**TL;DR:**
Hands down, the best open world RPG I've ever played; The only downside, I think, is that it will ruin sub par games for me forever. It'll just be impossible to go back. Review was 'too long' so I've shortened it and cut a lot out - full review here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S7Szq0wHYckHUW-59Mu7UuDJzsRpBdmqjGjUvhTgaHw/edit?usp=sharing

**Mounted Combat**
I *hate* mounted combat in 99% of games, I won't even stay in a truck in ArmA once bullets start to fly. But I *love* the horse in this game; it's so fluid, precise, and responsive that I almost feel sad when I have to fight a giant enemy on food/indoors, because it's just so much fun weaving between their legs and attacks. The Tree Sentinel in specific just reminded me of the 'Bridge Fight' in Twilight Princess, and I absolutely adored that fight; a completely optional sideboss most players will actively choose to avoid, yet the fight consists of an amazing degree of dashing underneath swings as they come down, leaping over low sweeping attacks, and whittling him down.

**The Open World:**
Worried about Ubisoft-itis? Don't be.

**You:**
In how many games, after a regular foray into Hell fighting for your life and killing dozens, do you have the option to return to your safe place, literally fall onto your knees, and ask someone to just hug you for a moment, before you have to step back out?

I've always pitched the original Dark Souls to people like this: You, like many others, are cursed; You arent the chosen one, you're one of many, cursed not to be allowed to die. You wade through horrors and combats, die, double over in agony, and instead of passing on, you're pulled right back to the bonfire and forced to get back up, and die in physical agony again, until you either succeed and sacrifice yourself simply to finally just die, or, go hollow/insane (quit playing) in which case some other cursed guy will just come along and do what you couldn't, because you aren't special, you're just ♥♥♥♥♥♥, and other people have forced the burden of saving the world onto you.

This game, echoes that, though to a less severe extent. You aren't cursed, you don't seem to be being forced or coerced into trying to save the world, but the world is dying. The journeying through the darker and more depressing areas do leave you as the player feeling somewhat mentally drained afterwards, and that in and of itself, combined with simple actions like asking *for a hug, not romantically, but just to be held for a moment to steady yourself,* to bringing someone the cure for a disease, seeing them pass out, and resting for a time at the nearby Grace (bonfire) until they wake up alright - they're little things that seem to encourage you to imprint feelings and emotions into your character. It's one of the strongest connections I've ever felt to a silent protagonist - they have more character than the protagonists in a dozen more generic games. Few games have ever actually made me genuinely *feel bad* for the main character having to suffer through what they are. Ethan in Res7 gets maimed and shrugs it off so fast its comical - but here, after a long trip out fighting, I just wanted to hang out at the round table and safety/company for a while. It's lovely.

**Starting The Game (And tips if this is your first Soulslike):**
To start out, I always recommend playing the 'thief' in a souls game - or the 'Bandit' in this game. It's not as comical or brutal (especially for new players) as the depraved naked hobo, you start with stats spread enough that you can fairly easily spec into Faith or Arcane early on if you want that kind of flavor, your beginning gear is crap enough that every item you find is genuinely exciting - finding your first sword to replace your knife is a *noticable* upgrade, finding some actual armor instead of your coat, watching your fairly low health and strength increase, it both gives a more traditional RPG sense of progression, and implies a sort of character arc as your cowardly criminal slowly trades out their dark garb for shiny armor, and begins facing foes down instead of hiding - Redemption.


**Performance:** So, what I think most people have encountered, is sudden and sharp stuttoring when your CPU maxes out at 100%. This is, frankly, a game a lot of people may need to Overclock for. I get a jarring stuttor whenever the game has to load a new area, and it is annoying as f**k, but the game is just so much fun that I've been ignoring it happily. And, as noted, I'll probably be overclocking this PC soon to deal with it. It usually doesn't affect gameplay at all, but it has caused two separate deaths as during the stutters controls stop responding and you just sort of stand ther - they aren't common during fights, only exploring, but it has killed me twice in open world boss fights as I've said - no real big deal.


**Value:**
I am currently 44 hours into the game - longer than most $60 games - and I'm still exploring the first region (Limgrave) eagerly finding new items and characters. I've ventured briefly into the second region (maybe an hour) but still. The very first region, is more value for your money than the majority of full priced games released today. I don't know how you could potentially argue that it isn't worth the money, unless you need to spend it on food instead - but frankly I think it's worth living on ramen for a month if that's what it takes to afford the game.

