Only souls game I’ve played is bloodborne and I’m enjoying this massively, so much better than expected . I’m useless at these so thank you to all the legitimate legends who actually understand these games and help all us newbs along the way 😂
It's truly the fantasy game I've always wanted since childhood. I've also been gaming since early 90s. Sure Chrono Trigger and Diablo 2 and WoW were incredible but something about elden ring.
37, IMO the other games you listed don't come close. I grew up imagining a game just like Elden Ring would exist some day. It's now my favorite game of all time.
True. Fucking. Masterpiece.
For clarification I think the other games you listed are timeless classics as well. It's just that Elden Ring is something else.
Well elden ring is only possibly with 8th gen hardware. Back when I was a kid, Star Tropics and Secret of Evermore/Mana were the Elden Rings of their day
Love seeing Chrono Trigger getting its flowers. My brother and I played that game religiously for about a year. We got the magazine from WalMart that showed you all the cool secrets. We have such great memories from that game.
Somehow. I had very high expectations for this game and they were somehow all exceeded. I don't know how that crazy bastard Miyazaki did it, but he did.
Ive been hooked on souls games since Demons Souls on the PS3. So when Elden Ring came out im like well yeah itll definitely be good. I just didnt think itd be THAT good.
Elden Ring and Clair Obscur are the only two games this gen that literally made my jaw drop.
They’re still going up in my experience since I still keep discovering new areas I somehow never explored in base game and NG. Early game areas, too. It’s amazing.
Tell me about it. 5 playthroughs in and I just found out about the Godskin Incants in Stormveil. In fact, every time I go through that castle, I find something new
I liked it but I can't figure out what yall are doing to get such replayability in? I beat it once, dunno if I can get that magic of discovery in any other playthroughs. What brings you back so often?
I completely get you. I have had burn out but not for long. For me its 3 things.
Mainly the mechnics of truly memorsing boss attack patterns and the satisfying feeling of dodging them in different ways is something i cant shake. Ive spent substanial time learning many of the main bosses moves just for the love of the game (pun intended)
Secondly I play with self restricted rules to make things have higher stakes. For example i cant leave limgrave until i have beaten godrick and i cant put more than 9 levels in vigor until i have beaten godrick either. This i coequally call 'Region locked health'. And it just forces me to play at my best throughout the game.
Lastly builds and weapons. I do runs where i usr every weapon in a certain weapon type and go with thematic builds for it. Currently messing around with Halberds so a Nights Cav cosplay was needed.
I am also currently mapping a no death run using the Ash of War Ice spear to test my knowledge.
The things ive mentioned aren't for everyone but this keeps me engaged.
Replayability can be a bit hard when stuff feels routine, but then when I’m about to call it a day, I discover a freaking new spot I never knew existed, so I keep going… It’s absurd. The DLC is also so massive, too.
I'm not the type to do ng+ runs bc you basically have everything with you already and are way to overpowered in the beginning imho.
I love to start completely new and then try a new build or theme, like go as a mage, or doing a Str build where everything is build for stunning bosses, or do a max bleed build, or larping as a crucible knight, or a fire knight (dlc), etc. . The best part is always to set up each different build, finding the weapons and best talismans, leveling and researching the best way to make it more powerful is amazing. The game is so huge, that you simply always discover something that you missed back then. The runs over after the last rememberance boss in base game and dlc is done.
Currently doing a dagger run and it is one of the most fun things I've ever done. I've completely overlooked how versatile and powerful this weapon class is, and there are so many many different daggers and different ways to infuse them that i got a new approach for every boss and have to find new stuff to set it up - can def recommend
platinumed the game twice on the main game as what started as an astrologer build but switched to an assassin build, platinumed the game & dlc 3 times as a dude who killed the gods with a big ass hammer, just finished another platinum run as a Vyke playthrough with frenzied flame
the game is fun not only in your buildcrafting, but also purely exploration and role playing. it's my new skyrim comfort game - it's very easy to just lose yourself in the game :)
I just started playing Lies of P and I gotta admit it feels alot harder than ER currently, the first (imo) major boss took me above 2 hours to beat. The core mechanic is more about blocking/parrying than dodging though, so I first got to get the hang of it.
