(Jugado en Steam Deck. La calidad de imagen no ha sido al nivel 4K que veo en algun gameplay, claro, pero ha ido estupendo; también en tele vía dock).

Me ha encantado. Tiene ideas buenísimas de cómo integrar las supuestas elecciones del jugador (que además tiene la vuelta de tuerca de que las tomas con tu antagonista), en los entresijos de los viajes temporadas. Los giritos se ven venir a kilómetros porque hemos visto muchas historias del estilo, pero precisamente que estén integradas algunas mecánicas de elección en las paradojas temporales es muy de meme señor dedo en la sien.

Menudo salto con respecto a Alan Wake respecto a las mecánicas; aquí no sólo están muy relacionadas con el propio universo, sino que es divertidísimo jugar con esa combinación de acciones donde vuelves el espacio/tiempo en contra de tus enemigos. Además tiene buena escalada de habilidades, y va incorporando elementos nuevos con los que reinventar tus estrategias en los enfrentamientos. Tiene la duración justa, además; no alarga innecesariamente con pasajes de escaramuzas clónicas.

El aspecto visual es espectacular, con algunos set-pieces de acción y entornos epiquísimos. Una cosa que me flipa son esos escenarios congelados en el tiempo son como dioramas de destrucción.

Mi único pero sería ese enfrentamiento final; la escalada de dificultad es muy injusta, y esas explosiones de Serene son tan caprichosas a veces que no importa mucho que lo estés haciendo bien. Un golpe de mala suerte y ea, a empezar.

En fin, MUY guay. Salto cualitativo flipante con respecto al Alan Wake, y un paso muy firme hacia el CONTROL, que sigue siendo superior pero también es más ambicioso. Igualmente, ha sido interesante jugar a todo lo de Remedy, es una productora con unas sensibilidades y narrativas que me son muy afines, así que a tope con lo que venga!

Tras 10 entregas, muy disfrutadas, me pongo al día con los Ys. Sin ninguna duda, una de las mejores sagas de la historia de los rpgs; un pilar del género. Y creo que no hay mejor entrega que esta para cerrar mi círculo con la saga (por ahora).

El juego en sí es bastante continuista respecto a Ys VIII, más allá de las diferencias obvias de historia, localización, etc, no añade nada nuevo a la fórmula, excepto por los gifts, que no son una revolución pero aportan más verticalidad y alguna mejora en la exploración.

Al ser tan continuista, trae consigo gran parte de lo bueno de Ys VIII (sigue molando mucho explorar), pero también ciertas cosas meh. Por ejemplo, una gran cantidad de raids que rompen un poco con el flow del juego y se hacen bastante coñazo y repetitivas cuando llevas tantas. También hay ciertas cosas que fueron implementadas en Ys VIII para su contexto de náufragos e isla desierta, que se trasladan aquí y no terminan de encajar muy allá. No te sacan del juego, y algo aportan, pero se nota que no estaban pensadas explícitamente para este Ys.

Un ejemplo claro es el reclutamiento de secundarios. En Ys VIII se trabaja mucho la relación de Adol con el resto de secundarios, pero no solo esto, había una utilidad real, narrativa y jugable en este reclutamiento. Ellos ayudaban en la comunidad y te permitían seguir avanzando. Para continuar en la historia, obligatoriamente tenías que reclutar a gente para que te ayudara a abrir caminos, estoy tenía un sentido narrativo pues la comunidad se fortalecía en número y podía desarrollarse de una manera más rápida y segura, con el objetivo de huir de la isla. En Ys IX se siente que no es el contexto para trasladarlo tal cual. El reclutamiento sigue aportando cosas, y trae consigo algunas secundarias bastante decentes y expanden el lore de la ciudad de Balduq, pero no hay una intención narrativa o de utilidad tan marcada como antes. Supuestamente reclutas a peña en el Dandelion para ayudarte como Monstrum, esto no se hace visible en ningún momento, y tampoco se crea un vínculo entre los secundarios y Adol. También se elimina su utilidad jugable, ya no necesitas reclutar para avanzar, lo haces porque sí.

