Elden Ring

 PC
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 5812 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,862 out of 5812
  2. Mixed: 414 out of 5812
  3. Negative: 1,536 out of 5812

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  1. Chacal45
    Mar 8, 2022
    10
    The game is very good, faithful to the Souls style, it is different from the rest of the games I am used to and I think that is the cause of so many bad comments, but let me tell you that the game is great, it's captivating, fun, it makes you think, explore and improve. It has much to discover and explore, People today are used to being told everything and being led everywhere by theThe game is very good, faithful to the Souls style, it is different from the rest of the games I am used to and I think that is the cause of so many bad comments, but let me tell you that the game is great, it's captivating, fun, it makes you think, explore and improve. It has much to discover and explore, People today are used to being told everything and being led everywhere by the hand. In this game you have to investigate, be cunning, have patience and be creative. I really liked it, I play it non-stop since it came out.… Expand
  2. Janklootvandam
    Apr 19, 2022
    6
    QUANTITY OVER QUALITY
    Meme Ring, id est, Dark Souls 3 with a horse, copy paste enemies, boring cringy choir music, only 8 unique boss fights, and broken overpowered ashes of war for the CASULS.
    Carefully crafted by From Software to cater to the mindless masses who are blind sheep and bought this LIE because some overrated writers name was attached to it and who cannot see that Miyasucky    QUANTITY OVER QUALITY
    Meme Ring, id est, Dark Souls 3 with a horse, copy paste enemies, boring cringy choir music, only 8 unique boss fights, and broken overpowered ashes of war for the CASULS.
    Carefully crafted by From Software to cater to the mindless masses who are blind sheep and bought this LIE because some overrated writers name was attached to it and who cannot see that Miyasucky is a one-trick-pony who makes the same game over and over again. At least it has no microtransactions.
    All in all this game would have been better if some of the content was cut because if you are going to buy this prepare to fight the same copy pasted bosses over and over again. From fanbois are idiots lol.    … Expand
  3. Tsargorn
    May 7, 2022
    5
    Despite my love for such games, I, surprisingly, disappointed.
    Basically all the problems come from open world....
    Prehistoric dungeon design, inconsistent enemies type and group, open fields of pure nothing and lack of motivation lead to the fact that after some time you just started skipping most of the battles, and simply run out of interest. In the end: lack of sense of    Despite my love for such games, I, surprisingly, disappointed.
    Basically all the problems come from open world....
    Prehistoric dungeon design, inconsistent enemies type and group,
    open fields of pure nothing and lack of motivation lead to the fact
    that after some time you just started skipping most of the battles,
    and simply run out of interest.
    In the end: lack of sense of progression and direction just killed whole mood.
    And that's all without reminding about souls-like storytelling, which is very subjective.

    Ps I really miss carefully designed classic levels.
    Ps ps let's forget about the widespread reuse of materials by developers... or not...    … Expand
  4. TheHambro
    May 4, 2022
    10
    Man…..what a journey Elden Ring was. Yeah, sure, there was a lot of hype surrounding the game, and I knew I was going to play it day one. And yeah, sure, I knew it was gonna be good. I’ve played every title FromSoftware has dropped, so I knew what to expect. What I didn’t expect, however, is that Elden Ring would blow my expectations right outta the effin’ water.

    Where do I even    Man…..what a journey Elden Ring was. Yeah, sure, there was a lot of hype surrounding the game, and I knew I was going to play it day one. And yeah, sure, I knew it was gonna be good. I’ve played every title FromSoftware has dropped, so I knew what to expect. What I didn’t expect, however, is that Elden Ring would blow my expectations right outta the effin’ water.

    Where do I even start? Huge open world. Nooks and crannies freakin’ galore. Secrets. Dungeons. Secret dungeons. I mean, you name it, they’ve already thought about it and put in this damn game. This is a world begging to be explored. Because if you do, you will absolutely stumble upon something. A weapon, armor set, spell, whatever. This game rewards you in so many different ways. And the world…holy hell, just beautifully crafted; intricate, in fact. The world is your oyster. Play however you want, go in any direction you want, fight whoever you want. It simply will not hold your hand. From the very moment you step foot into the first area, the game simply tells you, “go”. I got huge Breath of the Wild vibes, and that is a beautiful thing to have that much freedom at your fingertips.

