Elden Ring

 PlayStation 5
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12214 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9,064 out of 12214
  2. Mixed: 809 out of 12214
  3. Negative: 2,341 out of 12214
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  1. PaBe
    Apr 17, 2022
    7
    Open World Design: 10/10
    Story and storytelling: 7/10
    Quest Design: 8/10 Game Mechanics: 7/10 Combat Mechanics: 6/10 ### 1. World Design on the highest surprising level: The world and its design is beautiful and gigantic one. Every single area fits the wishes and dreams of an open world for casual gamers like me. Also the decision to design the world also vertically was 100% a    Open World Design: 10/10
    Story and storytelling: 7/10
    Quest Design: 8/10
    Game Mechanics: 7/10
    Combat Mechanics: 6/10

    ### 1. World Design on the highest surprising level:
    The world and its design is beautiful and gigantic one. Every single area fits the wishes and dreams of an open world for casual gamers like me. Also the decision to design the world also vertically was 100% a right one.
    That the world don't uses the current and available state of the art next gen graphics level like other dripple A games isn't a minus, since the world still looks beautiful, also compared to its complete size. Or compared to the moments you will definitely have alone or together with a friend when you get surprised again, again, and again - after 10 Minutes, 30 hours or even in the endgame.

    ### 2. Story that is written but not told:
    Like in every From Software game the individual story isn't really told via a recognizable common thread. Based on items and every items description and some short video clips YOU are responsible to find out more about the lore of Elden Ring.
    But you're not alone: the community will not only support you in terms of story, quests and their individual progress.
    For casual gamers like me this "story telling pattern" isn't that convenient, since I get motivation and energy from clearly visible progress, not just "skill-", attribute- or story-related.
    Of course: Since you're responsible to find out more about the story and Elden Ring's fundament is an open world, you could say "Every player will write and then tell its own Elden Ring story".
    But after 50 hours of playing the game you will more and more get the feeling that something is missing while you found your character build, needed ashes and you find out that more and more things repeat themselves (Dungeons, Enemies, Combat Mechanics).

    ### 3. Quest, after quest, after quest:
    Quests in Elden Ring are great, some of them are amazing. But - when you start a quest you need to finish the quest asap and stop playing the story line. If not, in some cases you wont be able to finish the relevant quests.
    AND: You need the support of the community and Elden Ring Wikis for 6 of 10 quests.
    Which makes it even harder to dive deeper into the game and its story, since to search and share quest relevant information you need to switch from console or pc to your smartphone or tablet.

    ### 4. Inner fight with yourself until luck kicks in
    The combat system and mechanics of Elden Ring follows one official way: “Be open, try, fail, learn, make progress, repeat”.

    When you play Elden Ring you soon find out, it’s not the way above. It’s following way:

    If you fail. Try again.

    If you fail again, level your attributes, upgrade your favorite weapons in use. Google search: "Interactive map, smithing stones"

    If you fail, try again.

    If you fail again, start farming to become the Elden God. Google search: "Best farming spot Elden Ring"

    If you fail, google search: "Best build for boss x/y" and reset your attributes.

    If you fail again, google search: "Cheese of boss x/y" and don't forget to update your bow.

    If you fail, try again.

    If you fail again, ask a community player to support you in the fight. But: Don't forget that the boss will become stronger after you sum another player.

    If you fail, start again from the top of the list.

    If you fail again, LEARN to live with it.

    If you can't, because you have a friend which already finished Elden Ring the second time and loves to here you failing: Mute him, games music, voices (not only Malenias) and try it again!

    Learn to live with the fact, that getting in a fight with an Elden Ring boss means getting spammed with individual combat patterns and if you have enough luck you maybe win that fight.
    But: Before you win the fight, you will scream, cry, earn anger, frustration, deepest hate and a lot of destroyed playstation, xbox controllers or pc keyboards. Even at the end, when you can smell victory - not only the last 4 bosses will spam you every combat pattern the individual boss has directly in your face - like you play against a world champion of the game Super Smash Bros or Street Fighter. But you play the specific game for the first time. But, world champion gamers of beatemups don't have a second phase. Elden Ring bosses have a second one - without an endurance/condition break for spamming every combat pattern in your direction. It's not about progress, not about improvement, not about skill - if you're a casual gamer like me and you're not part of the souls community. At the end its luck. After 123 hours of playing, end level 190, and after I finished the game I finally can say: Elden Ring and it's patterns from world design, NPCs, story, contents, bosses and the unfair spamming combat system is not a masterpiece. Elden Ring is a hugh step forward for all the upcoming (open world) games in the future, not only of From Software. 7.6/10    … Expand
  2. nexxuno
    Apr 25, 2022
    5
    Empty world, no storytelling, dated graphics.

    Combat is somewhat fun and art direction is good and inspired.

    A good example of how marketing and hype are becoming more important than quality.
  3. Vile-Okami
    Mar 5, 2022
    5
    Boring and clunky. Technical issues everywhere, terrible camera and boring exploration with no real rewards. No idea what people see in these games.
  4. Witchywoman212
    Mar 25, 2022
    7
    At first I liked this game. Graphics are good, but I believe From has gone down a bad road, starting with Sekiro. The From souls games were brilliant, and a lot of fun. Difficult, but enjoyable. I laughed a lot, and had fun with the coops and invasions. But this game has taken on a Nioh feel. Everything is one shot, and there is a kill switch, when you are in danger of killing aAt first I liked this game. Graphics are good, but I believe From has gone down a bad road, starting with Sekiro. The From souls games were brilliant, and a lot of fun. Difficult, but enjoyable. I laughed a lot, and had fun with the coops and invasions. But this game has taken on a Nioh feel. Everything is one shot, and there is a kill switch, when you are in danger of killing a boss. I believe the pve is overpowered. Especially when you are trying to reach an important area to advance the game. I have had to respect my character two times to advance. This is not good game design. The Fire Giant is almost impossible. You can't finish the game without beating it. There is little help, and no mimic help. Why have a mimic when you can't use it in the most important areas of the game. The blood, and bleeding is way overpowered. Invaders can one shot you. There is very little defense against the most overused builds in the game. I got sick of fighting all the bosses with blood builds. I really wanted to give the game up. Now I played Nioh, and hated the game. I even platinumed both Nioh games. Has From gone so far to cheapen their games competing with the Nioh Team? I am not sure I am going to finish Elden Ring. They dumb down good weapons that let you complete with the overpowered and unfair bosses, but not the bosses. They need to look at the way people are struggling to get through. The NPC's that help are crap. I miss the good NPC's in DS2. One good thing, the horse. I loved it. The world is too big, and coop help is too scattered around the big world. The lines are interesting, but way to long. The Alexander Jar line is ridiculous.
    Anyway, if you decide to play, good luck! i wish From would go back to the winning ways of DS and Bloodborne.    … Expand
  5. CaptainHarlock
    Mar 21, 2022
    5
    One of the best games I ever played!!! The sense of exploration the mystery is phenomenal… I already write 200 hours and continue
  6. Mjw7502
    Mar 18, 2022
    7
    I really love this game. However the end game is so imbalanced that I started to have negative fun. The mob placement and mob damage is all over the place. Yet almost every boss at end game can be 1 shotted without summons or help. Up until then the experience was perfect though.
  7. itzaspace
    Mar 18, 2022
    6
    have fun playing it and i really recommend it, but my 6 is because the massive copy pasta of previous games and bosses. If you have played previous FS games, you will find that bosses have the same patterns, animations, models etc of souls games, there are no new mechanics. They put everything in previous souls games into a open world game, marketed as the creator of game of thrones didhave fun playing it and i really recommend it, but my 6 is because the massive copy pasta of previous games and bosses. If you have played previous FS games, you will find that bosses have the same patterns, animations, models etc of souls games, there are no new mechanics. They put everything in previous souls games into a open world game, marketed as the creator of game of thrones did the story and there you go, easy money... The game is good but is so overrated, the game still lacks of story and narrative as previous soul games, boring and recycled fights , they are just hard and that's it.… Expand
  8. granovsp
    May 19, 2022
    7
    My review is for people who knows and likes FS games.
    Elden Ring is the first game I've preorded.
    The most important reason why I was hunting for PS5. I'm fun of FromSoftware games. All parts of Souls , Sekiro, BB were finished with big joy. Elden Ring was the game that I was very waiting for. And it's the fist Miyazaki game I've dropped after 65-70% completing. To me: open world for    My review is for people who knows and likes FS games.
    Elden Ring is the first game I've preorded.
    The most important reason why I was hunting for PS5.
    I'm fun of FromSoftware games. All parts of Souls , Sekiro, BB were finished with big joy.
    Elden Ring was the game that I was very waiting for.
    And it's the fist Miyazaki game I've dropped after 65-70% completing.
    To me: open world for souls game didnt worked . In this time. in Elden Ring I mean.

    - One of the resaons why I love Souls games it's very good elaboration of locations.
    it's was always inetersting to expore them. It's like a surviving adventure.
    But not this time ..Half time of gaming in Elden I'm just moving on "horse" throw the big areas.
    I can just pass throw a lot of enemies. it's not making fun for me.
    Still I really like some locations like Castles, and Undeground in Capital -> thats a part that reminds me good BB&Souls game with perfect eleboration. And I enjoy them so much. but good locations are limited in quantity.
    - Some bossess are really nice and hard but they are repeating quite usuall
    - Due to openworld, extra abilitites and many magical stuff effects on other very imprtant part of the games – *balance* ! And unfortinatly the balance meshed up in ER.
    It's not broken but it's not as good as usual in FromSoftware games.
    - And Last thing which is not so important for me still the graphics looks out of date a little.
    Some locations are good but in general the game looks slightly old fashioned I think it's beacuse of Souls-graphics engine
    ..
    Still 60 fps and 4K are ok
    So to me: Elden Ring is defently overated by Critics.
    They are some founduemntal things that have to be improved to get reall: 9/10.
    it's not Zelda BofW (which is one of the best open worlds games) It's not RDR 2.
    And It's not so interesting as Sekiro / BB / or DS3

    Still if you are the player who likes Miyazaki games you will find what them like in Elden Ring
    but to me it's mixed up fillings. it's not a best project of this great studio but its the biggest.
    It's good but not perfect as the Mestacritic ratings.
    to me it's maximum: 7/10    … Expand
  9. aviralj
    Mar 13, 2022
    7
    The only gripe I have with this game is the input lag; dodging and blocking are not as responsive as other from software games. The mechanics is a downgrade from the likes of Bloodborne and Sekiro. Overall it's still a great game only held back by mediocore mechanics.
  10. el-snob
    Mar 1, 2022
    7
    This Game really is amazing. But playing it on PC makes it hard to fall in love with it. In every moment it just gives you the feeling that they dont really cared about the PC port. Not having Widescreen support in 2022 is just one of the smaller problems.
  11. Thaksin
    Jun 7, 2022
    7
    Все хорошо, кроме производительности и большому повторению боссов.
    Для такой формулы как Souls. открытый мир считаю недостатком.
    Любимая часть souls - Demon souls.
  12. Mahmoudragheb
    Apr 9, 2022
    7
    Character design 7
    Originality 5
    Gameplay 7
    Story 7
    Sound and music 7
    Visual fidelty 6
    Mechanics ancient except for the jump
    Frame pacing is ugly ..2022 games should feel as premium as demon souls at least
  13. YunusEdros
    Mar 6, 2022
    7
    Elden ring is a great game with amazing exploration and it was overall a good experience. There was lot of times where the boss AI would break and freeze or just stop attacking etc which was a bit odd and the only reason I am giving a 7 and not a 8 is because of some game breaking bugs which made me go back many hours on a 50 hour save file because of a soft lock bug which was knownElden ring is a great game with amazing exploration and it was overall a good experience. There was lot of times where the boss AI would break and freeze or just stop attacking etc which was a bit odd and the only reason I am giving a 7 and not a 8 is because of some game breaking bugs which made me go back many hours on a 50 hour save file because of a soft lock bug which was known throughout the community. Great game overall.… Expand
  14. PurpleShdw
    Feb 27, 2022
    7
    Universe is inspired and the creative designers did a really good job. Sadly, what made the from software games what they are is lacking. Boss fights are unrewarding and feel like a chore to complete. Having completed all the souls game it is by far the worst entry in terms of boss fight. For about 90% of them Im falling asleep with my controller on my lap mechanically spamming the dodgeUniverse is inspired and the creative designers did a really good job. Sadly, what made the from software games what they are is lacking. Boss fights are unrewarding and feel like a chore to complete. Having completed all the souls game it is by far the worst entry in terms of boss fight. For about 90% of them Im falling asleep with my controller on my lap mechanically spamming the dodge button waiting for the 700 lbs guy to finish his acrobatic routine so that I can finally get a single hit in and then immediatly back away (rince and repeat about 20 times until he is dead). Gaming journalist need to stop taking from software as the holy grail of gaming, this game is good but giving it a 97% is false advertisement. User’s score is a lot more fair and reflecting of it. Ideas are good but execution is lacking.Overall it feels like everyone that worked on this game loved making it and was passionate about it except for the people in charge of the combat. Those guys where in it for a paycheck.… Expand
  15. JustADude15
    Mar 24, 2022
    6
    It’s FromSoftware. Nothing new to see here. Likes:
    > Art Style
    > Lore > Depth of customization > Throttling of features / new mechanics to discover Dislikes: > Usual FS combat — Slow, with few inputs. Boss fights are a matter of memorization and trial/error. FS elitists will call it skill, but it’s no reflex test — all about memorizing hitboxes / what you can or cannot parry/block /    It’s FromSoftware. Nothing new to see here. Likes:
    > Art Style
    > Lore
    > Depth of customization
    > Throttling of features / new mechanics to discover

