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Elden Ring is a reminder that Souls games get elevators rightFromSoftware have lifts down
FromSoftware have lifts down
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco
Elden Ringhas got me thinking again. Not about itsterrible banter I adoreor itsrolling goats. My mind has turned to its elevators and how FromSoftware does them justice. They aren’t just tools to get from A to B but moving platforms that hide secrets or instill a sense of dread. Not to mention their little pressure plates - god they’re satisfying aren’t they?
I’m sure other games have exceptional elevator sequences. Moments where characters travel up or down together for the first - or last time. Perhaps there are invisible assassins in the elevator with you, woah! Chaotic firefights where you’re sliding and tumbling down an elevator shaft as everything erupts in flames. I’m not saying other games aren’t capable of elevating the elevator. But I reckon FromSoftware gets the elevator consistently right, and have been for years.
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Not only was my elevator ride a bit spooky, but also long. Longer than I’d ever encountered in a Souls game. And it was this disconcerting, seemingly endless descent intosomewherethat made me appreciate just how well FromSoft injected a sense of discovery into what was, essentially, a static journey from point A to point B. The devs could’ve cut things short with a loading screen or increased the speed of the elevator to move things along, but no, that would defeat the point.
Compared to my previous experience with Souls elevators, a lengthy plunge hadn’t been what I expected. Looking back, it was another clever switcheroo from the norm. A norm which I’ve also come to appreciate.
And it’s where they take you, or refuse to, that sets Souls elevators apart from most. Often you’ll step off an elevator in Elden Ring and think, “Oh, I’m back here, nice!”, transforming them from dread machines to slabs of relief. Sometimes the elevators aren’t even at their posts, having left a telling gap in their place. Wander up to the lever stationed beside it and it’ll simply say that it’s not operational: a less-than subtle hint to piss off elsewhere. But also, a nod to its true form as a shortcut. “If you’re brave enough”, it says, “I’ll meet you downstairs”.
The brave journey to find the lift you’re after is worth it. Partly for the shortcut, but mainly for another press on the pressure plates that control them. There’s something immensely satisfying about thethunkit makes when it slots into place before it takes you up or down. So much better than a button press, I reckon.
Don’t mind me, the lift-liker, off to play more Elden Ring now that I’ve had a good gush about it. I look forward to seeing a highly appraised message that’s like, “secret passage ahead, down”, right next to a lift and I’ll stupidly follow it’s guidance while holding like 20,000 runes and plummet to my death.