    Here are my gripes. For the PC version, the performance is hit or miss. The game runs great the vast majority of the time, but I’ve run into frame rate drops, hiccups, and freezes every so often. Dungeons will recycle bosses, so I wish there was more variety there. Main bosses are a friggin’ nightmare. They will one hit kill you, or assault you with relentless combos, and have long range and devastating area of effect attacks. Maybe I need to “get good”, but somewhere in the back of my mind while fighting these bosses I felt like the relentless amount of attacks thrown at you and damage scaling could use some tweaking.

    Elden ring is not just a lover letter to the Soulsborne genre, but a love letter to gaming in general. It has been a long time where I have been truly absorbed in a game. I very, very rarely try and unlock trophies in any game. This was an exception. I unlocked every trophy. Elden Ring set the standard and set the bar really, really high. This is what games should strive to be like. It really was a pleasure to play and experience this, and I hope FromSoftware continues to follow this formula with their future projects. Although I had an issue or two with this game, Elden Ring is perfection. This is a masterpiece, and you would be remiss not to play this.    … Expand
  5. ItsYaBoy
    Apr 9, 2022
    6
    A very hyped game for no reason whatsoever because the quality does not corelate with the hype.I would see how souls fans would love this game because it's basically Dark Souls 4 with some mechanics changed and a bigger world,that's basically it,the story is still nonsensical and left to interpretation,like I can see the writers in the meeting being like "hey,we barely have any story andA very hyped game for no reason whatsoever because the quality does not corelate with the hype.I would see how souls fans would love this game because it's basically Dark Souls 4 with some mechanics changed and a bigger world,that's basically it,the story is still nonsensical and left to interpretation,like I can see the writers in the meeting being like "hey,we barely have any story and have 1000+ plotholes,what do we do?" and one came with the ideea "don't worry,our fans will just make up for our lack of competence by saying it's just abstract storytelling".Amazing...

    Anyway,as for gameplay,some mechanics were changed like the dodging is more scuffed,balancing is now directly corelated with your level,so less "git gud" and more "get on the rune sigma grind,bro".
    There are some improvements like the new jump button(wow,a jump button in 2022,what a feature) and the arts of war are pretty cool,as well as adding stealth and more stagger options,and also spirit summons.So while it made improvements in some aspects,it tooks some steps backwards as well.
    Also,I really dislike how they went for the quantity over quality route in stead by reusing and recycling so many bosses.

    Graphically,it's ok,nothing amazing,some things do look amazing but maybe only 10% of the time.

    And I don't know how George RR Martin was involved in the making of this story cause it just seems like some more Miyazaki **** so it feels like false advertisement to me.

    All in all,I believe a 6 is a fair enough grade,after 40-50 hours on Steam,I just got bored of it,the PC performance was not stellar even after 3 patches and since I'm not not such a huge fan,I can look at this objectively and say it's very dissapointing since they claimed it's going to be very different from their past titles but it's the same old ****.    … Expand
  6. Michael_Samoxa
    Mar 8, 2022
    10
    Elden Ring is a masterpiece, this game is absolutely amazing.
    The open world is beautiful with loads of secrets to find and nooks to explore.
    With about 200 hours of play currently, lag and stutter issues were extremely rare. I 100% recommend this game to anyone who hasn't played Souls before. BUT THIS GAME REALLY NEED A QUEST JOURNAL. Because it's impossible to keep everything in    Elden Ring is a masterpiece, this game is absolutely amazing.
    The open world is beautiful with loads of secrets to find and nooks to explore.
    With about 200 hours of play currently, lag and stutter issues were extremely rare.
    I 100% recommend this game to anyone who hasn't played Souls before.

