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. golovokrugenie
    Apr 29, 2022
    8
    Неплохая игра. Но серия Дарк соулс понравилась больше из-за пвп
  2. BernuGeek
    Apr 2, 2022
    8
    My final and brief opinion on Elden Ring: They were right on many things, they were wrong on many others as well. The first experience is incredibly memorable and the main bosses are amazing, the lore is nothing to talk about, although I think it's very similar to Dark Souls and lacks a bit of originality. The problem is that there comes a point, more precisely in the second half of theMy final and brief opinion on Elden Ring: They were right on many things, they were wrong on many others as well. The first experience is incredibly memorable and the main bosses are amazing, the lore is nothing to talk about, although I think it's very similar to Dark Souls and lacks a bit of originality. The problem is that there comes a point, more precisely in the second half of the game, that it gets very repetitive, the optional bosses are very forgettable, the boss repetition is ridiculously annoying and the game balance is so unstable to the point that you are OP without nor make effort, ruining the Experience. The soundtrack is far inferior to past games, especially if we compare it to Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne, you can count on your fingers which ones are really memorable and incredible. The exploration of the world itself is phenomenal and intuitive, it's really a revolution of the open world system, but unfortunately that's only true for the first time playing, making the game have very little replay factor, as you've already seen all the new exploration. In short, the game is amazing and extremely fun and addictive, it has a lot of successes but it also has a lot of flaws. For FromSoftware's first open world game, I'd say they are to be congratulated, they improved a lot from the other games, but honestly it could have been better. If they had more creativity and time, the game would be immensely more memorable and most of the game's serious flaws would be minimized. Overall, it's an unforgettable game on your first playthrough and it's really worth it, it's not quite a masterpiece as many have said, for me it's basically an open world Dark Souls 4, but it's worth the investment, especially nowadays where the market of Videogames only cares about money and quantity, while FromSoftware cares more about the artistic factor and quality in their games. Final rating: 8/10… Expand
  3. SevenArmedGod
    Apr 5, 2022
    8
    I’ve never touched a Fromsoft title before, and have long feared their purportedly oppressive difficulty (A thrashing on the first mission of Nioh 2 only deepened this fear). However, this game got me hooked, and I’m reassessing my feelings about the genre.
    Elden Ring is a wonderful game, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. I think that it is not without its flaws, However, Fromsoft has been    I’ve never touched a Fromsoft title before, and have long feared their purportedly oppressive difficulty (A thrashing on the first mission of Nioh 2 only deepened this fear). However, this game got me hooked, and I’m reassessing my feelings about the genre.
    Elden Ring is a wonderful game, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. I think that it is not without its flaws, However, Fromsoft has been alright about fixing some of the mechanical issues, and the game is massive.

    First I’ll start off with the issues. The most obvious being that it is a hard game, there is an uneven distribution of difficulty currently, with an emphasis on some of the somewhat mindless duo boss fights. There are also very tough enemies in the open world that will surely obliterate you if you challenge them just out of the gates. Besides that a few bosses have already been nerfed, the open world nature of this game allows you to level in order to closer match the difficulty of encounters and areas to your own skill level.
    Next are frame rate and graphics. This game has nothing approaching revolutionary graphics, and its frame rate is prone to drops when encountering high numbers of enemies at once. However, the frame drops have not caused major issues undue damage or deaths in my play-through so far. In addition, despite the minor graphical upgrades from Dark Souls 3, Elden Ring still contains striking imagery using colors and visuals against the grey, war torn landscapes of the Lands Between to great effect, easily one of the most beautiful games in that regard.
    Lastly are the nitpicks, the enemy AI is not amazing, they are often tethered to a certain area, leading to awkward moments where they will be extremely reluctant pursue you past a very apparent point to an almost comical degree, as well once you’ve over leveled, some of the minidungeon bosses in the early game become totally trivialized, an unfortunate side effect of the way things run in the game. There is also a vague story, told mostly through small details, inferences, and snippets of dialogue from the occasional NPC. The Lands Between are ravaged by war and stagnation due to the Shattering, however it can occasionally feel quite empty of normalcy. As well, the game has a still evolving map, that as of right now makes it difficult to complete quests without the aid of fellow players via the internet.

    On the flip side, this game finally offers an answer to the “git gud” content wall in the form of the near total openness of the world and its leveling. If you’re lacking in skill (like me) you can use that to gain a few levels and even the playing field against bosses, summoning has a similar effect, but the game does make those optional to grant those Souls veterans the challenge they demand. The lore is quite interesting, and not all questions are answered, R. R. Martin has done well with the big picture lore elements here. As well, experiencing this world is uniquely interesting due to its lack of hand holding and fruitless repetitive fetch quests (other than acting as a courier between a few NPC’s once or twice, though the pace you do that is up to you in the end). The major zones feel unique and game shines where it counts, adding in loads of ambiance.
    While I recognize there is more to be asked here, I think that this game delivers a new degree of life to the Souls genre of games, and leaves me wanting more. I look forward to further patches, content, and other work surrounding this game and its universe. I would definitely highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a deep or difficult experience in an interesting world with fascinating lore.
    One of the best games in recent memory, and certainly one of my favorites.    … Expand
  4. Franviciogamer
    Apr 6, 2022
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Juego PvE interesante con un buen diseño de arte tanto del mundo como de enemigos pero con muchos errores de rendimiento y reciclaje de Dark Souls 3 , coop muy muy capado y PvP desastroso con muchos tramposos y lag se podían haber hecho mucho más pero no han querido le doy un 8 muy raspado… Expand
  5. uriphere
    Apr 6, 2022
    8
    Increible la historia, paisajes, ambientacion, direccion artisitca, fotografia, diversidad de personajes, infinidad de armas y armaduras, IMPRESIONANTE!! Aún así, demasiado exigente (difícil) para mi (es mi primer SoulsLike…) falta inventario de misiones, nuestro protagonista no habla, muy lineal dentro de los castillos,... en fin pequeñas cosas …
    No dudes en jugarlo, le llevo unas 100    Increible la historia, paisajes, ambientacion, direccion artisitca, fotografia, diversidad de personajes, infinidad de armas y armaduras, IMPRESIONANTE!! Aún así, demasiado exigente (difícil) para mi (es mi primer SoulsLike…) falta inventario de misiones, nuestro protagonista no habla, muy lineal dentro de los castillos,... en fin pequeñas cosas …
    No dudes en jugarlo, le llevo unas 100 horas y estoy desesperado…    … Expand
  6. Pandabossuo
    Apr 9, 2022
    8
    I liked it a lot, it’s pretty difficult but that is all of my problems with the game. Personally I wish that there was an indicator at the top of the hud that said what you should be doing at the current time because I spent a lot of the game just the aimlessly wandering and killing the same Enemies over and over.
  7. toughcraby
    Apr 10, 2022
    8
    There is so much questionable game design in this game, especially in the later half. The game looks gorgeous, but there are too few fun boss fights. Incredible potential, a bit wasted away with a too big scope. I have 120 hours in this game, only 40 or so were actually enjoyable.
  8. Serpicobeard
    Apr 10, 2022
    8
    As a huge fan of the Dark Souls games i was really looking forward to Elden Ring and it does not disappoint.
    A huge and beautiful dark fantasy open world which is a joy to explore, there's so much to do and find and some really cool and fun boss fights. The game just drips quality it's really well made and atmospheric. There's so much freedom in building your character and tons of    As a huge fan of the Dark Souls games i was really looking forward to Elden Ring and it does not disappoint.
    A huge and beautiful dark fantasy open world which is a joy to explore, there's so much to do and find and some really cool and fun boss fights. The game just drips quality it's really well made and atmospheric. There's so much freedom in building your character and tons of different weapons, armour and magic spells to find. There's also zero busy work which is something which ruins most other open world games. They nailed it, it's awesome.

    It isn't perfect though as at times i feel the game is just too difficult for the sake of it. Near the end of the game i was over level 100 and had a maximum level weapon so i was able to crush regular mobs with a few hits but i was barely scratching the bosses. Unless you want to spend hours trying to beat a single boss then summoning other players is essential.
    Also the final boss is complete nonsense. You are required to beat two of the hardest bosses in the game in a row with no rest in between. Basically you have to get perfect at beating the first boss before you can even practice how to beat the second one and i think that's a step too far. I have finished the Dark Souls games multiple times but i can't see myself returning to Elden Ring for a while even though i loved the game up until the final boss.

