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Elden Ring is the best open world game so far in terms of exploration

fart town usa

Gold Member
I agree. Hands down one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had.

I feel for people who don't enjoy it. I mean, that's totally fine, the game isn't for everyone. I just wish it clicked for them and they could have as much fun as the rest of us are having. It'd just make the community that much bigger and the game that much better. The more the merrier. Give me all your bloodstains, coop summons, and finger...but hole.
 
I think it has a pretty decent combat system to be fair. It’s fairly rudimentary in some respects but it’s certainly well above average for the company it keeps.

You’ve got to bear in mind the breadth and depth of the options available, it’s not really comparable to something like a platinum or team ninja game with a much narrower scope.
I guess. Im playing strangers in paradise now with 28 classes. Nioh had 100x larger skill tree and tons of weapons and stance changes. Monster Hunter has a dozen weapons.

Souls isn't the worst combat ever but its got some flaws in balancing, enemy behavior, input delay that really drag it down. It could definitely be improved. Sekiro was more polished for sure but just has 1 weapon.
 
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bender

What time is it?
I love how handcrafted the world feels and how they do such a good job of hiding items and points of interest just off the beaten path. I typically don't use fast travel in games as it breaks immersion but I do use it a ton in Elden Ring just because of how twisty and turn'y the layout of the world is. I do dock it some points for the map which is a little too generous with information which makes it hard to feel lost. I'd also say the world is a little formulaic with where it is going to put the optional dungeons. I was doing some cleanup of an area last night and while looking at the map I thought, "there are probably caves here, here and here" and sure enough, I was correct. Overall I think it does a great job of exploration, sense of discovery and rewarding you for the journey and while it does a better job with that than most any other modern open world game, I'd still rank Morrowind as my favorite which didn't feature an in game map and relied on you listening to quest dialog and looking at in world sign posts and landmarks. Morrowind also had a limited fast travel system which made a lot of sense in context of the game world. I kind of dislike medieval themed open world games were your player character is an expert cartographer. It just kills the immersion.
 

Beer Baelly

Al Pachinko, Konami President
70 hours in and Ive just reached the Giants mountaintops. Did most things in prior regions save for a handful of catacombs/chalice dungeons and bosses.
 

Aesius

Member
I'm at about 75 hours and the magic is wearing off a bit. It's still a great world to explore but the sense of danger has abated a bit, which in turn has made the world less compelling. All open-world games eventually lose their luster. I will say that the first 50 hours or so were incredible and gave me a sense of exploration and discovery that I haven't felt since Oblivion in 2006.
 

cireza

Banned
The open world has a nice layout but overall it is a waste of time. Interesting content is diluted and you spend a lot of time traveling to discover copy pasted dungeons and enemies. In the end, this is the exact same problem with all open worlds. It takes more time to navigate and does not add anything of interest to the experience. Things become predictable. Horse battle is meh at best.

Main dungeons are still good, but it feels like I am forced into traveling uninteresting land and doing a lot of repetitive stuff before I reach the next one.
 
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TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
larry-david-unsure.gif

I mean I played a bit of it and went back to HFW.
I'm sure I'll get hooked once I got full in but at the moment I just don't see it.
 

bitbydeath

Member
We must be playing different games, every time I find some cool alcove or shack or hidden area the reward is always some useless consumable, or other generic item that doesn't feel at all rewarding.
Definitely in the beginning of the game, I still had the same weapon and clothing for the first 20-30 hours of the game, later on though there is massive rewards found almost everywhere.
 

ANDS

King of Gaslighting
Really? How far into the game are you?

I have about 200 hours in the game across three characters. I am very slowly taking my time with this latest run. There is a lot more of the game in terms of what we consider "legacy encounters", however the overworld outside these places is pretty rote. It isn't that I'm not having fun, it's just there. There's nothing the open world is doing that I would consider "revolutionary" relative to open worlds, and honestly if I had a gun to my head I would pick the UBI-style over this. Laurnia Lakes is a very good example of what I'm not interested in seeing in open world games.

. . .honestly, and I saw this in a review, a lot of the game is just Dark Souls on steroids. It is more of what we have gotten from FROMSOFT in the past. It's not bad, but it hasn't really refined their formula and certainly hasn't wildly shown up what has come before - even if I do like running around in the world and will almost surely be coming back to the game months (possibly years) down the line.

I feel for people who don't enjoy it.