    Dislikes:
    > Usual FS combat — Slow, with few inputs. Boss fights are a matter of memorization and trial/error. FS elitists will call it skill, but it’s no reflex test — all about memorizing hitboxes / what you can or cannot parry/block / understanding timing of dodge and lack of input cancelling

    > Do you like to play games by googling what to do at every step? This one is for you. Do you like to keep a journal to manually track your own quests — I’m glad someone’s providing that opportunity.

    I give it a 7 because the world they’ve built is beautiful, but if you’re like me the gameplay loop and dated engine will get old fast.

    Full disclosure: Beat a few bosses including Godrick pretty easily. Combat is hard unless you’re a souls vet or until you figure it out — then it goes from hard to boring.

    This is my opinion but I prefer combat extremes like the player agency provided through reflex-based action OR the calculated strategy availed by turn-based. FS is you observe and then strategize when you should utilize one of two options: “dodge or hit”.

    It’s just not for me, at least not as a solo experience.    … Expand
  16. FredtheMole
    Mar 7, 2022
    6
    I've definitely been enjoying this game a lot, but I don't think it's really lived up to the hype. The combat is really fun and the world is pretty fun to explore, but the open world doesn't really do much but take you from battle to battle. It's definitely a good game, but not really sure if I'd call it a great one.
  17. KakashiM
    Mar 8, 2022
    7
    Great game, but lots of technical issues (frame-drops, bugs, etc.) and a pretty awful UI/UX design hinders it.

    The open world works, but I still prefer the more tighter experiences from previous FS games, such as BB.

    If you are fan of FF's games (especially the Dark Souls games), you will like this.
  18. CoffeeCup99
    Dec 27, 2022
    7
    This game is quite good till near the end where the bosses become over-tuned and a chore.
  19. Fatboyslick
    Mar 10, 2022
    7
    Pros:
    - Huge world with incredible vistas
    - (probably) hundreds of dungeons - excellent graphics - very detailed and in-depth inventory, weapons, magic, items - Challenging but beatable Cons: - Absolute bewilderment for first time players of a soulsborne game. Very little is explained, zero guidance on aims or what anything is or does - Controls are clunky and sometimes unresponsive. For    Pros:
    - Huge world with incredible vistas
    - (probably) hundreds of dungeons
    - excellent graphics
    - very detailed and in-depth inventory, weapons, magic, items
    - Challenging but beatable

    Cons:
    - Absolute bewilderment for first time players of a soulsborne game. Very little is explained, zero guidance on aims or what anything is or does
    - Controls are clunky and sometimes unresponsive. For example your character can often swing twice even though you’ve only pressed to swing once and then pressed to roll
    - very repetitive unless your get excitement from searching for an item you won’t know what impact it will have    … Expand
  20. Notdarksouls
    Mar 17, 2022
    7
    Copy & paste bosses throughout the game, every boss except 3. Bosses copied from other souls games, & the AI & hit boxes are terrible. The input lag is really bad, yet few souls players call out from software about this. Maybe delusional players, because they love the " challenge" of a truly broken game.
  21. Zbju
    Mar 18, 2022
    6
    I barely ever write reviews, but felt the need to leave one for this game.

    The reason for this is not that I want to tank the game; far from it. However, I bought this game strictly because of its absurdly high critics score and ended up spending 100$ on a game I would not have bought had I known it was just as inaccessible as classic Souls games.. Indeed, even if I am not generally a    I barely ever write reviews, but felt the need to leave one for this game.

    The reason for this is not that I want to tank the game; far from it. However, I bought this game strictly because of its absurdly high critics score and ended up spending 100$ on a game I would not have bought had I known it was just as inaccessible as classic Souls games.. Indeed, even if I am not generally a fan of the Souls like genre, I assumed that a nearly perfect review score meant that this was a game for everyone.

    I was severely disappointed

    Now, it's not that I instantly dislike any game from this genre. I LOVED Star Wars : Fallen Order (can't wait for the sequel) and I had a love/hate relationship with Returnal (loved the story and concept but thought the frustrating gameplay was unnecessary).

    Elden Ring started out fine. Being an RPG fan first and foremost I loved the character customization options, as well as the diversity of classes, stats and skills (even though it is a lot to take in all at once). The story is intriguing at first, as the opening does not give you a lot of information but does seem to set up an interesting premise.

    The disappointment, however, essentially started there for me. You venture out into the world, with no real story narrative. I roamed from one uninteresting enemy group to another, simply grinding to get stronger. This grind is incredibly tedious as combat with your average enemy is often monotonous and repetitive.

    Played the first boss, got killed 10 times straight, barely bringing it lower than 30% of its health. At this point I ask myself: is it the inherent difficulty of the game or is it that my character is too weak? In doubt, I venture back into the open world, grinding through boring enemies for a few hours before coming back to the boss. I try it 10 times more, exact same result. I go back to grinding for a few hours, and finally completely lose interest.

    This game REALLY wasn't for me.

    Now I really do understand that, for hardcore fans of the Soulslike genre, this might be the perfect game. Quite obviously, most review sites clearly handed the review for this game to the most hardcore of these fans they had on staff, which explains the scores. However, most gamers are not such fans of the genre, as it does have a very particular style that is not everyone. I wouldn't call it "niche", there are too many for such a restrictive term, but we are far from the generalized popularity of more classical genres.

    Therefore, the review I'm writing is from the perspective of someone who is open to the genre, but not necessarily a fan of it..

    The 6 I am giving this game is mostly for its visual qualities. I love the setting, the attention to details, the ambiance. You really feel as tough you are transported to another universe.

    I, however, did not enjoy much beyond that.

    As I mentioned before, combat, to me, was either way too hard or too easy, ultimately becoming uninteresting on either ones of these extremes. I usually don't mind banging my head against a difficulty wall until it breaks if there is motivation to push though. However, the narrative is so thin that I wasn't engrossed in the story, and, actually, the hours of getting killed and doing boring world fights dilutes it even further as the few narrative parts are stretched farther and farther away.

    To me, these games should have two scores. One for fans and one for the rest of us. I guess give it a 10/10 for fans, but, t me, it barely made 6/10. I would say don't buy if you're not really sure.    … Expand
  22. enguerranws
    Apr 11, 2022
    6
    Elden Ring is not a bad game, far from it. In a nutshell, it's Dark Souls 4. It has all the strength of the Souls series, but still has all its issues. Moreover, Elden Ring has a big lack of novelty. You can use a "horse" and jump, that's all. When Sekiro or Bloodborne tried to push the souls series in a different way, Elden Ring simply reuse the DS recipe. It also reuses skins,Elden Ring is not a bad game, far from it. In a nutshell, it's Dark Souls 4. It has all the strength of the Souls series, but still has all its issues. Moreover, Elden Ring has a big lack of novelty. You can use a "horse" and jump, that's all. When Sekiro or Bloodborne tried to push the souls series in a different way, Elden Ring simply reuse the DS recipe. It also reuses skins, animations, textures, and the old DS graphics, so, even 1 year and a half after the PS5 release, it feels like you're playing on a PS4.… Expand
  23. BandiraTraveler
    Apr 12, 2022
    7
    Elden Ring is the most conflicted I've been about a From game since Dark Souls 2. I greatly enjoyed most of my time with the game. But I also can't see myself returning to it for further runs like I did with previous From games, nor are my feelings looking back on the game as a whole especially positive.

    First, the good. The game is beautiful. True, on the tech side it's hardly cutting    Elden Ring is the most conflicted I've been about a From game since Dark Souls 2. I greatly enjoyed most of my time with the game. But I also can't see myself returning to it for further runs like I did with previous From games, nor are my feelings looking back on the game as a whole especially positive.

    First, the good. The game is beautiful. True, on the tech side it's hardly cutting edge; it looks like an ever so slightly gussied up PS4 game. But artistically it's the best work From has done yet. There's a vibrancy and use of color that isn't present in their other games, and some truly inventive designs for enemies and locations. The combat is also as good as it has ever been, and if you liked DS3's combat you'll likely enjoy Elden Ring's as it's mostly an expansion of what was found there. The story shares the crypticness and strangeness of the previous From games but is both more expansive and deep. And the first four fifths of the game (roughly 80 hours on my playthrough) are mostly spectacular.

    However, as I got further it became difficult to ignore a general degradation in the game's quality. Limgrave, the opening area, is by far the densest and most visually varied of all the game's areas. There's a healthy number of NPCs, quests, mini-dungeons, random things to find, and an amazing legacy dungeon with Stormveil Castle that feels like the best of the interconnected, maze-like levels in DS1. The next area, Liurnia, is also quite good, if not quite as good as Limgrave. Then comes Caelid, which is solid, but it's here where you start to notice things going off the rails ever so slightly. There are barely any quests, far fewer mini-dungeons, and there isn't even a large dungeon at the end like there was in the previous two areas. It feels unfinished, not in the egregious way that something like Lost Izalith did, but more in a "They ran out of time to populate the map they made with content" kind of way. And this trend continues as the game goes on, with a gradual but noticeable thinning of content. Enemy variety continually decreases, there are fewer and fewer quests and NPCs, more uniformity in the landscapes within each zone, and overall an increasing feeling that the game's running out of ideas and that its best moments are behind it.

    Then you get to the last fifth of the game and the wheel's come completely off. The last stretch of the game is, unfortunately, a slog. The endgame is poorly balanced, with basic enemies like bats and demi humans (who you've been fighting since the first hour of the game) now incredibly spongy and three shotting even over-leveled characters in heavy armor that were shrugging off the attacks of demigods a few minutes prior. Bosses start to exhibit the worst tendencies of the lesser bosses of previous From games: unreadable attacks, flailing, poor camera on larger bosses, long combos (literally a minute long in at least one case) with an opening just wide enough to get a single R1 in, terrible gimmicks, and overtuned damage/health.

    But this isn't the real problem with the back fifth of the game. Elden Ring's greatest strength up until now has been its exploration and sense of discovery. Its world constantly rewards you with some new enemy, area, character, weapon, etc. as you explore, and this constant discovering of new things keeps you wanting to push forward even when the game is frustrating or an area here or there is subpar. When you hit hour 80 or so, you've now seen every single enemy the game has. This is not hyperbole; outside of bosses, from this point on it is nothing but enemies you've already been fighting for many hours. There are now next to no NPCs or quests to find. There are nearly zero mini-dungeons. The game has simply run out of content, in the same way that Lost Izalith in DS1 was the moment that game ran out of steam and resorted to spamming oddly ill-fitting enemies to pad its empty areas, e.g. the dragon butts.

