Elden Ring

[Iceman]

I’m glad this one is open world. I think what made DS3 so impossible and frustrating for me is that you CAN’T get further in the game if you have trouble defeating a particular enemy. Whereas with this, you can apparently still explore different areas and come back to that frustrating-as-all-hell boss once you’re s but more powerful and have mastered your skills a bit more.

Yeah, that changes things massively. Should make taking on the harder stuff much more fun.

 

[OtherwiseKnownAs]

 

[OtherwiseKnownAs]

 

[Gee]

Wow, fantastic reviews.

 

[Gothamsknight]

The reviews have me wanting to pick it up, but I never could get into the Souls games so I'm torn.

 

[Iceman]

Damn, that’s as good as it gets! Is anyone giving it below even a 9/10?

 

[Iceman]

Elden Ring

45 reviews in and 97 on metacritic! Already a strong GotY contender then.

 

[Iceman]

 

[DarthSkywalker]

 

[Wolvieboy17]

Every single Souls game, I think "Maybe this will be the one that grabs me" and then I play it for 15 hours, hit a wall and never go back...

... Yet here I am, back on my BS, with a pre-order for Elden Ring

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Every single Souls game, I think "Maybe this will be the one that grabs me" and then I play it for 15 hours, hit a wall and never go back...

... Yet here I am, back on my BS, with a pre-order for Elden Ring

Well, I hope this one works for you.

 

[Wolvieboy17]

Well, I hope this one works for you.

I'm a sucker for exploring and the ability to give up on one boss to explore other areas when I hit a wall sounds quite promising haha. But yeah, let's see how it goes

 

[OtherwiseKnownAs]

 

[Marvolo]

Every single Souls game, I think "Maybe this will be the one that grabs me" and then I play it for 15 hours, hit a wall and never go back...

... Yet here I am, back on my BS, with a pre-order for Elden Ring

Same. Ive bought every release of FromSoftware's games, the DLCs, the art books, and all the strategy guides. Never completed a single one of their games. Every once in a while I'll try one of them and then give up. Mainly I just love the art direction and the world building of these games.

 

[Wolvieboy17]

Same. Ive bought every release of FromSoftware's games, the DLCs, the art books, and all the strategy guides. Never completed a single one of their games. Every once in a while I'll try one of them and then give up. Mainly I just love the art direction and the world building of these games.

Haha glad to know a fellow glutton for punishment! Yeah, absolutely love everything about the world, enemy design, art direction etc. They're gorgeous dark fantasy worlds. And honestly, I can handle difficult games most of the time, but I think it's the slow that makes me bounce off them when I'm struggling with a boss. Getting slaughtered, then starting back at a checkpoint, running all the way over there again etc. I know that's kinda the point with these games but honestly, if there was a checkpoint outside the boss doors, i could handle all the other punishments. I'd happily fight a boss 50 times in a row, with no breaks. I like that adrenaline you get in other games, where each death like focuses you, as you mash "Try Again" etc. But in the souls games, I feel like starting so far away each time diminishes that focus, if that makes sense, and I end up losing interest.

My hope here is there's gonna be so much to explore and discover that I'll be able to sniff out other ways to level up and test out strategies before coming back to a tough enemy etc

 

[Marvolo]

Haha glad to know a fellow glutton for punishment! Yeah, absolutely love everything about the world, enemy design, art direction etc. They're gorgeous dark fantasy worlds. And honestly, I can handle difficult games most of the time, but I think it's the slow that makes me bounce off them when I'm struggling with a boss. Getting slaughtered, then starting back at a checkpoint, running all the way over there again etc. I know that's kinda the point with these games but honestly, if there was a checkpoint outside the boss doors, i could handle all the other punishments. I'd happily fight a boss 50 times in a row, with no breaks. I like that adrenaline you get in other games, where each death like focuses you, as you mash "Try Again" etc. But in the souls games, I feel like starting so far away each time diminishes that focus, if that makes sense, and I end up losing interest.

My hope here is there's gonna be so much to explore and discover that I'll be able to sniff out other ways to level up and test out strategies before coming back to a tough enemy etc

I understand and feel the same way. The gauntlet back to the bosses is usually where I walk away from these games.

Good news though. An article I read about Elden Ring last night said there will be a checkpoint shrine thingy right before every boss to make the game a bit more forgiving. Hopefully thats true. They also said real player companions raise the world difficulty, but AI controlled companions don't raise the difficulty so that should help as well.

 

[Iceman]

I understand and feel the same way. The gauntlet back to the bosses is usually where I walk away from these games.

Good news though. An article I read about Elden Ring last night said there will be a checkpoint shrine thingy right before every boss to make the game a bit more forgiving. Hopefully thats true. They also said real player companions raise the world difficulty, but AI controlled companions don't raise the difficulty so that should help as well.

Awesome. That makes difficulty more fun and rewarding for me. Nothing I hate more than having to repeat long checkpoints of easier stuff just to get back to the boss. That's a bore-you-to-death mechanic rather than being beaten by earned difficulty.

 

[Gee]

Already over 700k concurrent players on Steam.

I almost purchase the game by impulsion based on the reviews but Digital Foundry released their performance analysis this morning... Yeah, I'm going to wait for a few patches at least. Shame, there's a current deal going for $45 USD.

Elden Ring performance: what to expect on PS5, Series X/S and PC

So all in all, it's a bit of a mixed bag for Elden Ring right now on all platforms. Many of these issues could and should be fixed in future updates, and we hope that From Software are able to bring the game's performance to a level befitting the rest of the title's quality. We'll go into more depth in future videos and articles, so stay tuned.

 

[X Knight]

My first death in Elden Ring............

.........I fell off a ledge in the opening area trying to take a screenshot of the glowing tree.........

Definitely a Souls game!!

 

[X Knight]

Also, me before playing Demons Souls Remake:
"Elden Ring? Bleh! It's another one of those Souls game. Hard pass!!"

Now me after playing Demons Souls Remake:
"Elden Ring? It's Demon's Souls PLUS Open World??!! F*** Yeah!! Sign me up baby and bring on the PAIN!!!"

 

[Marvolo]

I'm confused. This doesn't have roll stamina, weapon stamina, sprint stamina. The only time stamina seems to matter is when I swing a shield. It has checkpoints between shrines. I managed to make it through the tutorial without dying once and didn't lose more than half health. I killed the tutorial boss in three hits on my first try.

This can't be a FromSoftware game. Its... forgiving and reasonable and respects my time.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

ok someone tell me honestly...just how difficult is this game? Cause I honestly dont want to destroy my controller and the hardest thing I've ever played was The Witcher 3 on Death March lol

 

[DarthSkywalker]

ok someone tell me honestly...just how difficult is this game? Cause I honestly dont want to destroy my controller and the hardest thing I've ever played was The Witcher 3 on Death March lol

It can be tough. But there are plenty of ways to cheese as well.

 

[OtherwiseKnownAs]

The difficulty is the same as it's ever been, but it's far more forgiving than previous entries.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

The difficulty is the same as it's ever been, but it's far more forgiving than previous entries.

So much cheese.