• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

How do you feel about Elden Ring now that the hype has cleared?

Buggy Loop

Member
Still the best gaming experience in recent years after Half Life Alyx being my #1.

Awaiting the RTX patch for a 2nd run. I got 100% achievements, don’t think I ever bothered with that ever in any games until Elden Ring.
 
The game is a lot of fun.
NO it's not. UNFUN only to be found in this game.

I'm 40 hours in playing off an on and have an Astrologer up to level 60.
I STILL have no idea what I'm doing or what the point of the game is other than to kill anything you see.
The game Looks amazing, Plays amazing, ZERO bugs, No crashes.
The difficulty, while I consider it a hard game and it's frustrating most times I think it's actually fair and that I can beat it if I just try again.

Now for the bad
I have no idea what I'm doing or what the point of the game is other than kill anything you see.
Try and convince me that anyone has played this game without going online to learn what the hell is what and where is where and what does what.
The open world nature without quest logging cuts down 99.9 percent of all bugs. It simply doesn't tell me what I'm doing. Things can be bugging out and I would never know because the game doesn't tell you that your doing anything.
Find a blind woman get a quest. I think. Could be a quest. It is. But you would never really know it unless you first find her father, kill the big boss, find father again, find bind woman again. I have no idea if there is anything more to this quest, if it's completed, could be bugged, but again the game does not track this.

Level 60 and I have been using the same Staff and Shield and Armor from the beginning of the game. NOTHING I've found is any better than what I got. I've upgraded the staff to a +7 at a blacksmith but I do not know what the heck to do about armor. There is nothing that an Astrologer can wear that doesn't kill my rolling around ability.
Again I by myself can't find what to do about this after 40 hours. I'm going to have to look it up online.
The story? I don't give a rats ass about it after 40 hours. I don't care about anyone or anything in this game. Failure.

Most games after 40 hours I would know what the end game was all about. I've learned nothing of importance and I've explored all but the most northern parts of the map where the big city is.

In summary this game has it's mechanics down pact, It plays better than I think any other game I've played in a long time.
It's a big beautiful world. Best looking 3rd party game I've played this year.
But it fails in it's open world. Completely. Exploring is just that, exploring a big beautiful world. Things that you find only help in the game mechanic of upgrading and leveling up.

I can't give this game a score because it I don't think it's fun.
I continue to play it because I feel as though I can beat it eventually.
I'm in it for the challenge only.
 

SSfox

Member
It's an incredible game and experience, my only main complain is the lack of value and challenge in NG+
 

lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
game is good, but sadly too many copy pasted enemies and bosses...
And majority of spells and weapon arts are trash
 
Last edited:

Gaelyon

Gold Member
Amazing game.
I've played every From game since Demon's soul and it's the best overall, though Bloodborne is a close one.
Can't wait for a juicy DLC.
Open world was so great i'm just wishing for more a more dynamic content, like the caravans but more complex/varied...
 

Valt7786

Member
One of those games that I feel has spoiled any other open world game for me now and I kinda like, miss it? But playing it again for the 4th time just won't have that same charm. Nothing beats that 1st time wandering around looking into every little nook you can find, finding a loot chest and being like "What is it? Oh cool!" Genuinely wish I could forget I've played it so I could do it all over again.
On the other hand, sometimes it felt a bit bloated, some mini-bosses were overused. But the main bosses were all outstanding, the world and characters and the improvements in movement and combat were incredible. Game is a piece of art and deserves to be recognised as such.
 

tmlDan

Member
If you think like that then other soulslike must have the same gameplay pattern throughout the entire game too for you.
But without the open map, horse platforming, mount combat, summons, alternative route exploration to mix things up.

Is Haligtree the same as Stormveil castle?
Is Sofria River the same as Volcano Manor?
Is Farum Azula the same as Limgrave Tunnels?

