As you get older, it's very difficult (almost impossible) to find a game that hooks you and gives you that feeling of magic and excitement of discovery like you felt when you were a little kid. This is one of the very few that did.

Too many games these days put a ♥♥♥♥ ton of ♥♥♥♥ on your screen via HUD and map markers to MAKE SURE you get to that thing they want so you don't get lost like a overprotective helicopter parent. Most of today's games assume the player is literally mentally incompetent accompanied by an attention span of a knat who cannot figure anything out by themselves unless excessively hand-held through every little step.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: "souls" games' "difficulty" is really overblown. It only seems that way because it is the only popular AAA games that actually RESPECTS the player and lets them figure things out using their own curiosity and problem solving skills.

If you wanted to try the games but held off because you were intimidated by their reputation, don't be, especially since Elden Ring is the most accessible title to the series. The game gives you plenty of tools at your disposal to help you succeed.

Positive highlights:
- Beautiful, very artistic game (environment, vistas, armor, enemies, etc)
- More color. Dark Souls felt like they had a perpetual grey and depression filter on. Although the world of Elden Ring is still the "everything is dying" theme, I do not feel depressed when playing.
- Game is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ huge, but actually filled with content and varying environments. See that castle? You can explore it! Even secret areas are fully fleshed out.
- Minimal hud and map. You explore the map using *gasp* landmarks?! instead of staring at some compass and b-lining towards some map marker 99% of the game? who would have thought?
- Lots of choices for weapons and spells all with cool and weighty animations
- impressive number of enemy variety
- An actual FULL game where you won't feel ripped off even buying at full price.
- Personally have not experienced any bugs during my longass playtime


Negatives (some nitpick):
- weird balance. Some normal enemies (more notably in end-game areas) have more health and do more damage than actual bosses.
- Due to the open world nature, you will stumble upon areas where you were supposed to have discovered it way earlier in your playthrough. And you'll end up three shotting bosses in that area which feels weird.
- Although not required, you will miss most NPC "quests" because you can only progress them by being in a specific random spot in this ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ huge game. At best, they only give extremely vague hints. Also you will get locked out of them if you go defeat some bosses in the meantime. There's noway for you to know what conditions unless you looked up a guide, which kind of goes against the game experience.
- reused enemies and bosses which can rob of their uniqueness.
- Some boss movesets feel like the devs prioritized spectacle vs fun to fight/fairness.
- catacomb areas can feel samey/repetitive
- game might feel too long and tedious at times
- Sometimes the game stutters and rubber bands for 3 full seconds. (But not often- maybe like once every 3-5 hours of play.)
- Game sometimes crashes (Probably crashed a dozen times from my 260hr playthrough.)
- multiplayer can be laggy and "connection error. returning to your world"
- Very limited key rebind options (yes, I like kb&m)

Note for newcomers:
-don't expect a story or plot-driven game. It does have one, but it is told very vaguely in riddles in the background.
- the game does not have built-in seamless co-op. If you want to chill with a friend, you better download a dedicated mod and play offline.
- The game gives you a bunch of items, summons, and tools for player to use. There's no "shame" in using them unless you are doing a self-imposed challenge run.


The positives vastly outweigh the negatives. A must play if you love medieval fantasy, exploring, art, reward/consequences, and good games in general.

As you get older, it's very difficult (almost impossible) to find a game that hooks you and gives you that feeling of magic and excitement of discovery like you felt when you were a little kid. This is one of the very few that did. Too many games these days put a fuck ton of shit on your screen via HUD and map markers to MAKE SURE you get to that thing they want so you don't get lost like a overprotective helicopter parent. Most of today's games assume the player is literally mentally incompetent accompanied by an attention span of a knat who cannot figure anything out by themselves unless excessively hand-held through every little step. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: "souls" games' "difficulty" is really overblown. It only seems that way because it is the only popular AAA games that actually RESPECTS the player and lets them figure things out using their own curiosity and problem solving skills. If you wanted to try the games but held off because you were intimidated by their reputation, don't be, especially since Elden Ring is the most accessible title to the series. The game gives you plenty of tools at your disposal to help you succeed. Positive highlights: - Beautiful, very artistic game (environment, vistas, armor, enemies, etc) - More color. Dark Souls felt like they had a perpetual grey and depression filter on. Although the world of Elden Ring is still the "everything is dying" theme, I do not feel depressed when playing. - Game is fucking huge, but actually filled with content and varying environments. See that castle? You can explore it! Even secret areas are fully fleshed out. - Minimal hud and map. You explore the map using *gasp* landmarks?! instead of staring at some compass and b-lining towards some map marker 99% of the game? who would have thought? - Lots of choices for weapons and spells all with cool and weighty animations - impressive number of enemy variety - An actual FULL game where you won't feel ripped off even buying at full price. - Personally have not experienced any bugs during my longass playtime Negatives (some nitpick): - weird balance. Some normal enemies (more notably in end-game areas) have more health and do more damage than actual bosses. - Due to the open world nature, you will stumble upon areas where you were supposed to have discovered it way earlier in your playthrough. And you'll end up three shotting bosses in that area which feels weird. - Although not required, you will miss most NPC "quests" because you can only progress them by being in a specific random spot in this fucking huge game. At best, they only give extremely vague hints. Also you will get locked out of them if you go defeat some bosses in the meantime. There's noway for you to know what conditions unless you looked up a guide, which kind of goes against the game experience. - reused enemies and bosses which can rob of their uniqueness. - Some boss movesets feel like the devs prioritized spectacle vs fun to fight/fairness. - catacomb areas can feel samey/repetitive - game might feel too long and tedious at times - Sometimes the game stutters and rubber bands for 3 full seconds. (But not often- maybe like once every 3-5 hours of play.) - Game sometimes crashes (Probably crashed a dozen times from my 260hr playthrough.) - multiplayer can be laggy and "connection error. returning to your world" - Very limited key rebind options (yes, I like kb&m) Note for newcomers: -don't expect a story or plot-driven game. It does have one, but it is told very vaguely in riddles in the background. - the game does not have built-in seamless co-op. If you want to chill with a friend, you better download a dedicated mod and play offline. - The game gives you a bunch of items, summons, and tools for player to use. There's no "shame" in using them unless you are doing a self-imposed challenge run. The positives vastly outweigh the negatives. A must play if you love medieval fantasy, exploring, art, reward/consequences, and good games in general.