LTTP: Elden Ring

vodka-bull

Member
I want to preface this with I am not new to the souls series. I platinumed Dark Souls 1, Bloodborne, played a fair bit of Demons Souls both on PS3 and PS5, Dark Souls 2 Sotfs and Dark Souls 3, so I know From Softwares Souls series‘ history. I also played a few Soulsborne games from other developers like Nioh and Kena. So I‘ve been there done that.

I wasn‘t as hyped about Elden Ring as some other people. It was on my SSD for well over two years before I felt it‘s time for me to complete this behemoth of a game everyone has been talking about for years. But that has more to do with me being a patient gamer, I rarely play games when they releqse. My backlog is huge and I don‘t care about graphics that much. And frankly, most games are full of issues when they release and they need a few patches anyway.

Also, I‘m not a big fan of AAA anymore. In the past few years I had so much fun with indie games and big budget AAA just kept disappointing. Since suits see games as an investment and want to make sure a game‘s a success, developers started making games that are creatively bancrupt and try to regurgitate the same old boring ideas over and over.

Still, I was kinda excited to step into the land between. After all, From Software delivered with almost all their soulsbornes before (let‘s not talk about DS2). But, unfortunately, Elden Ring suffers from the same issues most AAA games suffer from today.

I get it, they wanted their mass appeal (to sell more games, obviously) so they reduced the difficulty, but they did it in a way that the core DNA of Soulsborne games changed in a way that it feels more like an Assassins Creed than a soulsborne.

I have nothing against making a game beginner friendly. But do it in a way where I, as a fan, don‘t get bored with every boss encounter. Don‘t include 239 bosses when most of them are repeated over and over again. Offer a real eqsy mode for example. Or ask the player if he wants to reduce the difficulty of a boss if he dies over and over again, like so many other games do. But don‘t strip away one of the core identities your studio stands for. And it‘s not the dying over and over mechanic but the sense of accomplishment when you defeat a boss. Dying is just a more or less avoidable consequence.

There‘s also game mechanics I never even used for because the game is too easy. Yesterday I arrived at the altus plateau and I never assigned an ash of war to my weapon. I‘m still fighting with a Longsword+7 and I have absolutely no problem defeating any boss. I‘ve cleared most of Limgrave, Caelid and Liurnia, done almost all the dungeons, which also feel so generic I ask myself if an AI did them (enter cave/grave etc. -> use elevator -> defeat a few enemies -> defeat boss -> receive item I never need or use).

I never summoned a spirit animal, I never crafted anything. Never even changed my equipment. But somehow, From thought bigger equals better and so I think they just wanted to add everything they can imagine to make this game as big as possible. Cynical to think the only thing missing would be a base building system, but I‘m sure they thought about something like that as well.

And all that, boring gameplay, generic dungeons, boring boss fights, too many mechanics I don‘t need, whil simultaneously offering a world and an art design in the overworld I‘d say is the best I‘ve ever seen from a FS game. Not the clipping graphics that‘ll lead to me being hit from an arrow even though I‘m standing behind a pillar, because the games engine is from 2009, or the not top of the notch graphics because ER was developed first and foremost on last gen, but the visual artstyle itself. Caelid with its red tones and depressing feeling as if somehow the world itself is dead, limgrave with its fresh, green and colorful forests or the altus plateau which looks like you‘re finally in the second half of the game. It doesn‘t make up for the boss fights, but it shows how much potential ER would‘ve had if the would‘ve packed these locations in a somewhat more streamlined and not so much open world.

Also, the jumping button, why did we need that if not just to annoy the player with sections in the game where you have to use jumping to progress in the area. And it‘s not implemented that well, jumping feels kinda off.

It just feels like From Soft tried to implement everything in ER and make something out of it which it clearly is not or doesn‘t need to be. Bigger isn‘t always better, but I‘m going to complete it nonetheless. On thing’s certain though, I definitely won‘t do a 2nd run or buy the DLC because Elden Ring, as it is, feels like work rather than enjoyment. Just like any Assassins Creed, open interactive map, look where bosses, golden seeda, tears are, run to the location, collect thing/defeat boss, rinse repear.

Currently Lvl 60 at around 32hrs of playtime and I think it‘ll take around another 20 hrs to get the platinum.

Tl;dr: Mildly disappointed.
 