There are no doubt ”samey” content but that goes for all games. If you look at a list of enemy types or dungeons or maps then you’ll quickly notice that ER is ahead of pretty much everything out there. Personally I don’t understand how they’ve managed to make the game in just a couple years.
I get what you're saying, and you're right.

But i don't think we should accept that souls like combat should never change....adding a horse is cool for moving and jumping around to get items but it doesn't add anything to combat when its so simple.....its just an abuse tactic (run around a boss and slow slash it till it eventually dies)

Going from Sekiro to this is like they gave up on trying to make the combat interesting, its abusing iframes and rolling like an idiot - the difference in the stage doesn't matter.
 

Alebrije

Member
Basically the game is a collage of Souls , Sekiro, Bloodborne. So in general it's a great Game. But not at the level of Bloodborne.

Also althought it has beautiful áreas I never got the feling that got the first time I found the Ash Lake in DS.

Obviously after playing all Froms games of the last generations it's difficult to get impressed by Elden Ring. The Best part of the Game is the well implemented Open world, that is it's plus vs other games.
 
Last edited:

Pejo

Member
My favorite soulsborne game, a masterpiece, and GotY for me.

I only wish that Miyazaki would properly finish the last 1/5th of at least ONE of his games. I guess Bloodborne and Sekiro were decent, but Elden Ring falls apart late game when you can tell that they were rushed into wrapping it up, and the quality drops considerably for it.

Also they still need to improve the NPC quests a bit, and maybe have more options where they survive without terrible fates. Even if it's tough to get the "good endings", I really would like to see some.

Poor Millicent.
 

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
i enjoyed it mostly but i feel it was overrated. the open world exploring was fun for the first 15-20 hours because it was new. it feels like they made the game open world just for the sake of it and had no idea what to do with it. it's the same old dungeons/caves, churches, gaols, rises, and ruins. they aren't put to great use. at times the bosses are repeated and buildings seem to be placed there just for you to find a single item. if you're lucky there might be an NPC inside to talk to or even some enemies to fight. i took my time exploring as much of the map as possible and a lot of it felt like wasted space. i kept hoping to find something new but it was a dead end. basically it's map padding.

i also think it's by far the easiest From Software game yet. The only boss I encountered any real challenge was the Twin Gargoyles and Malenia. The bosses that took me a few tries were Mohg Lord of Blood, Maliketh, Elden Beast. Some field bosses like the fox (the 2nd or 3rd time it turns up...), one of the dragons, and the godskin dudes were a pain in the ass. All the others were piss easy. The game throws way too many runes at you so you can level up real fucking fast. I was trying not to level up too much! Also, with spirit summons the game is basically running in easy mode. A lot of the times I was going into a boss fight and my spirits would fuck up the boss and I'd only need to hit them a few times.

Otherwise i enjoyed the setting/story, the combat, npcs and their quests. It might sound like I'm shitting on the game but I'm not. If I didn't like it I wouldn't have stuck with it for 100+ hours. Even with the open world/difficulty flaws it's still a good game but I just feel disappointed with it because in terms of From Software I'd say it's probably their worst game in a long time. I'd rank their games as:

1. Bloodborne
2. Sekiro
3. Dark Souls 3
4. Dark Souls 1
5. Elden Ring
6. Dark Souls 2

I hope for their next game they go back to the semi open/linear design that previous games had. If they are doing another open world game then they need to improve a lot.
 
Last edited:

Fredrik

Member
I get what you're saying, and you're right.

But i don't think we should accept that souls like combat should never change....adding a horse is cool for moving and jumping around to get items but it doesn't add anything to combat when its so simple.....its just an abuse tactic (run around a boss and slow slash it till it eventually dies)

Going from Sekiro to this is like they gave up on trying to make the combat interesting, its abusing iframes and rolling like an idiot - the difference in the stage doesn't matter.
I haven’t played Sekiro so I can’t compare it to that. It does seem like FROM’s most unique game besides Elden Ring. No upgrading scares me though, if I can’t explore to level up or grind to level up, how can I make less punishing?
A big reason I managed to beat Elden Ring was because I could back and explore and level up some more, find a better talisman for Elden Beast, max out a new sword for Radagon. It was still a major struggle.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Really enjoyed it even more than Demons/Dark Souls and Bloodborne but Sekiro still my favourite FROM game.
 