    But Lost Izalith, for all its awfulness, is an hour, maybe 30 minutes if you're quick. Elden Ring at this point has another 20 hours or so of drab monotony to drag yourself through. The game's greatest strength is all but gone for that time; by now, you've seen all it has to show you. All that's left are some empty, bland areas with recycled enemies and a gauntlet of fairly subpar to outright bad bosses to fight.

    I hope that some balance patches smooth out some of the rough edges of the late game, particularly with the bosses. And there's always a chance that, much like with DS1 and 2, DLC will elevate the late game by incorporating high-quality areas that were not rushed like those in the base game. But right now, those sorts of improvements are merely hypothetical. Elden Ring as it is now is an amazing game right up until it isn't. And it's tragic that it ends so poorly and in such a way that it's difficult not to have those final 20 hours taint one's perception and feeling towards the game as whole.    … Expand
  24. Masked_Sausage
    Apr 19, 2022
    7
    This game isn't a masterpiece it also isn't awful. What it is, is a game that starts out as one of the most enticing and unabashed delights that, after halfway through, way overstays it's welcome. It's accompanied by a devolution into obnoxious repetition and an aggressive overabundance of poor design choices.

    The starting areas of this game are visually striking and unbelievably packed    This game isn't a masterpiece it also isn't awful. What it is, is a game that starts out as one of the most enticing and unabashed delights that, after halfway through, way overstays it's welcome. It's accompanied by a devolution into obnoxious repetition and an aggressive overabundance of poor design choices.

    The starting areas of this game are visually striking and unbelievably packed to the brim with genuinely fun and engaging content. The enemy designs are varied and completely FRESH to the player. As you progress through the game past a certain point, say about a 1/3 way through, you'll start to notice marked patterns that start to arise. Random dungeons are repeating aplenty, early bosses become normal enemies, and everything is getting quite a bit of a damage boost and health boost. Fret not, for this is a pretty normal staple for FromSoft fans and for newcomers it's barely noticeable.

    Then, it happens, you come to the realization that about 1/2 into the game, you have fought these bosses before you have seen the enemies before, you have traverses these dungeons before, you have painstay searched high and low for the new content, but it seems that it isn't anywhere to be found. So you get sick of it and instead of exploring every detail, every nook and cranny for fun interesting items and encounters... You trudge on the main path for something new. This is an evident truth for the rest of the game. You will fight bosses you have fought, sometimes, up to 5+ times, you will traverse the same uninspired dungeon designs throughout the game. You get to a point in the game where the enemy fight and environment designs are there to be just difficult for the sake of difficult, not for the players enjoyment. The latter half of this game is so incredibly devoid of any common ground between the developers and the player that you'll feel like you're playtesting a version of the game that hasn't been balanced, or finished, yet. People will play and enjoy this game, all of the way through, and I am happy for those people, but for the majority of people that play this game, it will be an unnecessarily stark contrast throughout the runtime of the playthrough. It is by no means a bad game, but it is entirely unpolished, by design, in the latter half to the point that it will exhaust anyone who isn't a diehard fan.    … Expand
  25. Zero_89
    Apr 30, 2022
    5
    Ask yourself: Do I really wanna play dark souls again? If yes this is the game for you, if no prepare to experience the same game slightly remixed since 2009
  26. regixjuggler
    May 12, 2022
    7
    The game is addicting and has good collection loops. That said, addicting is not the same as good, and between the numerous camera concerns, instances of input lag, and core design requirement of endless repetition to overcome every new obstacle, it falls short of the mark.
  27. NAYKEN
    Dec 21, 2022
    5
    It's a very delayed review because my monitor broke, but I see that fanboys and those who write reviews with money have raised this fiasco game to the level of unrivaled. Anyway, let's move on to our real unbiased review. Let's start with the mechanics as always, there is no innovation in mechanics, standard soul games, jumping is added and has almost no effect on the game. Open world wasIt's a very delayed review because my monitor broke, but I see that fanboys and those who write reviews with money have raised this fiasco game to the level of unrivaled. Anyway, let's move on to our real unbiased review. Let's start with the mechanics as always, there is no innovation in mechanics, standard soul games, jumping is added and has almost no effect on the game. Open world was added to the game, but mechanically is there such a thing, the answer is no. The game is very big, there are incredibly many castles and dungeons you can visit, but they are all flat and empty inside. Let's start with the castles, when you start the game, you look around and see the incredible map and you start exploring, traveling and wandering around in castles that last a maximum of half an hour, yes, you did not hear wrong, the time you spend in castles is half an hour, including Lyndell! All of those incredibly designed castles are just images, empty castles with no design inside, filled with creatures and left. When I look at the old souls games, designs like DS 1 Anor Londo, DS 2 Drangleic castle are bigger and more detailed than all the castles in the Elden ring game combined. Ds 2 had this success despite being a half-open world, Elden ring is a huge empty world full of creatures. The only good thing about it is that it looks great artistically. I have explained the chapter and map designs together with the mechanics. Now let's look at the small innovations and whether they have an effect on the game. Let's start with the mount, we have a horse-like mount in the game, this mount allows us to travel around the whole world, we can do combat and boss fights in some places and it has no mechanical effect on the game. The things we do with the mount are very limited, don't expect something like Zelda or Shadow of the colossus. When I say Shadow of the colossus, they said that they were inspired by Shadow of the colossus before the game came out, there is nothing about it in the game. Since jumping was added, the platform was expected, which it should have been, but they didn't put it, the jumping mechanics look ridiculous even next to the games 30 years ago. Let's talk about dungeons, there are dungeon designs that are so terrible that they compete with Skyrim. You enter hundreds of dungeons throughout the game and except for a few, they are all similar designs. We have come to the end of our review and unfortunately Elden ring is not a good game at all. The same mechanics, open world game mechanics and design are not reflected in the game, nothing good except for the improved spells. Elden ring is the biggest fiasco of this year. 57/100 if we come to the score… Expand
  28. Swclark777
    Mar 23, 2022
    7
    Eh, I don't know what Kool Aid everyone's been drinking, but it clearly didn't work on me. This is an above-average open world game, but it isn't without its faults. Particularly notable are the repetitious use of dungeons and enemies that really start to wear on you during the second half of the game. The combat also is unrefined, with many bosses glitching out, one particular battleEh, I don't know what Kool Aid everyone's been drinking, but it clearly didn't work on me. This is an above-average open world game, but it isn't without its faults. Particularly notable are the repetitious use of dungeons and enemies that really start to wear on you during the second half of the game. The combat also is unrefined, with many bosses glitching out, one particular battle saw a formidable opponent getting stuck in a tree and spontaneously combusting. Moreover, as melee class, battle is entirely dependent on i-frames, there's a lack of responsiveness to the process of combat, that sees luck play more of a role than skill in that sense. Stranger of Paradise surprisingly does combat much better than this game. While I would recommend it, and I don't consider it too hard for the average player, I can't do so without at least acknowledging that it runs out of ideas in the later parts of the quest.… Expand
  29. Eduarzinho2305
    Nov 8, 2022
    7
    O jogo como um todo está longe de ser ruim, mas infelizmente ele é genérico.
    Inserir Soulslikes dentro de um mundo aberto sempre foi algo pedido, porém essa foi a única mudança relevante.
    O primeiro mapa (Lingrave) é simplesmente perfeito, tudo é bem detalhado lindo, se todas as áreas fossem únicas como ela iríamos ter o jogo do ano, mas aquilo que tornava ela única só foi sendo    O jogo como um todo está longe de ser ruim, mas infelizmente ele é genérico.
    Inserir Soulslikes dentro de um mundo aberto sempre foi algo pedido, porém essa foi a única mudança relevante.
    O primeiro mapa (Lingrave) é simplesmente perfeito, tudo é bem detalhado lindo, se todas as áreas fossem únicas como ela iríamos ter o jogo do ano, mas aquilo que tornava ela única só foi sendo reutilizada em TODOS os mapas seguintes.
    O desining dos inimigos, Bosses, as músicas, me parece que tudo foi muito inferior aos apresentados em jogos antepassados da desenvolvedora, além de utilizar as mecânicas de outros jogos de maneira muito inferior (tirando o powerstance do Dark Souls 2, esse sim foi melhorado, mesmo eu achando mais condizente o do 2), agora o stealth e postura do Sekiro poderiam ter sido muito melhores.
    Mas onde o jogo errou completamente sem sombra de dúvida foi na repetição, TODAS as dungeons são idênticas, raramente uma possui mecânica diferentes e seus mais de 200 Bosses são na verdade 50 repetidos diversas vezes, chegando ao ridículo de até Bosses de suma importância para a lor do mundo serem utilizados como se fossem uma versão criada pela força de StarWars, 2 exemplos são Godrick e Godfrey, respectivamente.
    Um jogo incrível, mas infelizmente muito superestimado e decepcionante, sou um fã da saga Souls, em especial os games da saga original e sem dúvidas gastar meu dinheiro neste jogo não foi o mais triste, mas sim ter platinado ele só para completar mais um dos meus games, diferentemente de seus antecessores onde eu tive de farmar pactos (mecânica que sinceramente odeio) e não me senti estressado ou com preguiça, já em Elden Ring, me senti realizando uma tarefa de escola.
    Espero que o próximo jogo da saga seja o que eu havia interpretado a alguns anos quando veio seu anúncio " Nosso maior projeto, tanto da Fromsoftware, quando da Bandai" o game que não será "finalizado" com algo que nenhum outro Souls fez com tanta força que foram a pressa e falta de criatividade.    … Expand
  30. Tclare
    Feb 26, 2022
    6
    Certainly a good game, but performance should be better, even though it’s easy to over look whilst playing, and enjoying the story, gameplay and exploration. Certainly not a masterpiece, but a good game non the less
  31. Northlighforge
    Mar 14, 2022
    7
    I don’t think the critic reviews are being very honest about this one. I have a lot of mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it does many things very well. The open world genre really needed something like this to shake things up. On the other hand, this game has some serious issues. If you played any of the previous souls games then I think you’ll like it. I still recommend this titleI don’t think the critic reviews are being very honest about this one. I have a lot of mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it does many things very well. The open world genre really needed something like this to shake things up. On the other hand, this game has some serious issues. If you played any of the previous souls games then I think you’ll like it. I still recommend this title but how it’s being compared to Skyrim or Breath of The Wild or being called “the best game ever made” or “game of the decade” is completely beyond me.… Expand
  32. Marctheshark
    Mar 14, 2022
    7
    Gameplay a 9 graphics a 6. Had to check and make sure I didn’t download the ps4 version when I first started running through the woods. Weird that demon’s souls remake looks so much better
  33. nKn0wn
    Mar 16, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Elden ring is probably one of the best and worst games I have ever played. It’s so nice to see FromSoft try a new type of game and they nailed it. The one thing about the game is the bosses, every single one is probably one of the most BS thing I have ever witnessed. Every boss is insanely aggressive, you can never heal unless you have RNG of the gods, combos never finish, etc. since it is open world, boss arenas don’t fell like arenas, it’s just a flat area for most of them. There’s so many trees and rocks to easily get stuck on (and From Software games really have something with getting stuck in corners). The duo fights are absolute dumb because there is no way to split them up and both the enemy’s have practically the same speed and aggression. Seriously, I love this game, but the bosses ruined every part of it for me. Yeah i know you can run away from it, level up some, then come back, but that’s another problem. Every boss feels like it’s over leveled compared to you, making you always skipping them unless you have balls of steel. And the sheer amount of bosses in this game (like 150) makes you forget about most, so you’re skipping out on half the bosses when you complete it. Plus, they recycled many bosses. I have seen so many bosses recycled such as: beast guy behind Morne Castle, Tree Sentinel, that dumbass knight with the wings, and many more. Amazing game, would totally recommend, probably shouldn’t get GOTY, but it’s still great. Good luck on those stupid designed bosses though.… Expand
  34. on3st4b
    May 11, 2022
    7
    I've put in ~30h+ the time i'm writing this review.
    I have the PS5 version, running on performance mode, had no issues, slowdowns till now.
    A major issue with the game and gaming community is the ratings this game is getting.. 100 by "critics" is just stupid! don't get me wrong, it is a good game but nowhere near 100, and it can certainly greatly improve in several aspects. The Good :    I've put in ~30h+ the time i'm writing this review.
    I have the PS5 version, running on performance mode, had no issues, slowdowns till now.
    A major issue with the game and gaming community is the ratings this game is getting.. 100 by "critics" is just stupid! don't get me wrong, it is a good game but nowhere near 100, and it can certainly greatly improve in several aspects.