    Overall though this is a really great game and i'm looking forward to the DLC.    … Expand
  9. Alusik
    Apr 12, 2022
    8
    As a soulsborne fan i wanted to give the game a 10, but that would be wrong because it's far from perfect. Many things are copied from ds, like when i was in stormveil castle i realy felt like i was in dark souls, most of the game you are in open areas some of which are very beautiful and horse makes it fun to explore, also fighting on a horse really changes the gameplay makes it moreAs a soulsborne fan i wanted to give the game a 10, but that would be wrong because it's far from perfect. Many things are copied from ds, like when i was in stormveil castle i realy felt like i was in dark souls, most of the game you are in open areas some of which are very beautiful and horse makes it fun to explore, also fighting on a horse really changes the gameplay makes it more dynamic like in sekiro, but it's seriously not as much as some people say it is, like people buy fifa and call of duty every year, and these games are basically the same every time and people forgive that. Game is a lot like bb in a way that it is between ds and sekiro but bb leaning towards ds and elden ring towards sekiro. Soulsborne fans will like it, some new people will come but as with all from soft games before some people will not like difficulty and will hate it… Expand
  10. fiddledydoodle
    Apr 17, 2022
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Fun game, but it's kinda overrated. I love FromSoft games. My favourite was Bloodborne and Dark Souls 1 was a classic too. But Elden Ring just... feels like it's dying. The first half of the game is fun. You explore, meet NPCs and actually feel like you're in this fantasy world. But in the second half, it is hardly an open world. It becomes completely linear and honestly kinda boring. But the worst part of this game is the reused assets. Enemies, bosses, even whole structures. The story is just mid- it feels like Dark Bosses like Souls but worse. Bosses like Astel don't even fit in with the game. Elden Ring loves to be unfair. And not in the "git gud" sorta way like the earlier games, more like they couldn't be bothered to make a fair challenge. In conclusion, Elden Ring is the signal of a dying franchise. From Demon Souls to Sekiro, the combat has hardly changed. Whether you like it or not (I know I do), it's hard to argue that it's not growing old. Elden Ring is FromSoft trying to stay alive. Going open world was just the last ditch attempt to stay alive. It worked, but at what cost?… Expand
  11. soothingfive808
    Apr 22, 2022
    8
    Trama repetida y aburrida, mundo abierto abrumador y vacío (demasiado grande), fallas de optimización, enemigos repetitivos y bugs. Por todo lo demás esta bien.
  12. Ferreiro
    Apr 23, 2022
    8
    Good game, but performance is inconstant. Incridable bosses and graphics art.
  13. Andrew_098
    Apr 25, 2022
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. PROS
    The overworld and the level design is very good and very inspired,the esploration is at its best, reaching a new location leaves you speechless,the mount is good, the lore is amazing and the world is telling its story by just looking at it and it's really really good and interesting,but we play game to have fun,lore is not the most important thing.

    CONS
    The Map is great,but feels empty,few decent quest,many weapons and builds but few are worth using,the endgame is unbalance with very bad enemy placement,mob with too much HP not worth fighting, unfair boss moveset that force you to use summon to have fun,copypaste bosses and mobs.Not much replayability also, and the pvp/coop is fromsoftware worst experience.

