ELDEN RING

[Adam?]

For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past 6 months to 2 years, Elden Ring is a highly anticipated action roleplaying game from From Software, the makers of Dark Souls, Dark Souls II, Dark Souls III, Demon Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and some other games that no one cares about anymore (King's Field, Armored Core). If you're familiar with any of these games, just know it has the aesthetic of Dark Souls but with horses and roughly 100x more area to cover.

 

To give you an idea of the anticipation I have for this game, I've never pre-ordered a video game before and I have already called off from work in order to play / stream this future Game of the Decade as soon as it is released (Drop me a pm if you want to join the stream and don't forget to like and subscribe and #ringthebell.) . If you haven't seen it or need reminding, here is the beautiful gameplay release trailer that released as a mild surprise back in summer 2021. Is anyone else going to be playing this hype monster? I will put my professional credibility on the line to ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE that you will not be disappointed. Unless you're planning to play on PC and don't meet the minimum system requirements...

 

WHO ELSE IS HYPED OUT OF THEIR GODDAMN MINDS

 

 

[bros before hoes]

im not allowed to play games rated t for teens

[Adam?]

1 hour ago, bros before hoes said:

im not allowed to play games rated t for teens

its rate g for gamers so youre gucci baybeeee

[bros before hoes]

52 minutes ago, Adam? said:

its rate g for gamers so youre gucci baybeeee

I played Dark Souls and got bored after I got through Blighttown. Are any of the subsequent games better than Dark Souls? 

[Adam?]

21 minutes ago, bros before hoes said:

I played Dark Souls and got bored after I got through Blighttown. Are any of the subsequent games better than Dark Souls? 

Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne are overall better games imo. Sekiro is divisive because if you can't get the parry timing down you literally can't play.

Elden Ring is looking to be the best parts of all the games before while being more approachable and massive in scope. They've let a ton of people play the game before release so I don't think there's much risk of a huge letdown.

[Yuanrang]

24 minutes ago, bros before hoes said:

I played Dark Souls and got bored after I got through Blighttown. Are any of the subsequent games better than Dark Souls? 

I think it genuinely depends on what made you bored. Dark Souls 2, while a pretty good game, is a slog to get through. Dark Souls 3, however, is a great game and quite a bit better than Dark Souls (although I think the level design of Dark Souls is superior, with how everything is connected).

Then you have Bloodborne and Sekiro, which are both somewhat different games. Bloodborne is a fantastic game, but it is more intense than Dark Souls, certainly. I have sadly not had time to play Sekiro yet, but from the looks of it, it is a fantastic game but it would depend heavily on whether or not you prefer that style of gameplay (more tactical reactions).

 

As for Elden Ring, I am not overly hyped about it, simply because I cannot play it right away. Once I buy, and play, Sekiro, I imagine Elden Ring will eventually be a game I fall in love with, but it will not be in Q1 2022. The game looks fantastic, and I genuinely hope it lives up to the hype, but I am curious to see the amount of polish it will have, and how the game is received. FROM Software games tend to be especially well designed and polished, so I assume it will be well received by gamers and reviewers alike, but.. time will tell.  

[Adam?]

1 hour ago, Yuanrang said:

As for Elden Ring, I am not overly hyped about it, simply because I cannot play it right away. Once I buy, and play, Sekiro, I imagine Elden Ring will eventually be a game I fall in love with, but it will not be in Q1 2022. The game looks fantastic, and I genuinely hope it lives up to the hype, but I am curious to see the amount of polish it will have, and how the game is received. FROM Software games tend to be especially well designed and polished, so I assume it will be well received by gamers and reviewers alike, but.. time will tell.  

Sekiro and Elden Ring look like they'll end up being polar opposite Souls games. Sekiro has essentially no customization, is incredibly linear, and there's no way around the type of combat you need to master in order to progress. It's a fantastic game but it is hard in a way that not even other From games can compare. Elden Ring, on the other hand, is all about diversity of approach and is sprawling to the point where you can skip major bosses.

That all said you should get the game at a midnight release or watch me stream on Twitch. Choice is yours!

[Yuanrang]

16 hours ago, Adam? said:

Sekiro and Elden Ring look like they'll end up being polar opposite Souls games. Sekiro has essentially no customization, is incredibly linear, and there's no way around the type of combat you need to master in order to progress. It's a fantastic game but it is hard in a way that not even other From games can compare. Elden Ring, on the other hand, is all about diversity of approach and is sprawling to the point where you can skip major bosses.

That all said you should get the game at a midnight release or watch me stream on Twitch. Choice is yours!

No way in hell I would ever spoil myself of a FROM Software game. I love the Soulsborne games, so I have not seen a thing out of Sekiro yet, and while I am dying to play it, I have other stuff ahead of it on the list.  

[Adam?]

3 hours ago, Yuanrang said:

No way in hell I would ever spoil myself of a FROM Software game. I love the Soulsborne games, so I have not seen a thing out of Sekiro yet, and while I am dying to play it, I have other stuff ahead of it on the list.  

Yeah that's fair. I've been on a media blackout for Elden Ring to avoid spoilers. They're my favorite "genre" by far and I just need this to live up to the insane levels I've built up in my head, you know?

