It would have been strange if Elden Ring didn't get its own board game. Steamforged is not at its first attempt, and after a lot of teasing, a particularly ambitious board game has been presented to players on Kickstarter . Their game Dark Souls was faithful to the basic title, with its relatively small dimensions and a significant difficulty, and now the board game Elden Ring will do like the From Software title, since it will offer a form of open modular world for players to explore. And who says modularity, also says expensive options, the different editions of the game each time add pretty figurines of boss monsters, maps and new regions. If you want to acquire the full edition, the addition may be salty.
A successful financing
Launched on November 22, 2022, the Kickstarter's goal was to raise at least 173,867 euros . At the time of writing these lines, the bar of two million euros is not very far , with nearly 7000 contributors and 8 players before the end. Steamforged has not skimped on the means to sell its project, with several trailers, let's plays, infographics and particularly convincing large images which show several dozen familiar figurines, whose models have been taken from the game.
A game for long term players
The Elden Ring board game seems to appeal to the most hardened and driven fans, at all levels. The game is intended for 1 to 4 players , with play sessions of 2 hours or more. But don't expect to finish the game in 2 hours, it's a replayable campaign of about 90 hours that awaits you. The gameplay is quite innovative on several levels. For starters, it uses the removable terrain tiles to simulate the open world , which can be freely explored to discover interesting locations and NPCs. It also incorporates diceless combat, which is instead based on action and spell cards, which is always more satisfying since it requires strategy, rather than luck. These elements rely on a significant character customization system, with equipment, consumables and the like. In the end, it has almost all the attributes of a paper role-playing game like Dungeons & Dragons, and it should appeal to quite a few role-players. It could also attract a new audience to this area as a bonus. At least, if the price does not intimidate them.
A modular price that increases quickly
Prices start at around 87 euros (excluding delivery costs), for the light edition of the Elden Ring board game. The adventure then covers the Tearful Peninsula, for a mini-campaign of around twenty hours.
The bill then increases quickly, and it goes to 177 euros with the addition of additional modules to continue the adventure. To explore all of Necrolimbo, outside the castle. This is considered the basic edition of the game, since it includes the Warrior Jarre Alexander, as well as the various bonuses unlocked during the Kickstarter.
And if you're driven by the flames of ambition, and want the full experience, at least right now, you'll have to shell out £364, or more than €423 (still excluding delivery) . This build adds Castle Veilorage, which will finally let you face Margit the Fallen and Godrick the Grafted next. New bosses, with their miniatures and their rules are also added, such as Agheel the flying dragon and the Avatar of the world tree.
As mentioned in the title, it's almost the official price of a Playstation 5 (449.99 euros), but far exceeds this price by adding delivery costs, or almost 50 euros extra if you live in France. It hurts, and it's just for the first region of the game. It wouldn't be surprising to see expansions with the other regions coming later, as the structure of the game seems to lend itself to it. Rather than breaking the bank buying the game for yourself, it may be wiser to find motivated friends to buy it together. Having paid for the game may motivate them to play with you, in order to make their investment profitable.
If your campaign is floundering, or you don't have any friends to play with, you'll always have the option of playing alone, or displaying the tons of cute miniatures included in the box. Painting fans will also have plenty to enjoy.
While GoW had the Valkyries, the sequel has the 12 berserkers, very difficult to summon optional bosses at tombstones. Here's a written strategy guide with tips and tricks for defeating him on maximum difficulty, as well as a video of the fight in this mode.
