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Elden Ring has fixed the problem I had with Dark Souls

An abundance of save points

A hooded warrior rests at a glowing site of grace in Elden Ring
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/FromSoftware/Bandai Namco Entertainment

When Elden Ring was first thrust out into the world back in 2019, I have to admit I was pretty nonplussed about it. I've said before I've never been much of a Soulsite, and it's not for lack of trying. I tried my darnedest to get into Dark Souls III when it first came out, but holy deathrattles, it was such a long, gruelling slog. Vordt of the Boreal Valley, the second (yes, second) boss of Dark Souls III, remains my lifelong nemesis. I just couldn't get past it. I'm someone who always likes to be making forward, tangible progress when I play games, and banging my head against the same boss for hours on end is my idea of actual hell.

I'm no better at playing Elden Ring, to be honest. I spent a good couple of hours last night just trying to get past one of those big tentacle-beard monkey lads with the hollowed out stomachs on the way up to Stormveil Castle. Not even a named, actual sub-boss! And yet, I'm actually enjoying this version of Souls-style head-bashing a lot more than I've ever done before. And I think it's to do with Elden Ring's plentiful supply of save points.

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Katharine Castle avatar
Katharine Castle: Katharine was RPS' editor-in-chief from 2021 to 2024. She first joined the team in 2017 as their hardware editor, and she continues to play pretty much anything she can get her hands on. She's very partial to JRPGs and the fetching of quests, but also loves strategy and turn-based tactics games and will never say no to a good Metroidvania.
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