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. TheSpecialNeeds
    Jun 21, 2022
    7
    Well well well, looks like we have another video game on our hands this fine evenging. This is certanily something on the chopping block. First first first thing first, well let me just say uh I forgot what I was going to say
  2. Senjiro
    Nov 21, 2022
    7
    I have been playing from software games since I was a kid< and I am a big fan of souls game. But this game is the only soul game that I have not played after finishing it. The game mechanics does not fit the open world concept, the animations takes too long especially the healing, and repetitive of the mini bosses is boring. Let alone the concept of collecting souls ( runes) to level upI have been playing from software games since I was a kid< and I am a big fan of souls game. But this game is the only soul game that I have not played after finishing it. The game mechanics does not fit the open world concept, the animations takes too long especially the healing, and repetitive of the mini bosses is boring. Let alone the concept of collecting souls ( runes) to level up and just hit and dodge feels so out dated, ESPCAILY after SEKIRO. And the lack of story REALLY does not fit the open world sitting, I found myself feeling so bored....I can accept this lack of story things in the previous titles, but not here were it's a big open world.… Expand
  3. helloicool
    Apr 25, 2023
    7
    I enjoyed the game it just was not my game of the year and as someone who really loves story games it just was not what I was expecting because it was my first Souls game. The combat is challenging, but it is really enjoyable. It was fun to try something new and I would recommend for anyone looking to mix it up.
  4. Lordofmas
    Nov 5, 2022
    7
    I can't really fathom all these 10/10 scores, i feel like you all played a different game. Like sure the bosses are fun, sure there are some cool loot in this game. Here is the thing though, recycling. Too much and and it's boring, too little and you have a 20 year project. Personally i felt it was too much, same boss in some random dungeon like 3 times, didn't feel rewarding in the least.I can't really fathom all these 10/10 scores, i feel like you all played a different game. Like sure the bosses are fun, sure there are some cool loot in this game. Here is the thing though, recycling. Too much and and it's boring, too little and you have a 20 year project. Personally i felt it was too much, same boss in some random dungeon like 3 times, didn't feel rewarding in the least.

    Main issue is the balancing, you could easily just balance the weapons so that there isn't such big gaps. First playthrough i died on average 60-90 times per boss, because i like short duel-wielding weapons, makes me feel cool. I had no idea that here you cant do that because the bosses are scaled to handle op magic casting sh*t, which took me a long ass time to figure out because nobody knew anything yet. Playthrough number 2 3 4, im just cruising through the bosses like it's nothing. is it because i "got gud"? No, it's because i found op **** and scaled hp, because scaling anything else is almost useless. The best strat is getting a good weapon and just getting enough stats to cover the weapons needs and then only level vitality.

    I leveled from 20-40 in dex just to test this theory on a boss, i went from 350 per hit to 409, rather useless if you ask me. So my issue isn't that it's "too hard" or "too easy", it's that without knowledge it's too hard, and with knowledge it's so boringly easy that it's hard to concentrate. A lot of people take pride in this difference and say "it's because i explored so well" "i got good", when that's not the case.

    Prime example is if you start samurai: basically easy mode, if you go bandit: hard mode. There has never been this much difference between classes at the start. You could always "out-skill" the boss with well timed doges in ds3 but here that is less of a factor and your starting gear matters more, which i think is a huge issue.

    The only thing here is the awesome bosses that carry the whole game, some cool moments at the end after boring, tiresome, and repetitive gameplay, which to be honest made them feel more grand, so i'll give them that.

    But it's not a masterpiece, not in the slightest. It's too repetitive, very bland scaling system that makes no sense, poorly scaled armor, and an overvalue of the vitality stat. If these where fixed ye then i would agree it's a masterpiece.    … Expand
  5. Tsuibatsu
    Nov 7, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A strong adventure game that just doesn't measure up to its predecessors in the fromsoft catalog, enjoyed it for what it was but what the game is struggles with what it wants to be too much for my taste… Expand
  6. STNXD0
    Nov 11, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Disappointing.

