And suddenly, I suspect I won't be alone when I myself make a firm return to Dark Souls' Lordran.
Grimrukh says that with Survival Mode now released into the wild, updated to v1.5, and with the project's source code now available for all players to bend and break to their every whim, he's firmly returned to work on Nightfall. Grimrukh has proven his prowess for these types of game-changing projects with Dark Souls Nightfall, an in-progress total conversion mod for the first Dark Souls game that turns Lordran upside down in a similar way. With 377 weapon crafting recipes, and scores of health and status boosting items, not to mention hunger, thirst and the subtle but sophisticated tweak of plunging the Lands Between into total darkness overnight, Survival Mode really turns Elden Ring on its head, to the point where it straddles strange ground – it's familiar because you know this world well by now, but it's also totally alien given the aforementioned changes, and that in itself is disconcerting. Is it worth taking on those enemies to access that chest, knowing you might wind up wounded and spend the next two hours hunting for medicine? Can you risk taking the shortest route to your goal knowing you're ill-equipped and might end up with hypothermia? Is it even worth going out at all after dark, even with a torch? The thought of these questions alone is making me anxious.Īll of which is of course testament to the quality of Grimrukh's work (with additional help from Souls modders Jan Zielasko, Thens, and King Bore). Elden Ring in its vanilla state is hardly what you'd call a forgiving game, but Survival Mod's ultra-punishing mechanics lend every decision an extra layer of weight.
By simply plunging us into darkness at night, the Lands Between suddenly feels fresh and unexplored. I'd love to see something that explores the story of Melania's cursed brother Miquella a bit deeper whenever official DLC does land, but, in all honesty, Survival Mode is so good that I'm now in no rush to launch into something new. "Can you risk taking the shortest route to your goal knowing you're ill-equipped and might end up with hypothermia? Is it even worth going out at all after dark, even with a torch?"
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