[bros before hoes]

22 hours ago, Yuanrang said:

I think it genuinely depends on what made you bored.

The game just felt super repetitive to me. I grew tired of farming souls. The story wasn’t good enough to distract me from how I was doing the same things over and over again. Maybe it’s the way I played the game that made me become disinterested in it. It also didn’t help that it’s not a real multiplayer game and I really only play video games these days if I’m playing with a friend. 
 

I also realize how ironic the above is being that this is a RuneScape forum that’s almost two decades old. 

[Adam?]

24 minutes ago, bros before hoes said:

The game just felt super repetitive to me. I grew tired of farming souls. The story wasn’t good enough to distract me from how I was doing the same things over and over again. Maybe it’s the way I played the game that made me become disinterested in it. It also didn’t help that it’s not a real multiplayer game and I really only play video games these days if I’m playing with a friend. 
 

I also realize how ironic the above is being that this is a RuneScape forum that’s almost two decades old. 

Interesting. I've never had to farm in a Souls game since you pick up souls through the normal course of playing. For the story, I'd highly recommend watching one of the lore videos since there's the story is intentionally dense and understated. Probably to a fault, but it lends itself very well to YouTube channels.

I will say Elden Ring is trying to address some of those concerns / gameplay issues. The map is massive and apparently dense, so it encourages exploration. They've adjusted the mechanics to limit the frustrating aspects of gameplay (long runs back to bosses, getting stuck on a particular area without any means of progression). There's a ton of options when it comes to combat. The story is meant to be much more straight-forward this time around.

But I'll report back next weekend after I've put in 20 hours or whatever I end up doing the first weekend lol

[Fatalysm]

I think we're going to have another gem on our hands with Elden Ring. That said, I rarely play these games because I am more interested in the story than the mechanics and whilst it's rewarding to "get good." playing this genre, I find it way too taxing.

I'm happy being the guy that plays single player stories, occasionally dipping into multiplayer and growing into the difficulty, raising it if I think it's too easy.

Probably a stress thing more than anything, as soon as I get stressed out playing a game, the enjoyment starts rapidly decreasing. I laughed with a friend the other day about my God Of War save. I have two trophies left, kill the Valkyrie queen and finish the challenges on one of the realms.

I've been one hit away several times on both challenges and got to this point where I'm like... Wow, I could be enjoying myself, but I am mentally tortured, committing NPC attacks to memory and not enjoying it because it's no longer about enjoying the game. It's dance dance revolution with a controller.

I'll settle for being mediocre at video games.

But anyway, it does look fantastic; I look forward to watching others get angry on stream and learning the lore.

[Yuanrang]

17 hours ago, bros before hoes said:

The game just felt super repetitive to me. I grew tired of farming souls. The story wasn’t good enough to distract me from how I was doing the same things over and over again. Maybe it’s the way I played the game that made me become disinterested in it. It also didn’t help that it’s not a real multiplayer game and I really only play video games these days if I’m playing with a friend. 

Really? I have to agree with Adam? here in the sense that Dark Souls really is not about farming. The leveling you do is mostly tied to progressing from bonfire to bonfire, and in the aftermath of beating bosses. Unless you try to tackle an area that is vastly too strong for your current level (like the graveyard after the asylum in Dark Souls),  there is genuinely little need to farm souls. In fact, the majority of the power comes from upgrading weapons, and the stats just enable you to wield them (and to be able to cast various magics and miracles).

While both people cannot play through the story together, you can actually play through the game together with a friend from start to end. You will be prone to PVP invasions and tomfoolery, but.. it is actually possible, although somewhat impractical.  

 

16 hours ago, Adam? said:

But I'll report back next weekend after I've put in 20 hours or whatever I end up doing the first weekend lol

Ooooh, I would love a spoiler-free version of it! Like... "Enviroments - 9/10" in level of complexity, just to see what you think of it. 20 hours is a decent chunk of the game to get acquainted with, so that tells me if Elden Ring should be put before or after Sekiro on "Must play".  

 

15 hours ago, Fatalysm said:

Probably a stress thing more than anything, as soon as I get stressed out playing a game, the enjoyment starts rapidly decreasing. I laughed with a friend the other day about my God Of War save. I have two trophies left, kill the Valkyrie queen and finish the challenges on one of the realms.

I've been one hit away several times on both challenges and got to this point where I'm like... Wow, I could be enjoying myself, but I am mentally tortured, committing NPC attacks to memory and not enjoying it because it's no longer about enjoying the game. It's dance dance revolution with a controller.

I'll settle for being mediocre at video games.

Could you not lower the difficulty?  

I would also say that if nothing, Dark Souls is the type of game that everyone will be able to do. It is just going to be frustrating, and often I find that people give up, instead of perservering until they become good enough for the game to become incredibly fun. It can have a steep learning curve for many, that I admit.  