    BUT THIS GAME REALLY NEED A QUEST JOURNAL.
    Because it's impossible to keep everything in your mind.

    PC Spec: R5 2600/32gb 3200/GTX 1080 (spec is pretty weak for 2022 imho)
    Resolution 1080p. Graphics preset Maximum.
    Performance: 60 fps with drops to ~40 fps in random places and at non-obvious actions.
    Game installed on HDD, i think this partly explains the lags, but loading is between tp fairly fast.    … Expand
  7. seagseag123
    Mar 31, 2022
    1
    Worst of souls, magic diarrhea, dota wannabe...
    The idea/location is good but something is broken...
    The game is good according to numerous reviews of those who have not passed the game. It's a strange thing .. according to statistics, 2.5% passed the game. 50% of the players reached only the first boss, this is 1/5 of the volume of the game. This game implements the technology of    Worst of souls, magic diarrhea, dota wannabe...
    The idea/location is good but something is broken...

    The game is good according to numerous reviews of those who have not passed the game. It's a strange thing .. according to statistics, 2.5% passed the game.
    50% of the players reached only the first boss, this is 1/5 of the volume of the game.

    This game implements the technology of guaranteed death of the hero on the principle of disabling controllability, and as the number of deaths increases, controllability is gradually added ..... that is, when the game decides that you need to die, contact with the keyboard is lost, etc....

