ELDEN RING CLOSED NETWORK TEST FULL
ELDEN RING CLOSED NETWORK TEST PLUS

Many of these challenge dungeons are small but contains enemies, traps and a boss fight that can reward you with valuable items like Runes (used to level up your hero and to purchase items) along with Crystal Tears used to customize your rejuvenating Flask of Wondrous Physick. I discovered four different caves and catacombs where aggressive creatures-both alive and undead-have taken up residence. Monuments would be destroyed making you wonder and think about the wars that must have taken place on this very land in ages past. Graphically every area was richly detailed but also steeped in lore, like you'd expect in a FromSoft game. There are sandy beaches where large grotesque tentacled creatures live, there's a murky swap home to the fire-breathing Flying Dragon Agheel, there's a blizzard mountain with low visibility and evil lurking within the snow, there's a mysterious and decayed Dragon shine island in the lower western region, and there's the monstrously imposing Stormveil Castle where you'll face the Network Test's deadliest boss, the formidable magic user Margit the Fell Omen. But being just 1/6 of total game map I was astounded by how many different biomes and points of interest I encountered. Having just replayed Bloodborne with its blackened medieval setting, Elden Ring felt like a vibrant 180-degree shift.Īs far as I can gather, the Lands Between, which is the main setting for Elden Ring, is comprised of six regions and Limgrave is first and southern most one in the game.

ELDEN RING CLOSED NETWORK TEST PLUS

This moment was absolute eye candy: Limgrave is bright with golden yellow and leafy green hues, plus it had a huge glowing Erd Tree off to the distance to my right and smaller Erd Trees in other far-off spots. Behind the door was the beautiful realm of Limgrave spanning the southern plains of the Lands Between. After battling my way through some rather easy-to-killed corrupted cave dwellers, I rode a huge lift and knelt down to open up a stone door. The cave gets you accustomed to the numerous dark and foreboding catacombs, caves and mini dungeons you'll encounter as you traverse the rather large open world accessible in the Test.

The Closed Network Test begins in the Cave of Knowledge, a tutorial area where you'll learn about various systems starting with Sites of Grace, Elden Ring's version of bonfires or lamps. You're also given the choice between two body types before heading out on your adventure. I ended up going with the Prophet as I suspected this class is heavily magic based and I've always been a big fan of spells in games like Demon's Souls and Dark Souls.

ELDEN RING CLOSED NETWORK TEST FULL

My two choices came down to the Enchanted Knight in full armour and sorcerer wand, and the Prophet dressed in a cloak, wielding a club and having an usual wooden wheel around his neck. You don't actually get to see their starting stats, equipment or spells so the choice has to be made based on appearance alone. Innovative, thrilling, expansive, stunning and incredible, these were just some of the words that came to mind as I dug deep into this phenomenal Network Test preview.Ī Richly Detailed World Right from the opening character selection screen Elden Ring gives you a visual treat with five character classes to choose from-Warrior, Enchanted Knight, Prophet, Champion, Bloody Wolf-all with distinctive looks. I could tell during my weekend playthrough that FromSoft has taken the best elements from their previous games and elevated them to the next level, plus in a bold move, is expanding their Soulsborne legacy with the first ever open world adventure. But in many ways, Elden Ring has potential to be their greatest offering yet. I mean, this is the studio that gave us Bloodborne, Dark Souls, Demon's Souls and Sekiro-some of the finest gaming ever created. Given the pedigree of FromSoft combined with just how amazing the pre-release trailers and gameplay overview videos have been, Elden Ring being an 'incredible' experience was practically a given. It's been two years since the game was first announced and as a huge, huge FromSoftware fan I've literally been counting down the days until the Network Test. The moment I've been waiting for finally arrived: This past weekend I got to spend over 20 hours playing Elden Ring during an exclusive Closed Network Test media preview on PlayStation and Xbox (I chose to play on PS5).

FromSoft's most ambitious and accessible Soulsborne game yet

Elden ring closed network test