What I hadn’t expected was that relying on my own two trotters would be so… revelatory.

But I will say that the end of these catacombs is simply the beginning of another, spookier area.

An area into which goaty hooves dare not canter.

A heavily armoured player turns to the camera as a message says “It waits inside” flashes above their head in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree.

I wandered into thick fog and enormous gnarled trees, like I was being engulfed by a charcoal sketch.

Messages on the floor said, “Turn back.

While you are yet able” as the words “Abyssal Woods” flashed up on screen.

Standing above a ledge with a deep drop down into nothingness in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

It was eerie and perhaps, the closest I’ve seen to aDark SoulsAsh Lake equivalent.

This is where the game’s (slightly piss) stealth comes into play.

Otherwise, the area is fairly lifeless and a bit empty.

The player character in Dark Souls stands on a shoreline, back to the camera, looking at the remains of the giant archtrees in the blue, misty distance

It turns out the Abyssal Woods is disorienting in a way that’s a bit fly-bashing-against-the-walls-even-though-there’s-an-open-window-nearby.

But for all of my whining, I liked one thing: being Torrent-less.

Elsewhere, on Torrent-back, you do get the cinematic “yah boy!”

In the past, Souls worlds have been designed with a walk or a sprint in mind.

Next time, I’d like a wander.