    CONCLUSION
    The game is good but i wouldn't raccomend to anyone,the Souls formula in an openworld it's just not working for me,the game feel very empty and once you see the map there is no fun in re doing it all over again,It's a nice oneshot game experience but if you are new probably you have to use guides to discover everything that the game offers.There is no fun in getting good at this game because the game is either to easy(with broken builds and summons),or too hard and UNFAIR if you play a normal souls melee build(this game are designed and fun for THIS,is not fun to overkill a boss or try to learn an undodgeable move). The least rewarding fromsoftware game    … Expand
  14. mahmudink
    Apr 25, 2022
    8
    لعبة رائعة لكنها مثل سابقاتها مع أعداء مختلفين، تصميم المراحل ممتاز، اوستات عادية، تكرار مقرف، لعبة جميلة لكن ليست الأفضل كما يزعم البعض
  15. Kaizer23
    May 6, 2022
    8
    Très bon jeu qui fait évidemment penser à ses grand frères. La nouveauté du monde ouvert et une très bonne idée surtout que l'exploration et la satisfaction quand nous découvrons de nouveaux lieux / évènements est prenante.
    Le côté RPG est davantage poussé avec l'ajout de divers donjons cachés au quatre coins de la map afin de pouvoir mieux s'équiper et avancer dans la trame principale    Très bon jeu qui fait évidemment penser à ses grand frères. La nouveauté du monde ouvert et une très bonne idée surtout que l'exploration et la satisfaction quand nous découvrons de nouveaux lieux / évènements est prenante.
    Le côté RPG est davantage poussé avec l'ajout de divers donjons cachés au quatre coins de la map afin de pouvoir mieux s'équiper et avancer dans la trame principale
  16. ismailBaytar
    May 9, 2022
    8
    Oyunu oynamadım fakat izlediğim videolardan oyunun diğer souls vari oyunlardan temel dinamik olarak pek fark görmedim bu yüzden abartıldığını düşünüyorum ama oyunu oynayacağım.
  17. TheDresdenDoll
    May 13, 2022
    8
    The last 5% of this game is an unbelievable mess. Lucky for everyone I suppose that the first 95% is an incredible experience.
  18. anemotaxis
    Feb 8, 2023
    8
    DARK SOULS II-2、バージョンアップじゃなくてマイナーチェンジ。
    戦闘が楽しくない。
    敵キャラクターの不自然な強靭、不自然なディレイ、不自然な追尾性能、不自然な無敵時間。 単にステータスを伸ばしていくだけの雑な調整。MOBは戦うだけ無駄だと思ってしまう。 メディアでは革新的と謳われ、オープンフィールドや遺灰など新規要素があるものの、マップが広いだけで自由度は感じないし、新規要素がさほど機能しているようには感じない。 難しさを維持しようとして、プレイヤー側のいろんな要素を下方修正して機能してないのでは？    DARK SOULS II-2、バージョンアップじゃなくてマイナーチェンジ。
    戦闘が楽しくない。
    敵キャラクターの不自然な強靭、不自然なディレイ、不自然な追尾性能、不自然な無敵時間。
    単にステータスを伸ばしていくだけの雑な調整。MOBは戦うだけ無駄だと思ってしまう。
    メディアでは革新的と謳われ、オープンフィールドや遺灰など新規要素があるものの、マップが広いだけで自由度は感じないし、新規要素がさほど機能しているようには感じない。
    難しさを維持しようとして、プレイヤー側のいろんな要素を下方修正して機能してないのでは？
  19. Zombi6
    Jun 9, 2022
    8
    loved it..
    but
    - couldnt beat the Final final boss.. gave up
    - felt it had random quests.. couldnt have gotten as far as I did without weikis.guides
    still loved it though
  20. Cimar
    Jun 4, 2022
    8
    Elden ring is a masterpiece of a game I could truly feel the coolness of this open world fantasy game and on any platform you play it on the game still delivers at the extremely high expectation for this game. The boss battles are so well made that even though I died over 50 times to one boss I kept on wanting to pick up the controller and continuing and when you do finish a boss fight youElden ring is a masterpiece of a game I could truly feel the coolness of this open world fantasy game and on any platform you play it on the game still delivers at the extremely high expectation for this game. The boss battles are so well made that even though I died over 50 times to one boss I kept on wanting to pick up the controller and continuing and when you do finish a boss fight you feel like you achieved something incredible. The story is enticing and makes me want to keep playing after 6 hours of consecutive games. The only issue I will bring up is that I feel like multiplayer is quite difficult to pull of it would be cooler if you could just invite your friend instead of crafting a remedy then using it and also then your friends could stay after either you or them die as it is quite annoying because they could die really quickly and then you would have to do the remedy again but that doesn't stop the game from being one of the best fantasy open world games out there. What makes it a breath-taking experience of the sheer size of the map I'm not too fond of an extremely big map where your just walking for years on end and not seeing anything which is why I love this game as you can always be stumbling across something new and their is never a lack of content. So if your looking for an open world fantasy game that ties you in so you can almost stop playing Elden Ring is the game for you.… Expand
  21. tikda
    Jun 10, 2022
    8
    This game is not as great as I was hoping. There is a lot of recycling from old games and the open world is no more exciting than any other open world game with too much dead space.
  22. c0404p
    Jan 23, 2023
    8
    avid souls fan, great game, however it is nowhere near the masterpiece everyone claims it is and i wish the inflated hype around it would just stop because i’d rather miyazaki just never try and slap his usual, linear formula of games onto a gigantic map again. it’s clear he sacrificed quality, all for the sake of creating a “bigger” game and it couldn’t be more obvious. and it’s just oddavid souls fan, great game, however it is nowhere near the masterpiece everyone claims it is and i wish the inflated hype around it would just stop because i’d rather miyazaki just never try and slap his usual, linear formula of games onto a gigantic map again. it’s clear he sacrificed quality, all for the sake of creating a “bigger” game and it couldn’t be more obvious. and it’s just odd how for an open world rpg, there is literally nothing to do at all which is yet another flaw. the game is advertised as something it is not.… Expand
  23. kiantamer
    Jun 16, 2022
    8
    It was a good game, but the story was also good, but the lack of dialogue was one of its shortcomings. The hour meant that the whole game was 2 hours and it was very bad that the game was not easy or difficult
  24. Player134
    Aug 28, 2022
    8
    The game is absolutely great. Open world experience, amount of content , bosses, difficulty , combat , graphics all of them are perfect. But the caves , dungeons, catacombs are just a copy paste. Even the bosses in there are the same. If they weren't boring I would give a 10
  25. WowzifXD
    Jan 26, 2023
    8
    Elden ring supo como combinar la fórmula souls pero ahora en una experiencia de mundo abierto. El juego a diferencia de otros juegos de "mundo abierto" cuyo nivel de exploración es mínimo ya que el recorrido es en línea recta y no te la la libertad de explorar con libertad el mapa en elden ring no es así, no sólo el juego te deja ir por donde quieras, tambien hay recompensas por explorarElden ring supo como combinar la fórmula souls pero ahora en una experiencia de mundo abierto. El juego a diferencia de otros juegos de "mundo abierto" cuyo nivel de exploración es mínimo ya que el recorrido es en línea recta y no te la la libertad de explorar con libertad el mapa en elden ring no es así, no sólo el juego te deja ir por donde quieras, tambien hay recompensas por explorar motivando al jugador a seguir recorriendo el mundo, aunque el sistema de combate no es nada innovador y la mayoria de sus mecanicas son recicladas de los juegos anteriores como seria la mecanica de sigilo y los habilidad de saltar de sekiro, el frenetismo y las mazmorras de bloodborne y el sistema de combate de dark souls 3. Al principio sólo quería seguir explorando ya que era muy divertido, no obstante el juego recicla enemigos y jefes haciendo que muchos combates de jefes no se sientan tan memorables y a veces haciendolos monótonos. Tambien tuvo problemas en su salida a pc ya que muchas personas no pudieron disfrutarlo por estar mal optimizado, aunque es verdad que ya lo arreglaron y actualmente se puede jugar muy bien en pc, no deja de ser un error que tuvo en su salida. Mi conclusión de elden ring sería que es un mundo abierto ambicioso que buscaba ser lo más grande y lleno posible, pero acabo siendo un juego que le sobran muchas horas debido a lo repetitivo que se vuelve a medida que avanzas en el juego. Aunque no cabe duda que dentro de unos años muchas compañías de videojuegos intentarán copiar el éxito de elden ring en un intento de lograr lo que este consiguió. Lo que demuestra la influencia que tendrá de unos años. El juego está lejos de ser perfecto pero aún así lo recomiendo bastante tanto para fans de la saga como jugadores novatos.… Expand
  26. eigar66
    Jan 24, 2023
    8
    this game is a master piece mechanics ,world, graphic everything is great and its one of the eseyiest soulslikes
  27. coltfx
    Nov 3, 2022
    8
    Pretty stunning game, had my own struggles with skill issue but overall it's just perfect, never played dark souls games but this was my first one and it gave me pretty amazing experience!
  28. hyxce12
    Nov 3, 2022
    8
    This game is amazing! It got really good grapichs good mechanics and a really good level design! The game has some bad things but mostly its fun to play of course if you not angry its really fun i like it!
  29. Mohammed1010
    Nov 6, 2022
    8
    It's good game but boss is bad and i think dark souls 3 and bloodboorn are betaer
  30. klenzo
    Nov 8, 2022
    8
    Great game overall, but lacks in creativity and originaly in comparison with de Souls saga and Bloodborne. Miyazaki has to refresh, or, at least, create a world with unique bosses and memorable areas.
  31. yur0
    Nov 11, 2022
    8
    Good game overall, but has a fatal flaw: bosses that are on crack, with a lot of fast attacks that deal huge damage, a speed that is way too fast for your characters base toolkit, in other words, you are playing DS3 while the bosses are playing Elden Ring, mixed with repetitive dungeons filled with repetitive bosses that just feel like they are there just to fill the world.
  32. Sohelanthropus
    Nov 11, 2022
    8
    As a true Souls fan (all Platinums and an abid PvPer and invader since DeS), ELDEN RING is a great game that has very fun gameplay, exploration (if on first playthrough), great soundtrack and overall good and serious "vibes" (the game takes itself seriously and it has a soul).

    But, it holds your hand too much with stuff like tutorials, Ashen Summons, OP weapons and spells, no solo host    As a true Souls fan (all Platinums and an abid PvPer and invader since DeS), ELDEN RING is a great game that has very fun gameplay, exploration (if on first playthrough), great soundtrack and overall good and serious "vibes" (the game takes itself seriously and it has a soul).

    But, it holds your hand too much with stuff like tutorials, Ashen Summons, OP weapons and spells, no solo host invasions, stance breaking, not many dangerous enemies.
    It also is very easy to overlevel an area, because the game does a very poor job gating and placing weapon upgrade materials and Rune gains all throughout the game's areas; making it so, for example, you reach to the Academy of Raya Lucaria at lvl 65-70 (if you've done some decent exploring) when that area feels balanced around lvl 53-60.

    Overall, I firmly believe From Software casualized the game too much and we the fans didn't gatekeep enough to counteract that.

    And yet, it still is on one of the best games ever made and the best to come out in these past 2 years, because the game HAS a soul, it has charm and you can feel it was made with love and respect, something most games lack nowadays.

    I give it an 8, to me a 10 would be the likes of true masterpieces that didn't give a **** about others and they succeeded in doing so, aka Bloodborne, Metal Gear Solid 3, Halo 3 and dark Souls 2 SoFTS.

    If you are a manchild who wants to start doing something badass, play ELDEN RING and stop playing those **** generic action cinematic games like Horizon, Last Of Us or GoW.    … Expand
  33. Released
    Nov 14, 2022
    8
    Solid Game With Fun Combat And An Amazing Open World that you can get lost in for hours bosses are most of the time unique and fun too fight but there are a lot of repeat boss fight that can get boring also the game has a very loose story that’s hard to follow, another complaint is that it got very boring at times but overall a solid 8.5
  34. Smorgasbord
    Nov 15, 2022
    8
    Fun combat, fun exploration with big world, light story with much lore. Progression can be a bit annoying sometimes.
  35. Federatie
    Nov 17, 2022
    8
    Great soulslike game. The difficulty is high just like any soulslike, but this time open world and filled with even more details than before.
  36. YusufK43479
    Nov 20, 2022
    8
    Good good good good good good good good good good good good. But not wonderful
  37. ArieA
    Nov 30, 2022
    8
    It’s a great game. Exploration was incredible. Still outclassed in every aspect of gaming by GOW and Horizon FW.
  38. wherethelamsaus
    Dec 7, 2022
    8
    An amazing game to play with friends. Though the game has no real storytelling to offer, the gameplay and world makes up for it.
  39. Terwilliger
    Dec 8, 2022
    8
    So, Elden Ring, GOTY? No, but a great game nonetheless.