    The Good :
    - Challenging game-play
    - Open world - you can go anywhere from the get go
    - Character & gear progression
    - Lots of weapons and armors to choose from
    - Lots of areas to search

    The Bad :
    - The AI is dog **** - you can assassinate a guard and hide, then another guard will pass by and not get alarmed or anything... i guess he thinks his buddy is sleeping or something.
    - No story tracking mechanism - In your adventures you will encounter a lot of npc, most of them have a story or quest for you. There is no mechanism that tracks that, some kind of journal with the npc name and the dialogue ( FFS ) even simple notes.
    - The story is like a cheap LOTR knock off

    Some points potential buyer should be aware of :
    Its a Souls game - thus its difficult
    Be prepared to die a lot, its part of the game.
    Some "farming" is required
    It doesn't hold your hand like most games, you will need to explore a lot.
    You will die a lot

    No idea how critics review this a 100, i really don't .. They must be some sort of Souls hardcore fans, but even fans should be able to point out that something is wrong and needs fixing.
    For me its closer to 7.5 , but thats just me..    … Expand
  35. andysonfire
    Mar 21, 2022
    6
    Jogo "apenas" bom.
    como era de se esperar... sempre que é gerado um grande hype as notas não são de acordo.
    Gráficos medianos, jogabilidade ok para o gênero, mas ainda fica abaixo de Sekiro e Blodborne.
    Peguei muitos bugs.. pouca evolução para um jogo da nova geração.
    A localização em PT é péssima. Esse português usado no jogo eu ainda não aprendi.
  36. Bwsmith
    Apr 20, 2022
    6
    Cant get into this game it just keeps beating me down. It is beautiful and if it wasn't for my friends I would have asked for a refund.
  37. Dnilo
    Apr 21, 2022
    7
    I'm not going deep into what everyone already knows, this game is good but not great. Instead I will point out the Good and the Bad about it.

    If you expect the challenge of any other SoulsBorne game you are in for disappointment, and I'm not referring to how hard it can be with bosses and enemies, no. It is about the way you "fight" in this game. Use of magic is forced into ANY build    I'm not going deep into what everyone already knows, this game is good but not great. Instead I will point out the Good and the Bad about it.

    If you expect the challenge of any other SoulsBorne game you are in for disappointment, and I'm not referring to how hard it can be with bosses and enemies, no. It is about the way you "fight" in this game. Use of magic is forced into ANY build now, so there is no 'DEX' build anymore, which on other Souls games was also called the 'challenge' mode, where you build up your character to use melee and be prepared for some face to face combat with skilled and nimble fights.

    The Good:
    - This game has by far THE BEST level design of any game of its generation, castles and terrains very well planned with inter connected areas, beautiful.
    - Good amount of weapons to try out.
    - Challenging enemies.
    - Great story.

    The Bad:
    - Magic is forced into any build, and it's must if you want to survive an invasion (on you or by you).
    - Weapons are basically magic wands, making the game a run and shoot kind of game. Melee becomes useless.
    - Utterly unbalanced spells and skills. Some of them become a one-hit kill while others are a joke.
    - Almost all armor sets are dresses, forget about all these cool designs of all other Souls games for either Type A or B body types, get used to look like deacon.
    - The armor alteration 'mechanic' is a bad joke, you can only remove the cape of the armors/dresses that have one.
    - Areas to explore (that are not castles or buildings) start amazingly designed and a joy to traverse, but such design starts to become plain and boring the more areas you advance in the game. At the end it's just large flat boring terrain lazily filled with enemies just to have something in.

    The game length feels artificially stretched half way through, I would have preferred the game to last half of what it takes with all these lazy designed late game areas removed.

    Long story short, if you like to spam spells while running away from enemies (computer or humans) you are in for a treat, because it's this game's main mechanic.    … Expand
  38. neufeldr33
    May 9, 2022
    7
    Un juego enorme, con la virtud de dar al jugador una gran libertad de como llevar su partida; con incontables secretos, armas, armaduras, que personalizan la aventura y la hacen única. Grandes ideas que ya al momento de jugar se van desvaneciendo, el combate es injusto, no en el sentido de que sea difícil, si no eso, injusto, abusan del instant kill, jefes con vida casi ilimitada, que enUn juego enorme, con la virtud de dar al jugador una gran libertad de como llevar su partida; con incontables secretos, armas, armaduras, que personalizan la aventura y la hacen única. Grandes ideas que ya al momento de jugar se van desvaneciendo, el combate es injusto, no en el sentido de que sea difícil, si no eso, injusto, abusan del instant kill, jefes con vida casi ilimitada, que en lugar de generar la sensación de aprender, como en otros souls, frustran, ya que siempre estás al alcance de que con un golpe te maten. El mapa es inmenso, pero se siente sumamente vacío, la gran mayoria de los enemigos puedes elegir pasarlos de largo, no hay gran cantidad de NPCs, hay peleas memorables, pero muchos jefes se repiten, en realidad no creo que pase de 10 los jefes realmente memorables y únicos. Creo que quisieron hacer un juego inmenso, y lo hicieron, pero esa inmensidad no necesariamente es una virtud, la moda actual es que mientras más haya que hacer en un juego o más hora dure es mejor y eso le pasa a Elden Ring, pudo ser un juego más concreto y ser una mejor experiencia… Expand
  39. swannybaby
    Jun 5, 2022
    5
    Oh my god shut up about the graphics. Tell if the game is good. This what is wrong with all you nerds. Shut up the godamn hell up about 60fps. I DO NOT CARE.
  40. Khymor4nitar
    May 14, 2022
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's extremely overrated but when you hear the opinions of long time souls fans you start to understand what went wrong. This game tried to put the souls formula into a sandbox game but ended up making something that goes against everything souls games are meant to be. I don't hate it but it's not great… Expand
  41. boltron
    Jun 25, 2022
    5
    Elden Ring could have been one of the greatest video games of all time, but it turned out to be mediocre at best, and is definitely the weakest of the Souls games if you look at the amount of effort that went into it. I don't know why the professional critic reviews are so high, I can only surmise they never had the time to play past the starting zone, because it's all downhill from there.Elden Ring could have been one of the greatest video games of all time, but it turned out to be mediocre at best, and is definitely the weakest of the Souls games if you look at the amount of effort that went into it. I don't know why the professional critic reviews are so high, I can only surmise they never had the time to play past the starting zone, because it's all downhill from there.

    On the plus side, the open world is a high point in gaming, and outshines anything I've seen before. It's hauntingly beautiful, richly detailed and full of surprises. That's about all the good I can say about this game.

    The negative is that the combat is a complete mess. It's not that it's difficult, it's just wildly inconsistent, and a huge disappointment compared to the finely-tuned likes of Bloodborne. One of Elden Ring's biggest draws is the massive array of weapons and play styles it gives you - all of which is a complete lie. There is really only one way to play this game - caster. Get the cookie cutter caster build that everyone is playing. If you like random death a lot more you can go melee, in which case there are two less enjoyable cookie cutter builds for that. Everything else is like trying to cut through solid rock with soggy toilet paper.

    The boss fights are amazing and memorable - in other Souls games. Meanwhile in Elden Ring, they went with quantity, so you have lots of the same copy/paste encounters, and in many of them you'll be fighting not just a boss, but also the buggy camera, the clippy terrain, and the absurd melee range mechanics that are there to remind you to play a caster. FromSoft games have a reputation for being difficult but fair, but ER is neither of those, it's just random and unfair. It's pretty common for bosses to double or triple punish you for mistakes with overlapping, poorly-telegraphed attacks, but hey, all of this can be avoided - Play. A. Caster.

    Pushing through this game wasn't fun, it felt more like a job, and when I was done I felt no sense of accomplishment. I celebrated by firing up Dark Souls III for a few hours so I could wash the taste out of my mouth and remind myself that From mostly makes really good games. I won't revisit The Lands Between - there are far better games out there worth trying, and that's a shame - under the trash gameplay, Elden Ring's amazing world has gone to waste.    … Expand
  42. Pichonix
    Oct 28, 2022
    5
    There's a huge amount of Bosses that look amazing and creepy but the Gameplay & Inconsistency of the bosses gets a bit annoying overtime.
  43. gabriicara
    Nov 3, 2022
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's a good game,but really nothing special,is literally and the dark souls story taken remodeled but trying to tell the same basic thing by changing everything else by pretending it's something else.Some are new implementations such as the methods of movement even if the fighting on horseback is not I'm who knows, moreover what they call "innovations" are just corrections that they should have already put from dark souls 3,then to say that it has good ost, nice graphics and a nice artistic sector, because it must be said that it is beautiful, but this is not enough, in my opinion it cannot get more than an 8 giving a nine would be more subjective than anything else… Expand
  44. Tsuibatsu
    Nov 7, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A strong adventure game that just doesn't measure up to its predecessors in the fromsoft catalog, enjoyed it for what it was but what the game is struggles with what it wants to be too much for my taste… Expand
  45. STNXD0
    Nov 11, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Disappointing.

    Combat : 6/10
    Story : 9/10
    Free roam : 5/10
    Multiplayer : 8/10
    Creativity : 7/10
    Is it he superior souls they claim it to be? No    … Expand
  46. Joaogaribaldo24
    Feb 26, 2022
    5
    Honestly, from the ratings they gave this game, I was excited. But I don't know how a game can have such a high rating, but not impress that much. The game is good, but that's not all. I had performance problems on my PS, pop in and dropped frames, in addition to the graphics that count for me.
  47. Jb5216
    Mar 1, 2022
    6
    It's a beautiful game with awesome areas and cool enemies but imo the combat is crap. It's slow and clunky and mostly its just dying a bunch until you understand the enemy patterns and there's alot of recycled bosses as well. Don't get me wrong It's a good game just completely overrated. It's absolutely no where near a 10
  48. JOnasx
    Feb 26, 2022
    5
    As others have said, the world feels a bit empty. The graphics/animations are meh, not something i'd expect on a AAA title on PS5. My biggest complaint with the game is how difficult it is. I'm not someone who has the time to master the intricacies of the rather awkward control systems. There should at least be a difficulty setting for those folks who just want to explore and see theAs others have said, the world feels a bit empty. The graphics/animations are meh, not something i'd expect on a AAA title on PS5. My biggest complaint with the game is how difficult it is. I'm not someone who has the time to master the intricacies of the rather awkward control systems. There should at least be a difficulty setting for those folks who just want to explore and see the world without literally dying every other encounter. Not everyone has hours a day and patience to try boss fights 30+ times until you figure things out.

    This game isn't accessible to normal gamers who just want to sit back and have some entertaining evenings on the couch to forget the stress of the day. I really don't get why there isn't a difficulty setting.    … Expand
  49. alomarin
    Feb 27, 2022
    7
    Few hours into the game and I really like it, I love how it looks and feels like a Dark Souls 3 successor, however, the game has technical issues that should have been addressed before lunch, that's why I'm giving it a 7 instead of 8.
  50. gabu840
    Mar 6, 2022
    6
    The game is good but not to the extent the reviews have shown it to be.

    The Game starts great but gets dragged on after say 15-20 hours . Many of the bosses are repetitive & recycled (esp. later in the game) & are cheap in the sense that they are quite easy. A fun gameplay is the one where you have to work out to come against challenges but here if you are just a bit smart enough you    The game is good but not to the extent the reviews have shown it to be.

