A 10 from IGN.

So, the bottom line is that this is a Dark Souls game with a map that is way harder than any of the Souls games.

I guess I'll move on. Will try if it ever comes down to a major discount.

Skill Up does great reviews.

This sounds amazing. Supposedly over 100 hours of stuff to do/explore. I'm sure it's going to be difficult, but with the amount of freedom the game appears to give you, folks that couldn't do previous Souls games might be able to tackle this one.

Don't turn away just yet, I'd look into it more as the game comes out and we learn about its systems. It appears we have a lot more freedom in how we build our character and overcome challenges. I heard Magic and Stealth are greatly improved in this game, so if you aren't a great "fighter" you still have options available to you.

Also, given the open world nature, it's possible to take your time and explore and "power up".

My only concern for the game is a return to more Dark Souls like combat, as opposed to games like Bloodborne or Sekiro. I love a much more fast paced combat that is not about holding a shield up, 50% of the time. Bloodborne greatly increased the gameplay speed, and Sekiro made it even more up close and fast. I also loved the stealth mechanic to Sekiro, and it doesn't seem to be the same from the gameplay footage I have seen so far.

I have it pre-ordered and will definitely be picking it up on Friday for a marathon weekend.

From what I have seen, I love how many mini dungeons there seems to be, as well as an actual reward for completing each one. That was always something I wished for in games like Breath of the Wild or the Elder Scrolls games. Don't get me wrong, I love randomly finding great items when going through a dungeon in the Elder Scrolls games, but you rarely actually got a useful reward for finishing a dungeon. I want to fee like I got a little power up for taking my time to work through a dungeon and defeat a boss.

Skill Up's review has some responses to your concerns.

Sounds like you're encouraged to be more aggressive in combat like Sekiro. There's tons of magic and special abilities, too.

He also said it was one of the easier Souls games since you have the ability to take your time and build up your stats through exploring. If a boss is giving you problems, you can move on and progress doing something else. You aren't locked in to beat a single boss to progress.

And he said all the side dungeons had useful rewards at the end, usually spells or abilities.

Actually, my most recent playthrough of Bloodborne was the first time I went through all the chalice dungeons. My character became so over leveled from doing those chalice dungeons, due to the extreme amount of blood echoes you get levels 4 and 5, that I wreck everyone in the normal game.

YouBet said:

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So, the bottom line is that this is a Dark Souls game with a map that is way harder than any of the Souls games.

I guess I'll move on. Will try if it ever comes down to a major discount.

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Not sure if this is a game you want to pass on. Its going to be hard but super fun at the same time. A souls like game built like BoTW is automatic grounds for taking my money. I think you would enjoy it if you give it a chance.

DallasTeleAg said:

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Actually, my most recent playthrough of Bloodborne was the first time I went through all the chalice dungeons. My character became so over leveled from doing those chalice dungeons, due to the extreme amount of blood echoes you get levels 4 and 5, that I wreck everyone in the normal game.

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I was having trouble with the Orphan of Kos back when I was playing through the DLC, so I went and grinded out chalice dungeons to get the trophy. Came back when I was done with that and just absolutely demolished it

rangerdanger said:

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BadMoonRisin said:

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Ive never played a Dark Souls game....should i play any prereqs? not a huge fan of pre-ordering a game and can wait, but I do want to try out my new PC with a current gen AAA game.

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I've played all of them and still have no idea what's going on from a "story" sense. The lore is wrapped in the environment and items, and the games are relatively self contained. You can definitely jump into any of them.

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If you want to dig into the lore of any of the soulsborne games, this guy's videos give nice in-depth explanations and theories based on what you find in the world.

https://www.youtube.com/c/VaatiVidya/videos

Legalize-It-Ags said:

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YouBet said:

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So, the bottom line is that this is a Dark Souls game with a map that is way harder than any of the Souls games.

I guess I'll move on. Will try if it ever comes down to a major discount.

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Not sure if this is a game you want to pass on. Its going to be hard but super fun at the same time. A souls like game built like BoTW is automatic grounds for taking my money. I think you would enjoy it if you give it a chance.

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I'm sure I will give this a shot since you can at least play around the unkillable bosses until you level up enough. I have zero desire to play his other games though that do not have that workaround.

IGN posted their review; rated it a 10.



Seems like there can be great replayability.