**Cons:**
The tailoring system. I was super hyped at being able to 'alter' your armors. I wanted to change colors and ♥♥♥♥. Got the tailoring kit - 44 hours into the game - not one SINGLE piece of armor I own can be modified. Only a very small select few can - things like removing the Vagabond's cape. Worthless. Went on a whole sidequest for it.

A few reused enemies, normal enemies used as sidebosses with buffed health, can be noticable and slightly annoying but not enough to detract from the game.


**Misc Notes/Tips for new players:**
Personally, I've always done Souls better with a small amount of alcohol in me. One shot of crown royal right away, and one shot's worth mixed into a drink to sip. It sounds like a bad idea, but for me it's enough to calm my nerves so I don't panic-roll too early, but not enough to impair my coordination. As you finish your drink, repour. Obviously adjust dosage to your tolerance, if you so choose to, and are of legal age to do so.

If it's your first soulslike, and its hard, get a shield, get a big sword like the claymore, level both up, level your strength, do a strength build. Hide behind your shield and guard-counter (hit R2 after you block.) - this will pretty much be an 'I Win' button for most souls games, shields are a solid crutch whilst you're learning the game. When you get confident with the controls, ditch the shield, twohand the sword (twohanding a weapon effectively adds 50% to your strength stat, so it drastically increases damage for strength weapons) and start playing around with Ashes of War and weapon skills, and relying on dodging more. It's a solid and classic first-build valid in all Souls games.

Every church has a Sacred Tear in it which will make your flask heal more, and small trees with golden leaves (at least one in each area) have Golden Tears which give you extra flasks. Keep an eye out for churches and trees!

Always have a backup weapon with a different attribute to get around enemy resistances.

Don't throw a fit if you die, Runes aren't a big deal to lose - Giants drop 1000 a piece and are pretty easy to kill on horseback if you feel you *need* to grind. But as I said, a basic Straight Sword upgraded a few times can pretty much carry you through all the game I've seen so far.

Remember, touching new grace once will set your spawn point there and unlock the fast travel location, but it won't respawn enemies or fill your flasks. Interacting again to REST there, will.