    The Game starts great but gets dragged on after say 15-20 hours . Many of the bosses are repetitive & recycled (esp. later in the game) & are cheap in the sense that they are quite easy. A fun gameplay is the one where you have to work out to come against challenges but here if you are just a bit smart enough you will be moving like an OP player most of the time taking away all the fun of the game itself. It has a tedium quest system i.e. you need to explore open world to defeat story bosses . This is a very old structure & many a times it has been been criticized & condemned as poor game structure but none of the reviewers is pointing it here ..why because its a souls game.

    The game is saved by its art direction, it is praise-worthy otherwise the Graphics are poor, many parts it is generic & shows no work is done on the graphical department just used the Graphic editor output as it is, overall quite poor it is in parts. NPCs & story is actually forgotten .
    We are still not over with it. The Icing on the cake is the performance , it not only stutters at 4K but also at 1080p(on a 2080ti), Damn what these reviewers are doing ?? that being not pointed out by reviewers is just bad, totally bad ..Are they paid?? It just lacks polishing compared to other titles. What’s bad and lazy in the game is just plain bad and lazy. I believe that developers got this advantage that it is a souls game so even small or big things like camera issues etc are planned in the game intentionally .

    Overall the game is quite overhyped with all those giving it a 10 have never played a good open world before or either new to gaming or have just gone with the trend of high rating it. Be careful.
    Its a game which one should try out after the game is around or below 20$ . Its nothing close to Bloodborne or Sekiro. Gave it a 6/10 because of its performance issues otherwise its a solid 8/10 .

    Graphics - 2.5/5 Art Direction - 4.5/5
    Story/NPCs - 2/5 Gameplay - 4/5 (not counting the recycled & repetitive stuff)
    Discovery & Adventure feel - 3.5/5(your mileage will vary)
    Sound - 4/5 Music - 3/5
    Open-World - 3.5/5    … Expand
  51. solidsnake798
    Feb 26, 2022
    5
    The game doesn't feel polished at all, at least the ps5 version. There is a lot of LOD popping, grass pops a lot, yo can see the lighting being updated in blocks on the open world. Graphically it doesn't feel like a next gen experience.
    The game has performance issues, the framerate is not stable a lot... which impacts the gameplay quite a bit.
    The controls feel dated, O does the backstep,    The game doesn't feel polished at all, at least the ps5 version. There is a lot of LOD popping, grass pops a lot, yo can see the lighting being updated in blocks on the open world. Graphically it doesn't feel like a next gen experience.
    The game has performance issues, the framerate is not stable a lot... which impacts the gameplay quite a bit.
    The controls feel dated, O does the backstep, roll and sprint (which feels like it has a second of lag... which is annoying). The open world is pretty empty, but exploring is fun.
    The fighting reamains quite nice and the bosses look cool, but it feels like the game could use a couple of more months in development.    … Expand
  52. docemberz
    Mar 3, 2022
    5
    The story seems really interesting, but the camera angles and the mechanics just make it frustrating and not at all enjoyable to play for me. Wish I'd waited to buy this instead of listening to the people who said it was a must play, as I feel I've wasted my money.
  53. JohnWine
    Feb 27, 2022
    5
    Será Goty 2022. Decir que es espectacular se queda corto. Nivel de dificultad considerable, es todo un desafío.
  54. aljinn
    Mar 14, 2022
    6
    Even if Dark Souls / Bloodbourne are 10 (which is not true)...
    Elden Ring brings us
    obviously worse UI and UX -1 unoptimized performance -1 same old story (Martin's touch barely exists) -1 and worst of all, worse enemy design -1 or -2 The good part? Gigantic world and better exploration. That makes it 7-8 at best. Where does the 9 and 10 come from? And don't forget most players    Even if Dark Souls / Bloodbourne are 10 (which is not true)...
    Elden Ring brings us
    obviously worse UI and UX -1
    unoptimized performance -1
    same old story (Martin's touch barely exists) -1
    and worst of all, worse enemy design -1 or -2
    The good part? Gigantic world and better exploration.

    That makes it 7-8 at best. Where does the 9 and 10 come from?

    And don't forget most players expect better combat design, but it gets MUCH worse than before with bad and shifting view angles, long-reach multiple combos to render most strategies useless, and deliberate AI that makes every boss fight a time-and-energy-consuming attrition war. In the end, most players rely on only a few specific weapon arts or spells , rinse & repeat. This doesn't feel okay for a combat-centered game, especially not for the well-known Soul-game genre.

    BTW don't trust those who say no issues with PS5 version. Frame rate is so obviously not stable under performance mode (sometimes the game even stutters a bit), and this potentially affect your dodge precision.

    Honestly, giving this game "10" means either the reviewer is strongly biased toward the Soul franchise, or just got the game for a few hours.

    Upon further deliberation I decided to lower the score once again, due to the fact that the narrative techniques and riddle design obviously do not go hand-in-hand with its openness and vastness. Many NPCs give no or very ambiguous directions, and very likely appear in places the players have been to; as a result, the "chore" or "fetch boy" feel is even stronger than other open-world games even when there are only a few "side-quests". Riddles like looking for a certain animal never specify a range, combined with the fact that they can climb up the tree, fly in the sky or be invisible. And the instant-death stupid chariot stuff that make players an idiot -- mere trials and errors. All of the above are not challenges to players' intelligence or observation but just tedious tortures. Giving this game a 10 is like encouraging the designers to keep such meaningless and time-wasting tricks.    … Expand
  55. Scave
    Mar 6, 2022
    5
    Hugely overrated game. It looks beautiful, and is definitely enjoyable, but has nothing that's actually new. The usual dodge/parry/counter combat we've seen a million times before but this time in an empty open world. No story, very little character interaction, and almost no dialogue. It does seem that souls-like games tend to get over-exaggerated scores because gamers think they need toHugely overrated game. It looks beautiful, and is definitely enjoyable, but has nothing that's actually new. The usual dodge/parry/counter combat we've seen a million times before but this time in an empty open world. No story, very little character interaction, and almost no dialogue. It does seem that souls-like games tend to get over-exaggerated scores because gamers think they need to be taken more seriously 'coz hardc0re'… Expand
  56. Joak34
    Feb 26, 2022
    5
    Ca sera sans moi. La D A est bonne mais ce jeu est techniquement dépassé. Trop de bug. Des chutes constante de frame-rate.!
  57. Crofto
    Apr 4, 2022
    6
    Technically, this is an abomination. Patchy framerate. Poor hit detection. Low-res textures. Awful sound design. Going from a modern open-world title - like Horizon: Forbidden West - to this, demonstrates a staggering lapse of effort from From Software in terms of developing next generation games. This is a PS3 title in all but name.

    In terms of gameplay, it's Dark Souls open world. But    Technically, this is an abomination. Patchy framerate. Poor hit detection. Low-res textures. Awful sound design. Going from a modern open-world title - like Horizon: Forbidden West - to this, demonstrates a staggering lapse of effort from From Software in terms of developing next generation games. This is a PS3 title in all but name.

    In terms of gameplay, it's Dark Souls open world. But with the same combat. Weapons. Enemies. Menus etc. Recycled assets. Recycled systems (summoning is as archaic as ever; what happened to just pressing 'start > invite friend for coop'?). The narrative is practically non-existent and beyond abstract. And I don't mean 'abstract' in a Lynchian chin-stroke way, I mean 'abstract' as in going into a museum of modern art, nearly bumping into a set of stacked chairs only for the curator to yell at you for disturbing the 'art'. It's poor.

    The hyperbole surrounding this game is quite staggering, as are complicit paid "professional" college boy drop out reviewers. It's a 10 year old game wrapped up in hype, slapped across a technically abysmal open world, with back-of-box tickers such as 'crafting' added to make it seem fresh and modern. But it isn't.

    Elden Ring is a decent hack and slash game. There's still enough merit to the Demon's Souls formula to make it a decent game to play, but it is in no way a leader of the gaming medium. Take away the From Soft logo, and people forget about this game in a few weeks. That' the reality.    … Expand
  58. TaliRa
    Feb 28, 2022
    5
    Same crap different day. Ridiculous gameplay and graphics with "ghosts" running all about distracting you from what's going on. Combat is unbalanced and sluggish. Another one of those overhyped dogs that I got suckered into buying.
  59. Guillepic
    Feb 26, 2022
    7
    Horrible optimization in PS5. Popping, 40-60 fps oscilated. The game is good, but bad optimization and not good experience...
  60. PazuzuDD
    Mar 17, 2022
    6
    Meh. I decided to give it a go because it was said that it's a different approach, utilising open world etc but it's just another Souls game. The monster designs are great but take away the difficulty and it's just a Hack and Slash with mediocre story and bland environments, just like its predecessors.
  61. Namoottat
    Feb 28, 2022
    5
    Best game I’ve ever played, period. Gives me the same feeling I got when I first played Mario 64 for the first time when I was younger. I think it will be a long while before something this great comes out again. I had to put a review in to help counteract the zeros, crazy people doing that.
  62. JokingBR
    Apr 27, 2022
    6
    First off, not my first SoulsBorne game, I have played and finished DS1, DS2, DS3 and BB several times, this game has good visual, interesting lore and at first the exploration is fun and so is the PVP, but that's where the praise end, the game feels highly inconsistent, Bosses deal too much damage, are too fast and for some reasons can move cancel, they're made in a way you're expected toFirst off, not my first SoulsBorne game, I have played and finished DS1, DS2, DS3 and BB several times, this game has good visual, interesting lore and at first the exploration is fun and so is the PVP, but that's where the praise end, the game feels highly inconsistent, Bosses deal too much damage, are too fast and for some reasons can move cancel, they're made in a way you're expected to be with someone else, they have the speed to deal with 2 players, which makes It unfair for the ones alonethe fall damage is really weird, falls that shouldn't kill you do, and the ones that should don't, level desing out of the open world feel like a straight line, enemys deal too much damage, Boss and enemy desings are lazy, they all feel like a glob of meat with a lot of hands and legs, the game repeats A LOT of content, you will fight the same boss at least 5 different times, and depending If they turn into a common enemy even more, exploration gets old kick, the game has over 80 boss fight and 9 Bosses aren't reused, the game doesn't know how to space out checkpoints, so they're everywhere, and sometimes the game kills you very cheaply, most areas fell uniteresting, as basically everything is a forest, I don't think this Is a master piece.… Expand
  63. DanielOsterne
    Mar 11, 2022
    7
    It's a good game, but it deserved more polish, more care. We have works that are so well finished today and with less than this title, this is very unfair. We have to demand quality!
  64. Wagion
    Feb 27, 2022
    7
    Spoiler free

    Ps5 Performance mode Digital, 73 euro PSN store Prior experience: Completed DS 1, 3, platinumed Bloodborne Abandoned DS2 Elden ring is the latest title from software, known for a series called “Dark souls”. Dark souls is an RPG with super tight level design built to test the player’s skill while providing a fantastic atmosphere and a unique way to tell a story    Spoiler free

    Ps5
    Performance mode
    Digital, 73 euro PSN store

    Prior experience:
    Completed DS 1, 3, platinumed Bloodborne
    Abandoned DS2

    Elden ring is the latest title from software, known for a series called “Dark souls”. Dark souls is an RPG with super tight level design built to test the player’s skill while providing a fantastic atmosphere and a unique way to tell a story through item descriptions and vague NPC interactions. So successful that it has spawned its own genre named “souls-like”.Elden ring, is an open world spiritual successor, taking place in an open world made by none other than G.R.R Martin, the author of game of thrones.

    The idea of combining an open world with the unique souls-like genre by the legends themselves sounds too good to be true. The hype leading up to this game has been beyond comprehensible with the metacritic’s critic score currently being a 97 - among the highest scores ever.

    The world of “the in between” is beautiful. It uses elevated and vertical space to truly capture stunning visuals. The graphics themselves is varying on a scale of “Okay” to “Good”, it lacks small things like plant physics and great looking textures, but it manages to for the most part run at a solid 60 fps, with a few exceptions dropping below but never below 40-50 and never so bad it stutters.