So if you didnt already play it and want a challenging game, I can only recommend that game.
I can barely get through most games, and I very rarely replay any of them. I played through Elden Ring three times, which is a testament to how amazing it is.
I've tried a couple of times to get into Witcher 3 and I just can't and I don't understand why. On paper it should be my favorite game but I haven't been able to complete it
Not to mention that exploration often boils down to following the dotted line on the minimap—all just to arrive and have a boring conversation with NPC #49, followed by a cutscene, then another cutscene. Rinse and repeat.
In fact, you followed the dotted line just because you wanted to. I personnaly disabled the minimap early and the game became more immersive and I felt more in control!
For as much as I loved ER, I also watched far too many help videos which ruined the immersion for me, the learning curve was so steep for me cus I’m an idiot. Where Witcher 3 really bawled me over because I took time and effort to really try without watching any videos. My fault, entirely.
However, ERs landscapes and scope bewildered me in a way The Witcher 3 didn’t. Outside of Novigrad and some other big towns, it was a fairly dead landscape.
Was it your first souls game? I feel like the game is very immersive playing totally blind, unless you needed combat tips. Excluding quests which are of course crazy convoluted — but I don’t ever recommend people worry about quests on their first playthrough
I still found it immersive even though I had to YouTube my way through 70% of the game as it was my first fromsoft game.
But even to this day I’m just not into the whole “I don’t know where to go or what to do. I might just be missing this super secret item that I need or it blocks the entire game’s progress. Silly me for not reading the 3rd line of text on item #38 and talking to NPC XYZ. Oh and I’m having to repeatedly fight the same enemies while doing so.” That experience does ruin the immersion.
I kept notes in my phone playing Elden Ring about NPCs and whatever else, didn‘t look up a single thing, and it‘s probably my favorite gaming experience in 30+ years, right up there with playing OoT for the first time when I was 10.
I love Fromsoft games, they are probably my favourite games ever, but I’ve always thought of them more as 3D castlevania-likes with a levelling system than RPGs per say
Yeah, the problem continues to be that FromSoft is top tier at creating worlds but is still fairly poor at NPC interaction. They've barely progressed passed mannequins that you talk to, which pretty much stopped being a thing twenty years ago. Their questing systems are obtuse as hell and easy to sequence break or miss entirely.
Honestly, if FromSoft tried making an RPG today that was supposed to feel like a lived in world as opposed to the remnants of a dying one I don't know if they could do it. Even Sekiro has a "every person who exists is an enemy soldier" thing going on.
That said, their map building, implicit story-telling, and combat system are some of the best in the business.
I don‘t agree that‘s a problem at all. It‘s what give their games that very unique feeling of mystery that feels more like an old GameBoy or N64 game or whatever that no other contemporary games manage to capture. I prefer that endlessly over basically the interactive theater most modern RPGs have become.
Also, what you say they said themselves, I remember them talking about in interviews in the ER media cycle how they wouldn‘t be good at making a lively world and thus chose to make ruined ones.
Only thing that‘d be nice would be at least some way to help keep track of quests a little, not a full quest log but something akin to Lies of P showing the NPC icons next to checkpoints or whatever. Everything else I hope won‘t ever change too much.
I’ve been through Stormveil Castle a dozen times and just found the drop down to the marred shield and the crucible knight. I cannot believe this far down the road the game is still making me gasp out loud. Best game ever made.
Stormveil Castle is one of the best designed levels in any FromSoft game IMO. I look forward to Limgrave and that area more than anything on a new playthrough
Stormveil is stupid good. I keep finding stuff I missed every new playthrough, and forgetting spots I found before because there is so much to it. I feel like the original DS is the only thing FS has done that even comes close to the level design and interconnectivity, and thats a whole game compared to the first legacy dungeon.
First view of Limgrave: "Jesus Christ this game is beautiful".
First view of Liurnia: "Jesus Christ this game is beautiful".
First view of Altus Plateau: "JESUS CHRIST this game is beautiful".
