Game News Elden Ring: This is how I discovered GOTY before anyone else!
In a career as a JV journalist, there are key stages – “milestones” as we say for a video game production. I’m thinking, for example, of a survey that required long months of work, an interview with a developer we love, or a “simple” review. And sometimes, we understand that we will have to judge one of the games of the year, even of the decade. That’s what happened to me with Elden Ring! Here’s how, as a tester, I approached this real juggernaut.
(Almost) extreme conditions
So yes, the life of a video game journalist is often thrilling. But sometimes, it’s frankly panic on board. A clear and precise case: give a note to Elden Ring in record time, whereas it takes at least a hundred hours to judge it correctly. Far be it from me to tell you that it was not a sacred experience, my butt squashed on the couch, monopolizing the TV in the living room, in full “self-control” to control my frustration and not stare too much at the clock which is advancing dangerously. Honestly, at the end of the race, I was exhausted (especially after the marathon of tests Pokémon Arceus, Horizon Forbidden West) but I also had a pretty amazing experience. A sort of instant shot of everything Elden Ring has to offer.
Elden Ring in the pantheon of video games?
As a reminder, Elden Ring is a spiritual sequel to the trilogy Dark Souls, itself developed by FromSoftware. For the game that interests us, it’s the same studio that is in charge (including its star president Hidetaka Miyazaki) and it’s a kind of bigger and more ambitious outcome of the original franchise. The biggest change here is the introduction of an open world that sits on top of the usual closed and twisting levels – now contained in the ‘Legacy Dungeons’. As a result, Elden Ring adds an unprecedented exploration component for the genre and for a first try, it’s a stroke of genius. Already that the Souls gameplay is concrete, the open world multiplies everything we could expect. The game is beautiful, captivating, challenging. An exceptional title! On Metacritic, it’s 96/100 and on JV, a very beautiful 18/20.
I’ll spare you the sales details (16,6 millions copies in six months) but overall, it’s an absolute hit for publisher Bandai Namco and its developer FromSoftware. For my part, – it will perhaps surprise you – I did not initially anticipate the scope, the disproportionate potential of Elden Ring. Yes, during a test phase, we badly head in the handlebars, especially when it comes to such a long-awaited game! My only goal at this time is to go all the way and see as many things as possible to write my paper. At this moment, nothing else matters.
Return to the Entre-Terre which says a lot
For sure, I enjoyed Elden Ring more after it was released than during my endless rush to try to finish it. It’s the reality of the job (poor me, isn’t it) and you have to learn to take it into account when writing a test. A feeling at one o’clock in the morning with twelve hours of non-stop play in the legs will necessarily be different, at least more nuanced, with a clear head! Now, months after the release of Elden Ring, I enjoy to return to the roads of Inter-Earth, to fight the still undefeated bosses, to discover other secrets. Despite a very intense moment of play for the test, I was not disgusted by it. The mark of a GOTY?