Elden Ring is the next offering from From Software, the merry band of maddeningly talented folks behind the likes of Dark Souls, Bloodborne and most recently, the fantastic Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Arguably one of the most highly anticipated games of the year and not to mention one of the most promising action RPGs to pop along in a good while, here’s everything you need to know about Elden Ring.
Elden Ring Release Date & Platforms – When And How Can I Play Elden Ring?
The Elden Ring release date has been confirmed as February 25, 2022. Elden Ring will be released on PC via Steam, in addition to PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One console platforms. So if you own basically any system that was released in the last seven years or so, you’re pretty much good to go for some Elden Ring goodness.
Elden Ring Trailer – Where Can I Find The Latest Trailer For Elden Ring?
There’s no doubt about it – Elden Ring is a sizable game to say the least, so it should come as little surprise that there isn’t just one Elden Ring trailer but instead a whole heap of them.
The latest Elden Ring trailer delves into the sprawling story that underpins its action RPG shenanigans – a tale that is jointly penned by From Software director Hidetaka Miyazaki and Game of Thrones author George R R Martin, no less.
You can catch the latest, story focused Elden Ring trailer below.
What Is Elden Ring?
Distilled to its core, Elden Ring is essentially the punishing action RPG beats of Dark Souls thrust out into a gloriously realised open world setting. As the Tarnished, an exiled warrior long left dead, Elden Ring has players roaming the vast Lands Between as they seek the power of the titular Elden Ring in order to become the Elden Lord.
In practice, this means you’ll be cutting across a gorgeously depicted land of destroyed beauty, as you raid dungeons absolutely brimming with danger and deadly threat at every turn and tackle epic bosses that’ll make you soil your undercrackers with reliable vigour.
Elden Ring Character Customisation
Much like the Dark Souls games that preceded it, Elden Ring prides itself on providing players with a substantial amount of creative latitude with which to craft their hero. Cosmetically speaking, players can fiddle with everything from character size and hair colour, all the way through to an impressive array of beards and numerous scars to choose from.
When it comes to the functional side of things, though Elden Ring has an array of different classes, how you choose to play your hero and the attributes that you choose to concentrate on, are all entirely up to (and driven by) you. Even better still, director Hidetaka Miyazaki recently said that additional skills would be earned by exploring the map and having a rollicking time doing so, rather than unlocking them from boring old skill trees as seen in the likes of Dark Souls and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Elden Ring Gameplay – How Does Online Play Work?
Another key element of the Soulslike sub-genre that Elden Ring maintains is persistent online play and as you may have guessed, Elden Ring certainly doesn’t let players down in this regard either.
Making the most of its open world setting, Elden Ring not only has the ‘invisible presence’ mechanics of Dark Souls where players can leave messages and clues behind for others to find, but it also allows players to summon their friends to traverse and tackle the entirety of the Lands Between as an Awesome Twosome. Or something.
Elden Ring Gameplay – What Starting Classes Are Available?
Though Elden Ring embraces open world design for the first time ever in a From Software Soulslike effort, it’s reassuring to know that much of the essential game design bedrock of Dark Souls remains intact. Part of that enduring design is the class system – yes, Elden Ring does indeed have classes and the five main starting classes in Elden Ring are as follows.
Warrior
A real bruiser of a class that places a premium on the Dexterity stat, the Warrior is a spry combatant that employs a range of impressively agile strikes to get the job done. Starting off with two Scimitars, Medium Armour and a Buckler, the Warrior quickly proves to be a class with great potential – thanks in no small part to Sword Storm attacks that allow the Warrior to harass enemies at a distance.
Enchanted Knight
Much more than just an impressive looking hero, the Enchanted Knight soon proves to be a deft hybrid of Sorceries (essentially Elden Ring’s take on ‘magic’) and blunt force trauma, thanks in no small part to the Enchanted Knight’s ability to wear Heavy Armour and use equally Heavy Weapons. The Enchanted Knight kicks off their journey with a full suit of Heavy Armour and a deadly Winged Spear. So that’s nice.
Prophet
Essentially a take on the Cleric archetype seen in similar games, the Prophet wields the highest Faith and Mind stats out of any of the Elden Ring’s starting classes. This means that not only can they fling around healing and buffing spells around the place with aplomb, but they can do so for much longer than any class. The Prophet begins with Robes and a Club, but honestly, don’t let the fact the Prophet’s humble threads and embrace of Faith fool you, as it’s clear that given the chance they always choose violence.
Champion
Representing a satisfying blend of the Incantation based spells of the Prophet together with the up close and personal, smashmouth combat of the Warrior, the Champion looks to be a versatile, magically charged fighter that many players will likely pick. Starting the game with a powerful Dragonfire spell, Champion Armour and a hefty Battle Axe, the Champion is easily one of the best damage focused classes in Elden Ring.
Bloody Wolf
Not a literal bloody wolf (though I grant you, that too would also be cool), the Bloody Wolf is a devastating fighter that places a real focus on dealing out huge amounts of two-handed damage backed up by a gargantuan pool of health and damage mitigation to boot. Welcomingly familiar to anyone who has ever got stuck into the two-handed warrior playstyle seen in the Dark Souls games, the Bloody Wolf starts Elden Ring with Blood Wolf Armour and a huge Bastard Sword.
Elden Ring System Requirements – Is My PC Good Enough To Run Elden Ring?
Elden Ring is stunning looking certainly, but how does that translate into the PC system requirements that you’ll need to run the game? Well, we’re glad you asked because we’ve got the full set of Elden Ring minimum and recommended system requirements below.
Elden Ring Minimum PC System Requirements
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 | AMD Ryzen 3 3300X
- Memory: 12GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, 3GB | AMD Radeon RX 580, 4GB
- DirectX: DirectX 12 (Feature Level 12.0)
- Storage: 60GB
- Sound Card: Windows-compatible audio device
Elden Ring Recommended PC System Requirements
- OS: Windows 10 | Windows 11
- Processor: Intel Core i7-8700K | AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
- Memory: 16GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070, 8GB | AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, 8GB
- DirectX: DirectX 12 (Feature Level 12.0)
- Storage: 60 GB
- Sound Card: Windows-compatible audio device
Pre-Purchase Elden Ring for PC
Grab Elden Ring with us in advance of its 25th of February launch and you’ll get the deal of a lifetime. Not only will you save, you’ll also receive pre-purchase bonuses like the Adventure Guide and a bonus gesture you can use to show off in-game. Elden Ring and Green Man Gaming is a match made in heaven.