    Combat : 6/10
    Story : 9/10
    Free roam : 5/10
    Multiplayer : 8/10
    Creativity : 7/10
    Is it he superior souls they claim it to be? No    … Expand
  7. Lorenlp90
    Nov 12, 2022
    7
    El juego es maravilloso, pero no es para todos los tipos de jugadores, le he echado en falta más profundidad en la natación de los protagonistas. Lo que verdaderamente engancha es la dificultad del juego
  8. VeryGoodReviews
    Nov 14, 2022
    7
    It looks awesome there are many cool bosses but whenever I try to kill something my character just starts swinging wildly because there is no lock on system.
  9. kkjjfa
    Nov 17, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Didn't live up to my expectations personally, really hoped the game would be much better than this… Expand
  10. YZDSA
    Jun 30, 2023
    7
    Still the souls games are weak from the narrative telling factor.. the world are fantastic however the game its not for all the gamers.. its too hard.. nice to try but its not a fun experience for the beginners
  11. Timsen375
    Nov 23, 2022
    7
    Vorab möchte ich sagen, dass ich Elden Ring nicht schlecht finde. Wenn ich aber ehrlich zu mir selbst bin, ist das für mich die Enttäuschung des Jahres und ich würde am liebsten weniger Punkte vergeben. Objektiv betrachtet macht das Spiel aber auch einige Sachen richtig und das möchte ich nicht zu extrem bestrafen. Ich würde, trotz das ich großer Fan von Bloodborne, Ds3 oder Sekiro binVorab möchte ich sagen, dass ich Elden Ring nicht schlecht finde. Wenn ich aber ehrlich zu mir selbst bin, ist das für mich die Enttäuschung des Jahres und ich würde am liebsten weniger Punkte vergeben. Objektiv betrachtet macht das Spiel aber auch einige Sachen richtig und das möchte ich nicht zu extrem bestrafen. Ich würde, trotz das ich großer Fan von Bloodborne, Ds3 oder Sekiro bin nicht sagen, dass meine Erwartungen zu hoch waren. Ich habe mich zwar grundsätzlich auf den Titel gefreut, wirklich gehyped war ich nicht. Ja, Eldenring bringt ähnlich wie Zelda BotW oder Ghost of Tushima einen frischen Wind in das Open World Gerne. Jedoch ist man hier irgendwo auch über das Ziel hinausgeschossen. Ingesamt stören mich 6 Themen sehr. 1. Die Open World selbst: So toll der Ansatz der Freien Wahl und Erkundung ist, sie ist lange nicht so gut gemacht wie es oft dargestellt wird. Die ganze Welt macht einen trüben und leblosen Eindruck, nicht zuletzt wegen der schlechten Technik. Die Welt soll ja verlassen und trostlos sein, aber sie fühlt sich trotzdem nicht lebendig an. Zelda BotW hat dieses Problem deutlich besser gelöst. Da waren auch nur ganz wenige NPCs über die Welt verstreut und einige große Städte, trotzdem war ein großer Teil der Welt leer, sie hat sich aber nie so angefühlt. Zum großen Teil ist hier auch das Sounddesign bei Zelda dafür verantwortlich, dass nie solch ein negatives Gefühl zustande kommt (und nein ich meine nicht die Musik). Alles in Elden Ring fühlt sich tot an. Hinzukommt, dass ich mir immer mega umständlich einen Weg suchen muss, anders als bei Zelda. Wenn ich in Zelda einen interessanten Ort sehe, kann ich da einfach hin und durch einige Tricks dir Ausdauer beim klettern regenerieren. Dadurch fühlt sich diese Freiheit gar nicht so frei an. 2. Die Seelenasche: Die Darksouls Reihe hat einem immer wunderbar beigebracht am Ball zu bleiben und die Mechaniken und die Gegner zu studieren. Man wusste immer wenn man gestorben ist, dass man selber dafür verantwortlich ist. Die Seelenasche nimmt das aber zum großen Teil. Außer der Mana Anzeige gibt es kein Limit durch andere Attribute, weshalb das für mich eine zusätzliche Mechanik ist. Eine Mechanik die aber dafür sorgt, dass wen ich bei einem Boss sterbe das Gefühl habe, nicht effektiv genug gekämpft zu haben. Ja irgendwo ist es eigenes Versagen, aber zum anderen schwingt immer das Gefühl mit, nicht optimal gekämpft zu haben. Man muss es nicht einsetzten, aber die Hemmschwelle ist auch sehr gering sich doch mal Hilfe zu holen. 3. Die besten Momente sind nicht in der Open World selbst: Am stärksten ist für mich Eldenring immer dann, wenn man in die größeren Dungens kommt. Hier kommt für mich die volle Stärke zum Vorschein, die Darksouls schon immer ausgemacht hat. Diese Dichte beklemmende Atmosphäre ist eine Riesen Stärke der Serie und durch die Open World kommen viel längere leere Phasen dazwischen, in denen gar nicht so viel passiert. Ja hier und da gibt es was nettes zu sehen, aber das ist zum einen nur selten belohnend, je nachdem welchen Spiele Style man priorisieren, zum anderen aber auch nicht sehr spannend gemacht. Ja es gibt Highlights, aber zu selten. 4. Der fehlende Fokus: Ich hatte zwei mal die Situation wirklich nicht mehr voran zu kommen. Das Spiel gibt einem manchmal so wenig Anhaltspunkte, wo es den jetzt wirklich weiter geht, dass man ewig lange in der Open World am suchen ist. Das ist vor allem dann ärgerlich, wenn man ein paar Tage nicht spielen konnte. Spätestens dann geht das Konzept nicht mehr auf und man muss googeln und das frustriert. Auch das hat Zelda besser gelöst, indem die wichtigsten Punkte markiert sind und der Rest man einfach irgendwie machen sollte. Zelda war hier zwar nicht ganz so frei, dafür deutlich fokussierter und auch irgendwo logischer. 5. Die Bosse: es gibt ein paar außergewöhnliche und sehr gute Bosse, dass kann und will ich nicht absprechen. Jedoch gibt es auch einen Haufen nicht so guter Bosse, die sich auch gerne wiederholen. Gerade bei den größeren Bossen ist die Kammera eine Katastrophe (Feuerriese) und machen deshalb auch nicht so viel Spaß. Vorherige FromSoftware Titel haben das alles deutlich besser hinbekommen. Hier sehe ich echt einen Rückschritt. 6. Die Technik: Ich habe hier definitiv kein Grafikwunder erwartet, aber wie manchmal die Texturen nachladen müssen ist einfach nur schlecht. Es kommt zu keinem Zeitpunkt ein Next Gen Gefühl auf. Fazit: Ich kann mir die teils hohen Wertungen nur so erklären, dass viele Leute wirklich keine guten Erfahrungen mit der Open World der letzten Jahre gemacht haben. Alles was Eldenring ausmacht gibt es in besser. Ghost of Tushima und Telda BotW bleiben meiner Meinung nach deutlich besser, selbst wenn solche Sachen wie die Charaktergestalltung eingegrenzter ist.… Expand
  12. KathyPod
    Apr 21, 2023
    7
    This is genuinely a well crafted game: excellent writing, art, animation, sound, design and music went into it. I truly do respect the game developers behind it.

    But ultimately it is not for me. I found the UI to be cluttered and overwhelming, the multitude of stats and facts felt like a poorly structured info drop, the punishing world was intriguing but the harshness of it made it    This is genuinely a well crafted game: excellent writing, art, animation, sound, design and music went into it. I truly do respect the game developers behind it.

    But ultimately it is not for me.
    I found the UI to be cluttered and overwhelming, the multitude of stats and facts felt like a poorly structured info drop, the punishing world was intriguing but the harshness of it made it impossible for me to continue. I would have loved to see more of its lore, and experience more of the game, but with my poor motor skills and working memory it's simply not possible.

    I know this was not made for gamers like me. It was made clear to me early on. But I wish it had a mode that did. I want to experience more of Elden Ring and I can't, and it's very frustrating.    … Expand
  13. MaleniaSucks
    Apr 24, 2023
    7
    I have created my account only to say they Malenia is one of the fromsoftware worst bosses ever made only because of one annoying mechanic. The late-game difficulty, poor balance, and unfair bosses truly make elden ring a shattered masterpiece!
  14. rp36
    Apr 29, 2023
    7
    The high critic score is a case study in what happens when hype builds for so long. Similarly with all these 10/10 ratings. More and more people simply cannot think for themselves.

    This is arguably the worst soulslike game (better than DS2). The open world is large, but lifeless. The exploration can be good, and really does shine when you come across legacy dungeons, but the open world    The high critic score is a case study in what happens when hype builds for so long. Similarly with all these 10/10 ratings. More and more people simply cannot think for themselves.