    Demon's Souls + Dark Souls 1/2/3 + Bloodborne + Sekiro + The Witcher 3 + Technical issues + Ruined PVP + Grind = Elden Ring.
    A mixture of two opposite sensations slowly but surely, as it passes, flows into one, negative...    … Expand
  8. Hagal
    Jul 21, 2023
    10
    Absolute masterpiece. Haven't playing something this great for years. The world is insane, I just had to explore every inch, see what's behind the next turn. The way the world is designed with handholding left out, perfect, resulting in a genuine desire to explore. The enemy design and variety is insane, the amount of different enemies, all with their own movesets, design, backstory andAbsolute masterpiece. Haven't playing something this great for years. The world is insane, I just had to explore every inch, see what's behind the next turn. The way the world is designed with handholding left out, perfect, resulting in a genuine desire to explore. The enemy design and variety is insane, the amount of different enemies, all with their own movesets, design, backstory and place in this universe is hard to fathom. I have never seen a soo diverse set of enemy types. The visuals is insane, don't give people complaining about the graphics any thought, the visuals is off the chart. I don't know how many times I just stood there, looking at the views and vistas. The whole designfilosophy is so awesome, go wherever you want, do it any way you want, but if that fails - then maybe you should try another way, another tactic...… Expand
  9. Arokhantos
    Jun 27, 2022
    0
    Terrible PC port lack of native ultrawide support, coop is very unstable, performance issues, online issues, balance issues, 60 fps cap in 2022, button prompts altho you can set them manually it should really detect when you pressing buttons on mouse keyboard to also give button prompts for mouse and keyboard and switch automaticly to mouse and keyboard prompts.
    Things that annoy me the    Terrible PC port lack of native ultrawide support, coop is very unstable, performance issues, online issues, balance issues, 60 fps cap in 2022, button prompts altho you can set them manually it should really detect when you pressing buttons on mouse keyboard to also give button prompts for mouse and keyboard and switch automaticly to mouse and keyboard prompts.
    Things that annoy me the most tho is the lack of native ultrawide support and 60 fps lock, normally in a single player game this is not much of a problem but with Easy Anti Cheat added in a singleplayer game you are now locked out to only play offline, you may not see the issue here but if you consider that Dark Souls remastered has better ultrawide support right now then Elden Ring then this is a big issue, not to mention its 2022 why do we still have no native ultrawide support or unlocked framerate, the game plays fine with fixes in offline, but due Easy Anti Cheat im forced to play offline or seemless coop mod that has a worse coop experience then original vanilla, not only that it more and more feels like my feedback is ignored, we are now on patch 1.05 and all the issues still exist, not cool From Software perhaps you should let another one handle the PC port and stick on just making the game, while letting some one profesional handle PC ports, Dark Souls remastered has better ultrawide support oke not perfect, but least it has no black bars.    … Expand
  10. WolfSergio
    Mar 8, 2022
    10
    No he tenido problemas con el juego más que un par de drops de FPS, es entendible por los diferentes hardware que tiene la PC no es como consola que ya es un hardware fijo. Muy aparte es un primer juego para FS en Directx 12. Más allá de todo es un hermoso juego, es mi primer juego de este tipo de género soul y me gustó, lo compré porque está en mundo abierto, que es lo que al final meNo he tenido problemas con el juego más que un par de drops de FPS, es entendible por los diferentes hardware que tiene la PC no es como consola que ya es un hardware fijo. Muy aparte es un primer juego para FS en Directx 12. Más allá de todo es un hermoso juego, es mi primer juego de este tipo de género soul y me gustó, lo compré porque está en mundo abierto, que es lo que al final me llamo la atención para comprar un soul.… Expand
  11. Nanonoir
    Jun 8, 2023
    10