If these people are anything like me it isn't that they aren't enjoying it; it's simply that the superlatives that have been laid at its feet are a bit much. We're honestly fast approaching BOTW puffery levels.
 

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
Zelda is still superior, by far.

An open world where exploration is constantly hindered by literally everything that moves being able - and more than willing - to kill you, and being able to do so in 4 hits tops on a busy day, gets old very quickly. You haven’t even opened your mouth to say “wow” that something massive has already crashed into you, and I can’t believe people aren’t sick of it halfway through the game.

Elden Ring is also very, very formulaic. Oh, there’s ruins? Then there must be an underground cave with a chest or a boss. Lots of gravestones? Bet there’s a ghost on a boat around.Hillside path? What better place for a dungeon. The dungeons and catacombs are extremely repetitive, too.

BOTW rarely did the same thing twice throughout the game, save for the challenge shrines. No two landscapes looked alike, ever. The game’s geography was incredibly varied. And discovering something didn‘t systematically mean you were in for another round of spanking and/or anal violation.
Most of all, BOTW had the wonder. In ER, most of the time, there’s just… content.
 

MonarchJT

Banned
gaming outlet are in love with fromsoft being multiplat (and therefore the vote of the Warrior platforms is lightened) user MC is closer to reality
 

Majukun

Member
Zelda is still superior, by far.

An open world where exploration is constantly hindered by literally everything that moves being able - and more than willing - to kill you, and being able to do so in 4 hits tops on a busy day, gets old very quickly. You haven’t even opened your mouth to say “wow” that something massive has already crashed into you, and I can’t believe people aren’t sick of it halfway through the game.

Elden Ring is also very, very formulaic. Oh, there’s ruins? Then there must be an underground cave with a chest or a boss. Lots of gravestones? Bet there’s a ghost on a boat around.Hillside path? What better place for a dungeon. The dungeons and catacombs are extremely repetitive, too.

BOTW rarely did the same thing twice throughout the game, save for the challenge shrines. No two landscapes looked alike, ever. The game’s geography was incredibly varied. And discovering something didn‘t systematically mean you were in for another round of spanking and/or anal violation.
Most of all, BOTW had the wonder. In ER, most of the time, there’s just… content.
tbh both botw and ER had a repeating formula and it would be impossible not to,,too much real estate to fill to never repeat yourself
 

S0ULZB0URNE

Member
Zelda is still superior, by far.

An open world where exploration is constantly hindered by literally everything that moves being able - and more than willing - to kill you, and being able to do so in 4 hits tops on a busy day, gets old very quickly. You haven’t even opened your mouth to say “wow” that something massive has already crashed into you, and I can’t believe people aren’t sick of it halfway through the game.

Elden Ring is also very, very formulaic. Oh, there’s ruins? Then there must be an underground cave with a chest or a boss. Lots of gravestones? Bet there’s a ghost on a boat around.Hillside path? What better place for a dungeon. The dungeons and catacombs are extremely repetitive, too.

BOTW rarely did the same thing twice throughout the game, save for the challenge shrines. No two landscapes looked alike, ever. The game’s geography was incredibly varied. And discovering something didn‘t systematically mean you were in for another round of spanking and/or anal violation.
Most of all, BOTW had the wonder. In ER, most of the time, there’s just… content.
BOTW is amazing but to say what you are saying when BOTW has such a huge flaw called...... SHRINES! Which are not only bad but complete ass in comparison to what Elden Ring offers.

Tell me you are a biased Nintendo fanboy without telling me you are a biased Nintendo fanboy.
 

OZ9000

Banned
It's too overwhelming for me and I have no time for such games. I can only dedicate a max of 4 hours per week for games.
 
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fart town usa

Gold Member
If these people are anything like me it isn't that they aren't enjoying it; it's simply that the superlatives that have been laid at its feet are a bit much. We're honestly fast approaching BOTW puffery levels.
Yea, some of the praise is a bit heavy but still, gaming as a whole doesn't often get a game that is hyped for so long and then actually exceeds expectations. Technical issues aside, the game is a masterpiece. Doesn't mean it's the GOAT, just a damn good game that has taken the community by storm for the time being.

I'm trying to be level headed about it all.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
Never have i spent so many hours this quickly on a game before (160 hours with a job and family lol), and yet I want to continue on playing it day and night.

The reason is because of the overworld, which isnt the usual barren sthick. I always get surprised by stuff to find. There is a fort, a cave, a schack, castle or even underground exploration around bascially every corner. Most of the time there are unique rewards. This isnt like BotW that only offers stamina or hearts as rewards.

