"Whew," the enamored g@me play0r sighs out in reverence as the boss clearly designed by someone who thought they were on a job for a mediocre Platinum title did three SICKASS ANIMEY slow-mo front flips, each dealing 70% max health damage to the player with around 8 quintillion HP (which was only reasonable to invest a few points into after getting some from the eleventh Piss-And-Shit-Smeared Tree Spirit overworld boss fight that also netted a BAD. ASS. spirit ash to help you circumvent said bosses in the future except it's objectively worse than half the ones you already have) which they got to by trekking across seven hills, seven lands, seven seas and seven hells, each populated by more barren stretches of land than the last with s p o o k y copy-pasted caves and catacombs breaking up the monotony of running into small platoons of disinterested enemies you can't even be assed to to swing a sword on horseback at on your way to the next 𝓛𝓮𝓰𝓪𝓬𝔂 𝓓𝓾𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓸𝓷 (VERY important areas they put all their ACTUAL level design into! which is why half of them are directionless slogs where everything looks the same and with enemy placement done by the one only Mr Miyazaki'ˢ ⁸⁻ʸᵉᵃʳ⁻ᵒˡᵈ ˢᵒⁿ who really liked the funny jump battan) so that they can find an NPC which mysteriously vanished one Saturday night a few weeks into the playthrough but is crucial for the conditions of one of the many different-colored endings outlined by the Purposely Vague and not frequently Irritatingly Nebulous lore (which is totally okay because that's how they always did quests dude :P it's NOT comically archaic in contrast to the world design xP) but at least there's some World Essence and Snail Drippings to pick up on the way in case you ever find a cookbook that teaches you how to MacGuyver the two into a portable ICBM and then not land the shot because the Lands Between Olympic Champion you're chucking it at read your input had superior reflexes, "From the Software has done it again!"


I gotta be honest man I think this formula has the studio stuck spinning their wheels and given ER's astronomical success they're probably not gonna try reinventing it anytime soon. The game isn't bad. I'll still play the DLC. But seeing it heralded as the zenith of the genre let alone Fromsoft's masterwork gives me a fucking migraine.

Incredible game that made me realize, you know what, FromSoft games? Actually godlike. Difficult games? Actually crazy fun.

I generally don't like open world games because the words they create feel so shallow, so empty. Ah, go here and get these ubisoft towers. Ah, look under this rock for five thogworts and a goblin thong. Thanks, I guess. They want to give you this idea of wonder, of having your eye opened to natural beauty and a deep world, but it just never works on me.

Elden Ring performed dark sorcery to make it work in my mind. The utter danger around every corner somehow made the world that much more beautiful, more meaningful. As I crept under the caves and catacombs and came across beautiful monuments; ruins of temples from ages past and statues of god-knows-who, I felt the true scope of history in this hostile world. The fact that I was risking my damnable life to get to these vistas, to these caves, to these cities, made the vision of them simply that much more sweet.

The game is immense and while I was exhausted and just wanted to move on by the time I got to the final boss, I have boundless respect for its insane scope. One day I'll return, a stronger Souls player and ready to see its incredible world again with more seasoned eyes.

