Unlike the other From Software games that game before it, Elden Ring adopts an open-world approach to how it presents its story and gameplay. The Lands Between is full of locations to explore, enemies to fight, and mysteries to unravel. Players looking to experience everything Elden Ring has to offer would be hard-pressed to do so within a reasonable amount of time and can lose themselves in the process.
But as with all games, Elden Ring has a finite amount of content for players to experience. Once the main story is completed, the major bosses felled, and most of the locales are explored and picked clean of their loot, players will be looking for something else to do. This is where New Game Plus kicks in. By resetting everyone's world progress, Elden Ring allows players to experience the same thing all over again, only this time with most of their weapons and gear from the previous playthrough. But while experiencing everything from the beginning may be appealing to some, others may find that Elden Ring's design doesn't offer much in terms of replayability.
Elden Ring's Spectacle Is Almost a One-And-Done
The Lands Between offers some of the best video game locales in recent memory. The vast battlefield below Redmane Castle, The Academy of Raya Lucaria, the Royal Capital of Leyndell - all of the places in Elden Ring are unique and offer some sort of gameplay or storytelling element. Not only that, but these locations are filled with characters and items that help flesh out the world and those in it. Jar-Bairn in Jarbug is just as important as the Haligtree Medallion pieces found in the Village of the Albinaurics and Castle Sol. Both provide exposition to the world and both are integral to completing some of the game's quests.
Unfortunately, all of these elements can only be freshly experienced for the first time. Starting New Game Plus in Elden Ring doesn't change the locations of items or enemies, meaning that everything will be in the exact same place players found them the first time around. Certain elements are tied to specific branching questlines (such as acquiring the Fingerslayer Blade for Princess Ranni or choosing to aid Fia, The Deathbed Companion), but these aren't as numerous as players might hope.
Elden Ring's Open-World vs. FromSoftware's Classic, Tighter Design
This is where Elden Ring's open-world design falls short. Other critically-praised open-world games such as Red Dead Redemption 2, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and Grand Theft Auto 5 have activities scattered throughout their maps to surprise players. These random encounters add something new to the player experience, be they minute or otherwise. Having a cougar suddenly jump at a Red Dead Redemption 2 player in the middle of nowhere may not be pleasant, but it creates an element unique to that one person.
Elden Ring doesn't have many of these random moments. Every enemy, item, and scenario has its predetermined place in the game which players will experience no matter what. The aforementioned Halligtree Medallion pieces will always be found in the same place, just as passing by Agheel Lake will always spawn Flying Dragon Agheel. What few random moments there are in Elden Ring are usually relegated to weak enemies like wolves that attack players on their journey to fight something more intimidating. While they do break up the monotony somewhat, these encounters are hardly as memorable as the rest of the game's content.
Furthermore, it's hard to ignore how FromSoftware encourages replay in other Souls games by offering tight, inviting, and dangerous level design. Demon's Souls, Bloodborne, and other titles are so unique and feel tightly handcrafted, forcing players down terrifying alleys. With New Game Plus in Elden Ring, some of that general design influence is lost, making the above issues even worse.
Elden Ring is by no means a bad game, but its New Game Plus mode is a bit lacking. It seems that taking a break from the game to forget it and allow From Software to add more content is the best way for players to get the most out of the mode. Without the incentive of new items and experiences aside from the alternate paths of their previous choices, players will have little motivation to explore the vast open-world they've already experienced before.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
