Overview:

After 167.5 Hours I can finally say i have beaten my first play-through, and this game is really good. The game exceeded any and all expectations I had for it. From software as truly cracked the formula for a really good and fun open world Rpg game. so if you came just to see my rating, its a 10/10.

Story:

The story is classic From Software Story, The story takes place in The lands between where you are a Tarnished Seeking the Elden Ring (The SIngle Most Powerful Item In the realm) and without spoilers its not a crazy Overarching story that makes you deeply thing on anything, But its not bad either. It's Further complimented by all the side quests that build upon this story and flesh it out.

World & Atmosphere:

The world of Elden Ring is massive, and its not just big for the sake of being Large either its is packed full of things to do throughout the whole map. Lots of secret Dungeons or bosses or unique loot and npc quests to take on. I can say i think 90% of the content in this game is optional and it might be the best content in the game. I give From software a lot of respect for putting multiple elongated side quests with great story and even better rewards out of the main boss path for you to go and discover. Furthermore all the different regions feel unique from one another and that made them a joy to explore through, going from rolling hills and forests of Limgrave to the Swampy waters of Lunaria and the Red stricken rot of Caelid and many other places made it refreshing and you could kind of get a sense for the bosses and enemies in that region.

Npc's & Quests:

The Npc's and their respective quests are fantastic. I don't believe i completed all of them on my first play-through so I do need to lap back on journey 2 or a new character and hit the ones i missed but for the ones i did do, they were phenomenal. Ranni's quest in particular was enjoyable as it had built upon other characters i had met in the world and intertwined them and their personal goals to the goals of ranni and the main story at hand, giving me a second perspective on "The Shattering". The best part was it rewarded me with some great and interesting loot.

Bosses:

The bosses are fun and enjoyable. They have a nice mix of move sets across the 80+ bosses in the game and they never felt too unfair.. Well most. IF you ever had got stuck you could also use your bell to summon a companion to fight or use a furgcalling finger (Cheeto Dust) to call a friend to help you tag team the boss. Because of both of these and the fact you could walk away and come back to the boss later when you had more levels, better weapons and armor and more experience under your belt made the difficulty of bosses dependent on you. For me i was more stubborn so if i found a boss it was my next boss i would be killing but that made the victory even more satisfying.

Weapons & Play Styles:

There is so many ways to play this game. My first character was a Strength/Vigor/Endurance Giga chad who used 2 Handed Great and Colossal Swords or a 1 Handed Sword and Shield for my run. if for whatever reason i wanted to change that run you can! once you get through a good portion of the game one of the bigger main bosses rewards you with the ability to respec at the cost of a finite resources you find throughout the game. This lets you try multiple play styles and builds across the same character enriching more New Game+ runs and that first initial play-through.

Issues:

I personally had no performance issues playing on PC with a 3080Ti and I7 12700k, but that doesn't mean on release others didn't experience performance hiccups, so that is something i have to note. I also occasionally had a bug where i would be stuck mid air unable to move and the game would kill me after sometime like i fell off the map. the last bug i encountered was one of the dragons later into the game getting bugged and not moving allowing me to just wail on him without him defending. These all can be Ironed out but nothing too major for me at least.

Final Verdict:

I give this game a 10/10 I think anyone who enjoys souls games are going to love this but also casual players who enjoy open world RPG games are going to fall in love with this game. my only advice is to not give up, you can beat this game. These games are designed to be beaten but not be too reflex intensive so everyone can beat it. It's just taking your time, learning patters and how you react to them then putting it to practice. Plus with all the other mechanics to allow aid to yourself don't be discouraged if you get stuck on a boss to call for help or even using summons in this game. They are tools made to make the experience more accessible.

Ignoring the Micro transactions, which we can all agree is bad even if the items are not that good or plentiful, the game itself is really good.

The Bad

- Micro Transactions
- Repeatability (Fairly lacking besides seeing the other endings, IE new game plus very bland and basic)
- Currently 1 save slot
- Poor Performance in Cities and consistent crashing (I did not have these but others have so it is fair to note)
- Lacking Enemy Variety and Difficulty ( as you get later into the game and have a build most enemies and bosses fall VERY quickly)

The Good

- Great combat, it feels really good and responsive. Not all the classes personally felt fun or strong but I did enjoy enough to swap out every time I maxed one until I finished
- Exploration. This game nails exploration. Running around is fun and surprising
- Graphics, The game looks good and weapon effects are amazing to see.
- Story / Writing. The story was great and the ending I got was even better at cementing this. Even side quests had me invested to the end and I did most if not all of them on accident from just enjoying the game.

TLDR the game is good if you take your time and enjoy the exploration. If you are hesitant maybe wait for a sale from the $70 Tag.