    Sadly, the world itself isn’t very fun to explore due to feeling “copy pasted”. The ruins all look the same, a handful of ruined buildings, a handful of enemies, and sometimes a tomb leading down to a tomb with a chest or a boss. The chapel often contains a key item, and a checkpoint that doubles as a fast travel point. The enemy camps vary in size and contain a few chests and a few enemies. Castles, caves, and mines are often the more exciting ones, often ending with a boss and some sweet loot to enhance your weapons. They often reward an item called Gold runes, which when used gives you a currency that The game, which heavily focuses on exploration, does not automatically track what you’ve explored and if you’ve missed something, making it extremely confusing if you miss or don't remember where you found something.

    The open world also comes with a few drawbacks. Mainly, in terms of difficulty. The souls games are known for their difficulty, often being fair and equipping the player by slowly ramping up the already hard difficulty. Elden ring, however, is a lot more open, which can lead players being lost and easily getting too much water over their head, leading to frustration as the game’s only vague hint is to “find the castle” , and your only means of doing so is to follow the vague direction you get when you visit a check point. The “Legacy dungeons” are the only parts of the game that truly has the old fantastic level design of the other games, making them a treat and the overworld feel rather boring to traverse. You always have fun in the dungeons, but you only have fun less than half the time you’re in the overworld, which is most of the game, which makes me miss the old formula.

    To make traveling less of a hassle, they add a jump button, a mount, fast travel, and a much welcome “checkpoint” before most bosses. The controls are a bit clumsy and takes a while to get the hang of, and sometimes requires you to think twice which can be frustrating when you’re always in danger of dying. The buffer system seems milder than previous entries, but can still occasionally get you killed if you press too many buttons too fast causing you to lose control of your character.

    The music in souls-like games are often just white noise such as birds, wind, and movement, which fits the atmosphere they’re trying to create. But once a boss appears, the music does a 180 and pumps out some great boss music making bosses truly feel special and magnificent.

    Combat varies from great to not very enjoyable. You can customise your character just the way you like to play, with a huge arsenal of weapons, magic spells, and new to the series - special weapon abilities, which can be customised with your favourite weapon, creating quite a large number of styles. The game also speeds up the game with faster stamina regeneration (although making stamina less important), and a fast way to counter attack with your shield, making defensive play a lot faster.

    It introduces Mounted combat, which ends up being jousting, or a game of cat and mouse, which changes and removes the deep satisfying combat into a…”run around the boss and swing until they do a big stomp and repeat”, which feels very underwhelming for a series with such a history with deep and satisfying combat.

    Overall, I think the game takes 4 steps to the side, but also two steps back. It experiments with the open world, but it feels like it’s missing the “from software polish” because it’s so big and vast instead of small, focused and concise.

    6.5/10    … Expand
  65. TOTALGAME
    Feb 26, 2022
    7
    A maior vergonha da história dos vídeos games foi a "mídia especializada" atribuir nota 97 para um game com tantos problemas. Cadê as correções prometida pela FromSoftware? Um tapa na cara dos fanboys que aceitam qualquer coisa quem vem dessa desenvolvedora.
  66. Yassya
    Feb 27, 2022
    7
    why fromsoftware don't warn that the gameplay was design with the summons ?
    for me its a lie,its not like dark souls or sekiro epic 1v1,you have to use summons
    the end game is stupidly difficult,boss are amazing but the gameplay is slow to slow i prefer combat in dark souls 3 or sekiro
  67. Rising333
    Feb 27, 2022
    5
    Bottom line: the game is overhyped. I have been playing From Soft games since Kings Field 1.

    Design: This is more of the same, and absolutely just dark souls in an open world. It is refreshing to see a game without a bunch of icon chasing and relies on player exploration. One caveat and problem here is that the payoff when clearing out extremely tough areas is nonexistent, often times    Bottom line: the game is overhyped. I have been playing From Soft games since Kings Field 1.

    Design: This is more of the same, and absolutely just dark souls in an open world. It is refreshing to see a game without a bunch of icon chasing and relies on player exploration. One caveat and problem here is that the payoff when clearing out extremely tough areas is nonexistent, often times rewarding you with mediocre items, this is the same for slightly hidden items, they are just mediocre save for a few instances. The sense of exploration created by their design choices are great, what you get for exploring isn't, but still, it's a fun challenge.

    It works from a design standpoint, but as a fan I'm tired of being sold the same decade old game engine ALONG with re used enemy animations, assets, and move sets. The armors, weapons, all of it are literal reskins they have already used across 4 games. The least from soft could do is update the archaic UI.

    Technical: The game runs poorly on PS5, there new patch 1.002.001 actually made the game WORSE. with a shorter draw distance and more pop in, but the framerate is still as bad as before, and now the game looks and runs worse.

    Bottom Line: this game as is technically, is not what the mainstream outlets are saying. It's a technically flawed dark souls game set in an open world. If the technical issues were actually fixed on this game reusing so much content from old games, I'd say it's a solid 8. Just don't go in buying the nonsense about a masterpiece and accessibility to all. It's a lie.    … Expand
  68. Dee-Jay_Deli
    Aug 6, 2023
    5
    Redicilously overhyped game by a studio that has been releasing the same game with the same (outdated) engine for the past decade. All they have going for themselves is a ravid fan-base that cum everytime FromSoftware repackages the same game and critics who are excited that the game doesn't have quest icons (or any sort of guidance).

    But how about the 101 of good game-play, such as:    Redicilously overhyped game by a studio that has been releasing the same game with the same (outdated) engine for the past decade. All they have going for themselves is a ravid fan-base that cum everytime FromSoftware repackages the same game and critics who are excited that the game doesn't have quest icons (or any sort of guidance).

    But how about the 101 of good game-play, such as:
    Technically modern game?
    Responsive and fun combat?
    Widescreen support?
    Modern UI that doesn't require a tutorial to navigate?

    Elden Ring has none of that. Why? Because From is technically complacent...dare I say...lazy? As much as I'd love to join the circle jerk about their open world design, I just can't enjoy it because of the reasons noted above.    … Expand
  69. Idahodreamz
    Mar 4, 2022
    7
    Eh... its okay. If you like Souls games it's amazing... if you don't play Souls games you'll struggle. For me the game play loop isn't great... explore, die, repeat. Ugh. I will say it is far more approachable for me this time vs other Souls games... but I still find it rather tedious and boring. It's certainly not a 97. But hey...
  70. mithril_dm
    Mar 13, 2022
    6
    After days and days of seeing this game praised to the end of the earth and back I picked up a copy to try my hand.

    I strongly recommend waiting several months for some updates to make this game playable. I will revisit this review when the game's technical mess is fixed on PS5 or PC. Pros - The bosses are very cool and quiet unique, and very fun to fight (when the fps isn't falling    After days and days of seeing this game praised to the end of the earth and back I picked up a copy to try my hand.

    I strongly recommend waiting several months for some updates to make this game playable. I will revisit this review when the game's technical mess is fixed on PS5 or PC.

    Pros
    - The bosses are very cool and quiet unique, and very fun to fight (when the fps isn't falling through the floor)
    - The world is very beautiful despite the old engine
    - The variety of classes, weapons, and items to pick up is great and fun to play around with
    - The open world is great to explore and very enjoyable, feels very fun to feel like I'm discovering secrets

    Cons
    - From a technical perspective this game is a mess. The frame rate is abysmal, even in performance mode but especially in quality mode. I couldn't play more than 20 minutes without getting motion sick, and had to stop several times because of this
    - Frame rate is about 40-55fps, never stable, and was occasionally dropping to less than 20.
    - The game is intentionally hostile to anyone who hasn't played the previous games and is very inaccessible, and has no interest in engaging new players to its obtuse systems
    - The UI is actively terrible. Finding items, figuring out how to upgrade items, figuring out what to do with runes, even closing the map, are all made intentionally obtuse for seemingly no reason. A simple example; the button to open the menu and to close the menu are two different buttons for no good reason, completely wasting the limited buttons available on a controller. Every button was very unintuitive to me

    This is a game made only for fans, and even though I think there's a lot to be enjoyed, feeling like the developers are constantly trying to hamstring me in stupid (and not game play related) ways and sell me a product that is extremely unoptimized is not my idea of fun.    … Expand
  71. Clover230
    Feb 27, 2022
    7
    It's fine but it's just another souls game with many recycled asset and animations

    It's cool and i'm enjoying it but it's nothing new or innovative
  72. eojlc
    Mar 2, 2022
    7
    The critics have got this one wrong.

    Elden Ring has suffered from timing. This was a game we needed during the pandemic not after, and a game that needed to be released before Sekiro – from which its gameplay is a downgrade; before the Demon’s Souls remake – from which the graphics are a downgrade; and far closer to Breath of the Wild - which it hasn’t fully understood desperate liberal    The critics have got this one wrong.

    Elden Ring has suffered from timing. This was a game we needed during the pandemic not after, and a game that needed to be released before Sekiro – from which its gameplay is a downgrade; before the Demon’s Souls remake – from which the graphics are a downgrade; and far closer to Breath of the Wild - which it hasn’t fully understood desperate liberal plagiarism. Elden Ring, and it is disappointing to write this, feels much more like a large-scale fan-made Dark Souls 3 mod for Breath of the Wild than it does the next artistic offering from Miyazaki & co.

    It is difficult to pinpoint what, if anything, is actually new. The gameplay is a mirror image of Dark Souls 3 save for the guard counter, which is an easy and accessible miniest of mini-game versions of Sekiro’s poise system. The open world style of legacy dungeons and procedural dungeons is lifted straight from BotW - if only the crucial beauty of allowing the player to traverse anything and everything were lifted too, there’s nothing elegant about watching your avatar hop clumsily around a slightly too lumpy rock. Those reviewers calling this a new benchmark for open-world games can’t have played The Witcher 3 or Breath of the Wild.

    Sekiro proved that unique combat systems can not only exist but thrive within the broader souls-like formula. With Elden Ring, From have returned to the tried, tested, and frankly hackneyed. After the three-year wait one can’t help but be a little disappointed not to be enjoying the next step in the evolution of souls-like combat.

    While Link’s ability to climb or Wolf’s grappling rope are sorely missed when roaming Elden Ring’s open world, it is a deeper Dark Souls mechanic which most noticeably grates: loot. Almost every weapon you pick up in Elden Ring will be worse than what you currently have equipped because you’ve likely been upgrading that as soon as you possibly can to take on some of the extraordinarily difficult bosses. Imagine if, rather than repeatedly travelling back to vendors to sell most of what you pick up to keep upgrading your Uchigatana, you simply kept finding better Uchigatanas, or better yet a variety weapons that you could pick up and start slaying with. Wouldn’t this make slaying mobs in the wilderness more enticing?

    It frustrates to find an exciting bit of gear but feel that using it will retard your progress in the game as enemies will now die in four hits rather than three. A defence of this system may be that one is intended to replay the game using different builds. However, there is far too much repetitive travelling for this to be as limitlessly replayable as the Dark Souls series or Bloodborne.

    Perhaps Miyazaki has given birth to the golden cow of the souls-like and now needs to stop milking it. While Sekiro was a masterpiece that proved impenetrable for too many, Elden Ring is your favourite band selling out with a pop song that more people can enjoy but may well disgust a good chunk of the fanbase. The commercial angle is confirmed by the comically apparent involvement of G.R.R Martin, whose presence is mysteriously eclipsed by his absence.

    Elden Ring isn’t From’s best game, and it may well be their worst. What it is, however, is fresh souls-like content, which is always fun for as long as it lasts.

    After a long string of 9 out of 10s, Elden Ring unfortunately feels like a 7.    … Expand
  73. HyperionHere
    Jun 18, 2022
    6
    This game is a very broken masterpiece. Its open world is beautiful, although quite repetitive by the end. The Catacombs or Dungeons spread throughout the world get boring very quickly, although that's quite common in lots of games. The Boss battles are either laughably easy or excruciatingly unfair, and the high difficulty in some bosses may lead to most players just using the same brokenThis game is a very broken masterpiece. Its open world is beautiful, although quite repetitive by the end. The Catacombs or Dungeons spread throughout the world get boring very quickly, although that's quite common in lots of games. The Boss battles are either laughably easy or excruciatingly unfair, and the high difficulty in some bosses may lead to most players just using the same broken builds to compensate for the piss poor balancing and boss design. Gank bosses AI is some of the worst, leading to you fighting two very aggressive enemies at the same time in a room with almost no way to split aggression.