Last edited:

bbeach123

Member
Game was 6/10 without the NPCs for me . After doing all the quest ( with guide ofc) I started to like the game, 8/10 I guess . If I going blind not reading shit I wouldn't even finish it .
 
Last edited:

Mossybrew

Member
Loved it. It really worked for me as a non-Souls fan, you could grind and get a good build and use followers to make yourself OP and that's what I want in a game. Sunk a solid 200 hours into this masterpiece and it was one of the best gaming experiences I've had.
 

Bigfroth

Member
love it, Elden Ring is on its way to becoming one of those rare 400+ hour games for me. I'm still finding new stuff after 4 playthroughs. This game is actually relaxing for me to play lol go figure. DLC ?!?!? anytime Fromsoft :messenger_beaming:
 

Flutta

Banned
NO it's not. UNFUN only to be found in this game.

I'm 40 hours in playing off an on and have an Astrologer up to level 60.
I STILL have no idea what I'm doing or what the point of the game is other than to kill anything you see.
The game Looks amazing, Plays amazing, ZERO bugs, No crashes.
The difficulty, while I consider it a hard game and it's frustrating most times I think it's actually fair and that I can beat it if I just try again.

Now for the bad
I have no idea what I'm doing or what the point of the game is other than kill anything you see.
Try and convince me that anyone has played this game without going online to learn what the hell is what and where is where and what does what.
The open world nature without quest logging cuts down 99.9 percent of all bugs. It simply doesn't tell me what I'm doing. Things can be bugging out and I would never know because the game doesn't tell you that your doing anything.
Find a blind woman get a quest. I think. Could be a quest. It is. But you would never really know it unless you first find her father, kill the big boss, find father again, find bind woman again. I have no idea if there is anything more to this quest, if it's completed, could be bugged, but again the game does not track this.

Level 60 and I have been using the same Staff and Shield and Armor from the beginning of the game. NOTHING I've found is any better than what I got. I've upgraded the staff to a +7 at a blacksmith but I do not know what the heck to do about armor. There is nothing that an Astrologer can wear that doesn't kill my rolling around ability.
Again I by myself can't find what to do about this after 40 hours. I'm going to have to look it up online.
The story? I don't give a rats ass about it after 40 hours. I don't care about anyone or anything in this game. Failure.

Most games after 40 hours I would know what the end game was all about. I've learned nothing of importance and I've explored all but the most northern parts of the map where the big city is.

In summary this game has it's mechanics down pact, It plays better than I think any other game I've played in a long time.
It's a big beautiful world. Best looking 3rd party game I've played this year.
But it fails in it's open world. Completely. Exploring is just that, exploring a big beautiful world. Things that you find only help in the game mechanic of upgrading and leveling up.

I can't give this game a score because it I don't think it's fun.
I continue to play it because I feel as though I can beat it eventually.
I'm in it for the challenge only.

Sounds like its your first souls game. Also why waste your time on a game you dont enjoy? 🤔
 

AJUMP23

Member
NO it's not. UNFUN only to be found in this game.

I'm 40 hours in playing off an on and have an Astrologer up to level 60.
I STILL have no idea what I'm doing or what the point of the game is other than to kill anything you see.
The game Looks amazing, Plays amazing, ZERO bugs, No crashes.
The difficulty, while I consider it a hard game and it's frustrating most times I think it's actually fair and that I can beat it if I just try again.