Que repito ese porque sí es gratificamente, repercute en conocer personajes que te interesan y secundarias que expanden lore, además de aumentar el acumulador que necesitas para hacer raids y abrir zonas, aunque no hay una relación directa entre el reclutamiento y esto. Este acumulador se aumenta con cualquier secundaria que haya, no necesariamente al reclutar, y la prisión de donde los reclutas la puedes explorar con cualquier otra excusa. Jugablemente su impacto es solo en mejoras en las raids, pero tampoco es algo que marque la diferencia.

Por cerrar este tema, con el ejemplo que seguramente sea el más notorio de una continuidad mal entendida en ciertos casos. Es posible que Ys IX peque de poca ambición, su predecesor era un juegazo, pero no era perfecto, en lugar de pulir y expandir decide trasladar casi 1:1. Esto no tiene por qué ser malo, y hay cosas que hace mejor, como al dividir la historia desde 2 puntos de vistas, aquí hay un equilibrio mayor que en Ys VIII y ambas historia importan y se retroalimentan, para dar un giro bastante guapo además. Pero pierdes factor sorpresa y ciertas cosas no encajan tan bien. Esto se hace más notorio que lo que haces igual pero algo mejor, Ys VIII no revolucionó la fórmula, pero supo expandir una base. Hay que decir que el siguiente Ys sí revolucionará de nuevo, es posible que por eso este fuera tan continuista.

Pero bueno, al margen de comparaciones y demás, que en este caso creo que están justificadas. El juego individualmente es buenísimo, siendo uno de mis Ys favoritos sin duda, y esto en gran parte se debe a su historia y su política de referencias con entregas anteriores.

Normalmente cada Ys es más o menos independiente y no influye demasiado que lo juegues en orden, pero en este caso la experiencia mejora por bastante llegando a Ys IX con toda la saga vista. Hay referencias en cada esquina a todas las entregas, y es un gustazo disfrutarlas. Diálogos con menciones a sucesos de otras entregas, secundarias completas que nos traerán a personajes ya vistos o la propia historia principal donde todo lo vivido por Adol es de vital importancia para el conflicto que se desarrolla. Es un canto de amor a la saga, y lo borda. Siempre suele haber referencias a otros Ys que molan, especialmente en Ys VI, pero aquí está a otro nivel, y es una de las cosas que más me han molado del juego. Obviamente el juego se puede disfrutar sin jugar a los anteriores, pero conociendo todo crece mucho la experiencia.

Pero no solo de cuentos pasados vive Adol. La historia de Ys IX es de las mejores de la saga, así como su cast principal. Está claro que Falcom desde que implementó el sistema jugable-estructural actual allá por Ys Seven, ha querido currarse algo más las historias, seguramente influenciados por su propia saga, Trails. Y tanto este como Ys VIII son de momento el peak de los Ys. No son historias que van a marcar un antes y un después, ni llegar al nivel de curro de Trails, pero molan bastante, y tienen personajes muy recordables.

En Ys IX, y en parte gracias al recorte de duración respecto a Ys VIII, tenemos una historia más equilibrada, donde nada se siente relleno, y aunque se cuece a fuego lento y tardamos un poco en tomar interés, una vez hace click y comienzan las revelaciones y giros, mola mucho. Antes de darte cuenta ya estás a tope con la historia y deseando saber más, tiene algún giro bastante sorprendente que al menos yo no me esperaba y está bastante bien construido, no tiene cosas salidas de la nada, por eso su ritmo tan lento al comienzo, sabe aprovecharlo. Lo mismo por parte del grupo principal. Para empezar, el diseño de los Monstrum mola bastante, y conforme vas conociendo más a los personajes, y van evolucionando, obtienes uno de los mejores, si no el mejor, cast de toda la saga. Mi favorito Hawk, como personaje, diseño y jugablemente.

Una cosa que sí me ha sorprendido bastante, por lo mal malacostumbrado que me tiene Falcom, es su banda sonora. La bso es buena, no se puede decir lo contrario, pero sí que tengo la sensación de estar ante una de las menos memorables de toda la saga y que menos he disfrutado. Continua con ese estilo tan rock que nos tiene acostumbrado el Team JDK y sigue molando reventar cabezas con sus canciones, pero no he tenido prácticamente ningún hit que yo vaya a recordar especialmente una vez completado el juego. Es buena, pero no TOP. Seguramente sea algo injusta esta valoración de su banda sonora, pero en parte es culpa del estatus que se ha ganado la saga Ys en este ámbito, cuando te dan comida 5 estrellas constantemente y de repente te dan una de 4, pues te chirría un poco, pero te la comes y disfrutas también.