    FromSoftware is a great developer but their gameplay and narrative is getting tiring, and the lengthy campaign has left me fatigued after just platinuming it. It's left me with no desire to play again and even if it does release DLC with more story content, it's going to feel like an absolute chore to start a new build to check    So, Elden Ring, GOTY? No, but a great game nonetheless.

    FromSoftware is a great developer but their gameplay and narrative is getting tiring, and the lengthy campaign has left me fatigued after just platinuming it. It's left me with no desire to play again and even if it does release DLC with more story content, it's going to feel like an absolute chore to start a new build to check it out.

    Please FromSoftware, break your formula and try something entirely new.    … Expand
  40. aaronnmp96
    Jan 31, 2023
    8
    My review on PS4 is similar to me, it's better here but no change in experience in this case
  41. WarioLandFan
    Mar 28, 2023
    8
    Way too hard, couldn't get past the title screen. Getting a refund right now.
  42. romkabomka0103
    Feb 9, 2023
    8
    I would call Elden ring a marvelous masterpiece. For every plus there is a minus. For example: A large beautiful open world - most of it is empty spaces, fields. Incredible story bosses - boring, repetitive, and often they are generally ordinary mobs with a huge strip of HP. But still Elden ring remains one of my favorite games. And I will return to it again and again.
  43. Gringo2077
    Mar 22, 2023
    8
    Excellente DA, bonne musique, des combats de boss épic et un gameplay convaincant ! Ce jeu mérite son titre de GOTY 2022 et frôle la perfection.

    On remarque tout de même quelques lacunes (bug de collision, dégât de zone et IA à revoir) mais le résultat final fait le café et vous occupera pendant des heures et des heures. Une réussite !
  44. lubse
    Mar 1, 2023
    8
    Its just a bigger Darksouls 3, love it.but a bit too much senseless trails.
  45. LordSnoot
    Mar 5, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Amazing game with a lot of variety in builds, tons of exploration and a gorgeous world. However, this game has some issues which prevent me from giving it a score higher than an 8.

    -Bosses are insanely aggressive and feel like they are faster than the overall pace of the game, with some relying on frustrating mechanics to add difficulty, with the most noticeable being the blatant input reading whenever you drink a potion. The bosses are balanced with summons in mind which is why I believe they have the very aggressive playstyle, But most people in the souls community don't like using summons as it is not as satisfying defeating a boss them. So for the game to balance boss encounters around them doesn't feel that great.

    -You are unable to open the map while in combat, which is frustrating because it takes a while before you are out of combat. An enemy can hit you once and keep you in combat for 25 seconds even after you travel far away. For those who look at the map a lot to want to know where they're going, they will find this quite annoying.

    Other than the 2 things I listed above, the game is great everywhere else whether its the combat, exploration, etc. Definitely a must play if you enjoy the Soulsborne genre.    … Expand
  46. Nmaa18
    Sep 12, 2023
    8
    Introduction: I adored demon's souls, and so I decided I had to give this game a try. There is a lot of hype surrounding this game, and also people often like to compare it to its predecessors, which makes reviewing the Elden ring harder.

    87/100.
  47. Mr_99
    Apr 30, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The world looks so beautiful, every character design looks awesome. And does anyone wanna tell me why game industries make open world games so **** great. But if i am going to be completely honest the combat really felt slow, i usally like games way more linear.… Expand
  48. AdaLovelace
    May 1, 2023
    8
    Suffered for about 40 hours before I gave up on mindless wandering, repetitive bosses, and clunky, frustrating combat dynamics. Perhaps I needed to revise my build, or maybe try a different gameplay style but I decided it wasn't worth my time. Deleted and moving on. Happier for it.
  49. QuasarKnight
    May 15, 2023
    8
    Simplesmente incrível! Um dos meus jogos favoritos e sem dúvidas merecidamente ganhou o GOTY.
  50. ElPozu
    May 26, 2023
    8
    Un juego increíble, ha sacado todo lo mejor que llevo dentro, un experiencia increíble, un juego que recordaré durante años. El diseño de personajes y NPC, mazmorras, mapa, etc de muy alto nivel, aunque el apartado gráfico me ha decepcionado.
  51. Dercoolejostin
    Jun 9, 2023
    8
    It's open world darksouls Sadly it couldn't reach it's full potentiell Nearly all of the bosses just couldn't compete with the bosses of the soulsborne games There are a lot of reasons why i feel this way but i'll just shortly explain it
    A huge amount of bosses are reuses
    Duo bosses are way to common and are not properly designed to work well with each other(the godskin duo is the best    It's open world darksouls Sadly it couldn't reach it's full potentiell Nearly all of the bosses just couldn't compete with the bosses of the soulsborne games There are a lot of reasons why i feel this way but i'll just shortly explain it
    A huge amount of bosses are reuses
    Duo bosses are way to common and are not properly designed to work well with each other(the godskin duo is the best example for this)
    And a lot of bosses just have way to much going on in their moveset which leads to me not feeling like i'm fighting a cool ancient warrior but a magical unicorn that farts rainbows
    But not only are the bosses some of the worst of all from Software soulslike games but also its unique aspect (the open world) just isn't good
    The open world is filled from Top to bottom with items, enemys and sometimes bosses but sadly the items are for the most part awful , the game gives you no good reason to care about the enemys (you can easily ignore them because you're faster than them and they give nearly no runes so killing them isn't worth it) and the bosses in this aren't good enough to be something exciting to look forward to
    This game also has a lot of cool weapons Would be a shame if the game wouldn't give you enough resources to level up and use those weapons And i know you can buy as much Upgrade materials as you like but sadly to be able to do that you first have to find multiple hard to find items and then also have an insane amount of runes to get the needed materials
    Also this game has some pretty crazy difficulty spikes which i found to be rather annoying This game could have easily been a 10/10 but instead they failed to give the game what it needed in to many aspects    … Expand
  52. emrakul11
    Jun 23, 2023
    8
    As fan of from software i can say i am little dissapointed of elden ring. I admit the open world is one of the best i ever played, but i think they rushed badly after the capital, where a 9 game become a 5 game. Anyway i know from software will master this formula for the next game.
  53. sweatyman123
    Aug 9, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. the game would be a 10 if they didnt have that **** boss named elden beast. his elden stars attack is **** on top of that sometimes he hits u with the fast attack where light beam comes from the sky and hits u also elden stars and stagger u which will kill u instantly since that attack is a one shot also he moves around way too much and spams the same stars attack leaving the fight very long and dragged out. radagon is fine as the final boss but elden beast should have never been made. who ever the **** came up with elden beast is a ****ing **** and i hope they have a terrible life
    also wtf is with the frame rate drops like its a next gen game even tho it doesnt have the best graphics like im fine with the graphics but there are frame rate drops in leyendel and bunch of other places and im playing on a **** ps5 like wtf is with that.    … Expand
  54. cronoslegacy
    May 17, 2022
    7
    I wanted to finish the game prior to writing a review and without using online guides but it proved very difficult and ended up googling some progression points to just stop roaming around aimlessly.

    To start, Elden Ring is a great game by all means and is a nifty throwback to the days when you needed to buy strategy guides and read the instruction booklets that came with games. There    I wanted to finish the game prior to writing a review and without using online guides but it proved very difficult and ended up googling some progression points to just stop roaming around aimlessly.

    To start, Elden Ring is a great game by all means and is a nifty throwback to the days when you needed to buy strategy guides and read the instruction booklets that came with games. There is definitely some artificial difficulty here that can be more annoying than fun. Enemies obviously lack stamina gauges and many bosses will just spam you into oblivion with military level missile tracking. some enemies will spam projectiles at you that hardly ever miss and your only chance is i-frame dodging, such is the nature of Souls games. However, here is slightly different as in games past enemies would leave openings for you to exploit, good luck with that here. Most bosses I ended up "cheesing" to just get clear.