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Dr.Morris79

Gold Member
I personally thought it was bloody brilliant, from start to finish. It instantly hooked me in, utterly drained me of precious life hours over two systems and I enjoyed every damn minute of it

Just a damn awsome time all round!

I don't think it ever felt like work though :pie_thinking:

I was just in awe of discovering more and more, then some more. It just never stopped giving locations that bent my mind in ways I always imagined games would hopefully do

To me, it's a pinnacle of over 40 years of gaming I've played that came to a game I'd always wanted them to actual progress to...

If that makes sense.
 

Kenneth Haight

Gold Member
ejOCnpe.jpeg
 
That might’ve been one of longest humble brags I’ve ever actually read.
I mean, it’s great that you are such a gaming savant that you don’t have to engage with any of the systems and can steamroll anything you come across. If you’re looking for a challenge, do a level 1 run with no hits like I’ve seen posted to YouTube.
Meanwhile most people love to tinker with gear/builds and engage with the co-op or invasion mechanics.
 

vodka-bull

Member
Here's a question: If you find it so boring, why keep going for the platinum? Oh, and good luck getting it without a second run
I do in almost all games I own, just for the sake of being able to say there‘s nothing else to do/see and I can finally resell it. I‘m a completionist, and I could tell you more than enough games that start weak but end strong. But I doubt that‘ll happen to ER, but who knows? Final verdict once I‘m done with it.
 

HRK69

Gold Member
I do in almost all games I own, just for the sake of being able to say there‘s nothing else to do/see and I can finally resell it. I‘m a completionist, and I could tell you more than enough games that start weak but end strong. But I doubt that‘ll happen to ER, but who knows? Final verdict once I‘m done with it.
hey arnold nick splat GIF


I wish I had your drive! I drop more games than I finish lol
 

DelireMan7

Member
As a big fan of Souls and FromSoft, I share your sentiment.

Elden Ring is really a case of "more is less" for me. Too many generic content diluted the good quality main content.
I also think the game gives too much option to the player for their build. Choices don't feel that impactful. You can easily have access to a lot of different option without much drawback (Ash of war is a good example).
Overall everything feels non unique. There is dozens of weapons but only a handful feels unique to me. Again I partially blame swappable Ash of War for that.

For your complaint about "useless" systems like Ash of War, I'd say it just your choice and playstyle. It's a Souls game, so yes you can beat it by just dodging and R1. It reminds me my first experience with Sekiro where I ignore prosthetic tools and just deflect my way to victory. I was also "This game has a problem, I could just L1 everything and ignore my tools and combat art" but on another I embrace the Tools/Arts and I had a blast. Totally different game. But I was aiming for "nice and stylish fight" instead of "efficient fight". So it's a different approach.

I hope they will return to smaller, semi linear world in future games. I will not follow them anymore on big open world game, at least not blindly Day1 like I use to do for their game.
 

DelireMan7

Member
Here's a question: If you find it so boring, why keep going for the platinum? Oh, and good luck getting it without a second run
I was wondering the same.

Why get a platinum for a game you don't enjoy playing.

I do platinum only for games I really REALLY love. And still, the trophies shouldn't be too annoying to get because I'll not bother with it.
 
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ZehDon

Gold Member
My thoughts exactly.

The first two big areas were new and exciting then it went downhill hard. Never bothered with the DLC
I'll go to bat for the base game - Elden Ring is a legitimately an all time incredible game - but the DLC was actually pretty trash. Save the money, friend.
 

vodka-bull

Member
That might’ve been one of longest humble brags I’ve ever actually read.
I mean, it’s great that you are such a gaming savant that you don’t have to engage with any of the systems and can steamroll anything you come across. If you’re looking for a challenge, do a level 1 run with no hits like I’ve seen posted to YouTube.
Meanwhile most people love to tinker with gear/builds and engage with the co-op or invasion mechanics.
Here‘s the thing though: Soulslikes are not supposed to be hard just for the sake of being hard. They managed like no other studio to give you the sense of accomplishing something by completing a hard section of the game, which ER does not, being a supposedly hard game is just one part of the equation. And it‘s not my job to artificially raise the difficulty, I could just go and try to get Mein Leben in Wolfenstein or platinum Super Meat Boy, but that would be basically the same as a Lvl1 run in ER.