For me Elden Ring is the best open World game so far and it will be hard to dethrone it. The game isnt perfect, but I am amazed how they managed to make this during the pandemic when other devs struggle.
no it's good but botw is a better exploration and sandbox game.
i do think elden ring's world is good but i actually prefer valheim.
 

Kuranghi

Member
I want to play on PC, stupid question but how likely do we think it is they'll fix the stuttering issues and the like? If not then I'll just get the PS5 version.
 

tmlDan

Member
so, after 170 hours and getting the platinum.

In terms of exploration i can agree, everything else? no.

The souls games still feel like arcade open world, spawning enemies, they're always in the same spot, doing the same actions, there is no variety in the AI which makes it worse than many open world games.

Most stories are save/grace based, where you touch a grace and the story progresses, it makes it feel inorganic and staged where idgaf about the character and want to just get to the next part so he gives me something good.

it is unacceptable when i talk to an NPC, touch a grace beside him and then he's dead (avoiding any more info cause spoilers). It's stupid and goofy and should be improved.

Weapons are broke, weapon arts are broken, the hardest boss in the game is a stat check where the best way to beat her is with certain items or a re-spec, that's bad game design.

Otherwise, great game, not my fav souls game but i had fun with it clearly.
 
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Batiman

Banned
It’s too good honestly. I feel it’s gonna ruin every other one world for me. Sort of how Sekiro ruined other combat focused games
 

Oberstein

Member
Elden Ring is a great game (mostly for those who like Souls games) with an incredible art direction, we all agree on that. However the open-world is unfortunately quite dated, rigid and with almost no real interaction as Zelda Botw did.

So it depends on the player, I guess, but the exploration is not especially the most remarkable point.
 
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NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
BOTW is amazing but to say what you are saying when BOTW has such a huge flaw called...... SHRINES! Which are not only bad but complete ass in comparison to what Elden Ring offers.

Tell me you are a biased Nintendo fanboy without telling me you are a biased Nintendo fanboy.
Not my fault FS couldn’t improve on BOTW with five year’s time.

Shrines in BOTW are almost all different, and they want you to use the game’s systems creatively.

In more than 70h in ER I’ve seen the same cave, the same mine, the same catacomb repeated ad nauseam, with the same bosses rehashed again and again in a crescendo of cheapness. If ER’s minor dungeons are better than BOTW’s shrines in both concept and practice to you, I’m not the fanboy here.
 

S0ULZB0URNE

Member
Not my fault FS couldn’t improve on BOTW with five year’s time.

Shrines in BOTW are almost all different, and they want you to use the game’s systems creatively.

In more than 70h in ER I’ve seen the same cave, the same mine, the same catacomb repeated ad nauseam, with the same bosses rehashed again and again in a crescendo of cheapness. If ER’s minor dungeons are better than BOTW’s shrines in both concept and practice to you, I’m not the fanboy here.
Elden Ring's caves,castles and dungeons are 100x better than the terrible shrines in BOTW.

Cheaping out is what Nintendo did by not having at least Dungeons.

Lets hope BOTW 2 fixes this WIDE SPREAD complaint.
 
Not my fault FS couldn’t improve on BOTW with five year’s time.

Shrines in BOTW are almost all different, and they want you to use the game’s systems creatively.

In more than 70h in ER I’ve seen the same cave, the same mine, the same catacomb repeated ad nauseam, with the same bosses rehashed again and again in a crescendo of cheapness. If ER’s minor dungeons are better than BOTW’s shrines in both concept and practice to you, I’m not the fanboy here.
The shrines are shit in BotW and widely hated FYI

Horrible “dungeons”/bosses too

Odd that you would pick shrines of all things to praise about BotW. I really liked the game, but the shrines were fucking awful.
 
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deeptech

Member
I agree, it's best open world of all time and possibly the best game ever, how can ubisoft and others ever compete lol??? GTA6 or ES6 are maybe the only ones that can approach it but we'll see. Easily GOTY 2022
 

SantaC

Member
Not my fault FS couldn’t improve on BOTW with five year’s time.

Shrines in BOTW are almost all different, and they want you to use the game’s systems creatively.