    There is a 100% pacifist playthrough that essentially exploits the AI's need to spam you even at it's own detriment. Essentially the player would lure the boss to a cliff of some sort and "assist" them on their way off. The funny thing this is seen as a "challenge" playthrough when it's actually the most efficient way to defeat the bosses as most of the time you won't be getting within 10ft of the boss without being obliterated by endless AoE attacks. So many times I resulted to spamming rot arrows at a boss from a cliff he couldn't reach (screw you Fallingstar Beast).

    Then there is the issue of easily missing critical game components. For example, Roderika is a Tarnished you will most likely find semi-early in the game but if you aren't gung-ho about harassing her for dialogue you won't get one of your first ashes AND later at the roundtable a key NPC for making ashes stronger. There is no indication that you need to speak with her multiple times in the slightest. A lot of quests in this game are just like this; easily missed UNLESS you are constantly researching with a google browser open and I feel that's a damn shame. Quests are just so disjointed and NPC's are just so vague when offering help it can be quite annoying more than fun. There are times when you find a riddle and the only way to progress is to talk to another NPC "merchant" you met early in the game and since have met about 70 other NPC since, how people figure this nonsense out is beyond me.

    Other than that, boss battles are generally fairly amazing and the lore is simply amazing. You'll have to piece the story together yourself but it's there. The world is huge and it is amazing fun finding new things constantly. There is a great deal of detail and you can see where the devs put their passion. A good game where "strategy" is key and even if the strategy is "cheesy" it's still a legit strategy. Remember everything is fair game in war.

    helpful tips:
    GET A BOW - I don't care what class you play, bows are awesome and a great tool. You can use them to snipe enemies and lure enemies out of groups and generally have a bigger range than even magic. You can pick up a long bow early from the husks at the roundtable hold for 1000 runes and buy standard arrows from most world merchants fairly cheap.

    Husk Merchant - located in the roundtable, has some very useful items for sale and inventory expands when you bring Bell Bearings back, some of the most useful ones being Smithing-Stone Miner's Bell Bearing which allows you to buy infinite 1-3 smithing stones and Iji's Bell Bearing for somber smithing stones. There are better ones and ones that allow you to buy higher smithing stones, too! the bells have no other use so make sure to always hand them over to the husk merchants.

    Exhaust NPC dialogue - just do it, speak to every NPC until they start to repeat themselves. Sometimes later, they will offer helpful advice only if you met the interact prerequisite.

    Ashes - Use them, they are great and make sure to upgrade them in the roundtable (via Roderika).

    A good Offense is sometimes the best Defense - Here it's absolutely true. sure, it's great to avoid damage but just defending WILL get you killed.

    crafting items - so many useful items to craft...namely a cure for poison (which you will be poisoned a lot). You expand your crafting abilities through cookbooks. One that comes to mind is the Armorer's cookbook [2] which you get from the coastal merchant in western Limgrave.    … Expand
  55. 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
  56. 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
  57. blackswriter
    Apr 15, 2022
    7
    Elden ring just become good because it is dark soul predecessor.
    Look how empty the map is because the map is just too big. They need to add more density rather than just a forced open world.
    The movement sure is more fluid than dark soul, but it is still considered very rough. Weirdly enough that they develop sekiro which has a very great and fluid movement. It seems like just a step    Elden ring just become good because it is dark soul predecessor.
    Look how empty the map is because the map is just too big. They need to add more density rather than just a forced open world.
    The movement sure is more fluid than dark soul, but it is still considered very rough. Weirdly enough that they develop sekiro which has a very great and fluid movement. It seems like just a step down from sekiro.
    Control is very bad that you can easily push the wrong button.
    Multiplayer is still unplayable and very confusing. They should just copy what Nioh 2's team ninja did.
    The story and lore still very bad. They too focus on gameplay that made the story very shallow. They should take the example of Hollow knight, it clearly focuses on gameplay but doesn't sacrifice lore. The story of Elden ring is not that different than Nioh 2 and Strange of paradise in terms of complexity.
    I think that Sekiro is better than this. It's not that the Elden ring is bad. But it still cannot be considered a masterpiece as it is. And now, many dark soul themes are better than Elden ring.    … Expand
  58. PabloGilvan
    Mar 2, 2022
    7
    I still remember when I played Skyrim first time, it was amazing seeing that rich open world, is one of my fav games of all time. But Elden Ring, oh Elden Ring, it is another level, it raises the bar for new games. This world is vast, dense, imersive, creepy, dangerous and beautiful. I'm over 30 hrs and only killed Godrick. Its an amazing and epic world.
  59. icedzug
    Mar 6, 2022
    7
    I find this game is much overrated. each from software game before was better. most enemy are just ridiculous or just overpowered, nothing between. Open World is full of Nothing but the same houses, the same trees and the same graveyards. Dungeon design just got worse
  60. PiskoWK
    Jun 9, 2022
    7
    It's good, I think, but I know it's not for me. The open world helps those like myself who found previous attempts at souls games to be frustrating time wasters because of the "git gud" mentality. I really enjoyed playing it with friends online, but the mechanics designed to put players together are archaic and could have been designed by Nintendo.
  61. TheGoodGoat
    Feb 27, 2022
    7
    The game is boring. I can appreciate the scale but it literally is a soulsborne game in that you just have to roll around until you can attack. Sekiro is way better in every conceivable way
  62. 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
  63. Starfey
    Feb 27, 2022
    7
    Metacritic 97? How? Generic and technical 2010. 25h into the game and its super boring and overrated. How can such a old engine perform that bad on new consoles and good pcs?
  64. 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
  65. witcher6999
    Mar 12, 2022
    7
    Вторичная игра, с пустым и ненужным открытым миром. Очень плохое техническое состояние.
  66. 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
  67. 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.
  68. deplooyer
    Mar 9, 2022
    7
    Muy buen juego para ser el primer mundo abierto de la saga Souls. Intentaron que el juego fuera accesible para todo publico pero desgraciadamente no lo lograron. Elden sigue siendo pesado y abrumador para bastante publico. En mi caso el juego me pareció bueno, pero la trama e historia no me atrapo, y en mi caso eso es lo que me hace querer terminar el juego. Descubrir zonas con enemigosMuy buen juego para ser el primer mundo abierto de la saga Souls. Intentaron que el juego fuera accesible para todo publico pero desgraciadamente no lo lograron. Elden sigue siendo pesado y abrumador para bastante publico. En mi caso el juego me pareció bueno, pero la trama e historia no me atrapo, y en mi caso eso es lo que me hace querer terminar el juego. Descubrir zonas con enemigos nuevos y creativos no me llena. Quiero saber el porque estan ahi, que esta pasando, la historia detras de eso. El juego es muy continuista en jugabilidad pero logro entrelazar bien las zonas y el mundo para formar un verdadero monstruo de mundo, enorme y lleno de zonas hermosas, sin embargo al apostar por seguir siendo Souls, mundo obscuro y tenebroso se pierde bastante de lo que pudo haber sido. Souls es un juego de 10 para los amantes de la saga pero para todos los demas es solo un buen juego e interesante que nunca terminaremos.… Expand
  69. Eclipse4444
    Mar 10, 2022
    7
    An open world game must sacrifice some aspects due to the sheer size of the world they're creating. Unfortunately, much of what made the Dark Souls series so good has been lost or greatly reduced. Intricate, well thought out level design is now rare. Most of the various dungeons, castles, mines, and other environments are pretty straight forward.

    Enemy and boss design seems to have    An open world game must sacrifice some aspects due to the sheer size of the world they're creating. Unfortunately, much of what made the Dark Souls series so good has been lost or greatly reduced. Intricate, well thought out level design is now rare. Most of the various dungeons, castles, mines, and other environments are pretty straight forward.

    Enemy and boss design seems to have suffered as well. Almost every minor boss is fought numerous times, which kills any sort of uniqueness they had.
    Also, it feels like the developers are constantly trying to one up themselves. Every major boss has to have an over the top moveset that does a million damage, particle effects, and soundtrack. I am not asking for an easy mode, but I am asking for some competent game design.

