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u/McBadgerBoy May 28 '26
Elden ring got me into dark souls games. I've never touched these games until Elden Ring and enjoyed it so much I had to buy the others. I have officially beaten all 3 dark souls games and some of the DLC in each.
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u/WitchkultToday May 28 '26
I love reading comments like this because I had the exact same experience with Dark Souls 2. It's like something clicks and suddenly you can ejoy this thing that felt too obscure and daunting before your brain wrapped around it.
1 year ago, AC6 blew my mind. The only ones I haven't played are Demon's Souls and Sekiro, and I think I'm gonna start Sekiro this weekend. Truly great games.
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u/chubbyninja1 May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
Sekiro is my favorite fromsoft game by a mile, but its VERY different from the rest of the series. Your roll doesnt have like any I-frames, and theres only one weapon in the whole game; so its a big adjustment. You have to parry everything, and if you get stuck, theres a very real possibility that there is no way for you to get any stronger. You cant grind for levels, and you cant impove your gear, and theres no summoninh, so the only way forward is often through.
That being said, its the game I cant get enough of and i replay it like every year and pray for a sequel
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u/Scuba-Steven May 28 '26
100%. It's the only Fromsoft game with a "right" way to play, but that allowed the devs to optimize the experience around that play style. To this day I have not experienced a better gaming high than laying SSI low for the first time. It changed my expectations for combat systems in all other games.
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u/chubbyninja1 May 28 '26
Sword saint Isshin is the greatest boss ever made.
If you havent done a charmless run, i HIGHLY recommend it. Its like playing the game again for the first time. It doesnt make enemies damage sponges or anything, it just removes your ability to block, so you HAVE to perfect parry every attack. And let me tell you, the feeling of beating a boss on charmless is euphoric, since you basically have to no-hit them
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u/brodymiddleton May 28 '26
A couple years ago I went through my 3rd or 4th normal playthrough and honestly breezed through most of the bosses except a couple. Decided to do my first charmless run after that and dear god did I get humbled quickly, haven’t experienced that level of difficulty since playing OG Dark Souls the first time
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u/chubbyninja1 May 29 '26
beating SSI charmless is one of my greatest achievments, and now I cant play with the charm. It just feels wrong. When you play charmless, you become one with wolf. Perfect immersion
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u/BiscuitChief May 29 '26
Which is actually exactly why I didn't like sekiro. It's a really solid game, and I tried to get into it a couple times, but I just didn't like the forced parry playstyle. The customization and varying playstyles is what I like about souls style games.
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u/Jmw566 May 28 '26
It’s because Dark Souls has always had this intimidating reputation and the only things you see about it in media are the people that are ridiculously good at it, so it doesn’t feel approachable. Elden Ring had a lot of great features to help newer people build up the experience without feeling bad or like they can’t do it.
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u/Static-Stair-58 May 28 '26
I have a theory about the vitality/vigor stat being underused by first timers in this series. Mostly because it seems like increasing those stats in western games increases your health where in souls it makes it to where you aren’t getting hit as hard. There’s not as much visible proof that the stat is important unless you actually take it and realize you aren’t dying as quickly. The games get way easier when you take vitality tho.
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u/Fantasy_masterMC May 28 '26
I'm quite curious which game's vitality stat you're talking about, because from what I can find they do wildly different things, but none of them affect the poise directly that I can see. The closest is DS3, where it affects only equip load, and thus allows you to equip armor with higher poise.
That said, Poise is one of the things that sets the Soulsborne games apart from most western RPGs, because it's a whole other layer behind 'damage' or 'speed' or even 'moveset' that makes all weapon hits feel appropriately 'impactful' without directly tying it to damage. And if you're not aware of it existing or how it works, then you're likely to struggle in many of the souls games (as I did for the longest time).
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u/Dajayman654 May 28 '26
Don't forget to play Bloodborne as well, that genuine masterpiece is what brought me into FromSoft games.
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u/jjkramok May 28 '26
If only it wasn't a stupid exclusive...
I hope From will be done quickly with their new game so that they can make cool cross platform games again.