In more than 70h in ER I’ve seen the same cave, the same mine, the same catacomb repeated ad nauseam, with the same bosses rehashed again and again in a crescendo of cheapness. If ER’s minor dungeons are better than BOTW’s shrines in both concept and practice to you, I’m not the fanboy here.
How many shrines had the same robot boss in botw? Yeah thats what I thought. I liked the shrines in botw, but there is no sense of reward getting a heart piece or stamina piece.
 

REDRZA MWS

Member
Never have i spent so many hours this quickly on a game before (160 hours with a job and family lol), and yet I want to continue on playing it day and night.

The reason is because of the overworld, which isnt the usual barren sthick. I always get surprised by stuff to find. There is a fort, a cave, a schack, castle or even underground exploration around bascially every corner. Most of the time there are unique rewards. This isnt like BotW that only offers stamina or hearts as rewards.

For me Elden Ring is the best open World game so far and it will be hard to dethrone it. The game isnt perfect, but I am amazed how they managed to make this during the pandemic when other devs struggle.
I agree whole heartedly with everything you said. On top of a stellar open world to explore that Kees you wanting to go further and explore more, the way they have gotten rid of side quests and fetch quests as chores and a slogfest of mindless things gs to fill the world ER needs none of it.. It’s the first open world game I actually love. It’s as if THIS is what “open world” games were always supposed to be.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
I agree whole heartedly with everything you said. On top of a stellar open world to explore that Kees you wanting to go further and explore more, the way they have gotten rid of side quests and fetch quests as chores and a slogfest of mindless things gs to fill the world ER needs none of it.. It’s the first open world game I actually love. It’s as if THIS is what “open world” games were always supposed to be.

I don't know, right now I'm doing a quest that's a lot of "go talk to A, now go back to B, give this potion to C...". In general there isn't as much of that, but there are also characters who want you to give them X of a certain fruit or whatever.
 

imsosleepy

Member
We must be playing different games, every time I find some cool alcove or shack or hidden area the reward is always some useless consumable, or other generic item that doesn't feel at all rewarding.
Spend a day hunting for scrolls, weapons, armor from youtube and u go to the much different places and wil find crazy cool stuff! Some are in spots u dont find urself so weird haha
 

KungFucius

King Snowflake
I'd be tempted to argue that it is too good and that makes it bad somehow. I spent way too much time exploring, I need a break but can't until I finish. It is not healthy.
 

Spaceman292

Banned
I agree.

I would say TW3’s offering of incredibly well written side quests sprinkled throughout the world offer an incentive to explore that rivals Elden Ring. But Elden Ring does everything else better.

BotW doesn’t even come close in any respect.
One is writing, one is gameplay. Both are good.
 

Arachnid

Member
Not my fault FS couldn’t improve on BOTW with five year’s time.

Shrines in BOTW are almost all different, and they want you to use the game’s systems creatively.

In more than 70h in ER I’ve seen the same cave, the same mine, the same catacomb repeated ad nauseam, with the same bosses rehashed again and again in a crescendo of cheapness. If ER’s minor dungeons are better than BOTW’s shrines in both concept and practice to you, I’m not the fanboy here.
???

You've got a major case of rose tinted glasses dude. How many times did I go into a shrine and groan when I saw "A Test of Strength" pop up on the screen? How many times did I fight a Hinox boss? How many times did I fight a Stone Talus or Modulga boss? 99% of the shrine puzzles were elementary school level, and they all featured the exact same music and aesthetic design. How many of them featured me leading a boulder to a hollowed out keyhole? Every major dungeon even looks the same, and none of them were memorable in any way. How many times did I come across a random traveler only for him to "surprise" me by transforming into a Yiga clan douche? Every single one of the open world enemy outposts were the exact same enemies guarding some treasure box with a near useless weapon in there. And don't even get me started on that 900 korok seed nonsense.

Blasting Elden Ring for being copy paste or reusing a few bosses (while ignoring the legit insane variety in bosses overall) while propping up BOTW as some kind of benchmark seems almost disingenuous. Elden Ring is in a whole 'nother league.
 
In terms of exploration I think this game is unmatched.

You don't know if you're 4 feet away from a secret cave or an entire city. That's the beauty of it. Have quit the game for the past week and a half because I just played it too much but yeah the sense of discovery is next level.

Would be nice if open world games would remove some of the hand holding for you. It doesn't need to be as crazy as Elden Ring but there needs to be some sense of mystery with the maps or locations.

I mean just look at this shit?!!
Assassins-Creed-Collectible-Map-Unity.jpg
 
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