What a game.

I really took my time with this From Soft game. This is the first time I decided to do everything I needed to do for the Platinum in my first run through of one of their games. I kind of regret doing that, because I did have to do a bit of research before continuing through the whole game, but for the most part I played the game blind and what an incredible experience it was.

I cannot get over the talent that this developer has for world design, art style, game mechanics, and did I mention world design? My god. So good.

Every time I would push forward into a new area, whether it was Stormveil, Caelid, Weeping Peninsula, Luirnia, Altus Plateau, Consecrated snowfields, and on and on, every single new push was something completely new, fresh and exciting.
I have seen some complaints online about the fact that they re-used assets and my jaw literally dropped open reading that.. Do they have recurring areas? Of course, but pretty much every single rehash is side areas. Every. Single. major area and legacy dungeons are just completely unique and beautiful.

By the time I got to Altus and saw how wildly different that area was - and by this point I was easily 100 hours into the game, I was just in awe how the game kept surprising me and blowing my mind.

I personally thought every major boss fight was a win except for the Elden Beast one. I just found it annoying and nonstop running around trying to get a single hit and then running around some more. Other than that though, I had a blast.

This game is now the second most played game in my Steam library by hours played only coming behind the Witcher 3 which is one of my favorite games of all time, so that really says something. I am not someone who typically puts hundreds and hundreds (thousands) of hours into games. I like to beat the game, get my enjoyment out of it and then move on to a new experience. So anytime I put upwards of 100 hours or more into a game, you can rest assured it is a game that REALLY held my attention.

My final rating? 9.5/10

What a game. I really took my time with this From Soft game. This is the first time I decided to do everything I needed to do for the Platinum in my first run through of one of their games. I kind of regret doing that, because I did have to do a bit of research before continuing through the whole game, but for the most part I played the game blind and what an incredible experience it was. I cannot get over the talent that this developer has for world design, art style, game mechanics, and did I mention world design? My god. So good. Every time I would push forward into a new area, whether it was Stormveil, Caelid, Weeping Peninsula, Luirnia, Altus Plateau, Consecrated snowfields, and on and on, every single new push was something completely new, fresh and exciting. I have seen some complaints online about the fact that they re-used assets and my jaw literally dropped open reading that.. Do they have recurring areas? Of course, but pretty much every single rehash is side areas. Every. Single. major area and legacy dungeons are just completely unique and beautiful. By the time I got to Altus and saw how wildly different that area was - and by this point I was easily 100 hours into the game, I was just in awe how the game kept surprising me and blowing my mind. I personally thought every major boss fight was a win except for the Elden Beast one. I just found it annoying and nonstop running around trying to get a single hit and then running around some more. Other than that though, I had a blast. This game is now the second most played game in my Steam library by hours played only coming behind the Witcher 3 which is one of my favorite games of all time, so that really says something. I am not someone who typically puts hundreds and hundreds (thousands) of hours into games. I like to beat the game, get my enjoyment out of it and then move on to a new experience. So anytime I put upwards of 100 hours or more into a game, you can rest assured it is a game that REALLY held my attention. My final rating? 9.5/10