    This is arguably the worst soulslike game (better than DS2). The open world is large, but lifeless. The exploration can be good, and really does shine when you come across legacy dungeons, but the open world is such a waste of time. The bosses are a smidge better than those of DS2, but there are so many with so few having high quality. The delayed attacks are so frequent it makes fighting jarring. Not difficult, just jarring and lacking in rhythm.

    I've platinumed Bloodborne, Sekiro, DS3, and DS2 (and completed DeS and DS1)...this is my least favourite by far. Though I can see how on an objective level it's superior to DS2.    … Expand
  15. sagemilli92
    Jun 26, 2023
    7
    After playing over 100 hours, I can see why people would like this style of game, but I can confidently say this style is simply not for me. The open world was clever and cool at times, but I still have no idea what is going on as far as story goes, which might be part of the schtick but like I said, this style just isn't for me.
  16. Crowolff
    Jul 17, 2023
    7
    this game is good I like that but ...everything is very repetitive from dungeon to bosses and everything And it's boring are they going to open world crap bcz casuals this is nothing new or unique just dark souls 4 open world ..overhyped and overrated
  17. amwazdraws
    Jul 10, 2023
    7
    I really love Fromsoftware and I loved Elden Ring and platinumed it, but this game has some issues. The game is just way too big. I would have prefered a smaller game with good and unique bosses, instead of forgettable minibosses scattered all around the game, placed at the end of the dungeons and mines.
    The bosses in the Late Game are not good and it doesn't feel satisfying to defeat    I really love Fromsoftware and I loved Elden Ring and platinumed it, but this game has some issues. The game is just way too big. I would have prefered a smaller game with good and unique bosses, instead of forgettable minibosses scattered all around the game, placed at the end of the dungeons and mines.
    The bosses in the Late Game are not good and it doesn't feel satisfying to defeat them. Malenia is one of the worst bosses Fromsoftwarte designed. Only a few bosses come close to the quality of the Dark Souls III bosses (Mogh, Placidusax, Rykard...).
    The design of the Legacy Dungeons is a bit weird. Why not just stick with the more linear design of the levels like in the Dark Souls games?
    I mostly enjoyed the startings areas.
    Can't wait for the Expansion and I hope they will improve on the boss quality.    … Expand
  18. Goldmembah
    Aug 16, 2023
    7
    Es bueno pero para mí está algo sobrevalorado, está bien la libertad que da para explorar pero este juego va al extremo y no te dice casi nada sobre su hulistoriany mundo, a veces se agradece que un juego te presente su historia y lore de un modo más tradicional, creo que se pierde mucho así y se pierde gran parte del trabajo de los desarrolladores y de George Martin.
  19. Alias--
    Sep 11, 2023
    7
    It's good, but lacking in replayability compared to previous solus games. Part of that is because of the switch to open world or "open field". Going open world meant sacrificing something special about the formula, the core experience of traversing those tight linear, labyrinthian corridors that defined demon souls, dark souls 1 and dark souls 3. That tight, expertly paced gameplay andIt's good, but lacking in replayability compared to previous solus games. Part of that is because of the switch to open world or "open field". Going open world meant sacrificing something special about the formula, the core experience of traversing those tight linear, labyrinthian corridors that defined demon souls, dark souls 1 and dark souls 3. That tight, expertly paced gameplay and sense of progression is just completely missing from this game.
    Instead of this the meat of the game is the huge but empty feeling open field areas. The sheer spectacle and novelty of horseback exploration of these gorgeous landscapes is enough to get you through it the first time, but this portion of the game really drags on repeat playthroughs.
    When the game does give you a taste of the old school souls level design like in Volcano Manor it just doesn't feel significant enough. Don't get me wrong, the amount of content is well worth the money, and you will enjoy your first time running through, but the experience just doesn't live up to the heights of the genre.
    My hope is that they change things up for the dlc and focus more on fleshing out the "legacy dungeons" rather than pushing for more time spent in huge open areas. Also a patch to change the multiplayer system would be nice, they really botched it this time around    … Expand
  20. Crofto
    Apr 4, 2022
    6
    Technically, this is an abomination. Patchy framerate. Poor hit detection. Low-res textures. Awful sound design. Going from a modern open-world title - like Horizon: Forbidden West - to this, demonstrates a staggering lapse of effort from From Software in terms of developing next generation games. This is a PS3 title in all but name.

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

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

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

    Elden Ring is a decent hack and slash game. There's still enough merit to the Demon's Souls formula to make it a decent game to play, but it is in no way a leader of the gaming medium. Take away the From Soft logo, and people forget about this game in a few weeks. That' the reality.    … Expand
  21. Obi-Jones
    Mar 27, 2023
    6
    I just can't get on with Elden Ring. Not sure the soul's formula really works as an open world game. It's also a technical mess on PS5 (over a year since launch). Bloodbourne was the high point of this genre for me. I keep going back the Elden Ring and I just don't see why this is as highly rated as it is.
  22. Nandi
    Mar 21, 2022
    6
    Technically game is not next-gen and uses forced chromatic aberration filter to hide graphical flaws. Lots of texture and mesh pop in, mostly on environments.
    A lot of enemies and bosses are reskins from previous games, same goes for the players character animations. In a lot of cases not only animations but entire models are simply copied from previous games (giant crabs etc).    Technically game is not next-gen and uses forced chromatic aberration filter to hide graphical flaws. Lots of texture and mesh pop in, mostly on environments.
    A lot of enemies and bosses are reskins from previous games, same goes for the players character animations. In a lot of cases not only animations but entire models are simply copied from previous games (giant crabs etc).
    Mechanically game is identical to any soulsborne game, meaning controls (especially for keyboard & mouse) are inconvenient for 2022. UI is horrendous.
    Main bosses are forgettable and the world even tho it is open, feels empty or meaningless. Extremely large MMO buildings and areas - aka. exaggerated just for the sense of awe while inside is usually just an empty box. Soulsbourne cryptic type npcs work in linear games where you will meet them no matter what - these quest types are not fit an open world scenario.
    Music is uninspiring.
    Its an overhyped game with a horrible PC port.    … Expand
  23. vitalyx
    Nov 6, 2022
    6
    More of the same in a good and bad way. Great gameplay and fairly interesting world (though not their best). Poor ass graphics for 2022, saved to an extent by artistic direction. Too spread out. I got bored and stopped playing. Bloodborne was better. All subjective, of course. No need to get pissed if you disagree.
  24. themostunclean
    Mar 6, 2022
    6
    First off, I can call myself a Soulsborne veteran at this point. After Bloodborne I went back and played every game since Demon’s Souls and even recently completed the remake. But the formula is getting boring and Elden Ring does literally nothing new outside of being set in a directionless open world. The move to an open world also destroyed everything that was actually fun about theFirst off, I can call myself a Soulsborne veteran at this point. After Bloodborne I went back and played every game since Demon’s Souls and even recently completed the remake. But the formula is getting boring and Elden Ring does literally nothing new outside of being set in a directionless open world. The move to an open world also destroyed everything that was actually fun about the earlier games. Secret shortcuts- almost none. Great rewards for defeating bosses you spent hours defeating- nope but hope you like getting a bunch of useless crafting materials or NOTHING AT ALL.

