After multiple "most anticipated game" awards as well as a plethora of trailers and information, the hype for Elden Ring's release reached unprecedented levels. These feelings were redoubled after critic reviews for Elden Ring were released, showing the game to be one of the most highly rated of all time.
However, though the Elden Ring critic reviews were glowing, the game is currently facing issues across both console and PC. Many of the issues have to do with the game's performance, leading to a negative gaming experience for some players.
For example, Steam users are giving Elden Ring poor reviews due to performance issues on PC. PC is the platform experiencing the most issues, but Xbox and PS5 players are also encountering performance troubles with the game. Today, Bandai Namco released an apology to players that detailed the main issues affecting each console as well as letting players know that fixes are coming as soon as possible.
Though there was no reference made to the Elden Ring network status error on Xbox, Bandai Namco detailed fixes coming to all platforms. One of these fixes was to the PS5, detailing a bug where game data isn't saving correctly on the system. Bandai Namco warned players about the issue and gave instructions on how to manually save the game to avoid lost progress. In Bandai Namco's defense, the bug appears to only occur when players turn off their consoles while playing the game, which has been a danger for most FromSoftware games. Regardless, the high volume of players losing save data because of the issue has prompted action from Bandai Namco.
Much like Elden Ring players giving tips for improving framerate, Bandai Namco gave detailed instructions on how players can avoid the bug. For one, players need to avoid turning off the system or putting it in sleep mode while playing the game. Secondly, to ensure the save occurs, players need to manually exit the game using their menu. This can be achieved using the settings in the START menu, which allows players to exit to the title screen. Once players have reached the title screen, they can press the HOME button and close Elden Ring from the HOME menu.
While FromSoftware games are no strangers to bugs, this PS5 save issue and the other issues affecting Xbox and PC are severely detrimental to players. Though some issues can be mitigated by reducing graphics quality, many players want to avoid visuals akin to the Elden Ring PS1 demake. However, considering the praise the game is receiving in all other areas, if Bandai Namco manages to fix these issues, Elden Ring will most likely be hailed as one of the greatest games of all time by many players.
Elden Ring is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.