ELDEN RING

Rise, Tarnished!
Easily the best game I've played in many years, and it deserves a longer review than most of you have patience for. I highly recommend it, and here's why:
Like many who play this game, this was my first "Soulsborne/Soulslike" game, as it is the most refined and user-friendly version of FromSoftware's game design ethos. I avoided the Dark Souls series for many years. I had a presumptuous view of FromSoftware and their visual aesthetic that made me feel this game was just sad edgelord material. I was so wrong.
Like all FromSoftware games, Elden Ring revels in struggle. Only the most basic combat mechanics are explained to the player; the rest is trial and error. It challenges you to tease out its mysteries, not just of the world and lore, but of the combat mechanics and UI. The game asks you to STRUGGLE (you need to be open to that to fully enjoy it), and oh boy, did I struggle...
I struggled to simply navigate the user interface, to find the extra info on weapon damage and scaling, armor ratings and status defenses, even item descriptions full of implicit lore that give the player a small understanding of what's happening in the Lands Between. I struggled to accept that not every field boss in the overworld was meant to be defeated when you first encounter them. I struggled to avoid traps and ambushes. Even when I gave up trying to play solo and attempted to use the Co-Op multiplayer system, I struggled to understand the seemingly obtuse system of items that enable it. Even after, I struggled against skilled and relentless Invaders, many of whom have been invading players since Dark Souls 1. I'm ashamed to say I struggled to not uninstall the game and play an easier one with a more forgiving learning curve. Such was my frustration.
Most of all, I struggled to get acclimated to the combat mechanics... Until, a whole 40 hours (and many deaths) in, something clicked. I started seeing and feeling a flow to combat, requiring a skillful dance between dodging perfectly into attacks and identifying narrow windows for my own attacks. I started to understand every movement and attack option's purpose and viability in different scenarios. I started understanding how to most efficiently manage my stamina, consumables, and other resources. I started seeing challenges and opportunities where before I only saw difficulties and defeat.
This began a shift in my mentality. The developers were not taunting or trolling me, like many players seem to think; they were inviting me to experience a true power fantasy, to feel a tangible sense of actual progression in skill and understanding. The game does not say "git gud, noob"; it says "rise, Tarnished".
So many modern AAA games are released with a product mentality first and foremost, and not even as good products; they are often unfinished, rushed, bugged, and bloated with profit-maximizing strategies like microtransactions. Elden Ring is the first game I've played in a decade that felt like a complete game, full of hundreds of hours of content.
So many games frontload their "best" content and force you to engage with it to force your interest, but much of Elden Rings best content is hidden or blocked by combat and platforming challenges. I have almost 3k hours logged, and I'm still finding out new things the game has kept hidden from me. This speaks so much to the confidence the developers have in their vision of an adventure fantasy game centered around discovery.
The game is not perfect. There are still some bugs and glitches present from launch that have no clearcut development solution. Many bosses, enemy types, and other assets are re-used all over the map to mixed effect. Some lategame and endgame content feels rushed and spread out. Perhaps worst of all, like all games with an active PvP element, the player community is rife with toxic players who seem hellbent on griefing others into making them uninstall the game.
Even with these glaring imperfections, this game shines like a diamond in a sea of coal coated with cheap craft glitter. It stands head and shoulders above almost all other modern AAA games in terms of intrigue, combat satisfaction, exploration, and story, and it doesn't even flaunt it. An understated and nuanced gaming experience is such a delight in an era where games are intended to feel more like blockbuster Hollywood movies rather than progressive adventures. Elden Ring is the culmination of FromSoftware’s singular and robust design philosophy, honed over decades of trial and error.
If you experience only one Soulsbourne game in your entire life, let it be Elden Ring.

I have spent hours in both the base game and DLC. Here are my thoughts.

I am in no way a hardcore player. This is the only game I have ever played by this company. This game pissed me off so much because I didn't understand that is was out the box a difficult game.

I have since then completed 100% of the achievements and got through the DLC. The DLC is rough but if you you just want to progress and beat bosses with ease, there are options. Spirit summons, youtube cheese videos.

I enjoy exploring. I love the graphics and sometimes I want the challenge of a boss. However I have completed the game made it enjoyable on my terms and don't care if I don't kill the boss without a summons. I don't get paid to play games, so I take advantage of everything I can find and do in the game to go from point A to B.

I recommend the Base game and the DLC. I looked at the DLC as how can I defeat and cheese the new bosses. Not how do I learn the mechanics so people will know I am a good player. I just don't care, I want to beat the game start to finish. If I can do this and I am not a good player, then spend the money and beat it your way in anyway you see fit.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{ Audio }---
☑ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma
---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☑ Dark Souls
---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☑ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding
---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life
---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☑ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond
---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☑ 10

The game is frankly weak. Let me start with the cons that outweigh the pros: the open world feels empty, and it copies mobs from Dark Souls, even though this is a new universe and game. It's very difficult to follow the path planned by the developers because if you find the boss later, you'll be too strong for him and will kill him on the first try. An open world is not suitable for this genre. The quests, as always in the games from this studio, are rubbish. In Dark Souls, they could be completed intuitively, but here, maybe 0.1% of players will finish them without guides. You practically need to get into Miyazaki's head to figure out where the quest character is standing this time.
There are few good bosses 8 come to mind, and it's even funny to call the rest "bosses." There's a lack of a coherent local plot, and instead, we get more vague, global nonsense about gods and aliens.
Now for the advantages of the game: the beautiful locations, a sea of interesting weapons and spells, and the 8 good bosses. I especially liked the capital, though sadly, it was the only location that truly impressed me

Cute little indie game. There's a few cool hats and a nice horse. You can make friends with several charming characters and you can even farm (souls from fingers on the roots of an eldritch tree within an infernal mist) if you like. Perhaps one of the prettiest games I've played in a long time. Still, I have nightmares about the little men who play brass instruments, and I can never find the sewer. It's quite like Stardew Valley in that they both have a hidden sewer level.

Cant remember the last time I could get so lost in a game's world. Absolutely beautiful. For those of you like me who enjoy comparing stats on your loot and figuring out the best build for the right situation, this is the pinnacle.

The ONLY thing I would caution is that if you have a life, kids, etc. this game might suck 600+ hours of your life like it did me.

Thumbs way way up

nothing in this game was as brutal as the moment when my son saw me fighting malenia and started cheering for malenia
10/10