The year has just begun, and February has already the potential of being the biggest month of 2022 for gaming fans. Amongst several upcoming titles, Elden Ring stands out as one of the most awaited; as of today, pre-loading is available on Xbox consoles.
Elden Ring is the latest project of Hidetaka Miyazaki's FromSoftware, the creator of the famed Souls franchise, as well as the mind behind other popular games such as Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Elden Ring features action-role-playing elements similar to previous FromSoftware's games, with a focus on exploration in an open-world, dark fantasy setting; the characteristic deep character customization makes a return, as do the challenging duels against a diverse roster of enemies. In building the game world, the developers were joined by famed writer George R. R. Martin.
Set to be released on February 25, Elden Ring is as of now available for pre-installing by Xbox users. If acquired via the Microsoft Store, the download of the 50 GB package should have started automatically. Pre-loading is possible even for those who haven't bought the game yet but intend to do so: in order to do it, download the official Xbox mobile app on Android or iOS, find the game page for Elden Ring in it, and select "download to console" to start the pre-installing process. With those steps in mind, all should be set for diving into the latest FromSoftware's title the moment it releases, and start with an introduction designed to be quite tough.
In a game very much centered on experimenting with various fighting styles, class diversity is the key, and Elden Ring appears to deliver on the subject, with a final class roster counting 10 different archetypes available from the very start. It isn't merely a question of quantity, as Elden Ring classes are wonderfully diverse, offering support for a multitude of build paths and playstyles.
Elden Ring is an open-world game emphasizing combat and challenge over story, a formula that has reaped much success in recent years. In order not to fail expectations, however, a fine balance must be kept between challenge and excessive difficulty, as well as between staying in the comfort zone of the proven Souls gameplay formula and threading the path of innovation.
Elden Ring releases on February 25 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: Pure Xbox