I'm in a delicate position here. FromSoft has consistently delivered fantastic experiences for the past few years, and here's Elden Ring, a game everybody calls a masterpiece that's Dark Souls' formula distilled and perfected for an open world. This must be the BGE, right? Umm, no. It's not FromSoft's best game (still Sekiro, and it'll be for a while I'm guessing). It's not even their second best game. But it's still pretty good, because it's a FromSoft game. I noticed these times tend to exaggerate the quality of open world games with a slightly different take on it than the others. First there was BOTW, then there was RDR2, and now ER. I'm not exactly sure why, open world games have a lot of trouble maintaining interest over time. For reference, I just finished the game with 100 hours under my belt, my character is level 151 and beaten every single boss. Pros : - FromSoft knows how to make gameplay feel weighty, impactful, and that didn't change with Elden Ring. I love their animations, the variety of builds available. The weapons, the spells, the enemies. They look and feel great to use and fight. - The art and design of the Lands Between is incredible. They know how to make you drool over landscapes, towering buildings, or even a swamp (yes, another one). I threw out a few "Wows" during my run, and that very rarely happens. - The OST doesn't deliver as much impact this time around, but it's still a great soundtrack. - The Bosses. they're FromSoft's biggest argument, and they were my greates fear when I started my game. Then I met a certain Omen, and I knew my fears were unjustified. There are problems, but the big, intimidating, rage-inducing bosses are here, and they're great. - Flexibility and accessibility. FromSoft understood that running for 5 minutes every time you want to try a boss again was not fun. Spirit ashes are an interesting mechanic for newcomers, the stakes make repeated trials less tedious, there are more sites of grace and they're less isolated. This makes going through some zones less of a chore and more of an actual challenge. Cons : - The Open World. Everybody praises this like it's the second coming of Breath of the Wild, but I found it very bland in its structure. Once the discovery phase fizzles out (as nice as it genuinely was), I just understood the structure and that it wouldn't change. Catacombs, mines and grottos are always pretty much the same. - Recycled content. This I'm really not happy with. Remember that super cool boss you fought once in the starting area? Remember how fun it was? Here, here's five of the same guy, hurdled together either as a boss fight or just random mobs in a dungeon. I'm not kidding, out of the 170 bosses in the game, only 15 are unique, all others are used multiple times, and sometimes they come in twos or threes, which is honestly a very cheap trick. - Balance. This is a byproduct of the open world structure. It's not up to the player to set a "base" difficulty in FS games, it's kind of their thing. They set up obstacles for you that seem insurmountable and you manage to overcome them as best you can. Except that in ER, you can pass them in a GTA equivalent where the game basically does all the work alone (The Mimic+10 summon can solo bosses), or you do your best to fight against mechanics designed for the case where the player is actually in GTA mode and therefore you're in for the hardest ennemies ever in an FS game. And let's not talk about me playing normally and getting to every zone with 20 more levels than advised: the devs response? Make everything oneshot my character past a certain point, even though I invested 50 points in vigor. - Poor servers. I mean, if you're gonna have servers that bad, don't force people out of the game each time they fail... It happened to me a few times during boss fights, let me tell you I really wasn't in the mood to play after that. Anyway, not the best nor worst thing to come out of FromSoft, I'm waiting for the DLC that'll hopefully correct some of the aspects I talked about, FS are known for their great DLCs.

Dark Weeb Souls. More or less. A good Souls Like with a few flaws, including a somewhat obnoxious fan service, a story that does not take many risks, and a gameplay loop less sharp and a little more permissive than what you would find in From Software's games. That said, the game is very beautiful, has probably one of the most fun and complete character creation systems I have ever used, precise and solid gameplay. AI companions make the game a bit easier, but they don't take away the challenge either. The Bosses are almost all excellent. Varied movesets, clear but punishing patterns, incredible fight atmospheres ... Very good. The Blood Code system is very interesting and allows a very good diversity of builds. My first character was a pure DPS with as many HPs as a fly that aither killed or was killed using a lightning lance and assassin and halberd skills, but tank and mage builds that mix 'Gifts' (game skills) from other classes are equally viable. I only finished it once for the moment, have yet to see what it is worth in NG +. A 7/10 seems appropriate to me, but this can be modulated according to your tolerance to anime clichés and overused tropes. A good game, but not a masterpiece.

I'll start by saying that, in my opinion, no game is worth a perfect score. Not Mass Effect, not Shadow Of The Colossus, not Breath Of The Wild, and certainly not Red Dead Redemption 2. I feel the need to clarify this point because of the absolutely absurd amount of 100/100 this game received (and a 105/100 from JeuxActu, seriously guys?), in case you expect that to reflect reality. No, it doesn't. And thank God for it. A perfect game shouldn't be sold, it should be gifted to every living soul to be appreciated. Anyway. Onto the review's subject. RDR2 is a good, but flawed game. And its flaws take root in fundamental aspects that Rockstar definitely needs to look into because this is an out-of-fashion way to make games: with an identity crisis. Want to roam the gigantic world? Feel free to, but beware of the people who'll attack you, and don't defend yourself in front of policemen or you'll get a bounty. Wanna shoot that horse's leg to prevent your enemy from fleeing? Too bad, we had planned for you to use that horse to escape, try something else. Do you like that revolver? Here, play this mission with a shotgun then. For the most part, RDR2 doesn't know how to approach player freedom without either making it seem stupid or completely pointless. And that shouldn't be one of an open world game's most glaring issues. For a more practical listing: Pros: -The software's world is beautiful. Like eye-piercingly beautiful. Every corner has been carefully crafted, every single detail masterfully implemented. Be it the untamed wilderness or the busy city center of Saint-Denis, everything feels real. Technically and artistically, it's a masterpiece. Rockstar, I salute you. -The writing is good. The ending takes the cake as the best VG ending of late 2018. A good portion of the main missions and all side quests are cool. The characters are cool, they have motivation, distinct personalities, they feel tangible, and spurt out great lines from time to time. And especially... -Arthur Morgan. Best Rockstar protagonist. Actually feels like a human being, struggles and evolves, unlike GTA V's overly stereotyped fellas (not a complaint, they're written to be like that and I'm fine with it). -The music has its ups and downs, but it mostly shines at the right moments. Shout out to the ending (again). Cons: -What I explained earlier. You mostly watch the game happen instead of playing it. As an example, forcing the player to walk at a certain pace and in a certain direction doesn't feel rewarding. -Gunplay is basically auto-aim-lift-the-cursor-headshot. Come on now. -Controlling Arthur is hard. By hard, I mean that he either handles like a freaking semi or spins around like a top. Also, by preaching ultra-realism, some minor activities become actual chores. I needed to dedicate an entire hour every few couple of them for baths, food and whatnot, because it takes an entire 10-second animation loop to pick up anything. I'm all for little bonus animations, but I didn't need to watch the entire process of Arthur crafting his arrows ONE BY ONE. -Feels weird to say this, but the game is TOO long. I'm more than 80 hours in, and I barely finished the main storyline plus the epilogues while being fairly focused on doing them in priority. The problem is, it's not long because the scenario's taking its time. No. It takes time because you sometimes have to ride across the entire 180 km² map to reach the next objective, or walk (not run, walk) through all of Saint-Denis. This game made by any other studio would be worth a 5. But Rockstar's sheer attention to detail and quality of writing bring it up to 6. That is purely out of respect for the team's dedication to creating a world that feels alive and characters that actually are. Happy New Year.