    All that said, still a decent game, but nowhere near the quality of the other games Fromsoft has made outside of Dark Souls 2.    … Expand
  74. eriatarka
    Aug 9, 2022
    6
    Elden Ring is an entry in the catalogue of From Software of extremes. I felt immense joy discovering new zones. I felt excitement at new weapons and spells and armor and talismans. I felt disappointment at recycled enemies and dungeons. I felt absolute dread at the forward directions of games they're going to release at many of the boss fights. As such Elden Ring has to have some of theElden Ring is an entry in the catalogue of From Software of extremes. I felt immense joy discovering new zones. I felt excitement at new weapons and spells and armor and talismans. I felt disappointment at recycled enemies and dungeons. I felt absolute dread at the forward directions of games they're going to release at many of the boss fights. As such Elden Ring has to have some of the lowest low points of any souls game, even lower than pre-SOFTS DS2.
    I've played these games since Dark Souls 1, and played every entry, and I'm confident in saying its the worst entry. This comes about not because the game is bad overall, but because where the game is bad it's atrocious.

    positives of the game: the open world is gorgeous and huge, the ashes of war system is brilliant and adds a great deal of variety, the art direction has never been better only being out by bloodborne in my opinion, the story feels more present and well written, there is a lot of stuff to do, inclusion of duplicating remembrances is convenient, bell bearings are also super convenient, theres more emphasis on elucidating some of the games more opaque features than in previous games

    negatives of the game: endgame bosses don't feel like they've been playtested, poor balancing of many things like endgame areas, dungeons outside of the legacy dungeons feel very hastily thrown together and cut and paste, horseback mechanics (which were a big part of the marketing) feel like an afterthought that was glued on after most of the game, drop rates are very abysmally low , spirit ashes don't feel like they were well balanced, platforming still feels like an afterthought, graphical performance leaves something to be desired, the tediousness of some side dungeons make them super easy to skip on subsequent playthroughs, there's very little incentive to collect great runes because they offer nothing if you don't use a rune arc (despite the fact that the item description misleads the player into thinking it does), enemy variety plummets significantly after the capital, item crafting seems half thought out and becomes irrelevant late game, many enemies feel like they were designed with sekiro in mind but were just ported into elden ring, still glitchy in areas that should have been ironed out by now

    Elden Ring is basically Dark Souls 4, for better and for worse, with every step forward in design there seem to be two steps back, for a game described as being more RPG oriented and more open world it feels like much of it is still oriented very much around the combat, which in itself isn't bad, but even the combat has changed for the worse. ultimately many promises were brought with the game and some of them just were not fulfilled. an open world of untold proportions was promised, and for the first three zones it is, but the late game areas become increasingly empty and bland, the horse combat was promised to be new and fun but it seems so poorly optimized its hard to imagine it wasn't just tacked on at the end. Difficulty is incredibly schizophrenic. Boss fights in the late game seem poorly designed and become less challenging battles and more of tests of patience for when their year long combos will end. all in all more of the same and different in the worst ways.

    A good game marred with incredibly low lows, but a good game for people who are more about the souls-like brand. an incredibly polarized game for an incredibly polarized age.

    TLDR: not the worst game in the world, not the best    … Expand
  75. Dougwesker
    Mar 7, 2022
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Combat is real basic it hasn't really changed since demons souls on PS3.

    The open world didn't really add to it just made getting from A to B a chore.

    Never once did I have to change weapon I had the uchi since the start of the damn game.

    And the copy and paste was unreal I rolled my eyes seeing the same structures and layouts repeatedly and the bosses where worse, the amount of times the godskin bosses showed up was especially lazy. Also had some bosses just flat out go afk in the battle like the Dragonlord placidusax.

    Not a bad game, above average but the overhype is real.    … Expand
  76. pstunner
    Feb 26, 2022
    7
    Update after 41 hours: Poor performance still not resolved and still frustrating. Further you progress in the game the more the flaws appear. Extremely repetitive open world with the same dungeons with no real variety. Worst boss encounters in any FromSoft game. Disappointed. 7/10 is an accurate score. Original: Rating after 15 hours. Unacceptable performance breaks every bit of immersionUpdate after 41 hours: Poor performance still not resolved and still frustrating. Further you progress in the game the more the flaws appear. Extremely repetitive open world with the same dungeons with no real variety. Worst boss encounters in any FromSoft game. Disappointed. 7/10 is an accurate score. Original: Rating after 15 hours. Unacceptable performance breaks every bit of immersion they are going for.… Expand
  77. Neurotiix
    Mar 1, 2022
    5
    He jugado y me he pasado absolutamente todos los Souls. El principal problema que le veo es que literalmente te sueltan en un mundo en el que no tienes ni historia, ni un objetivo ni absolutamente nada, te pones a explorar mientras te metes en zonas que no debes y mueres mueres y mueres, hasta que de casualidad encuentras el camino hacia un boss secundario. Llevo 15h soy nivel 50 y heHe jugado y me he pasado absolutamente todos los Souls. El principal problema que le veo es que literalmente te sueltan en un mundo en el que no tienes ni historia, ni un objetivo ni absolutamente nada, te pones a explorar mientras te metes en zonas que no debes y mueres mueres y mueres, hasta que de casualidad encuentras el camino hacia un boss secundario. Llevo 15h soy nivel 50 y he matado 2 bosses principales, derrepente voy a un sitio y me encuentro con el boss final, casi desinstalo el juego. La otra pega a comentar es el diseño del mundo, basicamente han hecho copia pega en el 90% de zonas del mapa, mismos animales, mismos enemigos, misma ambientación, excepto en unos muy concretos. Bastante mediocre.… Expand
  78. JD1872
    Apr 16, 2022
    7
    An excellent game overall but too many issues to be compared with some of their best work such as bloodborne and DS3
  79. jah_
    Feb 26, 2022
    5
    I wouldn't give the game a "0" like so many others have, but I wouldn't give it a "10" either. It's a Dark Souls game, so it's super difficult and not really for a casual gamer such as myself that plays games to relax between, you know, having a life. If you're a hardcore Souls gamer, tho.. this is for you.
  80. Method__Man
    Mar 4, 2022
    6
    Bland and empty. You basically run around in a mostly empty world looking for encounters. It’s the same as any old souls game, non innovative.

    If you like souls games, this is basically DLC for a previous entry. There is little to no difference Remember, anytime you see 10/10s like this is clearly either bandwagoning or paid reviews. This game is not remotely innovative, and thus cannot    Bland and empty. You basically run around in a mostly empty world looking for encounters. It’s the same as any old souls game, non innovative.

    If you like souls games, this is basically DLC for a previous entry. There is little to no difference Remember, anytime you see 10/10s like this is clearly either bandwagoning or paid reviews. This game is not remotely innovative, and thus cannot earn a perfect score by default. Even for souls players it’s just more of the same

    Cannot possible exceed mediocre rating. I’m a void, if it was the first ever souls game and breaking a mould, perhaps, but after entry, what?. 5? It’s just more of the same. People critique Farcry for being samey then vomit praise over this clone    … Expand
  81. Hambez
    Feb 27, 2022
    6
    Another ordinary souls game, no instructions, scare useful resources, plenty of useless items, it doesn't deserve all that hype
  82. Edgard5
    Feb 26, 2022
    6
    Game journalists,, how dare you with a top Critic Average of 97 in this game? The game has a lot of problems. Inside open world, there`s a frame drop between 20 to 15 I guess, even playing on ps5. How dare you give alot of 100 in this game? Were you bought for From software? This game seems to be so nice, but 100 ? My gosh are you crazy? The problem about Fps looks like cyber punk.
  83. scorpion19
    Mar 2, 2022
    5
    After 20 hours. After every playing session i end up feeling like I've just finished a chore. Empty uninteresting world. The really did peak with DS3. I gotta say the visuals mixing with the music is really breathtaking sometimes but actually playing it is just not fun.
  84. tixonsville
    Feb 26, 2022
    5
    Really bad optimization on PS5. Drop FPS. Please fix this problem! This game haven't best graphic, but everytime on PlayStation 5 drop FPS. Are you kidding?
  85. jj02
    Feb 26, 2022
    6
    How is this kind of performance acceptable? (PS5) 10/10 sure... The art style and visual Fidelity are two different things, but both help one another that's something From software doesn't understand. You don't have to look super realistic or graphically impressive because that isn't the point, I'm just asking for an improvement the art style is amazing, but it looks substandard. A goodHow is this kind of performance acceptable? (PS5) 10/10 sure... The art style and visual Fidelity are two different things, but both help one another that's something From software doesn't understand. You don't have to look super realistic or graphically impressive because that isn't the point, I'm just asking for an improvement the art style is amazing, but it looks substandard. A good example of doing both Right is BOTW and Ghost of Tsushima both focusing on the art style, not realism.… Expand
  86. OllyNorton
    Mar 31, 2022
    7
    First things first, this is Dark Souls. Not Dark Souls in the way Bloodborne and Sekiro are, where they change up key gameplay elements to keep the game fresh, Elden Ring when not on a horse is just Dark Souls. I've always found that Froms gameplay evolutions in both Bloodborne and Sekiro (although I never completed Sekiro) were a lot more fun to play. They still had that challenge of DarkFirst things first, this is Dark Souls. Not Dark Souls in the way Bloodborne and Sekiro are, where they change up key gameplay elements to keep the game fresh, Elden Ring when not on a horse is just Dark Souls. I've always found that Froms gameplay evolutions in both Bloodborne and Sekiro (although I never completed Sekiro) were a lot more fun to play. They still had that challenge of Dark Souls but were just a bit more focused making the challenge a bit more amped up and harder to cheese. That said Dark Souls gameplay its still good, just not as good as other From gameplay systems for me.

    So let's take on the new elements. Chiefly the open world, it took me a while to appreciate it but it is very dense and has some really fun exploration. Although I really did miss the intricate, interconnected, world designs of older games.

    For much of the game it's a decent souls game, but when you reach end game bosses be prepared for some really boring fights. Souls bosses have often played by a rule set, like you they can't spam moves and magic because they would get tired or run out of mana. That is long gone in Elden Ring so be prepared to dodge infinite combos and magic coming your way until you get lucky and gap opens up to get in a hit and then back to rolling and dodging again. I didn't get a sense of satisfaction for beating any of the later game bosses, just merely relief. The game collapses here, where as the build up was souls with some decent exploration this end game is designed for only certain builds, If you roll a melee build be prepared for a boring/frustrating experience.

    I also don't find the lore as engaging as other From games, Demon Souls was this gothic bleak dead world and that spilled into Dark Souls that refined it, Bloodborne was an eldritch horror within a victorian city gone mad, Sekiro had an almost mystical vibe to it. Elden Ring is kind of meh, it's pretty in places and there are some awesome views but overall it failed to capture me quite as much as prior titles.

    None of these things are really bad, and are likely more down to my preferences really, but one things that is truly bad is the performance. foliage textures pop in about 20 feet in front of you, the frame rate shakes like a bobblehead on a washing machine during an earthquake, and a lot of the textures are pretty basic. Elden Ring has some great moments from it's art design, but as a technical piece its lacking considerably. (Played on PS5)

    I'm probably being a bit harsh on Elden Ring, it is a good game still, but I just preferred From's other games, and my fond memories of those titles just kept reminding me how I vastly preferred their tight interconnected faster paced games vs this slower, wider, rather loose one.    … Expand
  87. SunPraisinMan
    Mar 25, 2022
    5
    Playing on the ps5 version of this game was slightly better than the ps4 but stuttering and pop in are still a big issue even on the ps5. Even then the core game play is so mediocre. And it pains me to say it but this game is easily the worst from software game I played to date. I was so hyped for this game after it's reveal and after playing dark souls 1 and 3, bloodborne, sekiro, andPlaying on the ps5 version of this game was slightly better than the ps4 but stuttering and pop in are still a big issue even on the ps5. Even then the core game play is so mediocre. And it pains me to say it but this game is easily the worst from software game I played to date. I was so hyped for this game after it's reveal and after playing dark souls 1 and 3, bloodborne, sekiro, and even deracine, I expected this game to be the best part of all them. But if anything, they just removed the best aspects of their previous games, from the beautiful levels that were handcrafted to near perfection, elden ring just doesn't have that. The open world of limgrave although stunning to look at first eventually devolves into bland empty grass fields with groups of brain dead ai scattered across. It's not even worth fighting them due to how little runes you get after clearing them. There's also dungeons that are about as pointless to explore due to how uninteresting it is to explore with the final boss at the end just being copy pasted from other areas, honestly i don't get what's so special about the open world at all, if anything it drastically ruins the flow of the game. There's also static npc's you could find stand around all day and night barely moving to just spout exposition at you while you're character just stands there when you talk them. The core combat is fine but it's just dark souls 3 again which after sekiro feels like a big step backwards.
    Edit: Nvm just beat it and honestly wasn't too bad    … Expand
  88. CPFantastic
    Nov 14, 2022
    7
    The game is mediocre and mainstream media outlets once again proved that they are irrelevant and trash.