Se me ha olvidado mencionar, y que suele ser norma en los Ys, es lo inspirado que está su historia en sucesos reales. Este caso en Francia con localizaciones como la Bastilla y mucha arquitectura gótica, con temas como la Guerra de los 100 años, Juana de Arco o Gilles de Rais.

En definitiva, uno de los mejores Ys, con sus pros y sus contras, con su continuismo para lo bueno y lo malo, con su amor por una saga que merece más reconocimiento y, sobre todo, con lo divertido que es jugar a otro Ys. El siguiente caerá día 1 sin duda. #NoHayYsMalo

How do you even review a game like Elden Ring? A collaboration by Hidetaka Miyazaki of FromSoft fame and one of the biggest and best High Fantasy novelists since Tolkien AKA George R.R. Martin known for his world famous A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones series in the form of a massive open-world action RPG? No amount of words or arbitrary scores and ratings will ever do this game justice. Elden Ring is the kind of game that comes around once in a generation. A rare game that has an immense amount of hype and expectations behind it and yet lives up to and even exceeds everything it promises, this must be a dream right? How is this game even real? I truly believe people will be playing and talking about this game for years to come.

The story premise is simple and very much in line with other works from Miyazaki. Elden Ring takes place in a world known as the Lands Between sometime after the Elden Ring has been shattered, there are various demigods, the children of Queen Marika the Eternal who each hold a piece of the shattered Elden Ring in the form of Great Runes that taint and corrupts them. All these demigods are locked in a constant struggle to take all the shards of the Ring so they can reforge it and become the next Elden Lord. The player character, the Tarnished are exiles from the Lands Between who lost the Ring's grace, but are summoned back after the Shattering and now hope to claim the Great Runes, repair the Ring and become Elden Lord themselves.

Simple story premise aside what makes the Lands Between so special and unique, much like any other Souls is the world-building, character back-stories and lore itself. This is where George R.R. Martin's influence in the game shines. The Souls games have always had great detailed world-building if you dig into it by reading weapon descriptions, wikis and videos on YouTube. Elden Ring however is a bit more straightforward and easier to connect with for the average player and I can only imagine that was partially due to GRRM's involvement. NPC dialogue tells more about an NPC and their personality than ever before, item descriptions aren't nearly as vague and even some cut-scenes are much more descriptive now. The Lands Between is dense when it comes to lore, maybe even more so than any past Souls game and despite being less vague than past Souls games, there is still a lot of mystery to it still. This world is also an incredibly unique combination of various mythologies and legends like Celtic, Arthurian and Norse alongside obvious influence from Martin's own A Song of Ice and Fire series, Eastern mysticism and some Lovecraftian themes of occultism and cosmicism especially how the concept of sorcery fits into the world. The Lands Between is one of the most creative and immersive worlds I've had the pleasure of exploring in years and I just can't get enough of it.