[bros before hoes]

2 hours ago, Yuanrang said:

Really? I have to agree with Adam? here in the sense that Dark Souls really is not about farming. The leveling you do is mostly tied to progressing from bonfire to bonfire, and in the aftermath of beating bosses. Unless you try to tackle an area that is vastly too strong for your current level (like the graveyard after the asylum in Dark Souls),  there is genuinely little need to farm souls. In fact, the majority of the power comes from upgrading weapons, and the stats just enable you to wield them (and to be able to cast various magics and miracles).

While both people cannot play through the story together, you can actually play through the game together with a friend from start to end. You will be prone to PVP invasions and tomfoolery, but.. it is actually possible, although somewhat impractical.

Yeah, maybe I played the game wrong and that’s why it soured on me. I was farming those word looking guys at the bottom of blighttown for hours to harvest souls. 
 

I did play some multiplayer with friends, but it obviously isn’t a game where we could practically play together the whole time. I almost always played with the PvP on because it made the game more intense to me. I thought it was funny when someone would invade my world right when I was getting ready to fight a boss and they would kill me and I had to start over. 

[Yuanrang]

On 2/17/2022 at 6:09 PM, bros before hoes said:

Yeah, maybe I played the game wrong and that’s why it soured on me. I was farming those word looking guys at the bottom of blighttown for hours to harvest souls. 
 

I did play some multiplayer with friends, but it obviously isn’t a game where we could practically play together the whole time. I almost always played with the PvP on because it made the game more intense to me. I thought it was funny when someone would invade my world right when I was getting ready to fight a boss and they would kill me and I had to start over. 

Yeah, if I were to farm souls in Blighttown of all places, I can see why the joy and motivation would sour instantly. From Software sure does like their murderous swamps.  

[Morte]

Sekiro is just a different game in general because in most other souls games, you can kinda fudge your way through combat for most of the game. Sekiro demands perfection for just about everything. It was such a great (if maddening) experience.

[Adam?]

So the PC version might have performance issues and I'm a little concerned about that. But we will see

[Adam?]

Hey gamers time for an update

 

The reviews are shockingly positive and I am LOSING MY MIND

[bros before hoes]

It actually looks sick. Might have to try it out. 

[Yuanrang]

1 hour ago, Adam? said:

Hey gamers time for an update

 

The reviews are shockingly positive and I am LOSING MY MIND

I read the Reddit thread on it, and the reviews are shockingly high for a game that a lot of people point out is harder than they expected. I saw the PC review that IGN did, and while that is more or less the first time I have seen game footage, the game sounds amazing. There was a section where the reviewer pointed out that there were a lot of linear dungeons and areas to the extent that, when pieced together, they could justifiably be called "Dark Souls 4", but then there is the Open World aspect on top of that.
 

The game really seems to be a game that will define this generation of gaming. I mean, I thought it would be good, but not to a Witcher 3/Skyrim/World of Warcraft/Half-Life standard, where boundaries are wildly pushed beyond what anyone expects.  

[Adam?]

16 hours ago, Yuanrang said:

I read the Reddit thread on it, and the reviews are shockingly high for a game that a lot of people point out is harder than they expected. I saw the PC review that IGN did, and while that is more or less the first time I have seen game footage, the game sounds amazing. There was a section where the reviewer pointed out that there were a lot of linear dungeons and areas to the extent that, when pieced together, they could justifiably be called "Dark Souls 4", but then there is the Open World aspect on top of that.
 

The game really seems to be a game that will define this generation of gaming. I mean, I thought it would be good, but not to a Witcher 3/Skyrim/World of Warcraft/Half-Life standard, where boundaries are wildly pushed beyond what anyone expects.  

I had hope that it would reach this level, but I didn't think it would actually happen. Elden Ring looked like the game From has been building to from Demon Souls to Sekiro, taking everything they learned, refining the core aspects of what people except from their games while expanding into a massive open world that leverages their form of storytelling. 

 

Anyway. 

 

Tonight's the night. I have off from work tomorrow and I'm starting my day early so there's no risk that I'm not able to launch this potential masterpiece as soon as its available. I'll post here with my spoiler-free impressions as I go.

[Morte]

Double post mods close pls.

 

But for real the much wider open spaces were something I was concerned about but in all the early vids I've seen, it seems like From really knocked it out of the park.

[Adam?]

11 minutes ago, Morte said:

Double post mods close pls.

 

But for real the much wider open spaces were something I was concerned about but in all the early vids I've seen, it seems like From really knocked it out of the park.

We doubt Miyazaki-san at our own peril

[Yuanrang]

I think what I heard that I liked the most was that it was like a Dark Souls game, in the sense that it is not littered with sidequests, but you come across NPCs that might, or might not, be relevant in quests or side-stories. What I dislike the most about open world games is that the world is littered with icons and side objectives, and you just burn out doing those while you forget to do the main story.

I think Elden Ring's approach will suit me much better, in the sense that you just take the game at its own pace.  

[Adam?]

Here's my first day impression.

The PC performance is completely fine and the game is incredible. I'm blown away by how much there is to do. The overworld is full of incredible shizzle and the small dungeons are quick diversions that give you variety. Torrent is the best mount I've used in a game. The variety in area design is staggering. I'm overwhelmed. My hype was out of control and at worst it's been met. Everyone should play this game.