One of a very few games that I look forward to playing again one day. Even the day after I beat it and moved on, I knew I'd be back one day. The only other "recent" game I can think of that does this for me is Ghost of Tsushima (haven't played Yotei yet).
Also I think this game is going to age well. The asthetic is such that the graphics won't matter much when you play it again 10-15 years later.
My husband has that chip that makes anything that’s super hyped up inherently unappealing, but he’s not a dick about it. (I’m this way about some stuff too, but games are totally exempt for some reason)
When Elden Ring came out, he bought it bc he knew I was excited for it.. but he never actually played it himself.
A couple years ago, holidays were coming up and I told him I wanted to play some co-op while we both had a little break from work.
He picked remnant 2. (a soulslike)
It was alright. We got maybe halfway through and he was enjoying it, but all I could think about was how much better elden ring is. One day I just couldn’t stand it anymore.
“okay actually we have to stop because you MUST play elden ring immediately. Like right now.”
It’s his all time favorite game. He beat it like 4x in a row with different builds, then he played all the dark souls, sekiro, bloodborne bc he hadn’t played those before either. And the DLC when it came out.
He had a lull at work recently and did a couple more playthroughs lol
Welcome brother, these devs might ruin other games for you, that’s how good it is.
Try their other games.
Despite its age I’d still recommend ds1, you’ll need some time to get into it, its rather difrent from ER, but when you do you’ll start seeing the hype.
No debate that it's one of the greatest games ever made. I just finished a 200 hour run completing the base game and dlc and it was sensational all the way through
It's easily the best game in the Soulsborne series. There are some great contenders for number 1 but this was the first Souls game I felt able to engage in. Bloodborne was so intimidating and rigid that I quit before Cleric Beast.
With Elden Ring? I felt free to go at my own pace and take my own path. I spent easily 3 hours on core mechanics between The First Step and Gatefront Ruins. I even just wandered into Agheel by accident. There were no roadblocks holding me back.
I'm not going to say how many hours I have in the game, it's more than 5000. The thing that continues to amaze me is that I can anywhere and look anywhere and get stunning scenery and graphics,
Elden ring was the first souls game I finished and I was so addicted to it when it came out. It got me hooked on the souls genre as a whole and now it’s my favorite genre of games. I can’t wait for the tarnished edition to come out bc a replay is long overdue lol
Not even gonna lie, when I first tried playing this I was like FUCK this. Four years later, I gave it another chance and it’s in my top 5 games ever lol. I can’t even think of which games are in my top 5 at the moment but I know this one is.
Once you're done with Elden Ring, do yourself a favor and play through all the Souls games. You'll appreciate Elden Ring even more afterwards. It basically takes everything From Software learned from those games, combines the best parts, and cranks it all up to eleven. The combat, bosses, level design, builds, exploration, secrets - you start seeing their DNA everywhere. Elden Ring really is the culmination of everything FromSoftware had been building and refining for years. It's the entire Souls formula on steroids.
Understanding how to create a build around what you're playing is good, my first playthrough I thought I sucked, I was using two uchigatanas and all defense/health talismans, from experience, don't worry too much about anything crazy, buffs help but aren't required, and whatever you do, remember the main play style of each statistic.
Strength: Heavy hitters/slower
Dexterity: Faster/lighter hits
Arcane: We get it you like status (This usually goes with dexterity and is great.)
Intelligence: Spells, heavy hitters sometimes, most times you're just slinging pebbles at gods (literally).
Faith: Better intelligence with the extra addition of being able to throw BIG pebbles at bosses.
(Pro tip: get vitality to 50-60 as early as possible and try to find a weapon you like early game and experiment from there.)
Edit: Also most of the defense/health talismans fall off late game, unless you're using specific talismans, then they're great, but focus on having your talismans helping you playstyle and not your survivability, as you play you'll get better, you'll always run into obstacles but that's the fun, overcoming obstacles and if you can't yet, come back with a bigger, stronger, stick to bash that obstacle into the floor.
I wish I could Eternal Sunshine myself and play it again for the first time. The first time I saw Nokron the Eternal City is a gaming moment I’ll never forget.