    Besides being visually stunning, From Software stepped up and showed how full of crap the game development world was releasing games with issues/large chunks of content missing and telling us that's normal. The game delivers on everything, from smooth gameplay to epic boss battles. And NOTHING is behind a paywall, not a single microtransaction implemented. Completing a section of the storyBesides being visually stunning, From Software stepped up and showed how full of crap the game development world was releasing games with issues/large chunks of content missing and telling us that's normal. The game delivers on everything, from smooth gameplay to epic boss battles. And NOTHING is behind a paywall, not a single microtransaction implemented. Completing a section of the story and connected boss really makes you feel like you accomplished something in a way most games have lost. There is countless ways to play, with having definite differences in weapons and skills to choose from and so many things hidden throughout the world that if you don't use a guide multiple playthroughs could still leave you missing things. A game that was well worth the money when released.… Expand
  12. lacosto
    Mar 1, 2022
    3
    Lamentable el estado de optimización de éste juego, me encanta from software, pero es que es siempre lo mismo, acabará mejorando algo seguro, pero de momento se queda con un bonito 3, éstas cosas hay que ir dejándolas atrás
  13. coroner01
    Mar 31, 2022
    4
    It was another console port . PC gamers were playing this type of game 15 years ago . What's with all the hype . I was bored after about an hour . And the controls were awful . Gutted I spent money on it . And the amount of fake reviews is a joke . A 10 really? Really ! BS
  14. Nooob
    Nov 3, 2022
    4
    Same Combat mechanics for 13 years already (2009) just added with a Open World more like Open Field...
  15. oskarr
    Mar 14, 2022
    10
    Great game and had no technical issues except a little bit of lag in some cutscenes, and my pc isn't some technical marvel (rtx 2070 and i7), i also did not change any settings, except sound. The only reason i post this, is to higher the user score as it certainly, despite the issues some have, deserves a much higher score.
  16. Daermon
    Mar 20, 2022
    9
    Very, very awesome game! This my first soulslike game and i enjoy! :) Only few problems here:
    - some simple mob very unbalanced (i hope patchs reprair this)
    - few performace issues (but patch can reprair)
    - we no have good storytelling (but this world is fantastic, need more story whit voice acting, ingame cinematic, etc…)
    - Very very missing the questlog
    - pvp is lame and unnecessary freature
  17. Loshar
    Mar 14, 2022
    9
    "Спасибо, что трахнул": гимн игроков в эту замечательную игру. Несмотря на распространённое заблуждение, сюжет в этой игре хороший, геймплей отличный, боссы шикарные!
  18. EddyGenesis
    Mar 3, 2022
    2
    It is now almost a week since the release of the game and still the from software does not move to fix the game, I predetermined it over 1 month ago but I had to get a refund, always the white screen is received with my video card.
  19. Semsko
    Dec 8, 2022
    0
    I literally don't get the hype around this game... it is so empty and boring. Why have so much space with enemies so far and few between... It's like death stranding but somehow worse. How is this game so lauded as being so great?? Literally mind blown.
  20. Benaud
    Apr 13, 2022
    10
    Wonderful game. I die constantly. But every now and then, I get to win. Seen people complain that you need a controller. I'm 30+ hours in and never touched anything other than my trusty kb/mouse. I find the game is more immersive and runs better without the online component turned on. I don't need messages telling me to finger, but whole or fort, night? in the middle of all the spookyWonderful game. I die constantly. But every now and then, I get to win. Seen people complain that you need a controller. I'm 30+ hours in and never touched anything other than my trusty kb/mouse. I find the game is more immersive and runs better without the online component turned on. I don't need messages telling me to finger, but whole or fort, night? in the middle of all the spooky atmosphere and oppressive enemies and I don't have to have them.… Expand
  21. GabriMH19
    Jun 1, 2022
    8
    - ELDEN RING -