It took me many many many tries to defeat Capra Demon in DS1 for the first time. And not because I was underlevelled, but because I needed to learn how to move, when to arrack, when to dodge and when to parry his attacks. There was a learning process involved. And that process was needed for almost every other boss as well, just because you defeated Capra Demon didn‘t mean shit for Gaping Dragon.

Here bosses are repeated over and over again. One Erdtree Avatar does holy damage, the other one rot damage, but they‘re basically the same enemies with the same moveset. That‘s the issue. Oh another dungeon? Elevator -> corridor with either skeletons or these little stone gnomes -> boss. And boss means either a stonecat that spits fire, or a stonecat that spits poison, or two stone cats…
 
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Banjo64

cumsessed
I’m not opposed to Elden Ring but I hope it doesn’t become a trilogy as I’d like Miyazaki to at least produce 1 or 2 more DeS/DaS/Bloodborne style games before he retires.
 
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Hollywood Hitman

Gold Member
I was wondering the same.

Why get a platinum for a game you don't enjoy playing.

I do platinum only for games I really REALLY love. And still, the trophies should be too annoying to get because I'll not bother with it.
Depends, I know for myself it's sometimes you think I'm this far ill just see it thru. Did that with games like Outlaws, it's like a completionist mindset takes over and you still want to see it thru. But overall yea If it's something I flat out don't enjoy most of the time I can let it go but I get both sides
 
I kind of agree. My initial impression was it's an overhyped, overloaded, open word game Dark Souls 4 with a few new iterations. Turns out I was right. The open world being the biggest disappointment when generally I love those types of games. My favorite parts were actually the legacy dungeons which followed more of their earlier games structures. As much shit as I give it, Bloodborne is still probably FS's best game of that type that I've played. For me the formula is just getting incredibly stale and samey made worse by them having to make bosses super spammy to keep the game engaging for long time fans. Still looking forward to trying Sekiro to see how that stacks up.
 

vodka-bull

Member
Playing through 95% of the story again for a platinum sounds like a waste of time. It‘s not like I‘d see any new content if I play through NG+. But I‘d see something new with different endings and the way they designed the trophies I‘m free to see the missed endings how I want.

If they want me to play through the game a second time they‘re free to add a NG+ trophy. Or do it like they did with Dark Souls, where you had to play 2 1/2 times through it to collect all weapons. Here it‘s my choice and I‘d rather save the time for the next game in my backlog.
 

Rien

Jelly Belly
I agree as well. Some parts were good but mostly it felt a bit off. Reminded me a bit of Dark Souls 2 which I couldn't finish either.
 

QLQ

Neo Member
I want to preface this with I am not new to the souls series. I platinumed Dark Souls 1, Bloodborne, played a fair bit of Demons Souls both on PS3 and PS5, Dark Souls 2 Sotfs and Dark Souls 3, so I know From Softwares Souls series‘ history. I also played a few Soulsborne games from other developers like Nioh and Kena. So I‘ve been there done that.

I wasn‘t as hyped about Elden Ring as some other people. It was on my SSD for well over two years before I felt it‘s time for me to complete this behemoth of a game everyone has been talking about for years. But that has more to do with me being a patient gamer, I rarely play games when they releqse. My backlog is huge and I don‘t care about graphics that much. And frankly, most games are full of issues when they release and they need a few patches anyway.

Also, I‘m not a big fan of AAA anymore. In the past few years I had so much fun with indie games and big budget AAA just kept disappointing. Since suits see games as an investment and want to make sure a game‘s a success, developers started making games that are creatively bancrupt and try to regurgitate the same old boring ideas over and over.

Still, I was kinda excited to step into the land between. After all, From Software delivered with almost all their soulsbornes before (let‘s not talk about DS2). But, unfortunately, Elden Ring suffers from the same issues most AAA games suffer from today.

I get it, they wanted their mass appeal (to sell more games, obviously) so they reduced the difficulty, but they did it in a way that the core DNA of Soulsborne games changed in a way that it feels more like an Assassins Creed than a soulsborne.

I have nothing against making a game beginner friendly. But do it in a way where I, as a fan, don‘t get bored with every boss encounter. Don‘t include 239 bosses when most of them are repeated over and over again. Offer a real eqsy mode for example. Or ask the player if he wants to reduce the difficulty of a boss if he dies over and over again, like so many other games do. But don‘t strip away one of the core identities your studio stands for. And it‘s not the dying over and over mechanic but the sense of accomplishment when you defeat a boss. Dying is just a more or less avoidable consequence.

