This review contains spoilers
Playing through this game for the first time is a magical experience, and I would've given it 5 stars if not for my admittedly harsh attitude towards perfect ratings. As with most games, I have a few complaints, but after discussing it with others, they seem to be fairly divisive.
The tedium of the endgame led to my reluctance to replay it, even for the remaining endings. As I'm a completionist, I obviously grinned and bore it... but if I didn't care too much for achievements I likely wouldn't have continued after my first playthrough. Exploration is definitely my favourite part of the game; I found myself discovering new things even into NG+3. However, once you reach Leyndell, the areas become a lot less enjoyable to explore. This is mostly because the endgame consists of back-to-back legacy dungeons (minus the Mountaintops of the Giants) which remove your ability to ride Torrent. This is fine within the confines of the Capital as it's relatively small and easy to navigate. However, once you arrive in Crumbling Farum Azula (A.K.A my personal Hell) it becomes downright painful. It's a shame because my favourite boss in the entire game—Dragonlord Placidusax—is right at the end of it. The game would benefit from a boss rematch system akin to the one in Sekiro, perhaps more than the aforementioned title due to Elden Ring's open world nature. I have hope that this feature will be implemented in upcoming DLC, but for now, it's something I'm going to complain about until it's added.
I found that the early game was the most enjoyable. Creating different builds is incredibly entertaining and I find myself making a billion different characters because I can never decide what kit I want to use first. I can see myself continuing to replay the game for years to come, but never making it past Fire Giant before I restart with a new character. That's not to say that this is a bad thing—the game has bucketloads of replay value, I just personally can't see myself beating the game again when I don't find the endgame areas fun. For a souls game, it's also surprisingly accessible. The ability to tune the difficulty to the way you want to play through summons/co-op is great, and the easy modding makes it highly flexible. This makes it a great introduction to the genre for people looking to get into it.
On top of that, the world is fascinating. I love delving deep into the lore of the game; I've watched countless hours of theory videos and spent ages sifting through wiki pages. Creating a story for my Tarnished was a great exercise, and I've become endlessly attached to them as a character. The Lands Between is filled with so many interesting concepts, and the way in which the information is given makes it so that people who aren't interested don't have to pay it any mind. This game has provided me with endless inspiration for my own stories and has given me the motivation to finally continue working on my own fantasy world.
Overall, I'd say that Elden Ring is a brilliant example of how the souls-like genre can work wonders in an open-world setting. It's a fantastic introduction to the series for new players and an exciting challenge for those experienced with the genre. 9.75/10.
The tedium of the endgame led to my reluctance to replay it, even for the remaining endings. As I'm a completionist, I obviously grinned and bore it... but if I didn't care too much for achievements I likely wouldn't have continued after my first playthrough. Exploration is definitely my favourite part of the game; I found myself discovering new things even into NG+3. However, once you reach Leyndell, the areas become a lot less enjoyable to explore. This is mostly because the endgame consists of back-to-back legacy dungeons (minus the Mountaintops of the Giants) which remove your ability to ride Torrent. This is fine within the confines of the Capital as it's relatively small and easy to navigate. However, once you arrive in Crumbling Farum Azula (A.K.A my personal Hell) it becomes downright painful. It's a shame because my favourite boss in the entire game—Dragonlord Placidusax—is right at the end of it. The game would benefit from a boss rematch system akin to the one in Sekiro, perhaps more than the aforementioned title due to Elden Ring's open world nature. I have hope that this feature will be implemented in upcoming DLC, but for now, it's something I'm going to complain about until it's added.
I found that the early game was the most enjoyable. Creating different builds is incredibly entertaining and I find myself making a billion different characters because I can never decide what kit I want to use first. I can see myself continuing to replay the game for years to come, but never making it past Fire Giant before I restart with a new character. That's not to say that this is a bad thing—the game has bucketloads of replay value, I just personally can't see myself beating the game again when I don't find the endgame areas fun. For a souls game, it's also surprisingly accessible. The ability to tune the difficulty to the way you want to play through summons/co-op is great, and the easy modding makes it highly flexible. This makes it a great introduction to the genre for people looking to get into it.
On top of that, the world is fascinating. I love delving deep into the lore of the game; I've watched countless hours of theory videos and spent ages sifting through wiki pages. Creating a story for my Tarnished was a great exercise, and I've become endlessly attached to them as a character. The Lands Between is filled with so many interesting concepts, and the way in which the information is given makes it so that people who aren't interested don't have to pay it any mind. This game has provided me with endless inspiration for my own stories and has given me the motivation to finally continue working on my own fantasy world.
Overall, I'd say that Elden Ring is a brilliant example of how the souls-like genre can work wonders in an open-world setting. It's a fantastic introduction to the series for new players and an exciting challenge for those experienced with the genre. 9.75/10.