    Ambientación 9 Escenarios 10 Narrativa 8 Personajes 7 Dificultad 5 Jugabilidad 8 Mecánicas 7 Gráficos 8 Innovación 8 Contenido 10 Errores o bugs 9 Plano artístico 9 - TIPS - Después de dedicar en torno a las 100 horas a Elden Ring. He de decir que estoy bastante satisfecho con el conjunto del videojuego. Si es verdad que siendo el mayor exponente a    - ELDEN RING -

    Ambientación 9 Escenarios 10
    Narrativa 8 Personajes 7
    Dificultad 5 Jugabilidad 8
    Mecánicas 7 Gráficos 8
    Innovación 8 Contenido 10
    Errores o bugs 9 Plano artístico 9

    - TIPS -
    Después de dedicar en torno a las 100 horas a Elden Ring. He de decir que estoy bastante satisfecho con el conjunto del videojuego. Si es verdad que siendo el mayor exponente a nivel de videojuego de la compañía tengo que reconocer que no es de mis favoritos. Aunque contenga una historia y narrativa interesante y completa he de decir que se queda corta en muchos aspectos y no llega a ser tan interesante como otras historias que han contando anteriormente. Aun así es un videojuego plagado de contenido que en algunos momentos se puede hacer algo repetitivo pero no llega a cansar al jugador. Se nota también algo de innovación aunque en mi caso no llega a ser realmente útil e utilizable. La recta final del juego es el motivo por el que mas me siento defraudado por el mismo ya que se hace bastante mas largo de lo que debería. Si hubieran intentado acotar y disminuir un poco mas el mapeado y no hubieran llenado tanto de contenido el juego. El juego podría haberse centrado mas en la historia y haber cuidado otros aspectos mas importantes. Aunque sin duda lo mas decepcionante para mi ha sido la dificultad y las mecánicas implementadas para intentar hacer fácil el juego. Creo que no acompañan y hacen del juego un reto mísero. De todos modos recomiendo totalmente su compra. Sus escenarios, diálogos, personajes, ambientación e historia son dignas de ser disfrutadas. Se nota muchísimo el trabajo y el cariño hacia el juego y creo que sin duda en muchos aspectos From Software ha tocado techo con Elden Ring.    … Expand
  22. onehitok
    Jun 24, 2022
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Lol, 6.9 user score
    Game is great, good graphics, if it's too difficult for you, use wemod cheats.    … Expand
  23. moviesandgames
    Apr 23, 2022
    0
    there is dificulty than this. if the first mini boss takes me 5 tries than you failed to make a playable game. you filled it with to much information and it made it impossible to chose a class. why not instead try this dont be stupid and add a setting called difficulty easy medium or hard thats literally it but no you chose the 2nd difficulty option of lets make this class bassed systemthere is dificulty than this. if the first mini boss takes me 5 tries than you failed to make a playable game. you filled it with to much information and it made it impossible to chose a class. why not instead try this dont be stupid and add a setting called difficulty easy medium or hard thats literally it but no you chose the 2nd difficulty option of lets make this class bassed system impossible for anyone whos never played a dark souls game to understand so instead they just google it… Expand
  24. ApacheHeli
    Jun 4, 2022
    9
    I didn't finish the game, probably won't, but I did enjoy it and had a lot of fun, just for me personally I don't really wanna put weeks or months into this game when I have other games I'd prefer to be playing, I'm not much of a dark souls person but the games are enjoyable and this one was really good, I loved the free roam aspect and being able to go at your own pace, but like I said II didn't finish the game, probably won't, but I did enjoy it and had a lot of fun, just for me personally I don't really wanna put weeks or months into this game when I have other games I'd prefer to be playing, I'm not much of a dark souls person but the games are enjoyable and this one was really good, I loved the free roam aspect and being able to go at your own pace, but like I said I probably won't finish the game, because I don't wanna sit there for weeks to months trying to beat it, but unlike other people who rant about the game and didn't even bother to play all of it, I did enjoy it overall.… Expand
  25. zzkaiser
    Apr 11, 2022
    9
    Después de más de 80 horas jugadas, puedo decir, en mi opinión, que es un gran juego, en todos los aspectos, aunque peca de falta de optimización, aunque, nada tan grave como para decir, es injugable! Historia: En la línea de Dark Souls y sekiro, pero, ahora con las conversaciones, puedes sacar mucha de la historia. No como antes, que tenías que leer hasta las descripciones de lasDespués de más de 80 horas jugadas, puedo decir, en mi opinión, que es un gran juego, en todos los aspectos, aunque peca de falta de optimización, aunque, nada tan grave como para decir, es injugable! Historia: En la línea de Dark Souls y sekiro, pero, ahora con las conversaciones, puedes sacar mucha de la historia. No como antes, que tenías que leer hasta las descripciones de las piedras, para entender algo. Jugabilidad: Lo mejor y lo peor de todos los juegos.… Expand
  26. dafunkk
    Feb 28, 2022
    6
    If you've never played a Souls game, PLEASE do not start with this one. Every other game in the series is a better place to start, I worry that for someone who starts with this game, they'll miss out on the rest of the series because hey, this is the newest one so it MUST be the best. It's not, it's near the bottom of this great series. Maybe at the bottom entirely.

    So... another Souls    If you've never played a Souls game, PLEASE do not start with this one. Every other game in the series is a better place to start, I worry that for someone who starts with this game, they'll miss out on the rest of the series because hey, this is the newest one so it MUST be the best. It's not, it's near the bottom of this great series. Maybe at the bottom entirely.

    So... another Souls game. Not saying that's a bad thing. The combat is fair and challenging, the presentation is solid, the graphics are... alright, certainly not 2022 stuff (unless this is just a bad PC port... which now that I look over the reviews, it sounds like I got off light, it just looks old and blah, it's not stuttering *anywhere* near as bad as many are experiencing)

    This is not a bad game, 7/10 is not a bad score. It's alright... but I'd wait for it to be on sale for like $20... While it retains many of the elements that made prior Souls games great, what it cuts out was essentially the heart and what it adds in simply doesn't work. The open world is boring, the enemy placement is lame, I didn't feel any sense of wonder or world building that even comes close to the rest of this series. The game feels rushed and more like From was told to make a game they didn't really want to make.

    As a huge fan of Demon's Souls, Dark Souls and Bloodborne... I'm not disappointed per say... but I'm certainly not wowed either. I don't care for how open the game is, it really ruins what makes these games great. I don't care for the setting, take Bloodborne for example, the setting was the best thing about it. I don't care for the random hodgepodge haphazard placement of enemies, it honestly feels like an early 2000s MMO when you look at how things are laid out...I certainly would put this near the bottom, maybe just above DS2, in terms of souls games. That being said, 7/10 doesn't mean this is a bad game and DS2 isn't bad either. It's just not anywhere near their best work, which I'd recommend 10x over this title.

