Elden Ring

Summary
Elden Ring is a dark fantasy adventure brought to life by Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki, with help from George R.R. Martin.

Game Design
The graphics are 3D and semi-stylised. The world has a day-night cycle, with roughly 60 real-life minutes representing 24 in-game hours. There is dynamic weather, with varying levels of fog, rainfall, and wind.

The horses in-game are realistically animated. Hoofbeat sounds vary depending on terrain, and the horses make realistic breathing and whinnying sounds.

Gameplay
Due to the sheer size of Elden Ring, this article will focus on the horse mechanics only.

Torrent


Torrent is the player's mount, referred to in-game as a spectral steed. He is a small, dapple grey stallion with gold-flecked horns. According to the developers, they pulled inspiration from antelopes and mountain goats for his design.

Torrent seems to have the ability to communicate telepathically with others, as some NPCs will speak to him as if they were having a conversation. He never speaks directly to the player, so it is likely that only certain individuals can understand him. Through NPC dialogue, it is revealed that Torrent chose the player, deeming them worthy of his assistance.

Riding Mechanics
Torrent is summoned by using a special ring, called the Spectral Steed Whistle. The player mounts up as soon as Torrent appears, and when dismounted, he fades away until summoned again. Riding is possible in most areas of the game world, except for certain indoor spaces. These spaces are indicated by a border of blue fire, and if it is stepped on, the player will dismount automatically.

Torrent can jump high, and can boost in midair to perform a double jump. This allows smooth movement across the landscape, including quick scaling of cliffs. Throughout the game world, there are Spirit Springs, indicated by a glowing blue whirlwind. These can be used to jump incredible distances, and while using one, fall damage is disabled. This means they can also be used as safe spots to drop down into. Outside of Spirit Springs, Torrent may take damage from falls that are too high, and any fall that would kill the player is unsafe for him as well.

Torrent has his own health bar, and if it reaches zero, he will be unsummoned immediately and temporarily incapacitated. If this happens, the player must spend one use of their healing flask to restore him. To prevent Torrent's untimely demise, it is possible to craft special raisins that restore his health. These can be used at any time as long as Torrent is summoned.

Torrent can sprint very quickly in short bursts. Outside of combat, this does not consume stamina, making it possible to simply use the ability over and over to get around faster. In combat, Torrent has no individual stamina bar, and uses the player's. This encourages saving his sprint for evading enemy attacks.

Thanks to his spectral nature, Torrent is unaffected by any and all status ailments that can afflict the player, making him the ideal choice for traversing some of the more dangerous areas in the game.

Combat
Many enemies can be fought on horseback, and there are several that have their own mounts.

Melee attack patterns are limited while on Torrent, primarily allowing swings to either the right or left side of him. Like in any other combat scenario, attacks can be charged for some extra damage. For fighting on horseback, archery is the more recommended method, as Torrent makes it possible to quickly weave in and out of range of the enemies while pelting them with arrows.

It is possible to be knocked out of the saddle by taking too much damage in a short amount of time. If this happens, Torrent will be unsummoned immediately and the player will be left prone on the ground, very vulnerable to attacks for a few seconds. In these cases, Torrent can be summoned once more as soon as the player is back on their feet.