Now for the bad
I have no idea what I'm doing or what the point of the game is other than kill anything you see.
Try and convince me that anyone has played this game without going online to learn what the hell is what and where is where and what does what.
The open world nature without quest logging cuts down 99.9 percent of all bugs. It simply doesn't tell me what I'm doing. Things can be bugging out and I would never know because the game doesn't tell you that your doing anything.
Find a blind woman get a quest. I think. Could be a quest. It is. But you would never really know it unless you first find her father, kill the big boss, find father again, find bind woman again. I have no idea if there is anything more to this quest, if it's completed, could be bugged, but again the game does not track this.

Level 60 and I have been using the same Staff and Shield and Armor from the beginning of the game. NOTHING I've found is any better than what I got. I've upgraded the staff to a +7 at a blacksmith but I do not know what the heck to do about armor. There is nothing that an Astrologer can wear that doesn't kill my rolling around ability.
Again I by myself can't find what to do about this after 40 hours. I'm going to have to look it up online.
The story? I don't give a rats ass about it after 40 hours. I don't care about anyone or anything in this game. Failure.

Most games after 40 hours I would know what the end game was all about. I've learned nothing of importance and I've explored all but the most northern parts of the map where the big city is.

In summary this game has it's mechanics down pact, It plays better than I think any other game I've played in a long time.
It's a big beautiful world. Best looking 3rd party game I've played this year.
But it fails in it's open world. Completely. Exploring is just that, exploring a big beautiful world. Things that you find only help in the game mechanic of upgrading and leveling up.

I can't give this game a score because it I don't think it's fun.
I continue to play it because I feel as though I can beat it eventually.
I'm in it for the challenge only.
I learn the story through Youtube video.
 

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
I haven’t played Sekiro so I can’t compare it to that. It does seem like FROM’s most unique game besides Elden Ring. No upgrading scares me though, if I can’t explore to level up or grind to level up, how can I make less punishing?
A big reason I managed to beat Elden Ring was because I could back and explore and level up some more, find a better talisman for Elden Beast, max out a new sword for Radagon. It was still a major struggle.
in sekiro you have a single sword and can't make a build like in souls/bloodborne/elden ring by dumping points into a stat like health, endurance, dex, strength, etc.

in addition to your sword you have prosthetics which are like secondary weapons. they can be things like flame thrower, shurikens, axe, firecrackers, spear. there are some that let you do things like distract enemies (whistle), shield from attacks (umbrella), dodge (mist raven). so you have a lot of ways to approach fights. they are powered by "spirit emblems" which you find or buy.

when it comes to stats/getting stronger you collect prayer beads to upgrade vitality/posture. for every 4 you collect you can increase these stats. you get prayer beads from defeating enemies/bosses. there are various skill trees you can level up through. skill trees will unlock new attacks, ways to defend, and give you new abilities. to unlock a skill you do it by gaining experience fighting enemies/bosses. unlike in other games if you die (like...really die. not die and resurrect) you can't go back and pick up your "souls" or "runes". to increase your vitality/posture or skills you go to a sculptors idol (this games version of a bonfire, lantern, or grace).

sekiro shares a lot from other From Software games of course but it really stands on it's own from the others. you should definitely give it a shot it's an amazing game.
 
Last edited:

ANDS

King of Gaslighting
If this is considered overhyped then what’s considered better? Halo? Sonic the Hedgehog? Uncharted? Please. ER deserves every drop of praise it gets. Games like this are rare as fuck.

It isn't that there's something "better" or that that is what the overhyped critique is about (for me at least). The "overhype" is that this BLEW all previous Souslike games out of the water critically and was described as an obvious iteration on the "Souls-formula". . .when it really isn't. There is nothing this game does fundamentally that is different than ANY of the games before it. Worse, the stuff it does add is so half-baked (the crafting system is one of the biggest wet-fart - relative to game systems - I've ever seen).

. . .ER isn't a bad game. It is a good game. That should have joined the ranks of other good games. Instead it is now breathlessly whispered among the "GOAT"-games all because they added an open world.
 