    Again, not horrible but it's not worth $60 and From Software clearly didn't put much effort into this port. Sigh... maybe I am disappointed, writing this really made me feel that way.

    6/10, skip it. 7 is too high of a score for how much of a fall from grace this is, especially with how bad the port is for PC.    … Expand
  27. gessie00
    Jun 5, 2022
    8
    Elden Ring is the pinnacle of FromSoft's experience, combining both the best and worst of previous games into an open world 200+hours game (if you're a completionist like me, that is). It deserves neither the excessive praise from fanboys, whom at this point have become FromSoft cultists, nor the excessive hate from casual gamers.

    The good: - Fascinating storytelling, which    Elden Ring is the pinnacle of FromSoft's experience, combining both the best and worst of previous games into an open world 200+hours game (if you're a completionist like me, that is). It deserves neither the excessive praise from fanboys, whom at this point have become FromSoft cultists, nor the excessive hate from casual gamers.

    The good:
    - Fascinating storytelling, which unfortunately can be partially lost by exploring too early as this breaks various questlines. The main storyline, and storylines which lead to alternative endings, are excellent.
    - Open world suits the Dark Souls-esque genre exceptionally well, while plenty of large dungeons are available in the traditional Dark Souls design style. Large portions of these dungeons are optional and well-hidden, but also highly rewarding.
    - The game world is breathtakingly beautiful. Ignore the complaints about the graphics; these are just people used to the trope in gaming of high detailed stuff up close and ugly trash in the distance, hidden by fog or needless objects. Elden Ring instead emphasizes distance, giant landmarks and open plains. The thematic designs of various areas is also exceptionally awe-inspiring, particularly the (underground) cities seen in the mid-lategame, though unfortunately many of these are entirely optional and somewhat hidden.
    - Per extension of the above, and the huge amount of content in the game, exploration is absolutely amazing - perhaps the best out of any game thus far. Expect to be surprised by random dungeons and unique loot nearly everywhere.

    The subjective:
    - Much easier than previous titles, even when compared to the original Dark Souls, which was also much easier than claimed in mainstream gaming journalism. ER is not a hardcore gaming experience, as opposed to FromSoft's last game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and the lack of a difficulty setting now favors semi-casual gamers, thus it turns into an annoyance to hardcore gamers.
    - Optimized for playing with a controller. Very poor support for keyboard controls: You can't bind specific items or spells to specific hotkeys, thus you're stuck cycling between lists while peering at the UI to see what you're selecting. Not as bad as Sekiro, thankfully, since you've got plenty of time to mess up.

    The bad:
    - Extremely poor balance between classes. Melee exclusive play forces you to learn enemies' moves and pick your fights carefully, while a mage class can just stomp through the entire game with near-zero chance of dying. Some of the game's most interesting and imposing bosses can be killed in two-three casts. In other words, class decision is the game's difficulty slider, and it ranges from "difficult" to "child's play". I expect future patches to alleviate this problem somewhat.
    - Poor balance between early and mid/late game. Early on the game can be ruthless, especially if you open the first locked dungeon you find and waltz right in, yet after being given the opportunity to optimize your build it's smooth sailing, and you can go for a full fashion build without problems. You'll get to know early game enemies well, but the late game ones are just fodder. This punishes completionists, who become far more powerful than casual players would be at any given point.
    - As mentioned, exploration is punished by questlines randomly breaking, often without any causal reason. It "just sorta happens", "because".
    - It's nearly impossible to keep track of the various NPC's quests without using the game's wiki due to a lack of an in-game journal or other hints about where to find NPC's. It seems FromSoft decided on the open world design, but didn't embrace that decision when it comes to storytelling.
    - Forced platforming. The overwhelming majority of my characters' deaths were due to falling off cliffs or into water (which for some bizarre reason means instant death). There's no reason for this in a combat-centric game. Like driving challenges in GTA-like games, it's unnecessary and disruptive. At least in GTA games the rewards for driving tend to be driving-related, but in ER the platforming leads to combat gear, which is silly.
    - Some of the common small dungeons/caves are so heavily copied from one another that you'll know exactly what you'll find around the corner. Not a major issue, but certainly unfortunate.

