Just as it happens in Doom or in Quake, during the game you will explore caverns, desolate moors, forests and lowlands in first person view. You will never see, during your explorations or in a battle, the body or the face of Cain, the character you are controlling. This time, From Software has been able to create a graphic engine which runs smoothly at 60 frames per second. Nevertheless, the pace of Eternal Ring is very different from the one of games like TimeSplitters or Unreal Tournament, basically because these are first person shooters, while Eternal Ring is an RPG. In Eternal Ring, the first person view fundamentally serves to explore the environments: the exact opposite of what happens in a first person shooter, where first of all you have to shoot, and then, if you want, you can explore. An RPG can't focus on action like a clone of Doom does.

The controls of the game are extremely simple and intuitive. With the directional buttons you can walk and look right and left; L1 and R1 buttons will let your character move left or right, while the L2 and R2 buttons allow you to look upwards or downwards. The triangle is used to attack enemies with your equipped weapons, while you cast magic attacks with the square button and select them with the X button; the circle is the classic multi-purpose button. The analogical sticks, for some inexplicable reason, are not used in Eternal Ring. If you are accustomed to other console games played in first person view, this will be terribly annoying and frustrating, especially during the first hours of gameplay.

Even if you can use traditional weapons (initially, you will have only a knife to slain the various monsters that you will meet), the battle system is based on some magic rings that you are able to create using objects found in your explorations. To create a ring, you will have to pick up at least two magic stones and a magic ring, a basic ring with no special powers. There are two types of rings: spell rings and stone rings. The first ones will allow you to attack the enemy with a magic attack, while the other ones will strengthen your defences or your elemental attacks. While expert role players will master this system quite easily, those who have never played an RPG may find it cumbersome. To build your ring you will always need the help of a mysterious woman; during the game you'll find various special zones that will allow you to magically came in her presence.

Overall, the idea of focusing the game on one of the most classical fantasy elements, the magic ring, and the decent 3D engine make Eternal Ring more enjoyable than any chapter of the King's Field series. It will probably seem antiquated, monotonous and frustrating to lovers of fast-paced action games like TimeSplitters, and it will annoy those that are used to the realism of Resident Evil, but to the RPG enthusiast, Eternal Ring offers a worthy experience.