Elden Ring - PlayStation 5

This review is mostly a rant of advice and information for newcomers like myself. The top part is the real review.70 Hours in so far. Level 140 STR Bleed build.Graphics: 9/10Gameplay: 9/10Art/Design: 10/10 - Epic world, Epic enemy design. Some legit make you uneasy. It feels like playing a Metal music video. Put on some Dio and fall into the cycle of death and destruction.Multiplayer: 6/10(Come on....you could easily do better)Story: 5/10 What is even going on here man?! I just can't bring myself to care. There isn't enough NPC story and interaction to suck you in like in The Witcher 3 or Skyrim. It just doesn't happen in this game. It's not a big deal to me because the game play is good. Some boss cut scenes are awesome and it's enough to make the boss fights feel even more epic.Here's my advice as someone who hated FromSoft games before playing Elden Ring(coming from a guy that rage quit Bloodborne 2 hours in). THIS IS A GAME OF ATTRITION. I have little patience and I'm very prone to rage if a game treats me unfairly or doesn't let me choose my playstyle. The learning curve alone is going to make you feel like the game is unfair. It's just a lot to learn if you're used to button mashing type games. You can't do that here. You need to learn timing and strategy to over come challenges.It's not just learning the buttons, it's learning the timing and attacks of most enemies. It's learning what you can and can't do. It's how to properly set items on your quick keys. It's a lot to take in...even for a seasoned MMO and offline RPG player like myself. It's honestly not as intuitive as it could be. The game doesn't hold your hand AT ALL.Understand this...the game will slap you across the face with random events and skill check you randomly with bosses. You will breeze through the first part areas...and then run into Margit. Margit will make you completely rethink how "good" you are. Come back, collect your runes and do it again.I learned to love this game even with all the random back hands the devs throw at you. It's not fair to walk along a cliff and be randomly knocked off by something. Random giant hand with a pimp ring on, B slapping you out of no where? Giant jumping down off a cliff and landing on you? Falling into a pit with a strong enemy? It will happen. It won't really happen when you're leveled up and experienced. You'll see it coming before you fall into that trap. As you "git gud" and level, you get a monster sense of accomplishment. Even if you don't beat this game, you should feel accomplished if you can beat Margit @ level 10-15. He's the first real skill check boss that really puts some heat on you. Feels like an unwinnable battle, but it makes it so much better when you win. Don't be afraid to use the NPC summon outside his door. It's not cheating, it's adjusting the difficulty level from within the game.Multiplayer: It really needs an overhaul. It's the weakest point of this game next to the story. My buddy tells me it's the best it's been in these games, but you need a consumable item and ritual to summon a friend. That's ridiculous. It doesn't matter how easy the item is to get and craft. It shouldn't be a thing.You also get disconnected from your friend when you beat a boss or great enemy together. That's if you don't get a "disconnected from PlayStation network error." first.....even though you're using voice chat on the PlayStation network and it never drops out.It could be done so much better. This is definitely a weak point of the game. Same with Invasions. It really shouldn't be a thing unless you want it to be. It happens so often when playing co-op that I start getting annoyed about it. You're fenced off during these events and the invader doesn't get attacked by enemies. So it mostly leads to them trying to pull you to enemies to make it easier for them to kill you. My friend and I will normally win the fights, but there's times when someone is just OP and destroys us...whelp now we have to do the ritual again to re-summon your friend. This is where multiplayer feels like an after thought, or almost like they don't want you to use it at all.Anyway, I recommend it. It's not the best game out there, but it's well worth the asking price. If you're not good, take it slow and learn by exploring the areas near by. Read online about leveling up, and various builds so you have some direction. The game doesn't give you direction, so find it in yourself or online so you feel like you have a goal.

This game far exceeded any of my expectations. I was a causal player through DS3, Sekiro and Demon Souls remastered, but my goodness this game is in a whole tier of it’s own.Open World: I have about 20 hours in the game and I haven’t even got to the first main boss yet, just because there is literally so many options of things to do in this game. Each corner of the map has something worth exploring and you’re very rewarded for doing so. This game is absolutely massive for an open world game. I think there’s something wild like 83 bosses available to fight in this game, it’s crazy.The graphics: people are hating on this game for not living up to PS5 exclusive “next-gen” graphics, but so what? We’re at the point in gaming history where there really isn’t much further to push. This game by no means has “bad” graphics, they’re phenomenal. Sure they aren’t pushing the limits into a new unmatched level of graphics, but you certainly won’t find it lackluster by any means. I found the world beautiful and have yet to get tired of it. To add to this, there are many areas of the game that are just so well designed in terms of being dark and creepy that it actually invokes a small degree of anxiety which is great, it really adds immersion to the role playing aspect. It really draws you into the game.The combat system: I saved the best for last, oh boy get ready. The combat system in this game is INSANE. This is the culmination of everything FromSoftware has created in terms of combat. There is an unbelievable degree of variation in available play styles and builds, as well as enemies you will encounter. The combat system is so satisfying and so engaging. The amount of different attacks there are for each class of weapon is just insane. Not even beginning to mention the Ashes of War mechanic they added to the game, this also really switches things up for the combat system. Albeit, this is a tough game. There is one difficulty for this game, there is no easy mode(at least in the settings.) There will be many points in this game where you’re ready to give up, but here’s the beauty for you newcomers: it doesn’t have to be tough. This game isn’t like previous Souls games in the sense you HAVE to beat said boss to progress. There’s 2 factors that have changed this: 1. This game is open world. If you’re really struggling on a boss, you feel like you can’t beat him yet, you don’t have to. There’s 82 other bosses you can go encounter, countless Rune (XP) farms to go farm. Go level up, go get stronger weapons and come back when you feel better about it. You’re not stuck. 2. Spirit Ash summons. Spirit Ash summons are basically the way FromSoftware has implemented an “easy mode” into the game. These summons may not necessarily be the most powerful allies to bring into battle with you, but they certainly are sufficient allies to have with you to draw off agro and allow yourself to recollect yourself before heading back into the fight. Don’t get frustrated, and don’t let these bad reviews about how “difficult” this game is deter you from purchasing this game.This game will win game of the year, and will certainly go down in history as the best game of the decade, this is the Skyrim of the 2020’s. I’m certain even Bethesda’s next game of the Elder Scroll series will not even come close to topping this game. Git gud.

Hours of fun, very popular. Can play multiple times. Game would make a great gift. If you are on a budget and can't afford a lot of games this one is quality over quantity.