    One of the things that Sekiro did the best for souls games was adding posture and finishers which made the bosses 10 times more epic than Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Now all of a sudden they just scrapped that and downgraded it to the first souls game. You kill those mediocre bosses    The game is mediocre and mainstream media outlets once again proved that they are irrelevant and trash.

    One of the things that Sekiro did the best for souls games was adding posture and finishers which made the bosses 10 times more epic than Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Now all of a sudden they just scrapped that and downgraded it to the first souls game. You kill those mediocre bosses and they just vanish that's it, nothing special. Yea there's some kind of a posture still in Elden Ring but it's nowhere near as good.

    Another thing is the fantastic storytelling which Sekiro had and all of a sudden they felt that they need to not make a story and give us text as a lore. You should sit on your chair and read text... uninteresting af. Yea there's some cutscenes here and there but again, it's not nowhere near as good as Sekiro.

    Graphics and animations are PS3 or mid PS4 level, even Bloodborne which is a 2015 game has better graphics than Elden Ring 2022.

    Uninspiring map, level design and bosses which are the same as previous FromSoftware games with no innovation and improvements, basically more the same.

    They just milking the formula. Mediocrity on every bit of the game.    … Expand
  89. MisterMartins
    Mar 4, 2022
    6
    I mean , I don't think Open World works well for Souls games and it doesn't look that good either. I wish they could just stick with a more linear world like they used to do. Hence I cannot give a high score . 6 is a decent. Would have given more if it was like the predecessors.
  90. JP111
    Feb 26, 2022
    5
    Outdated engine and frame rate drops on the ps5 has ruined the experience for me such a shame because the game could be amazing
  91. phulp
    Feb 27, 2022
    6
    I've been a die-hard fan of this 'series' since demon souls. I think Bloodborne is one of the best, if not the best, game ever made. I had been looking forward to this 'new IP' and the professional reviews were out of this world - 'best game ever' says the Guardian... etc etc.

    I have to say I'm a little disappointed. It is Dark Souls 4 in all but name. The 'open world' hype seems    I've been a die-hard fan of this 'series' since demon souls. I think Bloodborne is one of the best, if not the best, game ever made. I had been looking forward to this 'new IP' and the professional reviews were out of this world - 'best game ever' says the Guardian... etc etc.

    I have to say I'm a little disappointed. It is Dark Souls 4 in all but name. The 'open world' hype seems unwarranted. Yes the world is large but fundamentally it is no more open than worlds in the other souls games.

    The performance issues widely reported - well, I can confirm those. It seems crazy that this game would slow down on a PS5 when games like Returnal, Ghost of Tsushima, and even the Demon Souls remake(!) run flawlessly with superior graphics. Why would they not invest in making this game as slick as possible?

    The style of the world and the combat is identical to previous souls games. I mean identical. They've added the ability to jump and crouch, but those are exactly as you would expect them to be. The amount of innovation here is overstated.

    Overall I'm still going to play it, but I'm not gripped by it as I have been by previous souls games. I definitely felt a bit let down by just how identical it is to Dark Souls. Bloodborne and Sekiro were phenomenal games that broke the mould and moved away from the tried and tested souls mechanics - but Elden Ring simply picks up where DS3 left off.

    Graphics on PS5: 6/10
    Performance: 5/10
    Art style: 7/10
    Originality: 5/10
    Gameplay: 8/10    … Expand
  92. Thegamesup
    Sep 26, 2022
    5
    The game is very good and beautiful as the scenery and there are several chapters or you can create your own character. The enemies and bosses are diverse, but there are negatives such as the insect and its large world and the complexity of assembly and the game is important for exploration, assembly and development and this is negative like assembly and development, but the game is worthThe game is very good and beautiful as the scenery and there are several chapters or you can create your own character. The enemies and bosses are diverse, but there are negatives such as the insect and its large world and the complexity of assembly and the game is important for exploration, assembly and development and this is negative like assembly and development, but the game is worth buying. And the game is not suitable for those who do not like an open world

    Game rating 8.5    … Expand
  93. ejoseph
    Jan 22, 2023
    7
    Even though I don’t like the souls genre in general, I can appreciate the awesome open world. I will never like these games though because all you do is fight enemies that are overpowered. I’m 40 years old and like Nintendo games better. If I was 20 something maybe I’d have more interest in killing overpowered enemies. Lol
  94. kushtopia
    Mar 4, 2022
    7
    The game is fun, no doubt. The boss battles are exhilarating and there is a good variety of enemy types- each with their own distinct feel. There is an underlying story somewhere, but it is told in fragmented/disjointed parts that only the most ardent fans will actually care enough to explore. The graphics are terrible. The animations are terrible. And the game is glitchy and poorlyThe game is fun, no doubt. The boss battles are exhilarating and there is a good variety of enemy types- each with their own distinct feel. There is an underlying story somewhere, but it is told in fragmented/disjointed parts that only the most ardent fans will actually care enough to explore. The graphics are terrible. The animations are terrible. And the game is glitchy and poorly optimized. It feels like an early PS4 release title and does not have anywhere NEAR the style or the polish as other "next gen" games. With so many other great options, this is unfortunately a big miss on FromSoftware's part.

    Poorly told story, unpolished game, with fun gameplay (not necessarily good, just fun) 6.5/10    … Expand
  95. Draclif2
    Mar 9, 2022
    5
    I LOVE:
    - how hard the game is by design (it's challenging)
    - great graphics (ps5) - great scary / tense atmosphere - the use of hiding being a key threat response I don't care for or am frequently frustrated by: - How incredibly easy it is to miss hitting an enemy, even one who is point blank, not moving, cowering on his knees right in front of me. That seems to come from    I LOVE:
    - how hard the game is by design (it's challenging)
    - great graphics (ps5)
    - great scary / tense atmosphere
    - the use of hiding being a key threat response

    I don't care for or am frequently frustrated by:
    - How incredibly easy it is to miss hitting an enemy, even one who is point blank, not moving, cowering on his knees right in front of me. That seems to come from disappointing precision and intent-adjusted collision enablement / detection capabilities

    I HATE !!! :

    1) My friends and I really hate how terrible the multiplayer teaming has been designed.
    - The open world is not open world for your friends, their only objective is to help you kill an area boss
    - The process to actually connect a friend to my game or vice versa is among the most labor-intensive of it's kind that I've seen
    - A death experienced by people in my world fully removes them from my world (aka, my group) and recovery only comes from repeating the laborsome process above
    - There is no way for friends to sustain each other (no revive, heal requires unreasonable proximity (as do caster dps abilities, no resource / loot sharing)

    The part we hate is likely to prematurely sour our fun too much and push us away. I value the survival nature of the game but the process used now is really no different than the mobile games that force me to wait time before I can progress....you are forcing me to wait the time it takes me to find those flowers and make the pieces to summon someone.....and then meander about trying to find where they put their little runes I have to click on. It feels almost exactly like what work feels like only the game is less scary and tense than work.    … Expand
  96. JinIluminado
    Apr 23, 2022
    5
    Nem a minha ex namorada que me traiu 9x me enganou tanto quanto os review desse game.
    20 horas de jogo e NENHUMA arma ou armadura que encontrei eram melhores que as armaduras inicias.
    Você não tem NENHUM incentivo a matar algum inimigo difícil que vê no mapa. Você vê um dragão, tenta 40x matar ele e quando consegue ganha algo que nem usar você vai. Mapa vazio também, você só vai andar,    Nem a minha ex namorada que me traiu 9x me enganou tanto quanto os review desse game.
    20 horas de jogo e NENHUMA arma ou armadura que encontrei eram melhores que as armaduras inicias.
    Você não tem NENHUM incentivo a matar algum inimigo difícil que vê no mapa. Você vê um dragão, tenta 40x matar ele e quando consegue ganha algo que nem usar você vai. Mapa vazio também, você só vai andar, andar, andar até encontrar a próxima coisa pra matar.    … Expand
  97. Egis511
    May 9, 2022
    7
    This is the weakest souls game in my opinion. Yes, its the biggest of them all...and yes it is...well that is probably all. The size of the game means you will run from place to place longer, but that does not make it any more interesting as game does not reward you for your exploration. You will find hidden dungeons
    and caves, but the rewards of completing them are meaningless and most    This is the weakest souls game in my opinion. Yes, its the biggest of them all...and yes it is...well that is probably all. The size of the game means you will run from place to place longer, but that does not make it any more interesting as game does not reward you for your exploration. You will find hidden dungeons
    and caves, but the rewards of completing them are meaningless and most of the time useless. Items you receive in early game are superior to items from later areas. Balance is appoling. Spells you get with a starting character are better than 90 percent of all the spells you will find in the game later. Weapon upgrades make no sense as to upgrade regular weapon is more expensive and tedious than boss/exotic weapons. Game is buggy. Lost millions of souls because the game decided to bug out on me. Enemies hitting you through the walls, game favours particular style of playing (bleeding, sorcery etc.). Boss fights are designed poorly by all difficulty being almost non existing windows when you can hit npc. Weapons have combos what you will never gonna use on boss as there won't be window big enough to finish it.
    However, it is still better game than most of crap that was released in the last few years. That says a lot about gaming industry.    … Expand
  98. Yahel84
    Feb 28, 2022
    6
    The reviewers sold me this game like entry lvl for soul games genre and when I start to play it wasn't ... Just a bad experience overall :( Gorgeous art style, horrible animations, buggy gameplay and bad game design choices ... Have fun soul games fans but I will step back.
  99. seagseag123
    Mar 16, 2022
    5
    degradation of the project starting from DS3, technically sharpened to defeat, it's not a matter of skill, the game adapts to the player, that is, it deceives him ....
  100. Thompson-pro
    Feb 27, 2022
    5
    Game stutters on PS5 which is extremely unfortunate. Doesn't hold a solid 60 fps. If on ps5 get the ps4 version (less resolution but stable framerate). Going to wait for a patch, can't play this.
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2022
3
#3 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
96

Universal acclaim - based on 86 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 86 out of 86
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 86
  3. Negative: 0 out of 86
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 30, 2024
    100
    Elden Ring is simply a game that the player naturally adapts to their own style of play. Challenging at times, vicious at others, but mostly incredibly fun. The enjoyable pace makes the hours of play pass by like water, and each path opens up a few more, only to come together again after a fair amount of exploration before the next big reveal. [Issue#318]
  2. Cubed3
    Jun 2, 2023
    90
    Elden Ring serves as a testament to open world video game design. There is a true sense of accomplishment once that rock-hard enemy has been slain and, something that compels a player to relentlessly do it over and over again until they succeed is truly rewarding. The world is humongous and an epitome of how exploration should be encouraged, by intriguing players to see what is over the hill. Elden Ring is an unmissable, must-play, gaming experience with surprises galore.
    Read full review
  3. T3
    Aug 11, 2022
    80
    Elden Ring's engaging combat, mythology and dynamite orchestral soundtrack goes a long way to overshadow an aggressive open world that punishes exploration from the beaten path. Fans of the Souls genre are in for a treat, while newcomers will need to persist to reap the benefits.
    Read full review
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