    Overall, it's fine. The first 20 hours are great, but the rest gets tedious. To see such a great developer make a game filled with baffling and outright bad design choice, makes me unable to go above a 7/10.    … Expand
  70. larsdebest21
    Feb 26, 2022
    7
    I really like the game and i dont care about the graphics argument for this game.. This game isnt focused on that but on the combat which is really good. BUT the world is so big it feels all the same to me at some point. Like when you have no story and you fight a boss over and over at some point you are like... i have seen it all.
  71. unctheels
    May 30, 2022
    7
    very good game but also very big world and loses focus much of the time. also, like all other FromSoftware games other than Bloodborne (and possibly Sekiro) it doesnt have the sidestep mechanic when locked onto an enemy in combat. for me that makes the combat much less fun than Bloodborne. that being said Bloodborne is clearly my favorite FS game and better than Elden Ring.
  72. ZeoN
    Feb 20, 2023
    7
    Tras darle dos oportunidades he llegado a la conclusión de que no es un juego para mí. Veo el mundo abierto muy vacío, y el juego se deja llevar demasiado por lo que es la esencia de la nada de Dark Souls. No me parece un mal título, pero en absoluto creo que sea la obra maestra que muchos dicen
  73. arthasmenethil8
    Mar 18, 2022
    7
    EDITED after 108 hours of play time: Besides some little performance issues on PS5 which are now fixed, I'd say that this game is okish: exploring is rewarding even thou the enemies are repeated too often, some sub bosses are fun but they are the same ones you already faced over and over in the game...Yes, it's fun to roam around and discover new things but after a while youìve seen itEDITED after 108 hours of play time: Besides some little performance issues on PS5 which are now fixed, I'd say that this game is okish: exploring is rewarding even thou the enemies are repeated too often, some sub bosses are fun but they are the same ones you already faced over and over in the game...Yes, it's fun to roam around and discover new things but after a while youìve seen it all. Regarding the"real" bosses of the game, some are ok but others are utterly broken: bad hit boxes, their damage is just insane no matter how "good" or protected you are, oh and they can be easily broken by using a magic build with comet Azur + mimic ash +10. It is a dark souls 3 with some open world mechanics, programmed in the same engine of few years ago. 7,5/10 is my final score.… Expand
  74. Maugaran
    Mar 8, 2022
    7
    Totally overrated but good game. Nice fight system but empty world + trivial npcs. Not special Music.
  75. Taiyu
    Oct 3, 2022
    7
    The game was made with such a poor engine, I think if From Software continue to use this kind of outdated engine for their next soul game, game reviewer would not be so kind.
  76. darthcooper
    Mar 17, 2023
    7
    My reviews are always based on fun and I did like the game but it is very confusing and very big. It is a massive open-world souls game with a lot of ways to play but you have to grind a lot to level up and there is virtually zero direction. The game runs well and is beautiful on PS5, loading times are almost zero it loads really quickly. However, I felt totally lost after a couple ofMy reviews are always based on fun and I did like the game but it is very confusing and very big. It is a massive open-world souls game with a lot of ways to play but you have to grind a lot to level up and there is virtually zero direction. The game runs well and is beautiful on PS5, loading times are almost zero it loads really quickly. However, I felt totally lost after a couple of hours but continued exploring, grinding, rinse, and repeat. Eventually, I managed to get to the Academy after 40 hours but I spent almost double the hours trying to kill "Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon". There is only so much a person can take doing the same thing over and over again and getting zero results. This game is not as much fun as I had hoped as all your doing is the same rinse and repeat which becomes tedious. If you want a game that doesn't overwhelm you try Bloodborne.… Expand
  77. IIIAHMIII
    Mar 19, 2022
    7
    I finished the game twice and have no clue what the story is, new game plus is a joke. Most bosses feel and look a like with their attacks unlike darksouls 3 where you had a lot of varitiy. The open world works and it also doesn't at the same time. Give me smaller area's over overcomplicated and empty area's any day. A 7 seems fair also melena and the godskin duo are unfair bosses thatI finished the game twice and have no clue what the story is, new game plus is a joke. Most bosses feel and look a like with their attacks unlike darksouls 3 where you had a lot of varitiy. The open world works and it also doesn't at the same time. Give me smaller area's over overcomplicated and empty area's any day. A 7 seems fair also melena and the godskin duo are unfair bosses that need to be redesigned.… Expand
  78. 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
  79. Enkindled
    Jul 1, 2022
    7
    OK. I never thought I was going to give this game any score below 9, but I am. Hear me out.
    I have the platinum for all FS games, and I got the one from Elden Ring. I can safely make a review and tell you the good and bad. In a nutshell, there are various innovations, but also a myriad of features that were recycled, unpolished, and repetitive. Bing objective, buy the game, is amazing BUT    OK. I never thought I was going to give this game any score below 9, but I am. Hear me out.
    I have the platinum for all FS games, and I got the one from Elden Ring. I can safely make a review and tell you the good and bad. In a nutshell, there are various innovations, but also a myriad of features that were recycled, unpolished, and repetitive. Bing objective, buy the game, is amazing BUT be aware of what I list below.

    There are numerous positive sides:
    1) There are numerous beautiful places that are an eye feast. 2) The multiplayer changed, which I liked. Now, you can only be invaded if you already started a multiplayer section (i.e., summoned a co-op). Thus, it feels fairer, since before you could get invaded and mobed by the invader and the monsters. 3) Boss fights are epic. 4) Faith build FINALLY is good and viable for TRUE combat. Now faith builds have multiple options for attacks and heavy blows, not just some boosts and healing. 5) Amazing choices for unique weapons with unique attacks. 6) The world is absurdly big. To fully explore everything (and do some grinding) it took me around 130h in a single playthrough. 7) A lot of things to randomly do and explore in the open field. 8) You do have an absurdly amount of choices of possible builds. Like..a lot. 9) Crafting: now you can craft things instead of just buying them or looting, great. 10) 'Rune" mechanics is way better than "humanity", you will see. 11) Possibility of concocting your own custom potion for special effects. 12) Leveling takes fewer "souls" per level. 13) Way more charges for your HP/Mana recharge. 14) The game is full of bosses, not just major ones. 15) Overall fun and addictive. 16) Multiple chances of respecting your stats to try new builds!

    The negative:
    1) Unbalanced fights. You will feel like you are always behind the game. You will NEED to grind some levels. You will be 20 levels above the game area, and you will have powerful weapons for the area, but you will fight a boss and feel that you are just slowly chopping down a tree. Some bosses have an absurd amount of health. I rarely called co-operators in DS1-3, Demon Souls, and Bloodborne. I rellied a lot in co-ops in Elden Ring. 2) I felt that the AI is not polished. It is not about AI like the other FS games, it is about taking insane amounts of damage and infinite chains of combos. I counted, some "elite enemies" can make a 12-15 hit chain. It is like all enemies are Hunters from Bloodborne. 3) Monster looks like it wights 50000 Kg? It will be fast. Does Knight use heavy armor and a massive sword? He will be fast. The enemy is not fast? He will have fast projectiles. 4) Being sincere, the graphics are not better than DS3. However, this is a PS5 game, and the graphic did not change. It doe snot bother me, but you expect differently. 5) You have hundreds of choices of builds, but you will eventually choose one with bloodloss because bloodloss is just broken in Elden Ring. Combine bloodloss and frostbite and you will be playing the game as easier as it gets. 6) Some regions are just too frustrating. I am not kidding, some regions of the game will just not be enjoyable at any level - neither visually, nor in terms of loot, nor it will be cool to fight enemies; 7) Numerous enemies and bosses have recycled moves from other FS games. I understand devs doing that, but man, it is a lot of recycling. At some points you just make this face (-.-). 8) They screwed up the quests. In any other FS game, you get attached to some NPCs, you want to know more about their stories, and more importantly, you can follow their story and kinda know what you need to do or where to go. Now, you just don't care. You will care for 5-6 NPCs in the game (from dozens), and the rest is just irrelevant. You will skip most quests because you will either not find the NPC while exploring, or you will just not know what to do. I think that I finished like 5 quests, from the dozens of quests available. For most of them, I did even know what to do, or what they wanted. Likewise, they generally give something irrelevant in the end. 9) Low replay value. Before, you wanted to go to NG+ for new weapons, build improvements, etc. Now, you can basically do everything in one playthrough. You will do more just for the other endings.