There‘s also game mechanics I never even used for because the game is too easy. Yesterday I arrived at the altus plateau and I never assigned an ash of war to my weapon. I‘m still fighting with a Longsword+7 and I have absolutely no problem defeating any boss. I‘ve cleared most of Limgrave, Caelid and Liurnia, done almost all the dungeons, which also feel so generic I ask myself if an AI did them (enter cave/grave etc. -> use elevator -> defeat a few enemies -> defeat boss -> receive item I never need or use).

I never summoned a spirit animal, I never crafted anything. Never even changed my equipment. But somehow, From thought bigger equals better and so I think they just wanted to add everything they can imagine to make this game as big as possible. Cynical to think the only thing missing would be a base building system, but I‘m sure they thought about something like that as well.

And all that, boring gameplay, generic dungeons, boring boss fights, too many mechanics I don‘t need, whil simultaneously offering a world and an art design in the overworld I‘d say is the best I‘ve ever seen from a FS game. Not the clipping graphics that‘ll lead to me being hit from an arrow even though I‘m standing behind a pillar, because the games engine is from 2009, or the not top of the notch graphics because ER was developed first and foremost on last gen, but the visual artstyle itself. Caelid with its red tones and depressing feeling as if somehow the world itself is dead, limgrave with its fresh, green and colorful forests or the altus plateau which looks like you‘re finally in the second half of the game. It doesn‘t make up for the boss fights, but it shows how much potential ER would‘ve had if the would‘ve packed these locations in a somewhat more streamlined and not so much open world.

Also, the jumping button, why did we need that if not just to annoy the player with sections in the game where you have to use jumping to progress in the area. And it‘s not implemented that well, jumping feels kinda off.

It just feels like From Soft tried to implement everything in ER and make something out of it which it clearly is not or doesn‘t need to be. Bigger isn‘t always better, but I‘m going to complete it nonetheless. On thing’s certain though, I definitely won‘t do a 2nd run or buy the DLC because Elden Ring, as it is, feels like work rather than enjoyment. Just like any Assassins Creed, open interactive map, look where bosses, golden seeda, tears are, run to the location, collect thing/defeat boss, rinse repear.

Currently Lvl 60 at around 32hrs of playtime and I think it‘ll take around another 20 hrs to get the platinum.

Tl;dr: Mildly disappointed.
TLNV

Too Long No Video. Talk is cheap. Please show some of your accomplishments.
 

HRK69

Gold Member
Playing through 95% of the story again for a platinum sounds like a waste of time. It‘s not like I‘d see any new content if I play through NG+. But I‘d see something new with different endings and the way they designed the trophies I‘m free to see the missed endings how I want.

If they want me to play through the game a second time they‘re free to add a NG+ trophy. Or do it like they did with Dark Souls, where you had to play 2 1/2 times through it to collect all weapons. Here it‘s my choice and I‘d rather save the time for the next game in my backlog.
Game Show Cheater GIF by ABC Network


But I get it
 
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vodka-bull

Member
TLNV

Too Long No Video. Talk is cheap. Please show some of your accomplishments.
It‘s not about bragging how godlike I am as a player, it‘s about a game that‘s inherently changed the studios formula to soften it strong enough to make it beginner friendly for the risk of disappointing expectations from fans of the series. And unfortunately, they risked too much.

But if you really want I can record a proof next time I get bored with a boss fight or a dungeon. There‘s plenty of it on youtube already though…
 
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Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
It's the game that made me finally stop buying From Software games day 1. I don't completely hate it, but there were just so many clear flaws that I was sick of dealing with. The level design in the open world is really nice. They accomplish a convincing copy of the Breath of the Wild model where there is almost always something visible at any place in the open world in the short distance, middle distance, and extreme long distance. Everything else felt the same as previous entries or worse. I think I was trying a faith / dex build like I always do and it was just not great. No useful spells for me early on. Couldn't find a lot of gear that was worth using. Combat was as busted as ever. I can't count the amount of times I would move out of the way of an enemy or fully dodge roll behind them, and they just slid across the ground with no animation for their body or feet and did a full 180 tracking spin to hit me. Difficulty balancing in the game is a joke in many areas. That first major boss in the castle is also horrible. Jumps in the air and no matter where you move on the stage he will always track you, leaving you with only a last minute evade as your only option, like always in all these games. Max enemy magnetism. When you watch high level play, they usually are just walking in slow motion to try and show off, but all it shows is that moving is objectively pointless since you are always tracked. Just evades count.

