Elden Ring is Crowned at Japan Game Awards 2022  

The Honor of Becoming an Elden Lord

For those who do not know what Elden Ring is and why it has become so popular. Here are a few points to share why it became one of the Top Honors at the Japan Game Awards.

What is Elden Ring

From the creators of the Darksouls series, Elden Ring is a dark fantasy action roleplaying game by FromSoftware. During E3 2019, Elden Ring was one of the most anticipated video games revealed, mainly because of George R.R Martin, who was involved with the game. He is the author of Game of Thrones, and instead of finishing future installments like The Winds of Winter also A Dream of Spring, Martin decided to work on writing for video games.

The story revolves around you, the player, also known as the chosen Tarnished, to journey through the in-game world called The Lands Between. Your goal is to face the demigods and other monsters to get the Elden Ring, and in the end, you will become an Elden Lord. 

Why is Elden Ring So Good?

Elden Ring has so much to offer that you cannot get from other games. The game changes the formula of the usual open-world roleplaying game titles while making revolutionary improvements from that genre.

The Lands Between is filled with side quests or areas so immersive that exploring new locations such as castles, forests, caves, and ruins is worth the adventure. The game has a dark tone, but there is no doubt that it has beauty in that darkness, and with the pieces of lore scattered throughout the world, it makes Elden Ring feel alive, which in ways, is something other open-world games fail to achieve. 

As a Tarnished, Elden Ring players would take on bosses and enemies. With numerous weapons to choose from and multiple classes to choose from, the game feels flexible. There are multiple ways to play the game. Players can build their character to fit their playstyle and take different approaches to combat an enemy. 

As this is a FromSoftware game, we already know that this game is challenging, which attracts players to Elden Ring. With the great difficulty and variety of enemies roaming the world, you can feel your in-game survival instincts kicking in as each death in the game can severely punish the player when they die. As an enemy strikes the killing blow, all the weak or robust Elden Ring runes will be permanently gone. It is vital to avoid waves of mobs as your chances of survival can decrease very quickly.

Character customization is nothing new, but how detailed and the number of armor sets available for each class makes Elden Ring stand out. There are ten classes to choose from: Vagabond, Warrior, Hero, Bandit, Astrologer, Samurai, Confessor, Prisoner, Prophet, and Wretch. All these classes have playstyles, weapons, and other Elden Ring items fit for each character you are building.

Leveling up here is similar to Darksouls; unlike simply reaching a new level and your stats increase, you have complete control over which attributes you would like to improve for your character based on their build and class. Putting in the grind and defeating bosses to improve each attribute to kill even harder enemies or being able to use high-requirement weapons makes it all worth it. Eight main attributes are upgradeable: Vigor, Endurance, Dexterity, Faith, Mind, Strength, Intelligence, and Arcane.

As a Soulsborne game, this is the highlight of the entire genre; the boss battles here are mainly optional. The Tree Sentinel is the first boss a Tarnished will face, giving them a taste of what is to come when facing more as you progress throughout the game. Compared to the previous games by FromSoftware, Elden Ring has the hardest and the most challenging first in gaming history. Most would give up after dying so many times, but the severe difficulty of this game is what makes it rewarding to complete.

Japan Game Awards 2022

A Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Rewards Ceremony, Japan Game Awards represents the Japanese video game industry while featuring both Japanese and International video games. This awards ceremony was created in 1996 as the Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association Awards, better known as CESA, which promotes the computer entertainment industry. 

For the Japan Game Awards 2022, Elden Ring received the Grand Award during the ceremony due to its high praise and the honor of being given an Award for Excellence as one of the Top 10 games. 

Director Hidetaka Miyazaki

A creative director, designer, scriptwriter, and executive of the video game company FromSoftware, Director Hidetaka Miyazaki won the Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Award. The award is given to individuals or organization that has contributed to the growth of the Japanese games industry. Miyazaki has the reputation to prove that he deserves the award. 

Miyazaki directed the Dark Souls series and was promoted to company president in 2014 while directing other titles such as Demon’s Souls, Sekiro, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring. His reputation is impressive because all these games have been critically acclaimed. His works even influenced novelists and other game designers. It is thanks to Hidetaka Miyazaki’s influential work that gave birth to the Soulslike genre.