    Overall, it is a great game, but it is not a 10, or ultra innovative like they sell to you. It is an enjoyable game, a great FS title, fun, addicting, with tons of features/fights/lands that you will love, but it has some bumps on the road that will get under your skin sometimes.    … Expand
  80. Heyyoitsmerambo
    Feb 27, 2022
    7
    I don't get the hype behind this game. The whole self torture thing aside it is boring, meh graphics (PS5 4K TV), and poor controls. A 7 may be a little generous.
  81. 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...
  82. SplitMind
    Nov 4, 2022
    7
    Elden Ring has received much praise and critical acclaim elsewhere, so in my review I'd actually like to tackle some controversies and areas where I took exception to Elden Ring, despite enjoying it for nearly 70 hours.

    The graphics are the best that the Souls genre has to offer and at present are being added to via patches to make them even more stable. My main gripe with them was the    Elden Ring has received much praise and critical acclaim elsewhere, so in my review I'd actually like to tackle some controversies and areas where I took exception to Elden Ring, despite enjoying it for nearly 70 hours.

    The graphics are the best that the Souls genre has to offer and at present are being added to via patches to make them even more stable. My main gripe with them was the framerate dipping sometimes but this was not often or harsh enough to hinder my enjoyment.

    Elden Ring on one hand is possibly the most accessible Souls game so far, but on the other hand it could easily be a complete nightmare if it's your first Souls game One or two of the early bosses are clearly designed for you to pass and come back to later when you are stronger, however non-Souls players won't know this and could easily be frustrated.

    The biggest gripe I have with ER and Souls games in general is that an online guide is an essential if you want to progress without constantly hitting barriers. This is doubly evident in ER where we are advertised an open-world, but in reality you will be crushed quickly if you wander too far off the expected path. The game is more like a series of smaller open areas which then become a huge open world by the end, which isn't really a problem as each area gives you plenty to do and explore.

    Another issue I take note of in ER in particular is this seems to be the Souls game with the cheapest enemies, bosses in particular. I noticed that when enemies do a combo there always seems to be one or two additional attacks that are less intuitive, as if designed to simply catch you off-guard. Added to this was the fact that I ran the tankiest strength build I could conceive of (without going through complex guides) and many later enemies were doing serious damage still, so it makes me hesitant to play as any other build.

    This brings me to another issue I had with ER. It's simply too big and too long. When I was on hour 69 and beating the final boss I breathed a sigh of relief rather than satisfaction, glad that it was finally over. This doesn't inspire me to replay the game and amazingly I still didn't complete some additional quests and optional bosses as I'd simply become fatigued of the game by this point, especially as the harder optional bosses such as Melania are simply cheap two-stage bosses.

    Many fans lord over the quests in Souls games but these are one of my most hated areas of the game. They are obfuscated by design, intentionally not giving you obvious or clear instructions. I find it quite bizarre that Fromsoftware would barricade some of their best content and make it very easy to miss - many quests are time or context specific so you can miss an opportunity to complete them altogether. Again, some fans love this but I'm not one of them and disagree with this design.

    On that note, I'll also give my two cents on another hot topic - difficulty. I fully believe Souls games should have adjustable difficulty levels. Again it baffles me that Fromsoftware would barricade the game itself away from potential fans, although judging by recent sales they don't need to worry about that as much. I just believe that in general we should identify where barriers exist in games and look at whether they need adjusting, and this is already something From is aware of as they have nerfed some weapons and bosses already.

    Tied to the quests we also have the overall story. Elden Ring is probably the most coherent of the Souls games I've played in terms of story, but again leaves a lot of it in the backseat in favour of gameplay. This is one thing I am in favour of, as I found that when cut-scenes did happen I was much more interested and engaged.

    Despite my criticisms above, Elden Ring is in the top-tier of games I have played throughout my life and will likely remain a favourite as it shows exactly how an open-world can be done, throwing a gauntlet in the face of games such as Assassins' Creed and Far Cry. It baffles me that developers look at Elden Ring's success and still insist on their exploitative live services.

    One final thing I have to say is that I actually regret buying ER day one as there is still a lot of updating and patches being brought out by Fromsoftware, so I would actually recommend waiting a few months or for the inevitable GOTY edition as DLC is sure to follow also. This is one game you cannot afford to miss.    … Expand
  83. Snowadian
    Mar 3, 2022
    7
    30 hours in and there is lots to like about this game. It is visually stunning and the creativity/world building is 10/10. The whole experience is not perfect though. The game play is nowhere near as enjoyable as God of War or Ghosts of Tsushima. It feels laborious - more like going to work than taking time off. It is a game built for masochists - those who love extreme challenge - both in30 hours in and there is lots to like about this game. It is visually stunning and the creativity/world building is 10/10. The whole experience is not perfect though. The game play is nowhere near as enjoyable as God of War or Ghosts of Tsushima. It feels laborious - more like going to work than taking time off. It is a game built for masochists - those who love extreme challenge - both in skill and in solving puzzles. I'm not sure a casual gamer (without a guide or some Google searches) could get through this game. I can see why professional gamers and reviewers love this game, but anyone who can't commit full time will not.
    I am not against the difficulty (I don't agree with not having a story mode) but a creator can do as they like, it is their world. It does take away from the experience though for many, including myself. I don't want to spend an hour unable to beat a boss only to give up and go farm runes for another couple of hours so my characters level matches my ability. The feeling of success is not worth it for me.
    I am also dismayed at the little character customization that is available. I played the astrologer character. I would love more options for my weapons and gear, in 30 hours I've gotten two outfits that I can't make any meaningful customization too and I had to go find a mid game staff in some poisonous swamp to have any chance against bosses. Looking up astrologer outfits, the first cool one is about mid game which I'm guessing I will never see. If you like weapon and outfit choice, choose a melee character with lots of strength and endurance.
    I beat both God of War and Ghosts of Tsushima - in both games I felt god-like. I felt strong and able. I do not feel this way with Elden Ring. I feel stressed, and overworked. The bit of a rush I got beating Pumpkin head or Margit was not worth the time I put in to do so.
    The experience is worth seeing but unless you are a committed gamer, I'd suggest waiting for God of War Ragnarok. If you really want to try this game, give Bloodborne a quick try to see what playing at this type of difficulty feels like. I know for a fact that many will feel disappointment after buying this game without reading reviews.
    The feeling when you beat a hard boss is great, but it is also awful if it ends the game for you because you simply cannot. Great game, that is not for the casual gamer. With GoW and GoT offering story modes/difficulty options, I am disappointed that this is not offered with Elden Ring considering how much money and time was put into this game.    … Expand
  84. Willar
    Mar 31, 2022
    7
    I enjoyed it for the most part but there are several things that let it down.
    1. The framerate is not good on PS5 and it gets worse in certain areas.
    2. A lot of copy and paste dungeons similar to Dragon Age 2. 3. The game runs out of steam after 70 or so hours and just throws empty areas and annoying enemies at you. In Conclusion, this is the Dragon Age 2 of 'Souls' games. It's fun at    I enjoyed it for the most part but there are several things that let it down.
    1. The framerate is not good on PS5 and it gets worse in certain areas.
    2. A lot of copy and paste dungeons similar to Dragon Age 2.
    3. The game runs out of steam after 70 or so hours and just throws empty areas and annoying enemies at you.
    In Conclusion, this is the Dragon Age 2 of 'Souls' games. It's fun at times and is not a bad game but it maybe needed a bit more refinement.    … Expand
  85. 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
  86. Leafarsas1991
    Nov 15, 2022
    7
    Elden RIng é um jogo incrivel mas é um caos em vários aspectos técnico que vai de frame rate dropando a gagueira , as texturas são bem abaixo pra Jogo de 2022 , A versão de PS5 tem inumeros problemas e tive que optar em desistalar e instalar a versão do PS4 .
    os pontos positivos do jogo vão ao mundo aberto projetado para impactar os jogadores a descobrir o que os seus olhos veem ,    Elden RIng é um jogo incrivel mas é um caos em vários aspectos técnico que vai de frame rate dropando a gagueira , as texturas são bem abaixo pra Jogo de 2022 , A versão de PS5 tem inumeros problemas e tive que optar em desistalar e instalar a versão do PS4 .
    os pontos positivos do jogo vão ao mundo aberto projetado para impactar os jogadores a descobrir o que os seus olhos veem , variedade de inimigos , ambientação e conteudo ingame .    … Expand
  87. 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.
  88. 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.
  89. dangyosabyss
    Mar 17, 2022
    7
    Seems metacritic won't let me post a 3k character review. I'm getting tired of this. Easiest From game ever. Made to pander to casuals. Released unfinished. Lots of laziness and copypasting of content.
  90. 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.
  91. 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
  92. 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!
  93. 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
  94. painava
    Jun 28, 2022
    7
    Obtained platinum trophy in ~170 hours at lvl 192. Not interested in co-op/PvP, played offline.