I took this week off in preparation for my new full time job and it worked perfectly for Elden Ring's release. I have non stop been playing this since launch, for a total straight 6 days, 10 hours a day.
(Tidbit about the review, From Software is my favourite developer)
Let's get this out of the way. Yes, it's hard. It will always be hard. This doesn't hold your hand just like the other games in the series. I thought maybe the open world style would hold it back but they absolutely cranked it up with 90+ bosses and zones that don't care about your feelings.
Difficulty always comes up in their games and I feel like people need to understand that it's hard because too many people see death in video games as a step backwards. Like you did something wrong. Death in From Software games means learning. It is all about learning boss patterns, enemy placements and finding the best stratergy.
Dying is a lesson and From Software is the teacher. Don't get mad due to dying, learn WHY you died and suddenly it becomes clearer.
As mentioned before, Elden Ring is an open world game. It honestly does remind me of how Breath of the Wild made the Zelda franchise a linear dungeon crawler to a big spread out world with dungeons and flexbility on where to go.
Elden Ring is the exact same. Sure Dark Souls has shortcuts and lead to areas you've visited before but with this game, you are given free reign. You could beat what is meant to be the third boss before you even do the second.
You make your adventure and you can go honestly almost everywhere right from the start.
I love the open world design. I thought I'd hate it but with your horse Torrent beneath your feet and fast travel is abundent, you can access every area without issue.
It is so fun to explore, that every single area becomes a fun new field trip. What dungeon will I find by accident? What mage tower has a riddle to figure out?
The best part? There is no ! Above an NPC's head. There is no marker here, marker there.
The map YOU find in each area only shows you towers, ruins, dungeons and fast travel points.
Just like other From Software games, YOU make the map and YOU are pathway finder.
Gameplay wise, the game is exactly the same as their other titles (minus of course Sekiro) It has beloved fan favourites and new treats that make it feel unique and not just a carbon copy of their other titles. It builds on a strong foundation and adds fun new mechanics for you to find on your own and make your own playstyle.
I was a sorcerer with powerful spells and a fantastic magic based sword that allowed me a bit of both combat styles but you can be a tank, a samurai, an all rounder. Whatever fits YOUR playstyle, Elden Ring got you covered.
I could go for hours about the plot and hidden lore in this game. It's perfect. You can know barely anything to knowing why stars are so important in this world.
There is so much to unpack. I have no idea how George R R Martin helped considering we hear different things but boyo, whatever he helped build as a writer (he is credited) didn't falter. There is no bad plot with ANY NPC.
Elden Ring is honestly, one of the best games made of all time. It offers new comers a full open world to explore and offers fans of the developer a Dark Souls 4 equivalent.
All I can do now is sit here, a Tarnished wondering the world knowing very well, I have played a piece of history.

É o ápice dos Souls, Elden Ring é todos os Souls da from reunidos num mundo aberto pegando o melhor deles e juntando tudo, eu aproveitei cada segundo explorando e descobrindo coisas novas nessas 118 horas de run.

o fator replay é gigante, tem bastante variedade de build mesmo muitas armas tendo o mesmo moveset, porem as cinzas de guerra dão um plus nelas, o jogo peca em alguns pontos mas não deixa a desejar

Não é o meu favorito mas é um jogo incrível e uma experiencia digna dos jogos da from que vale a pena ser jogado

Il y a deux ans déjà, un jeu est sorti et a propulsé le studio FromSoftware vers de nouveaux sommets. Ce même studio, qui pendant près de vingt ans, avait été quelque peu relégué à l'ombre en raison de son style artistique austère et de ses œuvres destinées à un public restreint.

Au début des années 2010, qui aurait pensé que le studio originaire de Tokyo, celui-là même qui nous a offert le premier volet jetant les bases des "souls-likes" avec Demon's Souls, pourrait nous surprendre à ce point ? Et pourtant, aujourd'hui,

Pourtant, aujourd'hui, on se retrouve avec une recette qui, au départ réservée à une élite, est devenue l'une des tendances majeures dans l'industrie du jeu vidéo. Et cette influence prend forme à travers l'un des jeux que beaucoup considèrent comme le plus marquant de cette première moitié de notre décennie actuelle.

Avec du recul et l'annonce d'une extension pour le jeu, il m'a donné envie pendant un moment de m'imaginer loin, et d'en tirer une conclusion sur ce qu'est Elden Ring.

Si ce que nous offrait auparavant FromSoftware nous plongeait dans un univers sombre jusqu'à nous noyer, ils sont venu cette fois-ci contredire cela pour nous faire ressentir le vertige.