    All in all, 8/10. It could've been 10/10, and with some major patches it still could be - but I'm not holding my breath.    … Expand
  28. Shimmeywill
    Mar 25, 2022
    10
    Most compelling open world design seen in a long time, culmination of From's gameplay learnings and great character creation, builds and fashion options. Some of the best bosses in From's catalogue and great world building.
  29. 4life-
    Feb 28, 2022
    7
    Good game - IF YOUR A SOULS FAN
    Great graphics
    Feels very open and free world Nice horse mechanics The game is overrated. It just is. For Souls fans tho. I get it,it get it. Its a huge improvement and the game have alot of qualities. But overrated ?? HELL YES! And of course "Git gudd" is the only argument that fans will throw at you for not liking it. It just is not a game for    Good game - IF YOUR A SOULS FAN
    Great graphics
    Feels very open and free world
    Nice horse mechanics

    The game is overrated. It just is. For Souls fans tho. I get it,it get it. Its a huge improvement and the game have alot of qualities. But overrated ?? HELL YES! And of course "Git gudd" is the only argument that fans will throw at you for not liking it. It just is not a game for everyone OK? And lets face it,there is basicly NO story. It is Breath of the wild with a more mature setting and alot higher difficulty. For many this sounds AMAZING. For me - Not so much. I feel games like Red Dead Redemption 2 or The Last of us 2 are better games than this.    … Expand
  30. PapaJustice
    Jun 16, 2022
    10
    Top 3 open world games of all time. My first souls-like game and i must say: "This game is master peace and super addictive" Only hate couple things - map UI (hard to spot your own marks and places you clear should be marked as "done sign" ); items and skills quick access management also sucks. Wheel ui would be much better imo. No compare window then you buy armor or weapons
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best PC Game of 2022
2
#2 Most Discussed PC Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
94

Universal acclaim - based on 60 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 57 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 60
  3. Negative: 0 out of 60
  1. Cubed3
    Aug 29, 2022
    70
    Elden Ring is an experience that will not be forgotten in a hurry. It's a tremendous, hulking, massive achievement but because it is tremendous, hulking and massive, it is one that comes with many caveats. The shelves in CeX and conversations with people who stopped playing at Stormveil castle can certainly attest to some of those caveats. Much like any FromSoftware title, it's not going to be for everybody, but paradoxically it is one of their hardest and one of their most accessible to date. It offers huge value in one package, and perhaps is a little too much value, only becoming clearer when nearing the endgame. Don't be mistaken by the criticism, though. This is a phenomenal achievement with a moment-to-moment that is incredibly engaging and immersive. No doubt it will be deserving of the end-of-year accolades it will inevitably receive. One pushes through Elden Ring as one pushes through life, with all the highs and the lows that it brings.
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  2. Riot Pixels
    Apr 28, 2022
    82
    Elden Ring is massive, sometimes to its detriment. A thorough walkthrough might take up more than 100 hours to complete, and at some point it becomes clear that From Software did not have enough manpower to produce that much unique content. Still, it remains incredibly addictive even after those 100 hours pass…
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  3. RPGamer
    Apr 14, 2022
    90
    It’s hard to review Elden Ring without being comparative; that’s because Elden Ring is an evolutionary step, not a revolutionary one, and one can’t help but see how it’s built on what came before. Here is a massive undertaking of a game, not for the sake of chasing trends but as the natural progression of the style the company has been fostering for over a decade. It’s amazing how smoothly the transition to open world was and how much of the Souls identity is still present. In the short time since its release, it has already left a cultural mark, no doubt a result of the game’s increased approachability. Even after sifting past all the hype and grandiosity, there’s still an excellent game left and Elden Ring is a clear showcase of FromSoftware’s outstanding expertise in the field. Elden Ring really is just that good.
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