    The reviewers major outlets chose are mostly Fromsoft veteran fanboys who believe every Souls game is a masterpiece. If you’re a veteran like me and felt the games were getting a bit stale DO NOT BELIEVE the 97 score. This game does nothing revolutionary for Souls games or for open world titles.    … Expand
  25. yeastori
    Apr 15, 2023
    6
    Definitely overrated, I just got the Platinum Trophy and just can't for the life of me understand why people think its worth of GOTY. Its good and fun sure but visually aged, and game mechanic is repetitive. Not boring but repetitive. Not worth a buy but maybe a rent or borrow from your friends to try out. Story is really stupid and always nonexistence.
  26. angmarec
    Feb 26, 2022
    6
    PC version has horrible optimization. Open wolrd is empty. Just random ccamps of enemies. Visual style is great, but technical side is bad. Very average game.
  27. erithtotl
    Mar 7, 2022
    6
    I don't review many games as but given the high profile of this and that I have put over 30 hours in, I wanted to chime in. I've never played a Souls game so this might be useful to someone who is intrigued by the stellar reviews. I have played a ton of open world games. I feel that we have two concepts that don't fully work together. How can you champion exploration andI don't review many games as but given the high profile of this and that I have put over 30 hours in, I wanted to chime in. I've never played a Souls game so this might be useful to someone who is intrigued by the stellar reviews. I have played a ton of open world games. I feel that we have two concepts that don't fully work together. How can you champion exploration and experimentation when a brutal death (often with a steep cost) lies around every corner, many of them unavoidable the first time through?
    In addition, the combat gameplay doesn't benefit the open world environment. Each enemy has different moves, meaning you can't use your past experiences with other enemies to help you against new ones. Many enemies have unblockable kill moves that until you've experienced them multiple times, you won't be able to avoid. Each foe is starting over, and the only way to learn is to die over and over.
    It also feels like a single-player MMO. Enemies sit around or follow simple patterns, and respawn constantly. They lack any personality or real interaction. It's super-gamey.
    The world is super-moody and the boss design and animation is fantastic. But this just isn't the RPG/Open world experience I enjoy.    … Expand
  28. bradkane
    Feb 26, 2022
    6
    The gaming press has done a huge disservice to the gaming world by hyping this as a perfect game. If you have not played these games before but were convinced by the reviews, I recommend you hold out for BotW2. This is a niche game that shows zero respect for newcomers to the genre.
  29. dangerfar
    Apr 26, 2023
    6
    I'm frankly pretty surprised how widely acclaimed this game is. The huge world is devoid of anything interesting other than battles, the score is terrible other than a few standout bossfights and in the open world score is often bad enough to become actually grating, and there's nothing resembling the faintest bit of interesting story or lore here as there are no concepts in it fleshed outI'm frankly pretty surprised how widely acclaimed this game is. The huge world is devoid of anything interesting other than battles, the score is terrible other than a few standout bossfights and in the open world score is often bad enough to become actually grating, and there's nothing resembling the faintest bit of interesting story or lore here as there are no concepts in it fleshed out enough or given enough background to be even vaguely compelling.

    The combat, though it is wonderfully varied in the way you can approach it, in practice ends up becoming fairly tedious b/c the game is challenging enough that you don't really have time for experimentation/exploration (unless you can stand a lot of repetition), you just need to optimize a build and some builds (particularly magic) are spammy and repetitive. And again b/c of the annoying repetition that comes with wandering around and dying, you end up having to look things up to get sufficient tools to make meaningfully progress to actually open up the places you can go. Thus having such a large open world becomes fairly meaningless as the joy from exploration is sucked out of it.

    On the one hand the open world and and leveling system with diverse possibilities and the very impressive variety of enemies and environments is very attractive and makes me want to like the game, and has driven me enough to spend some 50 hours with it and at times really enjoy the experience (mostly when I was able to explore without dying constantly and the world was still new). But on the other the above detractors end up adding up to a rather drab experience overall where I feel like I'm running around without much interesting to do. Compared with say Skyrim which has rich possibilities to explore the world outside of combat with a sensational score to go along with it, playing games like this just feel fairly empty.

    But I guess they have a large audience. Sadly it seems I'm just not one of them.    … Expand
  30. aligalahan
    Mar 6, 2022
    6
    I own both PC and PS5 versions of the game. For PS5 version i will ignore the technical aspects. To call this game Open World RPG will be huge misleading the gamers. It is not a story driven RPG. The "world" is not lived in. It is not a meaningful representation of any world setting. Best way to explain what it is a Lovecraftian nightmarish realm with bosses and monsters spread around theI own both PC and PS5 versions of the game. For PS5 version i will ignore the technical aspects. To call this game Open World RPG will be huge misleading the gamers. It is not a story driven RPG. The "world" is not lived in. It is not a meaningful representation of any world setting. Best way to explain what it is a Lovecraftian nightmarish realm with bosses and monsters spread around the map. Only meaningful anchors for a human players are the occasional NPCs that are as vendors. They are incredibly out of place, literally and figuratively. So this cannot be the best Open World RPG game ever, since it is neither a open world nor an RPG game. It is a soul game takes place on a open area/field. It is more like a monster fighting arena game with skill progression. It is not something you can compare to Witcher3 or Skyrim etc. Let's get that part straight first since professional media is misleading players who are not familiar with Soul games.