Pourtant, on y trouve des éléments familiers, que ce soit dans la mythologie ou dans le gameplay, qui devraient nous permettre de nous connecter, qui devraient raviver en nous des instincts forgés dans l'univers des Soulsborne, n'est-ce pas ?

Elden Ring représente une antithèse majeure du genre souls-like tel qu'on le connaît chez FromSoftware.

Si, il y a dix ans, je me sentais étouffé par un level design complexe qui suscitait en moi une insécurité et une paranoïa constantes - à tel point que je me méfiais même des murs qui pourraient cacher un piège mortel ou un ennemi redoutable, si, il y a dix ans, je devais absolument éviter de rater un point de passage sous peine de devoir refaire un trajet qui m'avait pris un temps fou, si, il y a dix ans, j'étais obligé de m'intéresser aux équipements et aux patterns des boss pour réussir, je me suis retrouvé totalement libéré de cette frustration, qui peut sembler regrettable, mais qui, en même temps, procurait une satisfaction une fois le jeu terminé.

C'est un dépaysement par rapport à ce qu'on attend de FromSoftware. C'est un enfant différent, plus accessible pour les néophytes. C'est peut-être même une porte d'entrée vers un plus large public, et je ne vois aucun inconvénient à cela - au contraire, c'est même positif, voire nécessaire, que le studio ait franchi cette étape. Il est certes important de satisfaire une petite minorité avec une recette particulière, mais cela ne constitue pas une véritable ambition.

Nous voilà donc plongés dans les vastes contrées d'Elden Ring, prêts à prendre du recul et à comprendre pourquoi le choix d'une voie plus singulière a été fait.

Personnellement, je n'ai jamais vraiment saisi l'idée d'un open-world pour un souls-like, mais c'est justement ce concept qui transforme l'étouffement en vertige. À peine on quitte les premières zones du jeu, on se retrouve rapidement attirés par toutes sortes de découvertes, la curiosité nous guidant.

Il n'y a donc aucune barrière linéaire pour nous arrêter, on peut tout de suite se diriger vers n'importe quel coin de la région et affronter ce qui nous semble impossible. On pourrait presque voir cela comme une chose positive, si seulement la forêt ne cachait pas ce qui, pour ma part, m'a laissé en rogne sur le jeu.

Si vous pensiez que cette ouverture offrirait une diversité totale dans l'exploration, le combat et l'équipement, vous vous êtes trompés de chemin.

Quelle surprise j'ai eue lorsque j'ai commencé à réaliser qu'au fil du temps, il y avait un sentiment de répétition dans les combats, que ce soit contre les boss principaux ou secondaires. Peut-être que c'était simplement une impression abstraite, une désillusion involontaire de ma part ?

Après une bonne cinquantaine de parties, j'ai recommencé le jeu une fois, puis deux fois, puis trois fois, et ainsi de suite.

Mais non, ce n'était pas une simple illusion, mais bien un fait qui persistait tout au long de l'expérience de jeu, sans même parler de la rejouabilité.

Je me suis rarement fait autant chier lors de combats de boss : pas de défi, rien de nouveau, pas besoin une seule fois de chercher de l'aide sur Internet, rien du tout.

C'est pareil pour le système d'équipement, qui arrive à vous captiver avec ses effets spéciaux et ses animations classes...

Alors oui, c'est sympa qu'il y ait moins d'armes incontournables et que le jeu nous laisse jouer à notre manière... à condition que cette manière se limite à 3-4 types d'armes préférées...

Comprenez que ce n'est pas une critique venant d'un puriste nostalgique qui clamerait que c'était mieux avant - loin de là.

FromSoftware a progressé sur certains aspects, ils ont réussi à rectifier des erreurs qui les poursuivaient depuis des années, ils ont osé se lancer dans une toute nouvelle franchise. Cependant, ils ont aussi fait marche arrière sur la créativité et la diversité, et c'est ce qui me frustre. C'est déconcertant de constater qu'ils ont tenté de s'ouvrir à de nouveaux horizons en abandonnant les armes incontournables et les niveaux labyrinthiques.