Speaking of the world, let's talk about the actual open world design and levels now because Elden Ring is already being called one of the greatest open world games of all time and I have to say I agree wholeheartedly. The sheer sense of adventure and exploration Elden Ring gives is simply unparalleled. The entire game feels like one grand, epic fantastical journey that takes you all over an amazing, detailed world with so much gorgeous (and sometimes grotesque) scenery. Every single one of Elden Ring's 13 different regions from the grassy fields of Limgrave to the swamps of Liurnia or the volcanic rocky mountains of Mt Gelmir feels completely unique and distinct from the rest so they're all an absolute joy to explore and never feel boring. Elden Ring is open world in the purest sense, much like Breath of the Wild (Though I think Elden Ring is even better personally) as soon as you get out of the tutorial you can go anywhere and do anything you want to do. There's no map markers until you start discovering Lost Grace Sites (the Bonfires of this game) and dungeons. The game let's you discover things at your own pace and it feels so natural and authentic unlike most open world games which tend to overwhelm with map markers and make you feel like you're just checking things off a list. Elden Ring also has an insane amount of side content from optional dungeons (that remind me of Bloodborne's Chalice Dungeons, but even better), NPC quest-lines which you'll randomly stumble across in the open world in true Dark Souls fashion and whole secret areas with plenty of optional side bosses. I would honestly say 80-90% of Elden Ring IS optional content. You can explore as little or as much as you want, but I would recommend exploring as much because you get rewarded for it since some of the best content in the game is optional or hidden in secret areas. I also can't praise the topography of the map enough, the way it plays with elevation is unlike anything I can recall seeing in a video game before and there are areas that are obviously designed that way because the developers gave the player a horse that has the ability to double jump and they want you to utilize the feature. Elden Ring is the new benchmark standard for open world games as far as I'm concerned and I truly hope more games follow suit with its design philosophy because we need more Elden Ring's and less of the typical Ubisoft formula.

However the open world isn't all Elden Ring is. No, there's plenty of secular levels which are called 'Legacy Dungeons'. These are in the form of castles, ruins, cities etc. These are smaller more intimate areas us Souls fans have grown to love over the past decade which typically lead to a main story boss and right alongside the open world, these Legacy Dungeons are also some of the best levels FromSoft has ever designed and how all of these flawlessly connect to the open world is simply a master-class in level design. What makes Elden Ring's design philosophy work so well is because it never compromises what the Souls games have always done. Excellent handcrafted levels with tons of hidden secrets and items to find. This is just now done on a much bigger scale than ever before. I like to think of Elden Ring as a bunch of little Dark Souls areas that combine to make one massive Dark Souls area. Oh and if you're worried there isn't a hub area like our Firelink Shrine or Nexus of the past, there is one and you can upgrade weapons and talk to various NPCs there as well. This game legit has everything.

I could talk about the lore and world for days, but let's be honest, Souls fans are mainly here for one thing and that's the combat. So let's talk about the meat of the game and boy is it meaty. This is the culmination of everything FromSoft has learned in the past decade. This is the absolute best Souls combat has ever been. The pacing of the game is in a sweet spot between Bloodborne and Dark Souls III. Not quite as fast as Bloodborne, but not as slow as Dark Souls III either. You have your ol' reliable light attack and heavy attack as always, but now there's new mechanics like Sekiro's stealth and jump attacks (which deal heavy poise damage and help break your enemy's stance quicker) and the Elden Ring specific guard counter (immediately after blocking you hit the heavy attack button for an instant counter attack which makes defensive play styles more viable than ever) and of course even mounted combat. All these features add so much more depth and flexibility than you'd ever imagine. There's a joke that the Souls fan's favorite button is R1 because we tend to just spam and rely on the light attack as it's the most useful option, but there was a point in Elden Ring where I realized I was just naturally always using my entire moveset because the game is designed to make you do so, nothing feels like a useless addition and to make matters even better Weapon Arts which were powerful skills from Dark Souls III come back in the form of Ashes of War, but now these can be changed and experimented on with new weapons whenever you want and they can even change your weapon's status effect too. This isn't even mentioning how many cool and fun spells and incantations there are for magic or faith users to use, the insane variety of weapons and armor or the return of dual wielding power stances from Dark Souls II. Elden Ring is without a doubt the pinnacle of Souls style combat with the most variety in build options and playstyles than any other Souls style game and since you unlock a way to respec your character fairly early on (you can do this multiple times just in one playthrough too) and you find ample materials to upgrade weapons, the game encourages you to experiment and try new weapons and builds.