    Defining characteristic of a Soul game is "extremely hard" boss fights. And not its story. Not so surprisingly that is also the case here. There is no meaningful story here, there are tons of obscure and non sensical narrative. Part Japanese translation, part source material. Whatever GRR martin has written (if any), clearly developer just tromped on it and what is left is nonsensical garbage. You will enjoy this game, if primary reason you play the games is challenge and skill progression.

    The game is closer to MMOs than single player open world RPGs. You need to farm a lot in this game to give your character a chance to kill next required boss. It has even same MMO raid zoning type setups in the game.

    Now i know i sound negative. But in reality game is an addictive and good game. It is more like 7 or 8 out of 10. That is if you like the unique genre this game is. Yes there is something like that. It is called "Soul like" games. You die hundreds of times and build the skillset to kill impossibly difficult nightmarish next boss.

    Graphics of the game is closer to Oblivion than Skyrim, much worse than Witcher3, or Red Dead Redemption. It runs on old engine. Developer tried to compensate this by adding "Silmarillion" style majestic light trees, and that is creating an illusion of fantastic setting. graphics are poor. But artistic style is good, with what is available to them developers created an interesting world. I wish they actually put some stories in there to explain the lore behind it.

    Overall it is the best Souls game. but it is no way the best open world RPG where all reviewers are lying about. Be aware before buying. Especially the ones that are not familiar with this genre.

    So how did this game got the 10/10 scores from all professional reviewers. It looks like there is a simple answer. Because unlike other games, only the "soul fanatics" reviewed this game. Why is that? Because game is so so difficult to play and beat in the given time frame for a preview of 1 week, for most media sites, only the Fans of the Soul like games have committed to the review, and result is magnum opus rating, for a not so magnum opus product.

    Now that said, i started to enjoy more and more as i play the game. It is extremely addictive and exploration and character progression aspects are well done. So i am altering my score to 6. I think if you are not uber fan of souls genre, this is more reasonable rating.

    Ultimately IMO Elden ring is not an RPG game, it is an Arcade game with similarities to modern MMOs than popular open world RPGs. Its biggest flaw in my mind it does not have a cohesive story, you can finish this entire game and you wouldnt know what the heck it was about. Every human you encounter in this world, save few NPCs are hostile against you. By definition the world is not immersive, it is an arcade battleground with focus on combat and killing bosses.

    Peace out.    … Expand
  31. mikas323
    Mar 19, 2022
    6
    Could be the best game ever but the buggy laggy mess destroyed this game to me...lag input is a thing in this game...unplayable game
  32. 2L4V
    Mar 2, 2022
    6
    The frame rate is bad in the performance mode. Rock solid 60 fps is mandatory for such game where your reflex plays first role. I do not understand why you have released it knowing how it works…
  33. JimmyBaginski
    Mar 24, 2022
    6
    A somewhat crass analogy to sum it up. Have you ever been in bed with a girl you're really into, and it all feels exciting, sensuous, sensitive and horny, but at some point it just goes on that little too long and you're both carrying on to try to get back that earlier feeling, but by now youre only sinking more and more cost and energy into it, and the fun bit is now dwarfed by the effortA somewhat crass analogy to sum it up. Have you ever been in bed with a girl you're really into, and it all feels exciting, sensuous, sensitive and horny, but at some point it just goes on that little too long and you're both carrying on to try to get back that earlier feeling, but by now youre only sinking more and more cost and energy into it, and the fun bit is now dwarfed by the effort bit, you're just covered in sweat and you start to forget the beautiful bit and question why you're still plugging away, but you still don't want to give up before you finish, but when you do it's not that romantic and beautiful? That's ER. I can't put it any other way. Apologies if that's too sexual but the shoe fits.… Expand
  34. Dougwesker
    Mar 7, 2022
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Combat is real basic it hasn't really changed since demons souls on PS3.

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

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

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

    Not a bad game, above average but the overhype is real.    … Expand
  35. Caidryn
    Jun 1, 2022
    6
    I will avoid giving this a rating to "balance" the ratings to where I feel they should be, and instead give my honest feelings.

    I consider myself a souls fan. I have completed every soulsbourne title Fromsoft has put out save for demon souls, some of them twice. Of them all, my personal favorite (though I hated it when I picked it up at first) was Sekiro. You would *think* that would    I will avoid giving this a rating to "balance" the ratings to where I feel they should be, and instead give my honest feelings.

    I consider myself a souls fan. I have completed every soulsbourne title Fromsoft has put out save for demon souls, some of them twice. Of them all, my personal favorite (though I hated it when I picked it up at first) was Sekiro. You would *think* that would mean I love this game, but instead... I felt betrayed.

    You will find review after review complaining about graphics and performance. Those things matter rather little to me, outside of crashes. What really hurt was the shift in design philosophy, for me.

    I played all of the Fromsoft games as a melee player, without summons. It's the way I enjoyed them. I loved the thrill of facing an enemy point blank, rolling through danger, dying a bunch, and eventually coming out on top. In terms of death to victory ratios, this game was probably about the same. But where every other game in the series adhered to "Hard but Fair", this game seemed to be explicitly aiming for "Hard because *Unfair*".

    Pretty much every major enemy has an unlimited combo of massively splashy hitboxes that will literally one shot you unless you throw your entire progression in the garbage in the name of Vitality, in which case you will be two shot instead. The enemies *literally* read your inputs, reacting before your character begins to move, literally speeding up animations to punish you for trying to punish them for missing an attack. Every enemy is hyper mobile, easily jumping behind you in the time it takes you to swing at them, even if you started the attack mid animation for them.

    This was fine in Sekiro. Sekiro was given the tools to handle them. A perfect, twitch reaction parry, with lightning fast strikes and ninja tools to counter them. In Elden ring, I have the tools of a Dark souls character, fighting endless Sekiro bosses.

    I put in well over a hundred hours, I was streaming the game intending to beat all of it that I could find on my first playthrough. I toiled through so much of it I disliked, hoping it would get better, or at least be inoffensive until the end. It was when I reached a snowy area with literal invisible assassins that command grab and execute you, making no sound, leaving no footprints in the snow that I decided I was well and truly done with the game.

    I threw my playstyle entirely in the trash, started summoning mimic, like pretty much everyone does, for every fight. Used a giant shield, because they're broken. Stopped doing any optional content. Cheesed enemies, like apparently everyone for some reason really enjoys with enemies in this game. I beat it, it felt gross and hollow, and also like exactly what the devs were trying to push me toward the entire game.