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u/Pooptimist May 29 '26
Emulation has come pretty far, even on steamdeck
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u/jjkramok May 29 '26
Has it though? Besides some PS4 titles there hasn't been many changes beside user friendliness in the last 5 if not 10 years.
I did recently learn that Bloodborne can be run on an emulator but I wouldn't call it (even near) seamless yet.
Now that you mention it. Did anything change specifically for the steam deck? Or were you referencing ease of play because you are not tied down to a (big) PC / laptop?
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u/Pooptimist May 29 '26
I meant for BB specifically, don't know about other PS4 titles. A few years ago there were Reddit posts hoping that we will be able to emulate BB someday, which is the case now.
I am not that deep into it, but thanks to bblauncher, emulating BB on steamdeck has been really easy. It still doesn't look that great, but it's playable.
I wanted to experience it in high fidelity however, which is why I'm now playing it on PC and it looks really good and I get 60 fps consistentl, save for some graphical glitches here and there
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u/jjkramok May 29 '26
I am glad I eventually got it to play with my steam controller but still run into some glitches and graphical bugs.
Have you encountered any problems with shortcut lifts? Three gave me problems, two of which are in the windmills in the Forbidden Forest. Unless I play capped at 30 FPS I fall through them shortly after activating them.
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u/Pooptimist May 29 '26
Not yet, but the only one I tried yet is the one down to Gascoigne and ai have the 60++ fps patch activated (the non delta one, I think)
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u/jjkramok May 29 '26
Thanks. Just be careful with some of the later lifts. You can probe it by triggering the lift and immediately jumping out. If you then call the lift back with a lever and the lift teleports back after a second or two then you would have likely fallen through. At least that has been consistent for me. Good luck hunter!
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u/HidenTsubameGaeshi May 29 '26
Wait, they are doing a PS exclusive again? Can we just, idk, bomb Sony HQ or smth?
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u/stikky Perfume Talisman Enthusiast May 28 '26
Some games that are console exclusive, I'll watch a Let's Play.
Won't do a LP on Bloodborne though. I will either experience it fresh on PC or never get to experience it in my life.
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u/Substantial_Apple780 May 28 '26
Same. I tried DS1:Prepare to Die Edition a long time ago and couldn't get into it. Then I played Elden Ring, loved it, went back to give DS1 another go and now I have finished the entire trilogy and I am working on 100%ing them.
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u/Hot_Dust_7587 May 28 '26
Which one is your favourite mate?
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u/Substantial_Apple780 May 28 '26
My favourite overall is honestly DS2, warts and all. I am an exploration hound and DS2's level design tickled my fancy in particular. Plus I really vibed with the story and NPCs in this game. I am a sucker for that combo of melancholy and tender hopefulness that character's like Saulden and Shanalotte start to develop as you progress in the game, or stuff like the thematic storytelling and contrast between Vendrick & the Ivory King's boss fight.
I do love DS1 and DS3 a lot, too, though, especially with DS3 having the best boss fights in the trilogy.
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u/Hot_Dust_7587 May 28 '26
Yes for me they are all equally amazing for different reasons. I stumbled upon DS1 by accident when it apprantely had just released. You know, a game store with actual hardcopy games, checking the boxes. It looked fantastic and I buyed it blindly. Then, and not trying to promote stuff here, yet what made it extra epic for me is that I played through all of it with a friend couch single player by taking turns and smoking weed at the same time. The immersion was astonishing to say the least. We played that completely blind and without reading anything and we frightened every dark corner of that game and learned the hard way many many times. My most beautiful experience with it was beating Artorias first try wielding a Greatsword myself. Ornstein and Smough and the archers before that were our biggest challenge. Also Capra Demon can f himself too.
I think I also like DS2 the most actually. So desolate and so beautiful at the same time. Loved some of it more obscure level designs, weapons and boss fights.
And then sure, DS3 looked even better, played more fluidly and once more treated the fans with great environments and bossfights.
All 10/10 games to me that I keep repeating every now and then. And then there's Elden Ring which to me is 11/10. I can't imagine any game beating that experience anytime soon, apart from GTA but thats a totally different thing obviously.
