User-experience and user-interface issues are rampant inElden Ringand previous FromSoftware titles.Dark Souls,Bloodborne, andSekiro: Shadows Die Twiceall essentially hurl players in with a brief, expository lore dump, for example, but players are relatively left to their devices thereafter. However, other issues pertain toElden Ring’s specific text or HUD features.
Initial looks at transparent menus stirred worry in fans who were concerned aboutthe inability to pauseElden Ring, though creative workarounds have since been found to make this possible. Further, if playing withElden Ring’s network functionality, players will stumble upon hundreds of intermittent messages from other players. These messages either cryptically guide players to a reward or pull a funny prank. Instead, scripted text prompts for actual mechanics are sometimes less clear in their design and have confused players.
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Redditor vealonmusic screenshots a common instance ofElden Ring’s UX obscurity, where one prompt asks “Cancel summon sign?” followed by two prompts: “OK” and “CANCEL.” Because “CANCEL” is an option for players to select as well as the objective of the prompt in question, it may cause confusion as to which option to select because both choices technically mean “yes” in this circumstance. Of course, “CANCEL” actually refers to canceling the summon and backing out from the prompt.
This is only one of many UX issues players have shared. As Redditor Kantro18 states, the option to reviveElden Ring’s spectral steed, Torrent, is a needlessly convoluted process. When players whistle for Torrent to reappear, a prompt appears that asks if players wish to sacrifice a flask in order to revive the steed. But what’s worse is that the prompt it hovers over by default is the “NO” option. This can be particularly frustrating in the heat of battle because players then “have to play 4D chess” with their fingers “while simultaneously toggling over to the YES button.”
FromSoftware players have more-or-less gotten used to these sorts of designs. ButElden Ring’s massive successhas invited new fans to the community who will be unfamiliar with the muscle memory required for a lot of its traditional menu optimization. In the future, it may be possible that menus and prompt selections will be altered to a modern functionality. Rather, FromSoftware has built its titles around the same features, HUD, and UX for a while now, and it may be too rooted into its dependable formula to afford any alterations.
Elden Ringis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