En dehors du pur gameplay, l'exploration reste plaisante, même si la possibilité de se téléporter à volonté enlève toute notion de risque et d'erreur. L'optimisation était un peu chaotique au début, mais après quelques mois, les choses se sont bien améliorées.

Ce que je reprocherais avant de conclure, c'est l'absence totale d'un véritable mode multijoueur, qui aurait pu rendre la rejouabilité plus divertissante. Alors oui, cela aurait été possible avec un mode adéquat. Ici, le mode joueur contre joueur est décevant, et l'exploration en coopération est limitée par zone.

Pour terminer sur une note positive, bien que Elden Ring ne soit pas "l'aboutissement" tant attendu des japonais de FromSoftware, il représente incontestablement un jeu exemplaire qui s'adresse à un public plus large. Il a créé une tendance qui a enfin mis en lumière des licences telles que Dark Souls et Nioh, et a même donné naissance à de nouvelles licences comme Sifu ou Kena.

À absolument faire, mais sans nécessairement envisager d'y rejouer en New Game +.

This review specifically details all the wrong I think the game does. Because if I talked about all the good, it'd be way to long, and people are more interested in what the game does wrong anyway so.

Problems In Communication


The Map in this game rubs me the wrong way. I feel like a lot of the points of interest, or rather, structures you see on the map,are insanely misleading. So as an example, say you’re exploring the Weeping Peninsula, you’ll see a structure on the map. You go towards it, and it turns out it’s just a big filler structure. LIke there isn’t anything there, it’s just to add ambience or character to the map. But then, say you see a small huddle of ruins on the map. You decide to ignore it, because you assume it’ll be a waste of time, it’s really small, and looks like a bunch of nothing. But turns out, there were some really cool items there that you might’ve used in the future. Then I’d say that’s pretty bullshit. I think when obtaining a Map Fragment, the map needs to do a better job in making it clear when points of interest are important, and which one’s aren’t. And it almost tries doing this, when you see Catacombs/Dungeons on the map. Because they’re illustrated as orange circles. But it doesn’t commit to that at all. Also…it didn’t tell me that. So that’s nice. Just think the map needs to do better in communication. Edit: Oh and also. It gets worse. When traveling in Liurnia, there’s this giant plateau of sorts. I wanted to get up there. Well according to the map there’s a lot of structures in that area. So I go towards it and I find it that below the plateau, there’s a place called Village of the Albinauries. I do the village, pretty standard, I go to my map and….I’m apparently in the plateau I was talking about. Like my ass is literally standing on some of the structures on that plateau. Nope, despite the structures appearing the same level on the map. In reality, there are varying levels. Some are below the Plateau, and some are above the others, standing on the plateau. The map failed to communicate any of this, which caused insane confusion when trying to figure out how to get on the plateau and what structures were actually on it, and not on it.

I have a problem with how the Graces work in this game. Rather…there to be quiet and hidden from the player at times and they should’ve made them more clearer and distinct. IDK why when traveling around the map you hear those weird orbs that when killed give you an Estus, or give you a special item. It feels like the audio for those should’ve been the audio for Graces. Because holy shit is it really easy to miss a Grace in this game. There are times I’m right next to a Grace and I have 0 clue until I backtrack and I’m like “I was literally here, or very close to here already wtf. How’d I not see this?” I think it’s worse when you compare them to previous souls games. Take Dark Souls 3. Dark Souls 3s bonfires are A, much bigger visually, B, have a louder audio que, and C, are in a fairly linear game. There’s little to no reason for you to miss a Bonfire in that game. In comparison it feels like Elden Ring downgraded from Souls 3. When, considering it’s an open world game, should’ve upgraded. Very weird.