Also like this review. Damn... I'm getting excited....

These are the six hours I wish I had bought on PC so I could be playing right now… 5.5 until PS5 unlocks!

I'm stuck waiting until after work, tomorrow. I also have to go pick it up at Gamestop.

It's unlocked if you got the disk version.

Amazon delivered this afternoon, got about two hours in. The world is huge and beautiful, I've definitely gotten my ass kicked a few times, and the horse is super fun. Haven't even scratched the surface yet.

I bought it on Xbox, told my console I was in New Zealand, and started playing this morning.

Bryan98 said:

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I bought it on Xbox, told my console I was in New Zealand, and started playing this morning.

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An Aggie doesn't lie cheat or steal!!!

So... will we be updating everyone on our playthrough on this thread, or in a new thread?

Those of you playing this, is the gameplay more like Bloodborne or Demon Souls? I played and won Bloodborne but Demon Souls has frustrated me and I'm quitting it 1/4 of the way through. I want to play this though I think. Which one is the gameplay and difficulty similar to?

Demon Souls isn't any harder than Bloodborne. Demon Souls has an older mechanic of having to traverse too far when you die to a boss, which can be very frustrating. Elden Ring is said to be much better in that regard.

Watch the videos linked in this thread.

Everyone is saying this game is more accessible than previous From games, and so far I agree.

Spent some more time this morning. Mostly just wandering around right now. I got to the first boss last night, but definitely not ready, so exploring the surrounding areas and getting back into that souls-like mindset.

I'm doing a first for me with these games and taking notes as I encounter people/places to track quests and to know which places I haven't completed. It was suggested by one of the articles and seems to be a good choice with how this game is laid out.

The combat itself is of a similar difficulty to all of the games, IMO. The difference here is it's much easier to run away if you get into a bad situation...that combined with a game mechanic that revives you right next to difficult areas and boss fights makes it way less punishing.

That's cool. I think the biggest frustration I seem to have with Demon Souls is that it is so far between a boss fight and your spawn point when you die that it's a beating to have to go through all of what is still hard just to get back to where your first were. They totally could fix that by letting you just spawn back at the boss entrance. Is this better in that aspect?

For sure. Elden ring usually you start right near where the boss was. You do not have to traverse large stretches just to take another attempt on a boss. I find it is very forgiving with checkpoints.

Another thing that makes Demons Souls tough is what I'd call the "Behind the scenes" mechanics that the game does not tell you about. The World Tendency system in Demons Souls can easily be manipulated if you know about it and how it works. If you don't know about it though you could unintentionally be making the enemies harder each time you die. I'd be happy to help you with Demons Souls if you'd like. Great game but you have to know how to approach it. PM me with any questions you have.

Thanks for the info. Also, thanks for offering to help but I've had it with Demon Souls so it's getting sold lol.

Loving the game so far! Jolly cooperation is good for the soul.

Ahhhh man that's a shame! Such a great game. Not that bad as long as you know how to manipulate the world tendency.

How is coop in this ?

Madmarttigan said:

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How is coop in this ?

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It's not really meant as a fully coop game. Coop is more for help on certain bosses. When you are in Coop mode, you cannot ride your mount. If it's anything like the other Souls games, you probably have to spend some sort of resource to summon help to your world.

Got to the first boss, can get him a little over half dead. Time to run around looking for better gear and more rubes.

Every boss or mini boss I've fought so far except for one has had a spawn point basically right on top of him. And and one was just a short run where you could avoid any enemies. Very thankful for that as I get my butt handed to me repeatedly.

Got invaded for the first time by some dude in really fancy looking armor and I gigantic mace. I ran like the giant dark souls wuss that I am.

World is really neat so far, found some underwater river area that was pretty surreal.

What's the consensus. Looks like it's getting good reviews. I loved BOTW....thinking about getting it

BadMoonRisin said:

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What's the consensus. Looks like it's getting good reviews. I loved BOTW....thinking about getting it

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It's the Dark Souls of BotW-inspired action RPGs.

https://hard-drive.net/welp-looks-like-elden-ring-has-bought-off-every-single-reviewer/

Quote:

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Well we regret to inform you that this is not the case with Elden Ring. It seems that FromSoftware has succeeded in buying off literally every single reviewer and forcing them, against their will, to give glowing reviews of Elden Ring. This is a disgrace for the industry.

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