    If your only wish for a Fromsoft game was that it was as broad as an ocean, as shallow as a puddle, and every enemy aspired to be champion Gundyr, then this really is a must play for you. If, Like me, that sounds like a truly dead and barren world devoid of any joy, then congratulations Fromsoft. You have finally made a world so bleak that even those who love you can find no joy in it.    … Expand
  36. Korvaidy
    Mar 1, 2022
    6
    Ну, что может сказать человек, прошедший Бладборн на платину, Дарк Соулс 2, Дарк соулс 3, Дарк соулс 1 ремастер, Секиро (бросил под конец), и Демонс Соулс? Элден Ринг - это дико перехайпленая, вторичная по механике в седьмом поколении поделка от Фром Софтвэир. Я разочарован. Отдельного унижения требует внимания выпуск на ПС5 - адаптивные курки не работают, динамик на дуалсенс не работает,Ну, что может сказать человек, прошедший Бладборн на платину, Дарк Соулс 2, Дарк соулс 3, Дарк соулс 1 ремастер, Секиро (бросил под конец), и Демонс Соулс? Элден Ринг - это дико перехайпленая, вторичная по механике в седьмом поколении поделка от Фром Софтвэир. Я разочарован. Отдельного унижения требует внимания выпуск на ПС5 - адаптивные курки не работают, динамик на дуалсенс не работает, современная вибрация не работает, 3Д Темпест аудио в наушниках не работает (как в том же Демонс Соулс). Оценка пользователей на метакритикс - адекватна. Ставлю 6 из 10 для версии для ПС5.… Expand
  37. gabu840
    Mar 6, 2022
    6
    The game is good but not to the extent the reviews have shown it to be.

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

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

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

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

    Graphics - 2.5/5 Art Direction - 4.5/5
    Story/NPCs - 2/5 Gameplay - 4/5 (not counting the recycled & repetitive stuff)
    Discovery & Adventure feel - 3.5/5(your mileage will vary)
    Sound - 4/5 Music - 3/5
    Open-World - 3.5/5    … Expand
  38. itzaspace
    Mar 18, 2022
    6
    have fun playing it and i really recommend it, but my 6 is because the massive copy pasta of previous games and bosses. If you have played previous FS games, you will find that bosses have the same patterns, animations, models etc of souls games, there are no new mechanics. They put everything in previous souls games into a open world game, marketed as the creator of game of thrones didhave fun playing it and i really recommend it, but my 6 is because the massive copy pasta of previous games and bosses. If you have played previous FS games, you will find that bosses have the same patterns, animations, models etc of souls games, there are no new mechanics. They put everything in previous souls games into a open world game, marketed as the creator of game of thrones did the story and there you go, easy money... The game is good but is so overrated, the game still lacks of story and narrative as previous soul games, boring and recycled fights , they are just hard and that's it.… Expand
  39. okies
    Apr 15, 2022
    6
    very very fun game, it really got me hooked.
    But we have to be honest
    the story is weak, every bossfight you can feel alot is going on. yet for some reason stuff happens. and ti sucks, im a sucker for big epic stories. in a game, not in the items. the best way to enjoy the story is going on youtube where a guy with a finnish name explains it better then the game does. the combat,    very very fun game, it really got me hooked.
    But we have to be honest

    the story is weak, every bossfight you can feel alot is going on. yet for some reason stuff happens. and ti sucks, im a sucker for big epic stories. in a game, not in the items. the best way to enjoy the story is going on youtube where a guy with a finnish name explains it better then the game does.

    the combat, which the game is praised on, its clunky and delayed. Ai is actually non excistant. enemies just do cycles of the same attacks. Which is ok. but not groundbreaking.

    the graphics, the design, epic. the execution. sometimes close to a nintendo switch in visuals.

    and why so diffrent compared to other users? lets be honest, the souls gamers always have been an elitist cult (still love you guys :P) but before i played this game i played horizon zero dawn. and just focussing on the combat aspect and the combat UI. it is miles ahead of any souls game. and thats probaly a bitter pill to swallow.    … Expand
  40. nijhia
    Mar 4, 2022
    6
    This game is made for only a specific demographic and no one else. It doesn't have enough "living" in the open world to feel alive, the bosses and enemies are really the part where it shines. It's not as good as Sekiro by far. The plot is lackluster, it seems like they wanted to push the BOTW + Dark Souls angle but the problem with BOTW is that the story suffers for the wondering,This game is made for only a specific demographic and no one else. It doesn't have enough "living" in the open world to feel alive, the bosses and enemies are really the part where it shines. It's not as good as Sekiro by far. The plot is lackluster, it seems like they wanted to push the BOTW + Dark Souls angle but the problem with BOTW is that the story suffers for the wondering, explorative world and it was 'okay' that the world felt empty. It feel like a single player MMO experience and you are all alone.

    I do not feel the game deserves the 10/10. A 10/10 game means that people who are not just dark souls players could enjoy it. I half enjoyed it, half got bored of the empty world. I was so hyped and it has nothing to do with the mechanics, it's just not what I thought it was going to bed.

    I think it got a perfect 10/10 because people want to relive dark souls. If you wanna relive Dark Souls + BOTW type stuff? This is your jam! If you want more than beautiful scenary and dark souls, go someplace else.    … Expand
  41. Method__Man
    Mar 4, 2022
    6
    Bland and empty. You basically run around in a mostly empty world looking for encounters. It’s the same as any old souls game, non innovative.

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

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

    Cannot possible exceed mediocre rating. I’m a void, if it was the first ever souls game and breaking a mould, perhaps, but after entry, what?. 5? It’s just more of the same. People critique Farcry for being samey then vomit praise over this clone    … Expand
  42. Janklootvandam
    Apr 18, 2022
    6
    QUANTITY OVER QUALITY
    Elden Ring, id est, Dark Souls 3 with a horse, copy paste enemies, boring cringy choir music, only 8 unique boss fights, and broken overpowered ashes of war for the CASULS.
    Carefully crafted by From Software to cater to the mindless masses who are blind sheep and bought this LIE because some overrated writers name was attached to it and who cannot see that Miyazaki    QUANTITY OVER QUALITY
    Elden Ring, id est, Dark Souls 3 with a horse, copy paste enemies, boring cringy choir music, only 8 unique boss fights, and broken overpowered ashes of war for the CASULS.
    Carefully crafted by From Software to cater to the mindless masses who are blind sheep and bought this LIE because some overrated writers name was attached to it and who cannot see that Miyazaki is a one-trick-pony who makes the same game over and over again. At least it has no microtransactions.
    All in all this game would have been better if some of the content was cut because if you are going to buy this prepare to fight the same copy pasted bosses over and over again. From fanbois are idiots lol.    … Expand
  43. slavigrad
    Mar 9, 2022
    6
    It's a mediocre but fun open-world game where the main point is just to fight different bosses.
    Fun for anyone who wants to experience Dark Souls or want some sort of gaming challenge.
    But there is no deep story to it. Just figure out how and defeat the bosses. Why? Because they exist. Open-world just let you choose which bosses you want to fight. I prefer games with stories not    It's a mediocre but fun open-world game where the main point is just to fight different bosses.
    Fun for anyone who wants to experience Dark Souls or want some sort of gaming challenge.