Posture Bar. This is by far the most egregious issue in this game. IDK why the devs decided to add more nuance to the combat in the context of jumping attacks and Ashes of War to break stagger, but not add a posture bar. When the literal last game they made had a posture bar. It’s very confusing. If you had a posture bar in Elden Ring, it would radically change the way a lot of these fights are broken down. There could be a lot of scenarios where I’m close to breaking a boss posture, but I was backing away playing safe, when, if I had known, I would’ve rushed in and broken it. I can’t fathom why they would remove this system from the game, when again, their literal last game had one.

Another big one is the Dectus Medallions. Now for the Left one, I don’t really have a problem there. It’s in a Fort in Limgrave. Pretty standard exploration would lead you to it, and, most importantly, it scales to your level. The Right one's location. Is fucking absurd. The Right Medallion is located in Dragonbarrow. This place can only be accessed through a teleporter in Limgrave. Or doing Sellia. No matter which route you take, and how far you are in the game. You are nowhere near the level of Dragonbarrow. I was level 60, with a Somber 6 weapon, and I didn’t remotely stand a chance. What this would normally communicate to the player is, oh, this place is kind of out of my league. I’ll go explore other things, get stronger, and eventually come back. Nope. Apparently the Right Dectus Medallion is located here. Despite the fact that this place is literally harder than Altus, the key to Altus is here. This is literally the equivalent of putting the key behind the locked door. How the fuck was the player supposed to know that the Dectus Medallion is here? Especially when the game goes out of its way to communicate things like this to the player all the time, like with you going and getting your ass kicked against Margit, telling you to explore more of Limgrave and come back. Very weird.

Another example would be Moghs Shackle. You get this item very early in the game called Moghs Shackle. It says you imprison and bind Mogh down to the Earth. You obviously have no clue what that means, because Moghs still a ways away. You progress through the game, until 30 hours later, you arrive at Mogh. You fight through his first phase, ya know, pretty standard phase of a fight. Then his 2nd phase comes in, and he takes your health while adding to his. Alright. That’s a pretty weird mechanic that I haven’t encountered before. Is there a way to address that? Oh wait yeah. I have that shackle I got 30 hours earlier. Lemme try that. Get through the standard first phase, then you get to the 2nd phase, where you find out it does absolutely nothing. You, confused, use google senpai to figure out that Moghs Shackle doesn’t actually do shit against the 2nd phase. It’s meant for the 1st phase. The way to counter the 2nd phase is through a crystal tear that you add to your physic. What the fuck. This is such a strange way to communicate this that it boggles my mind. Why the fuck would I wanna use Moghs Shackle for his fairly standard, easy-intermediate to learn first phase? His first phase isn’t an abnormality compared to every boss in this game. Why the hell would I assume the Shackle would need to be used here? His 2nd phase, an actual abnormality compared to most if not every boss in this game, isn’t where this specific item for this boss is used? What????? Why did you have the specific item at all then? Most players would see the special abnormal 2nd phase trait, and the special item specifically for this boss, and would make the connection that the item must be for that 2nd phase trait. Why in the fuck is the item used for the very normal, not out of the ordinary, 1st phase?????




Mechanical balancing

Bosses: Bosses are kind of a whole category in and of themselves. Judging them individually isn’t really important, it’s vastly more important to judge the sum rather than the parts. To list off a few stinkers that I didn’t vibe with, I’d say Magma Wyrm, Flying Dragon Agheel,Falling Star Beast, Ancestral Spirit, Twin Valiant Gargoyals, and Astel, Stars of Darkness are fairly bad. While fights such as Crucible Knight, Leonine Misbegotten, Elemar of the Briar, Crstalin Spear and Ringblade duo, Crucible Knight duo, and Erdtree Avatar are fairly well constructed. I’d say overall, the bosses in this game are mostly just to standard to be badly made. The ones that have the most depth are obviously the mainline bosses. And for those, I’d say Radahn and Elden Beast are kinda bad. Godskin Duo, Godrick, Radagon and Fire Giant are just okay. Wolf of Radagon, Renalla, Rykard, Sir Gideon, Dragonic Tree Sentinel and Margit are fairly good. While Godfrey (both of them), Maliketh, and Morgott are excellent. Overall, the bosses in this game aren’t bad. The one’s placed in catacombs are again, mostly too standard to be badly made (with some exceptions). And the one’s placed in the Overworld, while as a design decision I don’t like, aren’t necessarily bad……………….though fuck Dragon bosses. Every single one of them is bad. Ha. 6-7/10 for the game's bosses overall.

