The PC Gamer team is having a blast traversing the vast dungeons and dense open world of the Elden Ring. We've already said a lot about the game's excellent combat and how it finally allows us to relax in a Souls game, but not much has been said about the game's star mount, the loyal four-legged companion that gets us from A to B: Torrent. .
Because Souls games can't do something as normal as whistling at a horse riding into frame, FromSoftware opted for a magically summoned super horse with a double jump. Having a faster way to get around Elden Ring is undoubtedly useful, but is Torrent a good video game horse?
Rich Stanton, news editor: I played without the Elden Ring horse for a surprising amount of time, mainly because I was activating but not bothering to rest in Sites of Grace so I didn't get the dialogue to unlock Torrent (I spent my first few hours in the open world just exploring and avoiding most fights). When I got my luminescent horse and started riding through Limgrave, I immediately felt that something was not quite right. Torrent is definitely a useful tool: particularly in some of the later areas, which can be pretty barren hellscapes, and whenever there are nasty things on the ground you don't want to walk through. But does it ever feel essential or satisfying to ride?
Not for me. I recognize that there are bosses where the horse is almost mandatory, but I am referring more to the open world traveling. I like to fast travel through the Places of Grace, and that also means I can go pretty much anywhere in the world in an instant. Torrent doesn't seem to have much use in this regard beyond turning a 30-second jog into a 10-second walk, and that's fine. I've used it to skirt around large areas looking for doors, and these are probably the times I've felt comfortable with Torrent.
But then as soon as I go to turn the creature, argh, that turning radius drives me crazy, especially at slow speeds - it feels unwieldy, like it's constantly readjusting and overshooting things. And not in a way where I'm like an animal that disobeys my commands because it has free will. In the way that this is like one of the slightly meaner bikes in Saints Row.
(Image credit: FromSoftware/Steam id Saki)
Fraser Brown, online editor: Rich, you've got a lot of great versions of Soulsborne, so I guess it's only natural that you'll eventually come up with one that's totally wrong. Torrent is my best horse companion, though I've renamed him Terrance in my mental canon, and I couldn't imagine traversing the Midlands without him galloping beneath me.
Maybe you got used to not having him around? It was one of the first things I did, so there was never a point where I had to learn to get by without it. To me he is an integral part of the world, and you need only look across the rolling hills of the Limgrave to know that this is a place designed to be traversed on horseback. The Lands Between are huge and sprawling, and while cutting a 30-second ride down to a 10-second ride doesn't sound all that useful, when you turn a 30-minute ride into a 10-minute ride, Torrent starts to sound more essential. .
In fact, it's the only way to get to some places, either with his double jump or his ability to jump on updrafts, sending him through the clouds. I wouldn't have my favorite weapon so far, the Twinblade, without it. I've found it nimble and relatively accurate, especially when compared to the stubborn Roach or the more realistic steeds in Red Dead Redemption.
Rich: I've definitely exaggerated the negatives of Torrent, because there are areas where I've used the horse a lot: and there's no denying the basic usefulness of using it to dash around looking for your runic stain (is that what they're called?) when you have died far from a Site of Grace.
I also find Torrent a bit strange with the stealth element of the game. When I explore a new place, I don't want to torrent: and once I'm done, I probably won't go back to most places. I've tried raiding one or two 'composites' with it, but end up going around in useless loops swinging my sword in the air.
(Image credit: FromSoftware)
sentence: I will no longer call them bloodstains; they are runic stains from here. In any case! Admittedly, it's not stealthy, but I wouldn't expect it to be. It's to get where you need to go faster and with less risk, not to sneak around. That's why you can't summon him in dungeons. It would be useless. And you can't tell me you're stealthed when you're just exploring an open field or a long path through a region where you have a clear line of sight.
Rich: Good point, though my concern is more about how stealth and horsemanship don't really fit within the world, they just co-exist, which is fine. Metal Gear Solid V did this very well with D-Horse's "stealth horse" button that allowed Snake to hang from the saddle and then gently dismount to crouch. That was cool.
Perhaps my biggest issue with Torrent is how it fits into the precise combat cycle of Elden Ring. I always feel like I'm just riding towards things and then flailing around on either side, running to dodge an attack, lining up again and repeating. Maybe it just hasn't clicked for me yet, but that side of it all feels a bit weightless, until you get hit and the stupid thing stops in its tracks to recover and you have to pick up the pace again. urgh! It just doesn't feel great as a mount to me, and I don't get that armored knight feel I want from combat.
sentence: Granted, mounted combat is not what Elden Ring does best. I actually enjoy it, and as you mentioned earlier, there are some matches where it's mandatory, but there are others where I feel more confident and effective when Torrent is with me. It is also very useful when you need to get away quickly.
Earlier you criticized the turning radius, and that could explain our different opinions on combat. Because I don't surround the enemies. It's a faff and it's messy. It might have something to do with watching The Last Duel recently, but I treat most fights with Torrent as fair, constantly charging into enemies, attacking them for a bit, then turning around to attack again. This may make fights a bit longer, but the flow of them is vastly improved and feels cooler.
What I really want to know though is if you think Torrent sucks, what video game horses do you really like?
(Image credit: FromSoftware/Steam id WithoutJamb)
Rich: Ah, the classics: Agro from Shadow of the Colossus, which I still think is the most 'horse' horse I've ever ridden in a game though, by any measure, Red Dead Redemption 2's horses are the current state of - the art. There's obviously a lot of fun to be had with the horses in Breath of the Wild, even though they're much easier to control and less obsessed with simulation.
I don't think Torrent should be a straight horse like the nags in RDR2, he's a magical steed, but yeah... I quite like Torrent. I don't think he's terrible, I've had a little fun, but he's not great. And to me, excellence is what these games should be about: every part of it.
sentence: Not a bad horse among them. They are all great. But to cross the Midlands, he wouldn't choose any of them over Torrent. They are perfect for the games they play, just like my jumping boy. Is he an excellent horse? I think so. But even if it wasn't, I've spent half my time in the game with dirty clothes and a pot on my head, and I've lost count of how many times I've died, so who am I to judge? I would love him just the same.
Imogen Best, Feature Film Producer: Guys, guys, guys, it's a goat, not a horse.
