After hours in Elden Ring, MeinMMO author Tarek Zehrer increasingly realized that the game makes him paranoid. But that is meant positively, and he explains to you why it is even worth it.
Elden Ring is a fantastic game in many ways. One of its greatest achievements is the open world of the RPG. In my review, I went into detail about it and explained why Elden Ring has taken the throne of open-world games.
However, I focused more on the content than on what it does to you. And recently, I noticed something: While I was navigating a dungeon, I caught myself not paying attention to where I was actually going.
Instead, I was constantly busy searching every corner, destroying every chest, and really looking everywhere to see if I might have overlooked any loot. It has gone so far that I would call it paranoia, only fortunately in a positive sense.
A bit of paranoia can bring you valuable rewards
That’s a good thing: The realization was preceded by a long journey through a dungeon. As typical for FromSoftware games, these are extremely complex, and it’s easy to get lost. Therefore, you must carefully examine and memorize the areas and rooms if you don’t want to stray from the path.
Or you can do it like me: completely the opposite. Here’s a scene that recently played out:
- Whenever I set a goal in Elden Ring, it doesn’t take long until that feeling slowly creeps up, and a voice whispers in my mind: “Hey… you! Look over there! There’s a ruin. Maybe there’s loot! Go check it out, come on. You want to, don’t you?”
- This voice cannot be ignored. It ensures that I constantly have in mind that I could miss something at any moment.
- Such was the case recently when I passed by a cave on my way to a target. After an incredibly long inner discussion for 2 seconds, deciding that I actually wanted to take down the next boss, my inner loot-seeking dog won.
- The slightest suspicion and the prospect of loot haunt me while playing. In dungeons, it’s even “worse” because everything is even more winding, and hidden walls can conceal a path or a treasure.
The new jumping mechanic allows you to reach additional hidden places, which amplifies this sensation. MeinMMO author Irina Moritz considers jumping one of the coolest features in the game.
I have often gotten lost because of this and completely lost my orientation. However, this usually results, as in this case, in a cool spell, a weapon, or another valuable item as a reward.
I experience such things continuously in Elden Ring. That’s why you’ll mostly see me rolling through dungeons. Every damn wooden chest must face destruction, because there could be loot hidden behind it!
Overall, I must have spent about 80 hours playing time just hitting stone walls, as there might be a hidden passage behind them.
The paranoia shows that the developers did everything right
This constant lookout for loot shows me: Elden Ring has achieved with its game world what hardly any other game has managed to do. It’s worth keeping your eyes open, looking closely, and being “paranoid” because the developers reward such actions.
I can therefore recommend to everyone: Be a bit paranoid and treat the game as if it wants to hide something from you. Because that’s exactly what it does.
The search for loot is simply much more fun when you have to do more than just select a question mark on a map and already know what you’ll find there. I’m looking at “the Assassin’s Creeds” and “Far Crys” of recent years, which have made the open-world principle increasingly formulaic.
While they throw all their cool things, which constantly repeat, at you with question marks, Elden Ring wants you to engage with the game world rather than just completing it.
Instead, you should “dissect” the game and its world, break it down into its components and discover it for yourself. A bit of paranoia can be the right mix.
What do you think? Do you feel the same way as I do? Or do you have a different approach? Share your opinion with us!
By the way, the excellent map that helps you in the search for loot plays a much larger role in Elden Ring than in conventional open-world games. Here you can find our guide on it:
Elden Ring: All info on the map and how to uncover it – with interactive map