    The wondrous and massive world of the Lands Between is literally awesome, the lore intriguing and captivating. Exploring the castles and wilderness, caves and catacombs quickly became an addiction. There are some performance issues but I'm not that bothered by them. Still, the performance    Obtained platinum trophy in ~170 hours at lvl 192. Not interested in co-op/PvP, played offline.

    The wondrous and massive world of the Lands Between is literally awesome, the lore intriguing and captivating. Exploring the castles and wilderness, caves and catacombs quickly became an addiction. There are some performance issues but I'm not that bothered by them. Still, the performance isn't anything to write home about. There also aren't any DualSense features on PS5.

    Since Elden Ring has been widely praised, my review focuses on criticism.

    My biggest complaint is that many of the enemies and bosses feel disappointingly unbalanced, which is a big issue when a game centers around combat. A band of towering giants with flaming swords? Who cares, bring it on! But see those rats sniffing about? You better run or die in a ditch. Many basic enemies, like dogs, deal more damage than the bosses. How is that intentional?

    There are bosses that offer a fair and fun challenge, but many (or even the majority) of them are just ridiculous. Either they're too strong, tanky and fast or total pushovers. Who's going to die in two hits, me or the boss? When the hard ones aren't already hard enough they come in pairs (yay...) and the weak ones die to a couple of swings (that's it?).

    When so many of the bosses fall into these two extremities, it means that many of the fights aren't particularly fun nor memorable. They feel repetitive or anticlimactic. The hard bosses are prone to extremely delayed attacks, likely to throw off souls veterans. Their AoE attacks and combos deal massive damage. Even if you survive one with a sliver of HP left, the bosses are often scripted to attack when you heal, so a lot of the challenge boils down to making zero mistakes. Add spirit summons, one of the major additions to the series, to the mix and many of the fights feel like they have almost random odds of victory.

    Many boss fights have clearly been designed with spirit summons (what the gatekeepers refer to as "easy mode") in mind so they're definitely part of the intended gameplay. I still wish more bosses had been designed solely for single-player (no spirit/NPC summons) like in the previous games. I shudder to wonder how big a pain in the ass a spiritless run would be.

    FromSoftware had already perfected the "souls-like boss" in their previous games. Elden Ring proves that these games work better in a more focused and linear setting. Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely enjoying the game (plenty of bosses included), but it doesn't strike me as FromSoft's greatest work yet. The gameplay feels oddly dissatisfying during certain fights.

    A handful of other complaints:
    Considering how vast Elden Ring is, it's baffling how vague and directionless the NPC quests are, to say the least. Trying to figure out where an NPC has moved requires more blind luck than anything else. I don't need the exact location on the map, but I'd prefer a few hints to Fextralife.

    Item/magic quick select feels quite old-fashioned. They should've implemented something more modern (similar to e.g. TLOU or Dishonored). L3 as the sneak/dismount button is frustrating, to put it mildly, but I haven't suffered accidental dismounts since switching L3 and ↓, allowing me to change items easily while walking. The map markers feel lacking, there should be more options or different colors. Can't compare the equipment in the shop menu. Fall damage feels inconsistent. Most items seem almost redundant.

    The best content in Elden Ring are the legacy dungeons, like the Stormveil Castle or the Volcano Manor. The peerless level design makes the exploration so damn satisfying and fun. Character design and art direction are thoroughly superb, even breathtaking at times. Elden Ring has improved many aspects of the "soulsborne experience", but for me, it doesn't reach the heights of Bloodborne, Dark Souls or Sekiro. I would still recommend it to anyone interested in challenging action RPGs and open-world games, however, if the next FromSoft game turns out to be yet another Dark Souls, I'll pass.    … Expand
  95. 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
  96. 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
  97. 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.
  98. 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
  99. Turgon
    Feb 26, 2022
    7
    Classic Soulslike, nothing new. Weird to collect flowers in a souls game. Optimization issues. 7 is fine.
  100. JohnTomorrow
    Mar 9, 2022
    7
    Elden Ring is a good game, but it has its share of problems. While playing 100+ hours I've experienced some outstanding highs and lows. I don't think its Fromsoftware's best title but I think its worth a play. Random ramblings to follow:

    - art direction is awesome but graphically the engine is really showing its age which is a shame. there is only a single directional light for    Elden Ring is a good game, but it has its share of problems. While playing 100+ hours I've experienced some outstanding highs and lows. I don't think its Fromsoftware's best title but I think its worth a play. Random ramblings to follow:

    - art direction is awesome but graphically the engine is really showing its age which is a shame. there is only a single directional light for shadows (usually the sun) and the lighting model is no where near the bar for todays next gen games

    - speaking about the engine, it suffers from performance problems where frame rate tanks during load ins and poor pop in where you can see things like grass and other details be placed in the world spread out over a few frames

    - design wise the open world mixed with dungeons is a new take which I enjoyed. It was something new. I still prefer the original Dark Souls design as I think it was the purist design but this is something new and I am ok with it.

    - the first half of the game things are exciting and interesting, but like most open world games, things get repetitive after that. it becomes a repeat of the same dungeons, the same bosses over and over. by then your character is also pretty much setup so there is little reason to continue. the story is nonsense so that is not a motivator

    - there are real, real problems with how this design has influenced multiplayer. Coop is fine, but invasions are completely broken. They are essentially 3 vs 1 gank squads where the invader has a near zero chance at winning. To win, the invader needs to rely on cheap tactics, luck, or play against someone not very good at the game. When the invader does win it never feels satisfying. Gone are the intense PVP battles from other titles, or the adrenalin rush when someone invades your game. This game played it very safe when it comes to multiplayer and loses one of the core things that make souls games exciting which is very unfortunate. PVP is also very unbalanced, but I don't think really any of Fromsoftware's titles have been so this is not a shocker. But this one does feel the worst as magic and art of war skills are extremely OP.

    - boss battles are very much a mixed bag. They are better than other titles where you simply try to get behind an enemy and wack its ankles over and over but there are some choices that really do take away from the enjoyment. Every boss has extra delays in the attack animations put in purposely to throw you off. I get it, and I think that is ok for some, but its like that in every fight. Bosses will take to the air in and arial attack and defy gravity for a split second just to make it more difficult. Too much anime for my taste.

    - Combat suffers from a general lack of polish and laziness from Fromsoftware. Enemies will attack straight through walls as if they don't exist. Many times, you might not even be able to see an attack coming because it was through a pillar. Its feels incredibly lazy not to add a line of sight check and creates an unfair bad feeling. Bad feeling moments crops up in many places throughout the game. For example, during one boss fight due to a bug with the character movement code, I kept getting stuck on a tiny step in the environment while trying to run or roll that would allow the boss to kill me (it only takes 1-2 hits from a boss to kill you which is another thing). There is a bunch of jank that should have been found and fixed in QA or by now being how many games Fromsoftware has made in this style by now. The player should feel like they lost due to a mistake they made, not due to lack of polish in the game's systems or a bug. As a game developer myself, I am surprised with how much Fromsoftware can get away with. This is essentially the same combat and physics system they had dating back to the original Demon Souls.

    Anyway, its still a good game but I am slightly disappointed. The sense of scale and exploration is awesome but these issues tarnish a really good game. The mishandling of the PVP design was the nail in the coffin for me. Without a solid PVP design I have little motivation to put in anymore time in to this game.    … Expand
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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.
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  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.
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