This review contains spoilers
A great game tarnished (pun intended) by some genuinely baffling decisions. Let's start with the good. Exploring the Lands Between is the most fun I've had in a Fromsoft game by far. The world is huge with so much to find, so many unique enemies and items to find. Build variety is also great, with some really fun and unique weapons and spells to utilise. Finding some of them in different dungeons is super rewarding, and really makes you want to explore even further.
The bosses are also very good, at least in the first half of the game. The lore is cool, the designs are even cooler, and many of them are made perfectly for the combat system. However, many of them, particularly in the late game, suck absolute ass. They feel like they were designed with Bloodborne combat pass in mind, with bosses like Malenia and Maliketh using quick and punishing attacks, leaving you few options. Many of these bosses also have huge AOE attacks, like Mohg, who covers the arena with obnoxious fire, which are also difficult to avoid in an almost unfair way. There were many times that I died to these bosses that felt like it was in no way my fault. Eventually I did 'git gut' and beat them, but it stopped feeling like a tough but fun challenge that I had overcome and more a chore that I'd forced myself through. Don't even get me started on Malenia's BS healing despite hitting a shield, or Elden Beast, which should 100% have been fought on Torrent. There's also the matter of some abysmal duo bosses, like the Godskin duo which I will only ever fight with sleep pots from now on, or the Valiant Gargoyles, who I don't struggle as much on now, but when I first fought had me slamming my head on my desk in frustration. Many bosses are also really overused to the point where it feels lazy.
There are obviously some great bosses as well. Margit is the best "first" boss in the series, and Morgott takes the best parts of that fight and makes them more challenging. Some other highlights include Godrick, Rennala, Placidusax, Loretta and Elemer.
Enough about bosses, let's talk about the world. As I said earlier, the world was extremely fun to explore, on my first play through. I loved wandering into a cave and seeing what enemies and items I could find. Now though, I know exactly what I'll find in each cave, and because of that I also know what caves I can simply run past. On subsequent playthroughs the world feels far less dense because of how surface level some of the locations truly are. There are actually very few of them that are really worth visiting by the end of it, making for a very shallow experience after the first couple runs. The legacy dungeons are still all fun to explore though. Volcano Manor and Stormveil Castle are the highlights for me, with tons of alternate paths and secrets to find.
While it seems as though I've been very harsh on this game, that is more because I really wanted Elden Ring to be the amazing game I know it could have been. It's still great, sure, but there are definitely some glaring issues that emerge, especially after multiple runs. Will I keep playing it? Yes, without a doubt. However, it has the same problems that DS1 had with some bizarre bosses and a somewhat lacklustre second half compared with the rest of the game. They took so many steps in the right direction with Bloodborne and Sekiro, and then seemingly went back on them for no reason for Elden Ring. It's still a super fun experience, but its not the perfect masterpiece that everyone claims it to be.
The bosses are also very good, at least in the first half of the game. The lore is cool, the designs are even cooler, and many of them are made perfectly for the combat system. However, many of them, particularly in the late game, suck absolute ass. They feel like they were designed with Bloodborne combat pass in mind, with bosses like Malenia and Maliketh using quick and punishing attacks, leaving you few options. Many of these bosses also have huge AOE attacks, like Mohg, who covers the arena with obnoxious fire, which are also difficult to avoid in an almost unfair way. There were many times that I died to these bosses that felt like it was in no way my fault. Eventually I did 'git gut' and beat them, but it stopped feeling like a tough but fun challenge that I had overcome and more a chore that I'd forced myself through. Don't even get me started on Malenia's BS healing despite hitting a shield, or Elden Beast, which should 100% have been fought on Torrent. There's also the matter of some abysmal duo bosses, like the Godskin duo which I will only ever fight with sleep pots from now on, or the Valiant Gargoyles, who I don't struggle as much on now, but when I first fought had me slamming my head on my desk in frustration. Many bosses are also really overused to the point where it feels lazy.
There are obviously some great bosses as well. Margit is the best "first" boss in the series, and Morgott takes the best parts of that fight and makes them more challenging. Some other highlights include Godrick, Rennala, Placidusax, Loretta and Elemer.
Enough about bosses, let's talk about the world. As I said earlier, the world was extremely fun to explore, on my first play through. I loved wandering into a cave and seeing what enemies and items I could find. Now though, I know exactly what I'll find in each cave, and because of that I also know what caves I can simply run past. On subsequent playthroughs the world feels far less dense because of how surface level some of the locations truly are. There are actually very few of them that are really worth visiting by the end of it, making for a very shallow experience after the first couple runs. The legacy dungeons are still all fun to explore though. Volcano Manor and Stormveil Castle are the highlights for me, with tons of alternate paths and secrets to find.
While it seems as though I've been very harsh on this game, that is more because I really wanted Elden Ring to be the amazing game I know it could have been. It's still great, sure, but there are definitely some glaring issues that emerge, especially after multiple runs. Will I keep playing it? Yes, without a doubt. However, it has the same problems that DS1 had with some bizarre bosses and a somewhat lacklustre second half compared with the rest of the game. They took so many steps in the right direction with Bloodborne and Sekiro, and then seemingly went back on them for no reason for Elden Ring. It's still a super fun experience, but its not the perfect masterpiece that everyone claims it to be.