MadPanda

Banned
It's my GOTY. Put around 120 to 150 hours in it. It became my most played single player game of last generation, beating mgs v. Sadly, due to its open world nature and the site of the game ng+ isn't interesting to me. I basically care only for bosses as I've extensively explored it the first time and it just takes so much time to go from a boss to a boss. I gave up on it. Maybe I'll play it in a few years when I forget most of it.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
sekiro shares a lot from other From Software games of course but it really stands on it's own from the others. you should definitely give it a shot it's an amazing game.
For me Sekiro is my all time favourite FROM game, not only it has the best and most satisfying combat also it has actual narrative and characters I can get attach to.

Demons/Dark Souls, Blooborne and Elden Ring all have interesting lore but I couldn’t care less about what’s going on with its actual plot or care about any of its characters.
 

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
For me Sekiro is my all time favourite FROM game, not only it has the best and most satisfying combat also it has actual narrative and characters I can get attach to.

Demons/Dark Souls, Blooborne and Elden Ring all have interesting lore but I couldn’t care less about what’s going on with its actual plot or care about any of its characters.
i'm torn between Bloodborne/Sekiro as my favourite. In my previous post I put bloodborne above sekiro but honestly it changes all the time lol.

i think i'm going to need to go back and replay both them and try make up my mind.
 

anthony2690

Banned
Still one of my favourite games, loved it.

I just wish random people would summon me into their games to play their castles/levels etc.

Rather than them just dying within a couple seconds to a boss, a little annoying.
 

Fbh

Member
I'm playing it right now for the first time since I decided to wait until I had a Ps5 rather than playing it on Ps4.
I'm around 25 hours in and loving it so far. It retains all the elements I've come to love about the Souls games (combat, bosses, level design, art direction, gear system) and merges it with an amazing open world that has been a joy to explore.
Much like Breath of the Wild, this is one of the few open worlds in modern gaming where I get an actual sense of exploration, where I feel like I'm discovering the world on my own by actually looking at it and going to places that seem interesting rather than being led by quest markers and icons on a minimap. And it also helps that the stuff you find is fun, with new location with their own nice level design, bosses, gear, spells, enemies, etc.

My only real problem with it, aside from the performance issues, is that it's essentially Dark Souls 4. I wish they'd gone with a slightly more unique world instead of something that looks and feels very similar to what they already did and revisited multiple times before
 
One of the best games I’ve ever played - possibly the best. And it’s a step above all the other souls games imo
 
Last edited:

BadBurger

Is 'That Pure Potato'
I think it's still one of the great masterpieces of all of gamingdom.

However, on subsequent playthroughs after the excitement of the initial experience has cooled, its few weaknesses become amplified - even annoying. Top among them is From Software's overuse of input reading. It's almost comical now in hindsight. Once the input reading is understood, made familiar, then mastered, much of what once felt like truly difficult encounters become rote exercises in gaming the system.
 

Allandor

Member
Not the best game ever made, but probably the best game made in recent years, and a lesson for the whole industry in how to design and actual open world instead of a theme park full of map markers.
Open world with more or less nothing to do than fight. I really hope that not many take this formula. After all the world is quite empty. But I guess this is the personal taste. E.g. I don't like the empty world of Zelda.
From the open world standpoint Elex is the best "current" game for me with many things to do and find in the world.
 
Last edited:

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
It’s the first game I achieved the Platinum for around release. Bloodborne took me many years and 5-6 playthroughs before I just went for it. I loved it, but I feel like Kirby whenever he sucks down an enemy. I feel like I absorbed so much of it until I’m not quite sure how I feel. I loved the time I spent in that world. All the events are great and I kinda wish I could relive them. It’s like falling in love with a vacation spot, but realize when it’s time to go home.
Everything you can do feels repetitive. Instead of an amazing event happening ingame, you’re expecting it to happen before you get the chance to trigger it. It’s like the reward for progression kinda tapers off.