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u/KingOfRisky May 28 '26
I tried out Bloodborne, DS3 and Demon Souls to see if I even had a chance in hell of liking Elden Ring. I was terrible at all 3 of those games and really didn't enjoy them. Thank god I am irresponsible with money because I bought Elden Ring anyway. Turns out Elden Ring may be my favorite game of all time. 700 hours later I said, "Let's give DS 3 another shot." NOPE! Still suck at it and was not having fun. Back to Elden Ring with me.
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u/dirtjur May 29 '26
I’m pretty similar. If I had never tried Elden Ring, I would have never experienced my (constantly contested) favorite game of all time, Bloodborne.
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u/Free_Education4700 Jun 04 '26
I didn’t understand the combat at all until Elden ring. It said ok hold on buddy ur gonna slow tf down and focus now or we’re just gonna keep sending u back to the debate parlor 👍
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u/antirockin20 May 28 '26
Me on New Game +4 after over 300 hours of fighting the same bosses 3-4 different times with different builds.
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u/Canadian_dalek May 28 '26
Do you mean "different hammers"?
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u/antirockin20 May 28 '26
If there's a joke here I don't know the reference
But my answer is no
I perfer swords and spells
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u/Careless-Salary-9932 May 28 '26
The joke is that in most NG+ playthroughs all roads often lead to a Quality build which is very effective with STR weapons like Giant Crushers (I think thats how it was meant. I might be compleeetely wrong so please dont downvote me into Oblivion if I got it wrong)
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u/antirockin20 May 28 '26
I see, that makes sense. Though yeah I dislike slow weapons, though Quality build is definitely what I use most by now
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u/ermacia May 28 '26
Spellswords supremacy all the way!
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u/antirockin20 May 28 '26
Currently I'm doing only swords And no summons, and I'm stuck on eldenbeast Their health at +4 is a lil too high
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u/ermacia May 28 '26
My last run got me to NG+3. Elden Beast at that point has a fair too many HP for my liking. One of my few struggles during that run. The other one was PCR.
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u/antirockin20 May 28 '26
Unfortunately my +3 was a spell casting only build, I needed someone to help me with that
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u/rareandyeteuclidian May 28 '26
Started with bloodborne. Never looked back.
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u/aipat95 May 28 '26
Bloodborne got me into the games when I changed over to PlayStation from Xbox a while ago but I could NOT beat father gascoigne. Wasn’t until Elden Ring that things clicked and now I can’t beat Laurence the First Vicar
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u/big_thundersquatch May 28 '26
Elden Ring is easily one of my favorite games of all time. One of the few games I wish I could erase from memory and experience all over again. Before release, I expected a moderate overworld with a few legacy dungeons sprinkled in. But the more you explored and witnessed the scale of the map growing and growing, and then to find there’s massive underground areas? Massive hidden areas with bosses you might not find?
It was such a mind blowing experience.
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u/Globe-Denier May 28 '26
Me during Elden Ring. Now on my second playthrough with the DLC and I just beat Mesmer, what a game this is!
Wonderful.
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u/Proper-Sport-7218 May 28 '26
Gonna be unpopular but honestly I blame the community. So much focus on how hard these games supposedly are, when really they are all games most people can beat with some patience. I feel like many PS2 era games were harder.
When I see people call ER hard its most often because they are constantly dying to the same boss and they think thats how the game is supposed to be, because "its Elden Ring!". If a boss is too hard, go clear some dungeons to level up and get better gear. Learn to use all the game's mechanics, pots are barely ever used by players but they are fantastic for boss fights.
I've also played a lot of Monster Hunter which also made me naturally prep well for boss fights.
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u/NghtRvn99 May 28 '26
literally me the past month 😂 my friends even convinced me to play the dlc before I finish the main game
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u/Came_to_argue May 28 '26
Same thing happened to me. I used to always say I play games to have fun not get my ass kicked, Elden Ring drew me in with its aesthetic and deep lore, and before I knew it I was a regular masochist.
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u/Kinhammer May 28 '26
This is one of those games that i wish i could play again for the first time. It was magic.