    But there is no deep story to it. Just figure out how and defeat the bosses. Why? Because they exist.
    Open-world just let you choose which bosses you want to fight.

    I prefer games with stories not just open-world full of different types of creatures to defeat. I prefer games with technical innovation, graphical innovation, deep story, intriguing conversations and characters.

    The graphics is outdated, the combat system is outdated and there is no story.
    So why my high score?

    This game can be mindless fun.

    When Witcher 3 was created it was innovative in the time of creation. This game is not innovative.
    It's innovative Dark Souls game. That's it.    … Expand
  44. Zenokan
    Apr 1, 2022
    6
    20 hours of boredom before stopping. No story, nothing that makes you want to go see what's behind. Not to mention orders from another time. Hype is overrated.
  45. edgard1axl
    Nov 16, 2022
    6
    Eu achei o jogo fraco na parte de história, gráficos simples e jogabilidade igual de 10 anos atrás, mas respeito o jogo por ser muita querido.
  46. Yahel84
    Feb 28, 2022
    6
    The reviewers sold me this game like entry lvl for soul games genre and when I start to play it wasn't ... Just a bad experience overall :( Gorgeous art style, horrible animations, buggy gameplay and bad game design choices ... Have fun soul games fans but I will step back.
  47. ravenskull
    Mar 6, 2022
    6
    Graphics : ★★★☆☆
    Review : It's not the graphic of the next generation.(PS5)
    Game Scenario : ★★☆☆☆
    Review : Where is the story?
    Game Play : ★★★★☆
    Review : If you don't jump and ride a horse, you can call it Dark Souls 4. It means it's fun.
  48. PazuzuDD
    Mar 17, 2022
    6
    Meh. I decided to give it a go because it was said that it's a different approach, utilising open world etc but it's just another Souls game. The monster designs are great but take away the difficulty and it's just a Hack and Slash with mediocre story and bland environments, just like its predecessors.
  49. lowx
    Mar 8, 2022
    6
    Hay un suceso en la critica de videojuegos sobre el que llevo tiempo pensando, es la maldición del 10, cuando toda la prensa le da un 10 a un videojuego, ¡cuidado!

    Ojo, no digo que esto sea un caso Cyberpunk ni mucho menos, este es un juego muy disfrutable, sobretodo si eres fan de la conocida saga Souls. Yo lo soy, desde sus inicios, y así como vi la creación de una leyenda del    Hay un suceso en la critica de videojuegos sobre el que llevo tiempo pensando, es la maldición del 10, cuando toda la prensa le da un 10 a un videojuego, ¡cuidado!

    Ojo, no digo que esto sea un caso Cyberpunk ni mucho menos, este es un juego muy disfrutable, sobretodo si eres fan de la conocida saga Souls.

    Yo lo soy, desde sus inicios, y así como vi la creación de una leyenda del videojuego con unos cimientos mega solidos y una cumbre tan alta como el Everest en Bloodborne y Dark Souls 3, he visto su declive absoluto, acompañado de la misma propaganda periodística que bailó las aguas del declive de Blizzard, en Sekiro y sobretodo en este videojuego.

    Miyazaki se está quedando sin ideas, y lo peor es que la unica solución que ha encontrado es volver a usar como referencia la saga Zelda, pero con el peor The Legend of Zelda que existe hasta la fecha, el Breath of the wild.

    Yo aun confio en Miyazaki, y volveré a estar ahí en su próximo videojuego, pero espero que ignore la burbuja mediática que está viviendo y vuelva a su sendero. No quiero que una de mis compañias favoritas se convierta en la nueva Blizzard.    … Expand
  50. JokingBR
    Apr 27, 2022
    6
    First off, not my first SoulsBorne game, I have played and finished DS1, DS2, DS3 and BB several times, this game has good visual, interesting lore and at first the exploration is fun and so is the PVP, but that's where the praise end, the game feels highly inconsistent, Bosses deal too much damage, are too fast and for some reasons can move cancel, they're made in a way you're expected toFirst off, not my first SoulsBorne game, I have played and finished DS1, DS2, DS3 and BB several times, this game has good visual, interesting lore and at first the exploration is fun and so is the PVP, but that's where the praise end, the game feels highly inconsistent, Bosses deal too much damage, are too fast and for some reasons can move cancel, they're made in a way you're expected to be with someone else, they have the speed to deal with 2 players, which makes It unfair for the ones alonethe fall damage is really weird, falls that shouldn't kill you do, and the ones that should don't, level desing out of the open world feel like a straight line, enemys deal too much damage, Boss and enemy desings are lazy, they all feel like a glob of meat with a lot of hands and legs, the game repeats A LOT of content, you will fight the same boss at least 5 different times, and depending If they turn into a common enemy even more, exploration gets old kick, the game has over 80 boss fight and 9 Bosses aren't reused, the game doesn't know how to space out checkpoints, so they're everywhere, and sometimes the game kills you very cheaply, most areas fell uniteresting, as basically everything is a forest, I don't think this Is a master piece.… Expand
  51. Kryss_Everson
    Mar 12, 2022
    6
    If it's the GOTY, this year would be awful for gaming. It's just a Dark Souls 4 in an open world, nothing more. I you don't like the Dark Souls series and other look alike, you won't like this game too. The open world isn't revolutionary as some people said.
  52. Handheld_Gamer
    Mar 2, 2022
    6
    Still the souls games are weak from the narrative telling factor.. the world are fantastic however the game its not for all the gamers.. its too hard.. nice to try but its not a fun experience for the beginners..
  53. Lluunutic
    Feb 27, 2022
    6
    Another dark souls game. Nothing new graphically. A few changes to combat make it interesting. It's the same old combat. I don't know what's so intriguing about this game. Nothing innovative.
  54. ekabon
    Mar 9, 2022
    6
    Decent From Software game, but performance is abysmal. Non-stop stuttering is making it borderline unplayable. Low score until fixed
  55. MisterMartins
    Mar 4, 2022
    6
    I mean , I don't think Open World works well for Souls games and it doesn't look that good either. I wish they could just stick with a more linear world like they used to do. Hence I cannot give a high score . 6 is a decent. Would have given more if it was like the predecessors.
  56. Hambez
    Feb 27, 2022
    6
    Another ordinary souls game, no instructions, scare useful resources, plenty of useless items, it doesn't deserve all that hype
  57. Nadir_ALzadjali
    Mar 8, 2022
    6
    it is a good game but buggy and quest instructions are not clear which makes you spend so much time on a single mission
  58. RafaelSanchis
    Mar 3, 2022
    6
    Juego de grandes espacios, gráficos de maravilla buena jugabilidad pero extremadamente difícil un juego es para disfrutar no para sufrir
  59. GnosticBean
    Feb 28, 2022
    6
    Dodge roll input lag. The game is great! I enjoyed my time dodge roll input lagging my way around this incredible new world.
  60. dozibsa
    Feb 26, 2022
    6
    At least the customers who bought the finished game aren't testers waiting for a patch.
    Critic scores that do not agree with users are no longer fair.
  61. Sereivuth
    Mar 3, 2022
    6
    bon jeu , par contre graphiquement il manque quelque chose c'est dommage...
  62. ArturoCN20
    Mar 20, 2022
    6
    I dont like it I am sorry. I am not sure where the hype is coming from. Maybe it is just that the ganme is too difficult for me or that I am new to this kind of games.