I don’t agree that it felt static all the time. That first playthrough you’re unlocking everything. Everything at first glance was perfect. There was something to gain. I think it felt static once you realized your path wasn’t going to change because you already achieved that victory. I totally see how people say that after beating it 2-3 times in a row.

I feel like I exploited the best weapons and I don’t want to use anything other than what I already used. I also would love DLC with more areas, weapons, and quest lines.
 

Codes 208

Member
Still the absolute goat and hands down goty. Ive already put about a collective of around 400 hours on xbox and steam (the second closest this year is pokemon arceus at around 38 hours)
 
Last edited:

GymWolf

Member
I feel the same.

Great game (or the word that comes after great but before incredible), but no 98\100 or holy grail of gaming imo.

Still, probably the best game of 2022 overall, unless hogwarts can do the miracle on release or if gow ragnarock is gonna be even better than gow2018, and even with thah in mind, it probably still gonna win.

I think i enjoyed bloodborne, ds1 and sekiro a more.
 
Last edited:

Philfrag

Banned
It was awesome. I just think their next game needs to change it up a bit more. For me it was a bit too similar to dark souls. I loved the world design and how everything looked, i just don't think it was as fresh as it could have been. I think it was probably a great experience though for the souls virgins and it definitely did try to bridge that chasm between the old guard and the new.

All that said, I gave up at Melania. I just don't have the bloody time. I will probably come back to it and finish it when some new content comes out but that late game wasn't nearly as strong as the rest of it. I found myself getting bored. Also considering it was an open world game I just wish the enemy placement was semi-randomised to make the whole experience feel a bit more dynamic. Previous souls games were quite linear which made static placement make sense, but with elden ring it made the game feel more dated.
 
Even malenia i was able to defeat in only a few tries, elden beast was the only boss i had more difficulty with in late game. But i think this kind of problem is unavoidable in open world rpgs unless you resort to some artificial limiters, which brings me...

Personally, even with its issues, i'm glad they made the game the way they did. Its a design philosophy that basically opens up to the player and isn't afraid of letting them exploit the game mechanics or do things in ways "they aren't supposed to". It feels much more liberating, and fun.

I absolutely hated how in Sekiro minibosses would automatically regain all their health bars if you hid from them. It was obviously put there because, even though the game highly encouraged the use of stealth, it still wanted it to be played "the right way". Its an artificial shackle that really muddied the experience for me.
I get it, it's just that I really have a soft spot for games that limit you be it by time, by choices or by progression. To me an open world where you are free to spend as much time as you want is a missed opportunity to really elevate the game.

But Elden Ring stands out as pretty much the best game in what it attempts to do as far as I'm concerned.
 
Last edited:

Aesius

Member
FromSoft is pretty good at learning from their mistakes so I can only imagine how good Elden Ring 2/their next open-world game will be. I expect a much tighter experience...but one that will still lose steam during its last 20 hours.
 
What specifically about the exploration do you like? I liked the art, but there's not really any meaningful interaction with the world other than combat.
Well interactions like “press a to pet dog” aren’t in the game but it has the most reward for just going in a direction and seeing what happens. I got 300 hours in the game. The first 200+ was me just exploring finding interesting things and playing. Would the game be better with more fruitless filler content like most open world games today? I don’t think so.
 

Kamina

Golden Boy
Best Souls Game so far,
Fantastic Open world game too,
Hope they improve upon the concept and give us an eve greater successor one day
 

Boy bawang

Member
Great game. I still prefer a tighter experience like dark souls. So in the end, it's neither the best Souls like nor the best open world game, in my opinion. But still a solid product. 8/10.
 

Jigsaah

Gold Member
I miss the days when NG+ meant harder enemies, more red phantom surprise encounters. I ended up zipping the 2nd and third playthrough. Game is still a 9 out of 10.
 

ReBurn

Gold Member
Still mostly disinterested but somewhat interested in seeing what everyone says the big deal is.
 
Top Bottom