**Conclusion:**
Now, new Tarnished...
Go get hugged.

**TL;DR:** Hands down, the best open world RPG I've ever played; The only downside, I think, is that it will ruin sub par games for me forever. It'll just be impossible to go back. Review was 'too long' so I've shortened it and cut a lot out - full review here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S7Szq0wHYckHUW-59Mu7UuDJzsRpBdmqjGjUvhTgaHw/edit?usp=sharing **Mounted Combat** I *hate* mounted combat in 99% of games, I won't even stay in a truck in ArmA once bullets start to fly. But I *love* the horse in this game; it's so fluid, precise, and responsive that I almost feel sad when I have to fight a giant enemy on food/indoors, because it's just so much fun weaving between their legs and attacks. The Tree Sentinel in specific just reminded me of the 'Bridge Fight' in Twilight Princess, and I absolutely adored that fight; a completely optional sideboss most players will actively choose to avoid, yet the fight consists of an amazing degree of dashing underneath swings as they come down, leaping over low sweeping attacks, and whittling him down. **The Open World:** Worried about Ubisoft-itis? Don't be. **You:** In how many games, after a regular foray into Hell fighting for your life and killing dozens, do you have the option to return to your safe place, literally fall onto your knees, and ask someone to just hug you for a moment, before you have to step back out? I've always pitched the original Dark Souls to people like this: You, like many others, are cursed; You arent the chosen one, you're one of many, cursed not to be allowed to die. You wade through horrors and combats, die, double over in agony, and instead of passing on, you're pulled right back to the bonfire and forced to get back up, and die in physical agony again, until you either succeed and sacrifice yourself simply to finally just die, or, go hollow/insane (quit playing) in which case some other cursed guy will just come along and do what you couldn't, because you aren't special, you're just fucked, and other people have forced the burden of saving the world onto you. This game, echoes that, though to a less severe extent. You aren't cursed, you don't seem to be being forced or coerced into trying to save the world, but the world is dying. The journeying through the darker and more depressing areas do leave you as the player feeling somewhat mentally drained afterwards, and that in and of itself, combined with simple actions like asking *for a hug, not romantically, but just to be held for a moment to steady yourself,* to bringing someone the cure for a disease, seeing them pass out, and resting for a time at the nearby Grace (bonfire) until they wake up alright - they're little things that seem to encourage you to imprint feelings and emotions into your character. It's one of the strongest connections I've ever felt to a silent protagonist - they have more character than the protagonists in a dozen more generic games. Few games have ever actually made me genuinely *feel bad* for the main character having to suffer through what they are. Ethan in Res7 gets maimed and shrugs it off so fast its comical - but here, after a long trip out fighting, I just wanted to hang out at the round table and safety/company for a while. It's lovely. **Starting The Game (And tips if this is your first Soulslike):** To start out, I always recommend playing the 'thief' in a souls game - or the 'Bandit' in this game. It's not as comical or brutal (especially for new players) as the depraved naked hobo, you start with stats spread enough that you can fairly easily spec into Faith or Arcane early on if you want that kind of flavor, your beginning gear is crap enough that every item you find is genuinely exciting - finding your first sword to replace your knife is a *noticable* upgrade, finding some actual armor instead of your coat, watching your fairly low health and strength increase, it both gives a more traditional RPG sense of progression, and implies a sort of character arc as your cowardly criminal slowly trades out their dark garb for shiny armor, and begins facing foes down instead of hiding - Redemption. **Performance:** So, what I think most people have encountered, is sudden and sharp stuttoring when your CPU maxes out at 100%. This is, frankly, a game a lot of people may need to Overclock for. I get a jarring stuttor whenever the game has to load a new area, and it is annoying as f**k, but the game is just so much fun that I've been ignoring it happily. And, as noted, I'll probably be overclocking this PC soon to deal with it. It usually doesn't affect gameplay at all, but it has caused two separate deaths as during the stutters controls stop responding and you just sort of stand ther - they aren't common during fights, only exploring, but it has killed me twice in open world boss fights as I've said - no real big deal. **Value:** I am currently 44 hours into the game - longer than most $60 games - and I'm still exploring the first region (Limgrave) eagerly finding new items and characters. I've ventured briefly into the second region (maybe an hour) but still. The very first region, is more value for your money than the majority of full priced games released today. I don't know how you could potentially argue that it isn't worth the money, unless you need to spend it on food instead - but frankly I think it's worth living on ramen for a month if that's what it takes to afford the game. **Cons:** The tailoring system. I was super hyped at being able to 'alter' your armors. I wanted to change colors and shit. Got the tailoring kit - 44 hours into the game - not one SINGLE piece of armor I own can be modified. Only a very small select few can - things like removing the Vagabond's cape. Worthless. Went on a whole sidequest for it. A few reused enemies, normal enemies used as sidebosses with buffed health, can be noticable and slightly annoying but not enough to detract from the game. **Misc Notes/Tips for new players:** Personally, I've always done Souls better with a small amount of alcohol in me. One shot of crown royal right away, and one shot's worth mixed into a drink to sip. It sounds like a bad idea, but for me it's enough to calm my nerves so I don't panic-roll too early, but not enough to impair my coordination. As you finish your drink, repour. Obviously adjust dosage to your tolerance, if you so choose to, and are of legal age to do so. If it's your first soulslike, and its hard, get a shield, get a big sword like the claymore, level both up, level your strength, do a strength build. Hide behind your shield and guard-counter (hit R2 after you block.) - this will pretty much be an 'I Win' button for most souls games, shields are a solid crutch whilst you're learning the game. When you get confident with the controls, ditch the shield, twohand the sword (twohanding a weapon effectively adds 50% to your strength stat, so it drastically increases damage for strength weapons) and start playing around with Ashes of War and weapon skills, and relying on dodging more. It's a solid and classic first-build valid in all Souls games. Every church has a Sacred Tear in it which will make your flask heal more, and small trees with golden leaves (at least one in each area) have Golden Tears which give you extra flasks. Keep an eye out for churches and trees! Always have a backup weapon with a different attribute to get around enemy resistances. Don't throw a fit if you die, Runes aren't a big deal to lose - Giants drop 1000 a piece and are pretty easy to kill on horseback if you feel you *need* to grind. But as I said, a basic Straight Sword upgraded a few times can pretty much carry you through all the game I've seen so far. Remember, touching new grace once will set your spawn point there and unlock the fast travel location, but it won't respawn enemies or fill your flasks. Interacting again to REST there, will. **Conclusion:** Now, new Tarnished... Go get hugged.