark Souls can be used directly without changing them, and the design of the left and right hands and combat system is still very complicated, and the learning cost is not low. Despite the new jumping system and more fancy weapon combat techniques, I didn't feel that the melee combat of Eldon's Law Ring was very different from that of Dark Souls, both of which were taken advantage of the opportunity to touch the knife twice while dodging the boss's attacks, and then executed when the toughness was in place.
The RPG cultivation element of Eldon's Circle of Law is also similar to that of Dark Souls, which uses experience points to assign attribute points (here is a lot of learning), and grope and discover your favorite Build as you grow up. If the card is closed, then go around another place to practice the level, or strengthen your equipment and come back, maybe you will have played it - this logic from the beginning of Demon Souls.
There's another cliché I'll repeat: the Classes of Eldon's Ring of Law and Dark Souls are only different at the beginning, and the subsequent bonus points and equipment distribution are completely free. Astrologers can also carry a sledgehammer to increase their strength, and wandering knights can learn some spells and can also throw fireballs with a spear in their right hand and a left hand, which does not conflict.
But I can't say that the Eldon Ring battle is Dark Souls skinning: the jumping system gives players a whole new way to dodge boss attacks, and more cooler tactics make the moves richer, so the player has more options when facing the boss. In addition, the addition of spirit ashes, as well as a more open map and maze design, can bring players more ways to skip class, so as long as they can master the "know-how" of "Eldon's Ring of Law", the battle will be much easier.
>>> some other little details... and summary
When I used to play Hidetaka Miyazaki's works and Renwang 2, I always wanted to explore every corner of the map, and I felt uncomfortable missing any hidden props. However, even with the help of faster teleportation and denser save points, there are already so many places to explore in The Ring of Eldon that I don't want to collect them one by one.
The combat skills of the weapons are also quite different from "Dark Souls 3", such as the default knife combination + triangle from the knife to the heavy blow, often let me accidentally press the wrong one. However, the asynchronous online element is no different from before, and when you see other people's messages, you will always smile from the heart, which is very interesting.
Overall, Eldon's Ring of Law is equivalent to telling a new story behind Dark Souls, with the addition of the open-world map, the jumping and stealth elements of Only Wolves, and many more cool gameplay. Many times you will feel that "Eldon's Ring of Law" and "Dark Souls 3" are not much different, but there are also many times when you will feel that the two games are completely different, and it is a "new version of the ship" of the Miyazaki Hidego universe.
As for whether Eldon's Ring of Law is Dark Souls 4 or not, I personally tend to be a sequel with very drastic changes, so drastic that I can't recognize it. Of course, then again, a sequel is something that only the copyright owner can define, even if Hidetaka Miyazaki really made "Bloodborne 2", as long as the copyright holder Sony Interactive Entertainment does not nod, the game has to change its name.
At the end of the day, no one has ever defined what kind of game counts as a sequel, what doesn't count, and the boundaries between them are blurred... It doesn't matter, anyway, "Eldon's Circle of Law" is really fun.