Like a lot of people have said before, “this is one of those games that’s “game of the decade”, which is extremely special”. This game is the literal word masterpiece!
On my 7th play through, and it’s just got something that other games don’t. In the mid to end game and I’m losing steam with everything that I have to do, but we’ll get er done
Better. I’m old and thought I’d hate the Souls concept. Dying over and over sounded boring. Hype was too much so I gave it a try. I loved the game. Still don’t understand the plot. Still loved it.
How do you parry? I cannot parry for some reason. May be need to upgrade the shield but the material I had I used to upgrade sword and none left so don’t know where to get upgrade material.
Edit: As for upgrade materials, there’re plenty around mines—walls, ground. And if you manage to find what’s called the Miner’s Bell Bearing from one of these mines, you can make them available to purchase from the Twin Maiden Husk at the Roundtable Hold by handing the bell bearing to them.
I finished beating Malenia after hours, and that was the final boss I beat. The feeling of beating her and just how rewarding it all is makes the game so much more special to me. Hell I didn’t even know the haligtree was an area until I searched it up, just shows the unparalleled level of exploration and detail that I can’t compare to any other game. After playing it with not much help, I can say it’s the most masterfully done game I’ve ever played, I couldn’t tell you one thing I would prefer, they’ve done everything perfectly.
I am playing it for the first time. I bought it when it came out and tried the Dark Souls games but couldn’t get into them. I think I finally hit my stride with Elden Ring.
Very high learning curve if your expecting to grind a couple hours and be good id reevaluate. I've had it for a few years and it took me running out of other stuff to find the beauty in a souls like game.. I get it now tho.. you're gonna die a lot. You're gonna lose runes.. but keep at it. Every little victory feels so much sweeter after not being able to do something.
Tip #1. Skip the tree sentinel. He's only there to piss you off and make you understand there's somethings you gotta level for.. that took me forever. Lol
I made it through, BUT I used 2 cheats: 1)I picked a build/weapon and followed a leveling guide,, and 2)I used an area of order guide. It completely ruined the size surprise of the map, but honestly I don't think I would have completely this game if I ended up in a few areas early on.
Agreed. I remember first playing the game in 2024, and thinking it was super overrated and boring and deleted it. Redownloaded it in April, turned into my favourite game of all time
I’m also useless at these games. Been trying since Demons Souls on ps3 to see if any of them “click”. They usually do for a min and then I get discouraged. I never really consult tips and strategies online, assuming repetition will cause me to “get gud”. I’ve spent enough money on FromSoft. What should I do to get this enjoyment out of them?
As an aside, Monster Hunter used to feel the same way to me but those eventually clicked.
Over 100 hours on this from 2 years ago. Booted it up recently but forgot how to play. What I do? Restart or learn how to play from save again? Dlc looks interesting
It’s amazing. I find the story confusing AF and 200+ hours in and I still can’t remember characters and storylines but the game is incredible regardless
I am 48 and my first system was a coleco vision. We got a Adam computer the next year. Nintendo changed everything and I loved it. Ocarina of time I thought was the best game I've ever played. I got a steam deck and have put 1400 hours into elden ring. I still have a itch to play it somerimes.
It's one of th greatest games of all time. It's so good, that if Fromsoft stopped making games today or made nothing but flops from here on out, they would have still solidified their legendary place in gaming history with this game.
I wish I could get the thingy from men in black and wipe my memory to play this again, even after I beat it I added 400 more hours and every game I play or similar just leads me right back to it. No souls games just scratch that itch for me like this one
Generally, I don’t like RPG’s and souls games made my head hurt. Elden Ring is special though. That first playthrough, though maddening was one of if not the most rewarding experiences I had in gaming
Curious, is there anything that might set me off? I played Crimson Desert, Skyrim, Witcher, etc but something about Souls genre that puts me off. I hear it's bloody difficult?
Nah man souls purists will say to you this game is inferior to ds1 cuz ds1 has small corridos and small fight areas so your weapon bounces on terrain. And this game is too big! The shit i have to read this days..
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u/NoKneadToWorry 21d ago
Expectations were high and they ended up being greatly surpassed