Not bothering with anything else they make until it hits $20-30. Still haven't tried Armored Core for that reason. And its impossible to go off user reviews or critic reviews because they all say the game is literally flawless and you're a piece of shit if you dislike any aspect of it. So no buy from me. Just a waste of money.
 
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QLQ

Neo Member
It‘s not about bragging how godlike I am as a player, it‘s about a game that‘s inherently changed the studios formula to soften it strong enough to make it beginner friendly for the risk of disappointing expectations from fans of the series. And unfortunately, they risked too much.

But if you really want I can record a proof next time I get bored with a boss fight or a dungeon. There‘s plenty of it on youtube already though…
32 hrs of playtime and you already beat the game? Please, make some videos
 

missiles

Member
Elden Ring's best "dungeons" weren't a patch on the heights From reached in Dark Souls 1. The castles etc were mostly disappointing and didn't have that same feeling of trespassing where you shouldn't be, or that you were discovering something forbidden and secret. I really missed the claustrophobia and oppressive dread that you felt the first time in Blighttown and beyond.
 

DelireMan7

Member
Didn‘t say that. I said I‘ll probably land somewhere between 55and 65hrs for the plat.
Out of curiosity : are you using a guide ? Because you said you're at 32h, in Altus plateau and done almost everything in Liurnia, Limgraves and Caelid. I don't even talk about some part of Caelid which are quite high level.

I went blind and did a lot and I was probably like at least at 50h when I reached Altus. and it took me another 50/60h to finish the game (with exploring, blind)
 

vodka-bull

Member
Out of curiosity : are you using a guide ? Because you said you're at 32h, in Altus plateau and done almost everything in Liurnia, Limgraves and Caelid. I don't even talk about some part of Caelid which are quite high level.

I went blind and did a lot and I was probably like at least at 50h when I reached Altus. and it took me another 50/60h to finish the game (with exploring, blind)
Whenever I go to a new region I look up a map to see if I missed something in the last region. Not really using a guide that‘s pointing me to a direction though. In Caelid I‘m missing the fort across the bridge at the bottom right of the map, guess that‘s a thing for later as doors are still closed to enter it. And I think at the sea just next to the fort there may be another boss waiting which I apparently can only access once I‘m done with the fort (I‘m bad with remembering names, sorry, hope you know what I mean).
 
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DelireMan7

Member
Whenever I go to a new region I look up a map to see if I missed something in the last region. Not really using a guide that‘s pointing me to a direction though. In Caelid I‘m missing the fort across the bridge at the bottom right of the map, guess that‘s a thing for later as doors are still closed to enter it. And I think at the sea just next to the fort there may be another boss waiting which I apparently can only access once I‘m done with the fort (I‘m bad with remembering names, sorry, hope you know what I mean).
Yes I see which fort I think.

If you really did everything (particularly in Caelid, because there some really high level bosses in there), it's impressive that it took you only 32 h and you've done it sub lvl 60.
 

Nocty

Gold Member
I have completed the base game but haven't yet got around to the Shadowtree DLC or whatever it was called..

I felt much the same as you, while the gameplay and story was as usual top notch, I was at the time and still am quite burned out on 'open world' games. I much prefer the semi open interconnected dungeon style or 'soulsvania'ness' of the previous games.

It is still a 9/10 game, absolutely. I just wouldn't put it up there on my all time greats list. I think the Souls series peaked with the original Dark Souls and Adtorias dlc for me personally. Each game that followed after that was ever so slightly worse with the exception of Bloodborne.
 
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HenryJr

Neo Member
As someone who didn't enjoy the game nearly as much as the 3 dark souls games, but for different reasons, I can sympathize with you.

It's basically blasphemy to say you don't think ER is a 10/10 masterpiece on the internet.
I just hate that fromsoft went full "ubi-like" open-world, but to each their own, considering how successful the game is, from is probably going to keep making games with this approach, which is a shame.
 
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