Is Elden Ring the Hardest Game Ever Made? A Tarnished Take
No, Elden Ring is not the hardest game ever made, though it certainly earns a spot in the conversation. While it presents a significant challenge with its unforgiving combat, intricate world, and imposing bosses, its open-world structure and various player options provide avenues for mitigating difficulty that aren’t present in many other notoriously hard games. Factors like summoning spirits, utilizing co-op, over-leveling, and exploring diverse builds can make the experience more manageable for players of varying skill levels. The “hardest game ever” title is subjective and depends on individual player experience, skill set, and tolerance for frustration. Many classic and contemporary titles offer a steeper, often less flexible, difficulty curve.
The Soulsborne Lineage: Difficulty by Design
FromSoftware has built a reputation on challenging games. Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice are all synonymous with difficulty. This reputation heavily influences how Elden Ring is perceived. These games are known for their deliberate combat, requiring players to learn enemy patterns, master timing, and strategically manage resources.
Unforgiving Mechanics
The “Soulsborne” genre, named after these titles, often includes:
- Punishing death mechanics: Losing progress upon death and having to retrieve lost runes/souls.
- Stamina management: Requiring players to balance offense and defense.
- Complex enemy AI: Enemies with diverse attack patterns and aggressive behavior.
- Limited healing resources: Making each encounter a calculated risk.
- Ambiguous storytelling: Forcing players to piece together the narrative through environmental clues and item descriptions.
Elden Ring adheres to these principles, ensuring a demanding experience.
Elden Ring’s Accessibility: A Double-Edged Sword
While Elden Ring retains the core elements of the Soulsborne formula, it also introduces features that can significantly impact its perceived difficulty.
Open-World Freedom
Unlike its predecessors, Elden Ring boasts a massive open world. This allows players to:
- Explore and level up: Players can tackle challenges in a non-linear fashion, leveling up and acquiring better gear before facing tougher bosses.
- Discover powerful items and abilities: Hidden throughout the world are powerful weapons, spells, and summons that can significantly impact combat effectiveness.
- Engage in optional content: Side quests and dungeons provide opportunities to hone skills and gain experience without the pressure of the main storyline.
Summoning and Co-op
Elden Ring features robust summoning mechanics.
- Spirit Ashes: These AI-controlled companions can provide valuable support in combat, drawing aggro and dealing damage.
- Co-op multiplayer: Players can summon other players to assist them in tackling difficult areas and bosses.
These features make Elden Ring more accessible to players who might struggle with the game’s inherent difficulty.
Comparing Difficulty: Elden Ring vs. Its Predecessors and Other Games
To understand Elden Ring’s place on the difficulty spectrum, it’s helpful to compare it to other challenging games.
Elden Ring vs. Dark Souls
Many argue that Dark Souls (especially Dark Souls 1 and 3) are generally harder than Elden Ring. Their more linear structure and limited player options can make them more unforgiving. The bosses in Dark Souls often have less exploitable weaknesses compared to some of Elden Ring’s bosses.
Elden Ring vs. Bloodborne
Bloodborne’s aggressive combat style and emphasis on parrying make it a challenging, yet rewarding experience. While some find Bloodborne’s faster pace more difficult to adapt to, others find it less forgiving than Elden Ring due to its limited shield options and greater reliance on dodging and counter-attacks.
Elden Ring vs. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Sekiro is often considered one of FromSoftware’s most difficult games. Its focus on precise parrying and posture breaking requires a different skill set than the Soulsborne games. The lack of traditional RPG elements and limited character customization also contribute to its higher difficulty.
Elden Ring vs. Other Difficult Games
Games like Ghosts ‘n Goblins, Ninja Gaiden, and Contra are known for their punishing difficulty, often relying on instant-death mechanics and limited continues. These games often demand pixel-perfect precision and memorization of enemy patterns. Compared to these titles, Elden Ring’s difficulty is arguably more nuanced and less reliant on artificial difficulty spikes.
The Subjectivity of Difficulty
Ultimately, the “hardest game ever” is a subjective title. What one player finds difficult, another may find manageable. Factors like prior gaming experience, preferred playstyle, and individual learning curves all contribute to this perception.
Elden Ring presents a significant challenge, but its open-world structure and various player options provide avenues for mitigating difficulty. While it might not be the hardest game ever made, it’s undoubtedly a rewarding and unforgettable experience for those willing to embrace its challenges. The elements of game design and how those challenge and motivate players could be of interest to researchers at the Games Learning Society and can be researched further at GamesLearningSociety.org.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Is Elden Ring harder than Dark Souls 3?
Many players find Dark Souls 3 to be slightly harder overall due to its faster combat and more aggressive boss designs. However, Elden Ring’s open world and optional challenges can make certain areas more difficult than anything in Dark Souls 3.
2. Is Elden Ring harder than Sekiro?
Sekiro is generally considered harder than Elden Ring because of its strict parry-based combat system and limited character customization.
3. What makes Elden Ring so difficult?
Elden Ring’s difficulty stems from its unforgiving combat, intricate world design, and challenging bosses. It requires players to learn enemy patterns, master timing, and strategically manage resources.
4. Is Elden Ring too hard for beginners?
Elden Ring can be challenging for beginners, but its open-world structure and various player options make it more accessible than some other Soulsborne games. Starting as the Vagabond class is often recommended for new players.
5. Can you make Elden Ring easier?
Yes, you can make Elden Ring easier by summoning spirits, utilizing co-op, over-leveling, and exploring diverse builds.
6. Is there an easy mode in Elden Ring?
No, Elden Ring does not have a traditional easy mode. However, the game’s mechanics and open world allow players to tailor the difficulty to their liking.
7. What is the hardest boss in Elden Ring?
The hardest boss in Elden Ring is subjective, but Malenia, Blade of Miquella, is widely considered to be the most challenging due to her aggressive attacks, self-healing ability, and Waterfowl Dance attack.
8. What is the best class to start with in Elden Ring?
The Vagabond is often recommended for beginners due to its high health and strong starting equipment. The Astrologer is a good choice for players who prefer magic.
9. How long does it take to beat Elden Ring?
Elden Ring takes approximately 58 hours to beat if focusing on the main objectives. Completionists can expect to spend around 133 hours.
10. Is Elden Ring harder than Bloodborne?
It depends on the player’s playstyle. Bloodborne’s faster combat and emphasis on aggression can be challenging, but some find Elden Ring’s open world and optional content more difficult to navigate.
11. What is the best way to level up quickly in Elden Ring?
The best way to level up quickly in Elden Ring is to farm runes from high-yield enemies or utilize rune farming glitches (though these are often patched).
12. Is Elden Ring harder than Skyrim?
Elden Ring’s combat is far more complex and challenging than Skyrim’s. Skyrim focuses more on exploration and story, while Elden Ring emphasizes skillful combat and overcoming difficult encounters.
13. What is the easiest build in Elden Ring?
Many players find magic builds, particularly those utilizing powerful sorceries like Comet Azur, to be relatively easy to play.
14. Is there DLC for Elden Ring?
Yes, the DLC “Shadow of the Erdtree” has been released and is available for purchase.
15. Does Elden Ring get easier as you level up?
Yes, Elden Ring generally becomes easier as you level up and acquire better gear. However, some areas and bosses remain challenging regardless of your level.