Trick and treat
romSoftware has been making stepwise progress toward ’s calibre of open-world immersion for over a decade. Miyazaki’ Archstones wasn’t fundamentally different from selecting discrete levels from the overworld map of an 8bit classic such as ; in contrast, observe the way that removes the fog-gate contrivance from its boss encounter with Flying Dragon Agheel. As you gallop across a waterlogged marshland in central Limgrave, an orchestral prologue breaks the silence. Then a guttural screech from overhead as you notice the scaly menace soaring to earth, shaking the earth as it touches down. Only then does the creature’s HP bar appear onscreen. doesn’t just contain magic; in places such as this, its execution feels like a feat of magic in itself.
