Elden Ring Tarnished Edition

What the report says

The first time I played Elden Ring, I spent a lot of time focusing on its flaws. They were just too easy to see at the end of a quick binge of every FromSoftware Soulsborne games. The boss fights aren’t as consistent and fun as Dark Souls III. The world isn’t as well-connected, dense, and surprising as Dark Souls. It certainly doesn’t have the atmosphere of Bloodborne or the razor-sharp combat of Sekiro. The problems don’t stop there. Copy-pasted bosses and copy-pasted catacombs. Frankly horrendous platforming. Later maps lacking the grandeur and beauty of earlier places like Limgrave.

The increasingly punishing boss design that works against certain builds, a problem the DLC expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, only doubles down upon. And oh boy, that camera. Don’t get me wrong. I still absolutely loved most of my time with Elden Ring (as did our initial reviewer, Jerry Williams), and I still played Shadow of the Erdtree the moment it dropped and loved that even more, but I was just worn out by the end.It’s strange, then, that I decided to review this Tarnished Edition, a new version that packages the base game and Shadow of the Erdtree along with some other goodies for the Switch 2.

After all, while I have played a ton of Souls-likes since completing my Elden Ring run, there are still plenty more out there that I could spend my time on. Honestly, I think it was because I was mad I had to change my build for the (unpatched) final boss of Shadows of the Erdtree and I wanted to take him down my way this time.This playthrough of Elden RingTarnished Edition turned out to be much more than a revenge tour, though. No, it instead helped bring into full focus what a masterpiece this game really is.It took me a little while to get there, though, and it’s partially because of how Elden Ring performs on the Switch 2.

Key details

To be clear, the game runs much better than early impressions suggested it might, but comparing it to the way it runs on a PS5, which I realize is unfair, is almost like looking at two different games. Here’s the thing, though: you pretty much get used to it, and for the most part, the deficiencies don’t interfere when it matters most. In docked mode, things run at a capped 30 FPS, and that stays relatively consistent outside of chaotic boss fights, but even when meteors are flying at you and the screen stutters a little, it isn’t game-breaking.

For me, the most distracting blips are related to everything else—the lighting, the draw distance, and the sharpness all leave a lot to be desired. There’s also a ton of pop-in. When the grandeur and beauty of the world are a huge part of what sets Elden Ring apart, it does have an impact. All of this gets just a little bit worse in the Shadow of the Erdtree areas, too.I’m actually most impressed by handheld mode, which certainly is softer and performs worse than docked mode, but it’s surprisingly close. I didn’t notice additional frame drops, and I was perfectly capable of taking on some bosses without major problems.Ultimately, I suspect most people will be pleased with Elden Ring‘s performance on the Switch 2, and if you either don’t have access to it elsewhere or you value taking it on the go, this is a perfectly acceptable way to play it.

But make no bones about it: this is vastly inferior to many other versions. The additional add-ons, like two new classes, some armor, and the ability to throw some skins on your trusty steed Torrent (which are purchasable for other versions anyway) don’t do anything to move the needle.None of that really matters, though, because Elden Ring still shines. I can finally see it. Part of my problem the first time around was that I wanted to play on my terms, in my way. You know, the way an obnoxious Souls player rolls: no summons, no shield, no spells.

More from the announcement

No, just me and my big ol’ sword. Items don’t fit into that philosophy, but I’m still going to explore every single part of the map, fight every boss, go through every catacomb. I’ll do every side quest, and I’ll look up what I miss. I need to do all the content and I need to do it in one way.Of course, most of you reading this know that’s all wrong. My limited playstyle ignores the thing that truly distinguishes Elden Ring: freedom.