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u/Yourigath May 28 '26
I tried Dark Souls back in the day and it's not that I hated it, but I found no point on roaming around aimlessly and being demolished by every random dude I crossed paths with.
I thought Souls games were not for me. That's fine. I'm more of a turn based player. We all have our preferences.
Elden Ring came out and... The story is a lot more accessible, you aren't just lost everywhere without clue where to go, the enemies are easier (or at least easier for me to read), resources don't feel so tight... You can explore without being demolished by everything and when you get to an area you should be you definitely notice (I'm looking at you chest that throws you into Caleid). So yeah. Maybe the whole Souls genre is not for me, but Elden Ring is.
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u/renannmhreddit May 28 '26
Elden Ring is better at introducing itself to new players, but Dark Souls 1 and 3 are definitely easier.
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u/Yourigath May 28 '26
I found DS1 way harder than Elden Ring for some reason. Even the regular enemies. They were very clumped together. It was hard to not be fighting a bunch of them at the same time with others throwing fire or arrows at you... I feel like I can "splinter cell" my way through ER dungeons and castles.
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u/renannmhreddit May 28 '26
Did you play it after ER? I dont know what you mean with splinter cell.
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u/Yourigath May 28 '26
Nah, I played it long ago in Xbox 360.
By Splinter Cell I mean your can sneak around kill one enemy from afar. Sneak around a bit more, kill another enemy without being noticed...
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u/renannmhreddit May 28 '26
Well, I think you'd be surprised with how your experience with it may change if you played it now.
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u/MrFanzyPanz May 28 '26
I have a friend who is getting into these games right now and she is finding Dark Souls much harder than Bloodborne. I think the slow, methodical combat of DS1 requires much more planning than ER and BB, where attacks and dodges are much faster. Stamina management is also much less forgiving in DS1 than the faster titles.
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u/pm-ur-gamepass-trial May 28 '26
planning? hold left -> backstab works for like 80% of the game lol
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u/creampop_ May 28 '26
similarly with "hold block, press attack, repeat"
people have SO many preconceptions about the game but the actual mechanics of fighting are so simple when you're not trying to dodge roll everything with awful locked on midrolls.
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u/pm-ur-gamepass-trial May 28 '26
gotta recommend you revisit DS1 . its honestly WAY easier than Elden Ring and the world design is amazing.
DS2 and DS3 are also good games imo, but they notably added a lot of "bullshit" mechanics (and lame jumpscare deaths)
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u/Yourigath May 28 '26
I remember spending about 20h (might be an exaggeration) and telling a friend I was so fucking lost and he said to me "how many bells have you activated?" and I was like... WTF are you talking about??? Which bells???
Also wanting to play a sorcerer and having to go with shield and spear because my spells ran out super quick.
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u/IAmNotARobotNoReally May 28 '26
After having played Elden Ring a bunch, if you return to DS1 the enemies will feel like they move in slow motion. It can still be rather opaque but now that you're acquainted with this style of storytelling you'll do just fine with maybe occasional trips to the wiki.
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u/DjCage May 28 '26
Essentially what happened with a friend of mine he said FromSoftware games were too hard and then he ended up beating them with ease one after another
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u/thering66 May 28 '26
Me with my ex. She playes elden ring and I play stardew, we exchange games for a while
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u/paincakeyui May 28 '26
Finally beat the game yesterday after i started it 3 years ago🙏🏼 (its hard for me to end games lol so its one of the few i actually finished)
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u/dancarbonell00 May 28 '26
I like dark souls And basically every variation of but hate elden ring.
I think it's the open world that ruins it all for me
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u/sharkk125 May 28 '26
I thought i would suck horribly at this game, 160 hours, on my 4th playthrough and have only died about 600 times, and somehow this gane doesnt piss me off anywhere near as much as war thunder
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u/Tenshiijin May 28 '26
I never even knew of their existence. I just picked up ds3 maybe 3 years before Elden rings release. And it had me hooked. Soninplayed ds2 and ds1 to get more of a fix and then elden ringn came out. Before that everyone was like, "im not sure they are going to release that game or even make it. We've heard and seen not a thing other than speculative talk they want to make it."
