Game news Elden Ring Vs Horizon: What sets these two major games of 2022 apart?
Published on 04/22/2022 at 19:30
As the year got off to a slow start, the video game schedule sent us two uppercuts, one following the other. The first, Horizon Foribdden West, is the direct sequel to the excellent Horizon Zero Dawn, released in 2017. And the second is of course Elden Ring, the new bomb from the FromSoftware studio. Two standout games in 2022. Want to know how they differ? Follow the leader !
To go further, find above, at auto-play, our video “Horizon Forbidden West, Pokémon Arceus, Elden Ring: What is the best open-world?” released earlier this year. Happy reading and happy viewing!
Did you plan to rest “cushy cheep” in 2022? Well if you’re a fan of video games, you’ve missed it! A few weeks following the release of Pokemon Legends Arceusa certain Horizon Forbidden West has arrived on PS4 and PS5. Then once more ten days later with Elden Ring, new project from FromSoftware studio (Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro). With these two open-world action-adventure titles, there’s no time to get out of the house at this rate. But despite a common genre – at least in appearance – there is a chasm that separates Elden Ring and Horizon II. If you don’t really see the difference, JV is there for you.
TWO VISIONS OF THE OPEN WORLD
The thing to understand with Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring is that it’s regarding two radically different visions of the open world. Since something like the mid-2010s, games in “open world” are cooked in all sauces. More than a genre, it is then almost a specification to be respected for each triple-A on PC, PS4 and Xbox One (The Witcher 3 et Metal Gear 5 The Phantom Pain for example). The open world style then crystallized around specific elements, now considered classic: question marks to reveal on a map, GPS system to get there, sometimes the famous “Ubisoft towers” to reveal part of the playing field, etc. What ? Do open worlds suck? That was before Zelda Breath of the Wild does not arrive and smash the house, in 2017. With a gigantic universe and a navigation where the curiosity of the player is the only compass, Nintendo has written a whole new page of the genre.
From left to right: Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West
To put it simply, Horizon Foribdden West builds on the classic open world heritage asElden Ring plays it rather “new wave” Zelda Breath of the Wild way (we’ll go into more detail in the next second). This does not mean that the title of PlayStation is fundamentally less successful than that of FromSoftware. As stated above, these are simply two branches of the same genus. The choice of one is the other is explained rather easily. Horizon Forbidden West is a much more story-driven experience than Elden Ring – it’s a direct sequel to Aloy’s adventures in Horizon Zero Dawn – and for this writing to be able to express itself, a marked structure is needed, with main and mandatory missions. For its part, Elden Ring, despite the collaboration with the author of Game of Thrones George RR Martin, places the explicit history in the second or even in the third plan. Not having a linear frame forces the player to forget regarding it in favor of exploration.
A VERY DIFFERENT NAVIGATION
As a result, we don’t walk around Elden Ring like we walk around Horizon Forbidden West. In the PlayStation blockbuster, either we place a marker on the map which will then be displayed on the screen, or we notice an icon using the radar at the top of the screen, or we are guided by the game itself. -even, thanks to an element of the decor which protrudes in the distance (a last case which happens rather rarely). While for Elden Ring, it’s just the opposite. It is above all our sense of observation that proves useful for finding our bearings. Because here, no question marks on the map or GPS system. Just the wilderness, and a map that is certainly useful but will first have to be completed with fragments. Unlike Horizon, Elden Ring has everything to gain from confusing players. At FromSoftware, the most precious treasures, including weapons and powers, are found off the beaten path. A central aspect to the progression system: it is literally by strolling that one will become powerful and then ready to face the big challenges. A point certainly present in Horizon, but much less supported.
RADICAL ARTISTIC CHOICES
Do not mistake yourself. In Horizon Forbidden West, it is quite possible to wander around, come across quests or creatures that will make you stronger, which will necessarily be useful at one time or another. But this will be done in a less fluid way than in Elden Ring, and this for a simple reason: the PlayStation title is rooted in a form of realism whereas it is quite the opposite for that of FromSoftware. As a reminder, Horizon takes place in a very real America where the Ancestors once reigned, the equivalent of the people of our time but with much more advanced technology. It’s still science fiction, but the Guerrilla Games studio, behind Horizon, must offer settings that are sufficiently credible to establish a clear distinction between “technology that has ravaged humanity” and “nature taking back its rights”. Inevitably, this postulate limits the extravagances of level design, like the Legacy Dungeons of Elden Ring visible for miles. It is therefore logical that we end up with a world with a very different look, much more fantastic at FromSoftware.
EXPERIENCES AT THE ANTIPODES
All in all, it’s a certainty: Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring do not offer the same experience at all. This is a good thing. Video games, even when they share quite a few points in common (here “open world” and “action-adventure”) are not necessarily intended to be confronted head-on. Thereby, Horizon is much more mainstream than Elden Ring, with PlayStation a lot of settings to adjust to customize the adventure. The difficulty can for example be changed on the fly, when you want, just like the aids to be guided or not during the quests, and that’s not all. What largely help you if you feel the need. For its part, Elden Ring will give you very few gifts, even though it is itself considered “the easy mode of Dark Souls”. Because unlike other FromSoftware games, the new open world structure allows you to level up before facing the mandatory bosses, which are often very tough. There are also new things – spirits, especially – that will help you. But the adventure will not be at all easy.
ANOTHER APPROACH TO THE CHALLENGE
It is therefore (another) certainty: Elden Ring is an experience that will push you much more into your entrenchments. But it all depends on what difficulty you set Horizon Forbidden West on. Because in “normal” mode, the title of Guerrilla will give you a hard time, with a particularly well balanced challenge. Even more than its predecessor, Horizon encourages you to be observant and clever when dealing with huge robot animals. You can of course shoot them in the face, but it is more advisable to carefully aim for the parts that compose them. It will thus be possible to trigger a powerful chain reaction, deactivate a rocket launcher to protect yourself or even drop this weapon to defend yourself. Also, your ammunition doesn’t last forever, sometimes forcing you to revise your strategy. In Elden Ring too, you have to know how to adapt. Each boss is animated by its own gestures. So it’s up to you to decide whether to favor a light or heavy weapon, or a fight on the back of grinds. With its very advanced RPG dimension, you can customize your hero from A to Z. In short, Horizon or Elden Ring, the choice is yours. Games that are different, so why not try both?
Par IndeeJournalist jeuxvideo.com
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