Summary
FromSoftware has generally excelled when it comes to developing high-quality tutorial levels across theDark Soulsseries, withElden Ringbeing a rare trip up for the developer. While the tutorial messages and opportunities to practice mechanics are plenty successful, thefinal boss ofElden Ring’s optional tutorial, Soldier of Godrick, struggles to prepare players for what is to come only a few minutes later.
This lack of preparation mostly comes from the way that Soldier of Godrick is little more than a normal enemy placed at the end of the tutorial to give players a chance to practice with the guard counter. However, unlike most tutorials, this boss has almost no ability to kill most players with their starting equipment, failing to really set the stage for the difficultyElden Ringis going to throw at players.
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Unprepared for Elden Ring’s Difficulty
The first thing thatElden Ringdoes to players is kill them. This usually comes in the form of theGrafted Scion’s introduction, attacking with a series of powerful attacks that will quickly take down a starting character. However, even if the player survives, they still fall to their death before being revived in the Stranded Graveyard. It’s a lightning-fast opening that uses a difficult enemy and an inability to heal in order to immediately inform the player that death is just part of the experience.
If the Grafted Scion was situated at the end of the tutorial, with eventually killing the boss being required, then that would be a perfect way to set players on their way through the Lands Between. Unfortunately, the Grafted Scion can’t be fought again for some time, with the tutorial boss that players actually get to practice against being Soldier of Godrick. As a standard enemy given a boss health bar on the bottom of the screen, Soldier of Godrick hardly showcasesElden Ring’s brutal difficulty.
With Soldier of Godrick coming immediately after the Grafted Scion, this tutorial’s inclusion gives the impression that while enemies can appear that will kill the player, it isn’t going to be too harsh right from the start. Then immediately after, players aregreeted by the Erdtree Sentinel, who can be beaten early, but is likely intended to be circled back to later after gaining strength throughout Limgrave. This makes Soldier of Godrick such a dip in difficulty for something given a boss health bar, that it sets a poor precedent for what players can expect moving forward.
Elden Ring Should be a Struggle, Not a Breeze
One thing that often gets over-hyped for FromSoftware’s games is that they are built to be difficult, by pitting players against bosses that put the odds well out of their favor. However, a more generous description of the Souls-like design philosophy is that these are games built to make players struggle, losing and retrying just happens to be a part of that concept. So, this is why Soldier of Godrick fails to hit make good onElden Ring’s best aspectbecause it doesn’t offer anything for the player to really struggle against.
To a degree, it is Soldier of Godrick’s placement that really makes the boss so disappointing. If he was placed at the end of a random cave or catacomb, then he might have worked as a gag enemy, or a joke side boss to be fought optionally before the actual main struggle of the dungeon. However, the current placement of Soldier of Godrick would be better given to any other boss that is simple enough to be beaten at base level, but still enough of a struggle to prepare players for thechallenge thatElden Ringis going to be after the tutorial.
Elden Ringis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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