Difficulty will always be a major talking point when it comes to Souls games and Elden Ring is no exception. Here's my take on it. Elden Ring is simultaneously one of the hardest and most punishing FromSoft games, but also one of the most forgiving and newcomer friendly. How could that be you might ask? It's because of the open world. All other Souls games are linear. If you want to get past a specific area and progress you either have to 'git gud' or farm/grind in the same spot to level up more. Elden Ring isn't like this though because if you're having trouble in a specific area or find a boss you aren't strong enough for yet, just come back to it later. Go explore some more, get new gear, maybe level up a bit and you'll find that the boss won't be nearly as impossible. If you're a Souls veteran you probably won't have to do this as often, however the game does expect you to do this and certain areas are naturally going to have stronger enemies and bosses so you could get punished a bit for lack of exploration. This isn't Dark Souls 4, so don't play it like it is. Elden Ring also gives Spirit Ashes which are helpful NPC summons you can call on for boss fights even when in single player mode. This could range from a pack of wolves to a jellyfish or even a dragon knight, these help a LOT. There are definitely areas of the game that were designed with this mechanic in mind and if you don't utilize it, that's not the game designer's fault or poor balance. There is also a very useful quality of life feature called 'Stakes of Marika' which act as spawn points before boss fog gates. Some people might say this makes the game more 'causalized', but let's be honest here, speaking as a decade long FromSoft fan spending 3 minutes running back to the boss was never a highlight of these games. Having spawn points incentivizes trying things you might not have before and gets you to fighting the boss quicker which makes it more fun than ever before. You've been given all the tools necessary to succeed, you need only use them to overcome your adversaries now.

Another very crucial aspect of Souls games is the bosses themselves. Demons Souls, Dark Souls I-III, Bloodborne and Sekiro all have some of my absolute favorite boss fights in all of gaming and now I happily add Elden Ring to that list as well. Due to the sheer size and scope of the game Elden Ring has the most bosses of any Souls game yet with a whopping 80+ bosses. Yeah there's a handful that are reused, but I feel some people make that seem like a bigger deal than it actually is because the fights are still fun and with a game this size I can't fault them for reusing a handful of bosses. I'd say at least 50 of those bosses are still unique encounters, that's still more than any other Souls game yet none of them feel forgettable, even mini-bosses in dungeons are awesome. They're all incredibly designed with amazing move-sets, designs and memorable locations you fight them in too, as always you feel rewarded for your patience and determination to win when you memorize a bosses move set through trial and error and beat them afterwards. A few bosses also have fun puzzle/gimmicks as well which really make the fights stand out even more. The end-game areas especially have some of the absolute coolest and most fun bosses FromSoft have ever made in my opinion.

I have to mention that I'm hardly a graphics guy, but there were multiple times my jaw dropped because of the indescribable beauty of Elden Ring. I was playing on PS5 and this has to be one of the best looking games I've ever played. I think that's due to two reasons, 1), FromSoft stepping the graphical quality up a good bit because they didn't want to be outdone by the Demons Souls Remake and 2), an absolutely impeccable art design. This game truly shows how far an amazing art design can go to improving the visual look of a game. Every single area of the open world, the characters, the dungeons, the weapons and armor and most importantly the enemies and bosses, it is all peak art design. This is the absolute best visualized dark high fantasy game setting I've ever seen bar none.

Last but not least I have to mention the immaculate OST by master composer Yuka Kitamura. She helped compose the OST for both Bloodborne and Dark Souls III alongside Motoi Sakuraba and she composed the Sekiro OST by herself. However Elden Ring might be her best work yet. From the calm ambient tracks which add to the atmosphere of the open world to the various distinct bombastic epic orchestral boss themes Elden Ring's OST is a treat to the ears and one you'll remember and still be hearing melodies from long after your playthrough.

All in all Elden Ring deserves every single bit of praise its gotten, it has fully lived up to the hype and even far exceeded my astronomically high expectations in every way possible. I never could've imagined I would end up loving it nearly as much as I did or that it would become my all time favorite game. Whether it be masterclass level design and the greatest open world ever made with an unfathomable amount of side content, the pinnacle of Souls style combat, the most build variety and options yet, a one-of-a-kind and unique world and lore, cool, creative and memorable boss fights, some of the best art design and graphical capabilities in gaming or masterfully composed OST, Elden Ring truly has it all. I struggle to find a flaw in the game because it is as close to a flawless, perfect game as you can possibly get aside from some minor performance issues that I'm sure will get patched anyways. Simply put Elden Ring is the culmination of everything FromSoft has done since Demons Souls, it is FromSoft and Miyazaki's magnum opus, a true evolution of the Souls formula, a groundbreaking, genre-defining masterpiece that everyone deserves to experience in their lifetime.