Review – Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition (Switch 2)
Becoming Maiden-less On The Go
Boy Oh Boy! Where do I even start with Elden Ring? Launching a few years ago in 2022 it is debatably From Software’s masterpiece. Absolutely showered in awards and accolades including the big daddy of them all; Game Of The Year! Throughout Elden Ring’s life span we’ve had a spin off ‘Nightreign’ and an expansion ‘Shadow Of The Erdtree’ While ‘Nightreign’ didn’t quite do it for me it was a successful multiplayer experience. ‘Shadow Of The Erdtree’ capitalised on what made the vanilla experience great and doubled down, for a unforgettable time. Now we have the Tarnished Edition of Elden Ring. The Switch 2 port for the hybrid console players. This review may be difficult to be unbiased. Generationally speaking this might be my favourite game. With that said lets prepare to die in Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition!
Like most of my Switch 2 port reports I will start with performance, then reverie or revile afterwards. Spoiler warning no reviling will be happening from me. Performance wise I am both impressed and underwhelmed. Objectively speaking the Switch 2 port has to be the worst possible way to play Elden Ring. Docked it looks and performs very similar to how it played on previous generation consoles. With inconsistent frame rates it can be a jarring experience. I’m not entirely sure what frame rate it is trying to target, but playing it wildly varies. I found smaller dungeons and less busy areas ran smooth, smoother than 30 FPS smooth. Other places and fights it felt significantly lower than that. With the varying frame rates it’s a challenge to get used to, albeit not impossible. Elden Ring Tarnished Edition would have benefited massively from a frame rate cap or graphical modes to switch between.
Despite performance is rough I also find myself in a little bit of awe. Playing portable mode still generates fantastic vistas and sky boxes. Yeah we might have a bit of ‘Silent Hill’ fog masking some of the edges. It still looks very impressive and the fog adds to the oppressive atmosphere of the world. Character, enemy and weapon models still look very good when immediately being engaged. However things can look a bit dodgy when in the background. I did state that its probably the worst way to experience Elden Ring. However the Switch 2 is a way to experience Elden Ring. Trust me when i say experiencing From Software’s masterpiece is an absolute must for any gamer.
Tarnished Edition includes some new content. Two new classes neither of which I used. Skins for Torrent, horse armour in 2026 goes totally crazy. However with current business trends it seems fair less egregious than the ‘Oblivion’ days. Having Torrent look like it a part of the Golden Order is awesome, so I’m fine with that. New armour sets have also been put into the game, however I didn’t find any so I can’t really comment. The new content are nice little additions that are the cherry on the cake that is Elden Ring.
So souls crew know I took this play through as an opportunity to compare bleed builds. Launch players will know how broken bleed and arcane builds were. So starting as a samurai I challenged myself to see how far I could get in ten hours. Assimilating what I think is a decent bleed build for early game. I made my way through plenty of lords and bosses. I was a tad annoyed I couldn’t get to my favourite grind spot to cheese a few levels. With early access I couldn’t find online players to bully for the quest line. That’s revealing to all that know. Ultimately it became clear to me my build of choice was a very different experience from day one playing in 2022. Various nerfs or maybe my levelling choice began halting my swift progress. I will be returning to the drawing board from my next run that’s for sure.
The gushing I could produce about Elden Ring could end up being a dossier on madness. So I will keep it conservative. Story wise Elden Ring is beyond epic and mostly totally missable. Co-written by your man that wrote ‘Game Of Thrones’, the lore runs deep. Story details are often told via environmental changes and descriptions. Rather than your typical 10 minute cutscenes. I absolutely adore this method of story telling. As it rewards those who engage with it on a deep level. I would struggle to explain this tale of gods, lords and monsters but luckily many YouTubers can.
Design wise Elden Ring is meticulously crafted from the ground up. Every model, weapon and environment is outstanding. Everything just looks so Elden Ring for no better terminology. Specifically the very start of the expansion Shadow Of The Erdtree. That environmental is staggeringly well designed from a visual standpoint. With a devastating use of environmental storytelling. This location tells a thousand word story, without a character uttering one.
While venturing through The Lands Between the tone is set with sound. Haunting minimalist soundscapes paint the oppressive nature of this world. The first area really hammers home a feeling of loneliness through periodic soundscapes alone. Combining music with the visceral crunch and slashes of combat is the perfect juxtaposition.
Elden Ring is one of the best games ever made in my opinion. From Software pioneered a genre and have fine tuned to a masterful weapon that is Elden Ring. Although The Switch 2 is far from the best way of playing Elden Ring it is enjoyable. Masterpieces are still masterpieces regardless of frame rate and resolution. I mean I missed likely the last total eclipse in my lifetime playing it!
