You Might Be Maiden-less, But You Still Have Worlds To Explore
Elden Ring has become a massive phenomenon for hardcore gamers worldwide. This game presents a vast open world full of deadly creatures, fantastical terrain, and intriguing souls-like gameplay that’ll keep you engaged for hours on end. It’s many fans’ favorite game of 2022–so far, and could be others’ favorite game of all time. If you’ve finished playing Elden Ring and are looking for alternatives – fret not! We’ve combed through the archives and saved you the hassle with our top 8 picks. Of course, for all the games we’ve reviewed, we’ve also added a handy link so you can check out our full thoughts on that and see if it’s something you want to invest your time with. So without further ado, we present 8 games to check out if you’re looking for a game like Elden Ring.
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen delivers a world full of quests, combat, and wonder. Like Elden Ring, you’ll encounter beings from many walks of life as you embark on quests through treacherous landscapes and environments. The world isn’t as vast as Elden Ring’s though. However, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen offers a slew of activities for players to take part in, especially if you value worlds full of large monstrous creatures that you can battle whenever you please. Furthermore, Dragon’s Dogma offers a variety of different classes for players to choose from. Each class grants players an opportunity to forge a path unlike those followed by other players or friends. The AI-controlled allies in this game are top-notch and will never let you down in a fight. The game does offer many challenges, but it’s not on the same wavelength as Elden Ring’s difficulty curve. However, it’s best for players to practice with the equipment of their choice, as one false move can jeopardize you in agonizing ways.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Ever since Elden Ring was released, many gamers tend to compare it to Nintendo Switch’s flagship adventure game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Ever since it hit store shelves, many developers aimed to emulate a similar experience in their games. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild broke tradition by placing fans in a vastly open world full of enemies, shrines, and NPCs to interact with. While the game’s a bit more barren than Elden Ring, it managed to maintain wonderful graphic fidelity on a portable system–blowing the minds of many who played it. Furthermore, Breath of the Wild threw away core mechanics in favor of granting players a worthwhile and memorable experience. Instead of having Link pursue specific dungeons in a set order, fans can now traverse the game in any way they’d like. They can choose to fight the game’s final boss or spend their time cooking up a lovely meal. Although many argue Elden Ring has surpassed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by offering a more flavorful open world with an intense challenge, there’s still a lot of fun to be had with it. If you’re curious as to why fans held The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as their favorite in the franchise, I’d recommend giving it a long play session.
Code Vein
Code Vein offers wonderful gameplay, beautiful art and character designs, and a storyline that will keep you engaged. It presents a unique approach to Souls-like RPGs and grants players access to a robust character customization system. It involves you venturing out into a post-apocalyptic setting to uncover the darker truths behind his comeuppance. You’ll encounter a slew of overpowered and deadly foes. To take down these formidable foes you’ll need to formulate and coordinate your attacks wisely. Like Elden Ring, survival is key in Code Vein. While the art style will appeal to fans of anime more, the darker aesthetic and themes that it presents throughout its narrative should grab anyone’s attention. Furthermore, the game features different weapons for players to experiment with, allowing you to experience the game differently from others.
Nioh 2
Nioh 2 offers an incredible gameplay loop that will have you dying and feeling satisfied whenever you defeat a formidable boss. The deaths you endure in this game serve as lessons for you to improve yourself like in Elden Ring. It takes everything fans loved about the original title and amplifies it by featuring new forms of combat while keeping its hardcore difficulty setting intact. In this game, you can defeat and utilize your enemies’ own attacks against them. Although it has a high difficulty curve, enemies in Nioh 2 seem fairer than those found in Elden Ring since you’ll gain access to a stamina bar for most of its bosses. Nioh 2 isn’t as open as Elden Ring either. The game mainly has you traverse through a few levels and plays similarly to difficult games of the past. Elden Ring also has this more western feel, unlike Nioh 2 which tackles things from a historic Japanese angle. Elden Ring’s adventure and narrative also have more depth and personality to them compared to those found in Nioh 2. However, the combat and abilities you can acquire and utilize in Nioh 2 make it a worthy contender to those found in Elden Ring. If you’re looking for a title that wishes to test your fighting prowess but in a smaller-scaled environment, consider playing Nioh 2.
Bloodborne
Bloodborne is another action-adventure game developed by FromSoftware. Like Elden Ring, this game includes challenging bosses and enemies in a gothic and dark world. It didn’t get much attention from most fans because of its PlayStation exclusivity, but those that played it had a swell time with it. Bloodborne has you take control of a hunter who must traverse through a Victorian-era-like city called Yharnam. This environment wreaks of depression and doom. Its inhabitants have fallen victim to a dreadful blood-borne disease. Therefore, you must help this game’s protagonist unravel this area’s mysteries and locate the source of this terrifying plague. Unfortunately, many fearsome beasts and cosmic entities stand in your way, requiring you to show them no mercy. As one can expect, this game’s enemies are fearsome and challenging. As with Elden Ring, you may find yourself needing to repeat a level or fight the same boss numerous times. While this sounds frustrating, defeating a powerful boss in this title feels rewarding and satisfying. The game’s combat is fast-paced and exhilarating. This game’s risk-and-reward system is a nice touch, as striking an enemy within a small window of time can net you some more hp. Dodging and attacking in this game also feel great. Elden Ring fans looking to traverse another dark environment full of terrifying and challenging monsters should consider playing Bloodborne.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Like Bloodborne and Elden Ring, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is another action-adventure game developed by FromSoftware. Similarly, this game features incredibly challenging enemies and an engaging world to explore. What separates this game from other soul-like titles would be its more feudal Japanese environment and storyline. This game’s setting is breathtakingly beautiful. You’ll find yourself in awe of the various sights scattered throughout the game’s areas. From dimly lit temples to gorgeously meadows, there are a lot of visuals worth taking in and appreciating. As one can tell, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice’s combat will require immense patience and practice. You’ll find yourself utilizing the game’s stealth mechanics to avoid dangerous threats, and the game’s small amount of weaponry to defeat these enemies. Unlike other Souls-like games, there isn’t much weapon and tool variety in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Although the one-on-one combat is fine, enemy hordes can be a hassle in this game. However, if you can overlook its issues, you should be in for a fun time with this game.
Fallout: New Vegas
Dark Souls: Remastered
At last, we reach one of the most well-acclaimed titles to kick off the Souls-like sub-genre of games. Elden Ring owes a lot to the game that revolutionized hardcore and challenging gameplay. It’s become so synonymous with the gaming fandom that players who’ve never touched it know of its impact on modern gaming. Dark Souls: Remastered is the visually enhanced and modified version of the original 2011 classic. This game comes jam-packed with the Artorias of the Abyss DLC, giving you more content to explore besides the elements found in its main-campaign. Like the original, this game takes place in the fictional kingdom of Lordran. You take control of a cursed human character who embarks on a terrifyingly dreadful quest full of undead humans. The game will never narrate the story for you through cutscenes or hold your hand. It’s up to you to gather this world’s clues in hopes of understanding the narrative it wishes to tell. As for enemies, they will hit hard and show no mercy. Each death will frustrate you, but defeating a foe will inspire and satisfy you. If you enjoyed the hardcore and brutal nature of Elden Ring and never played any game in the Dark Souls franchise, Dark Souls: Remastered is a perfect place to start. So there we have it, our 8 video game picks to keep you busy after playing Elden Ring. What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!
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