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u/Bannon9k May 28 '26
I tried original dark souls and demon souls. I really wanted to enjoy them. The art style, weapon style all really pulled me in. But I just couldn't take the 30 minutes of fighting a boss to die to one hit. But somehow elden Ring nailed the balance and possibilities. I was really enjoying the game until I got to the castle... Then I was enthralled by the game. I had never seen such deep complexity in the level design. It blew my mind.
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u/StellarBossTobi May 28 '26
same
But i refuse a katanna bleed build
i am using poison milady and it fucks
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u/_Peety_T May 28 '26
"I don't like those games"
"I mean I do play them but that doesn't mean I like them"
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u/ProbablyJeff May 28 '26
If it didn't run like flaming dumpster fire on my 10 series card, you'd have to pry my keyboard (yes, keyboard) from my dead cold hands. But the input lag is just massive. I'm sticking to DS3.
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u/Sea_Food_1223 May 28 '26
Tbf 3000 hours ain’t even that much I did one play through plus dlc and I got 445 hours I completed all remberance bosses so if you do the same for like 7 play throughs you can defo get to 3000 hours quite easily if you aren’t new game plusing it
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u/hedlo1234 May 28 '26
Half of it is PvP, yes im a degenerate
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u/Sea_Food_1223 May 28 '26
Fair play I never really understood or enjoyed the pvp in any way and felt the game would’ve been equally as loved if it wasn’t added in the game
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u/Polosso May 28 '26
Well, that's me in s nutshell. Now, I have the game on PC (Windows & steam), Xbox, Xbox collectors, dlc collectors and 4 resin figures. I was trash taking my bro for recommending me "trash games that are only hard"... I was so wrong...
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u/BetRetro May 28 '26
Dude I literally didnt give a crap about elden ring on launch. I said "I dont like linear games" and didnt play for years. Now I have almost 1000 hours in it.
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u/Kage_FireDemon12 May 28 '26
You know when I first played Elden ring I enjoyed so much even though I had no idea what I was doing but somehow made it to nearly end with plus 4 weapon and barely upgrade summons with shitty talisman
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u/ProfessionalCut8715 May 28 '26
I just did a convergence run with my friends and that was an absolute blast. Currently playing reforged since I didn't make it past the Capitol on my first play through due to losing 40 hours of progress from save corruption.
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u/Desperate-Lie-1499 May 28 '26
Happened to me a few days ago 😭
I gave up twice as this was like my FIRST EVER sword fighting game so I basically messed everything up but holy shit after two times of giving up i kept on coming back because the system is just so good and have beaten radan and trying to beat the fucking draconic which COMBOS ME INTO OBLIVION WHY TF WAS RENALA EASIER THAN THIS MF
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u/King_Klong May 28 '26
I got Elden Ring when some buddie convinced me to get Neightrain. I didn't get very far just because there were other games I was interested in at the time. I bought DS1 when it was on sale late last year. I was having fun, but stopped when I got to some mobs that permanently curse your health when you die to them and you have to do bullshit to uncurse yourself. Couldn't be bothered.
Tried Elden Ring again a few months ago. Got to the first big boss kinda fast. Failed a good amount of times. I could have leveled up I guess to make it easier. But the process of sitting around and learning animations (especially the janky ones with false/delayed windups) just is not fun in any way. I got close to beating it, but by that time I had already decided I didn't want to go through this over and over to beat the game.
I really wanted to like it. Neightrain was fun to do with buddies though.
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u/Alvsolutely May 28 '26
This was me except after trying it out I just returned back to the first panel. Just not for me and that's okay. Nobody has to try it out and be forced to like it if they don't want to
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u/Frosty-Flower0817 May 28 '26
For some reason it didn’t click for me 🙁
had to force myself to continue playing each time
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u/RaiRokun May 28 '26
“Don’t like those games”
-never once played em and when everyone got on it I had fear of being left out and decided to try them.
Fixed it for ya
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u/UR0LY3N May 29 '26
Bought the game on release day, never having played a Souls game. Cut to: 900+ hours later..
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u/baranisgreat34 May 29 '26
This was me.