AI summons: I don’t like AI summons. These things are cheeeeesy. These bosses are designed and balanced with 1 v 1s in mind. The way the enemy AI works is, if you hit them once, all of their attention is catered towards whoever hit them. Meaning, it can take attention away from the player, and give them a chance to heal. Or, straight up initiate a free attack on the boss. Just for the AI ally to hit them, and the attention to then be shifted back to the AI. I don’t like these things. I think they completely break a lot of the balance and great design these bosses strive for. “Oh well just don’t use it” not only is this a reductionist standpoint. Meaning you’re telling me for the game to work, I have to limit a valuable asset the game is granting me. Which makes little to no sense. Why the fuck do I have to fuck myself cus the games fucking up. But also it downplays a lot of the great designs of souls bosses. Artorias is a boss specifically made for you searching for very very VERY tight heal windows. If an AI Ally hit Artorias. You’ve destroyed the entire point of the boss. A lot of Elden Ring bosses operate on the same thing.





Level Design

I have surprisingly little to say in regards to negatives on this front. One of the more frustrating things is because of how multi-layered the levels are thanks to jumping. Things can get fairly complicated in navigation. DS1-3 worked really well in this regard because it was always easy to tell what was a place you could go to, and what wasn’t. Anor Londo, looks big, but when exploring it, is easily digestible. Lyendel is not easily digestible. It’s insanely multi-faceted and complex. I looked for literal hours where the underground sewers of Lyendel were, just to find out it’s in this obscure well in this area that I already explored a lot of, and thought it wasn’t in. Shit that obscure and lowkey, shouldn’t be the sole entrance to a whole other area, when the area the entrance is in is this bloated. A lot of level design can be chalked up to unnecessary areas you go to and get nothing out of. Making the area bigger in size, but less in substance. Which only adds confusion. But, with all of that said, I think most areas are fairly well made. There’s a lot of rewards for exploration, there’s shortcuts with helpful backtracking, there’s good grace and Stake of Marika placements, there’s honestly not a whole lot to say about negatives in regards to Level Design in it’s totality. It’s again, fairly standard, despite some fundamental flaws with navigation due to the added depth of the movement.

TA vai. nao e tao ruim assim... nao e ruim... elden ring nao e ruim....... nao e ruim nao nao nao......... NAO.........

ok agora serio... eh um jogo do caralho ! mundo bem construido combate legal ne padrao fromsoftware etc etc.. criaçao de personagem muito foda a melhor dos souls sem duvidas musicas fodinhas e tal...

MAS. grande demais. esse jogo eh ENORME e isso me incomoda ! esse jogo cansa muito .. demorei tipo umas 60 horas pra fazer uma ending ?

tem tanto boss reusado nesse jogo que me incomoda pra QUE tanto boss . tipo mundo aberto ok entendo talvez eu seja suspeito pra falar pq eu prefiro jogos mais lineares do que abertos demais.. senti muitas vezes em elden ring que eu tava largado perdido .. gente e os delays dos ataques dos boss pqp

alem disso. senti q os bosses desse jogo nao sao taoo memoraveis quanto os outros jogos do miyazaki.. tirando sla a malenia ? e o radahn talvez? fora isso acho que os outros sao mt mais impactantes sei la..

mas eh aquilo ne eh um jogo muito foda ! nao tem mt oq dizer. mas tem seus problemas ! nao vou nem falar da malenia pq ainda nao me odeio tanto assim pra matar ela.. mas uma hora vou