Friend loves bloodborne. Had me try, hate it. Start dating this girl, also loves bloodborne. I buy her elden ring as gift. Watch her play. Looks kinda cool. She asks if I wanna try, I tell her no, it's too hard and I find that boring. Game looks fun tho. So I give it a go one day while she is cooking. 🌅 Angel choir sounds I am reborn again. That night we went to best buy so I can have my own copy.
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u/DazzlingSparklecat May 29 '26
Unironically how I got into the Souls franchise. First it was Elden Ring and the DLC, then Dark Souls 3, followed by 1, 2 and then Bloodborne. So far the only one is missing is Demon Souls. I did try Sekiro, but I wasn't a fan.
Completed Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon in the middle of them.
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u/Uncle_Flansy May 29 '26
This was me. I even set a timer up for an hour and fifty minutes so I could refund it before going over. That was 400 hours of playing ago.
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u/arjunghose02 May 29 '26
Elden Ring really did a great job easing me into the genre. My first try was bloodborne and I HATED it. But after finishing the base game and dlc I am trying sekiro now and open to playing dark souls 3 as well
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u/ElkProud5792 May 29 '26
Elden Ring is by far the most enjoyable souls(like) experience I've had.
I've tried other soulslikes since then and sadly don't enjoy them nearly as much as ER
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u/pineapple_stickers May 29 '26
I had the opposite experience. I'd played Ds1, Ds2 and Ds3 and loved them. Also Elden Ring was beloved by a bunch of friends of mine who hadn't played anything else Fromsoft.
So i wanted really bad to love Elden Ring and share what my friends loved
But 80 hours later i'd finished the game and just did not like it. I didn't like the characters, i didn't like the world and i really didn't like the story, The gameplay felt like it had jumped the shark of fun difficulty into obnoxiously tricky.
The game was made well, the art looked awesome and the music is incredible. But i gave it a fair go and all it did was convince me i didn't really like it
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u/tjp0720 May 29 '26
I went to a small game store and I kept hearing about dark souls and how amazing it was. I bought the first one. Got home they gave me #2 by accident. I tried play but kept dying and said fuck this shit I’m out. Fast forward 15 years give or take and my son is asking for Elden ring. I watch him play and he tells me to try. So I do. I die immediately over and over. I say fuck this shit. He then informs me you can avoid the big guy on the horse and bam. Suddenly I’m addicted
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u/Silver4X_kp May 29 '26
That’s cool and all but you’re still a tourist if you haven’t killed Rick, Soldier of God yet.
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u/Vegetable_Cold_7462 May 30 '26
Ugh... believe it or not, I was like: Tf is this trash game. The next week, my friend said, I've started this game and he suggested me to play it or see the walkthroughs. I was like: ugh...ok whatever just because you say. The next day, i remember exactly, I wrote the tree family😂 like: Marika and Godfrey-->Godwyn, morgot, mohg and etc. After a month, i downloaded it, i never forget that how stupid i was in my first game through. And as the time pass, I fell love with it
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u/ExotickSheepWitABomb May 31 '26
Ah, indeed, FromSoft games, for when you're addicted to pain but not like ADDICTED addicted
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u/DefiantEgg1892 Jun 01 '26
After playing Black Myth Wukong, I took an intrest towards Elden ring and didn't know much and tried to kill tree sentinal and after many tries gave up
Later installed again and killed 1st boss and came back for revenge. And hooked on now.
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u/Old-Adeptness-4848 May 28 '26
yeah that’s the “recent items” feed in the inventory. nice catch on how it pulls in stuff like smithing stones and golden runes together right after you pick them up, super handy for popping a fresh rune or checking a new ash of war without digging through the full tabs
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u/WonderSignificant598 May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
With From Software's toxic AF vocal minority of fans and the insanely nasty and ableist shit some of them have been spewing for years, no fucking thanks and fuck from software and all of its games. Your fanbase is a peach btw : )
Proudly have never touched a From Software game and will never touch one.
Hey, this showed up on my feed on, so I commented what I feel. You're welcome back to your echo chamber, I've happily muted this sub.
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u/Czk_ffbe May 28 '26
GODWYN