    10 hours into the game and I dont feel like I know what the h*** I am doing. There is no sense of direction! I am not accomplishing anything! Graphics looked like the remastered version of The Witcher, which was released    I dont like it I am sorry. I am not sure where the hype is coming from. Maybe it is just that the ganme is too difficult for me or that I am new to this kind of games.

    10 hours into the game and I dont feel like I know what the h*** I am doing. There is no sense of direction! I am not accomplishing anything!

    Graphics looked like the remastered version of The Witcher, which was released 10 years ago? My character is not even talking LOL. Maybe thats the design of the game?

    I would like to give it more hours though. Let's see.    … Expand
  63. TheRealMurad
    Mar 15, 2022
    6
    I'm a bit ambivalent about how I feel about Elden Ring. A part of me really enjoyed playing this, and playing through a Souls like game again, except in an open world format; however, another part of me thinks this is the worst Souls game ever created.

    The bosses are cheap, the open world is lacking, and the story feels like there is bound to be a sequel or DLC coming for it. The bosses    I'm a bit ambivalent about how I feel about Elden Ring. A part of me really enjoyed playing this, and playing through a Souls like game again, except in an open world format; however, another part of me thinks this is the worst Souls game ever created.

    The bosses are cheap, the open world is lacking, and the story feels like there is bound to be a sequel or DLC coming for it. The bosses cheap comes from the fact that the boss' don't really have an AI, it's more so a tracking bot (in the sense of if and else statements), where literally the enemy knows where you are and specifically turns during an animation to smack you. Most of the open world is meaningless. Like there is a lot to do, and see, but most of the items will not fit with your build unless you force it, and even then, it won't help with a boss fight. Finally, the game has balance issues; like severe balance issues. There are multiple bosses where if you grind it out and get runes you can easily murder them, but then there are other bosses who do one-hit ko's no matter what. There are also some bosses who look like leftovers from other Fromsoft games...

    My highlights for this game was the world building. The game looks great, and has an excellent soundtrack. The art really matches the set-pieces and don't look out of place, and in general, I'm glad GRRM participated in this because you can feel that vibe there.

    Personally, i think if Fromsoft releases another Elden Ring/ Souls game, I'll be skipping it. I think From doesn't really know what it wants to be anymore, it tries to hard to cater to the generic fans and then the hardcore ones as well, and well, this game is amalgamation of both and a bit too much of it. I enjoyed this game, but it's not really anything innovative, and most times it's more frustrating than fun - so I ask you, do you play games to have fun or be frustrated?    … Expand
  64. Arturos
    Mar 7, 2022
    6
    the only open world game of 2022 that deserves to be played unfortunately day one it had a lot of bugs on ps5, loss of data, framerate, boss that bugs and no online for some players on ps5 as well as Xbox but unfortunately the best place is on Xbox serie X, the game is improving even if it still has a little bug but less framerate bug but still present...
  65. FindersFees
    Jul 21, 2022
    6
    This is it, i'm finally have to admit to myself these games just aren't for me, I just don't enjoy it, let hype get me but this will be the last time.
  66. Sioandel
    Mar 15, 2022
    6
    First half of the game is great if not perfect, with challenging but carefully crafted encounters. I believe most people could find some fun playing it for 20-50 hours.

    Then the critic, the second half could drag the rating down to hell. It feels like a change in design direction, in a bad way. The design reminds me of Nioh 1 and Dark Souls 2. Encounters are unfair when everything is hard    First half of the game is great if not perfect, with challenging but carefully crafted encounters. I believe most people could find some fun playing it for 20-50 hours.

    Then the critic, the second half could drag the rating down to hell. It feels like a change in design direction, in a bad way. The design reminds me of Nioh 1 and Dark Souls 2. Encounters are unfair when everything is hard to kill or stagger and could kill you in two hits ,some level design seems like a death of inspiration with mini-bosses everywhere reused as elite enemies and all the "weaker" enemies rather faking death or hiding at the corners. It's not that bad when I look back after finishing the game, but the overall experience was not that enjoyable.    … Expand
  67. maxikq
    Apr 23, 2022
    6
    I'm a souls veteran who finished all games multiple times, spent around 1000h in total playing FromSoftware games, 150h in Elden Ring, and I couldn't figure out why there is so much hype about this game which is clearly the worst of all souls-games (besides DS2). Now I think I figured it out.

    FromSoftware told people that Elden Ring is not Dark Souls and it is more accessible to regular    I'm a souls veteran who finished all games multiple times, spent around 1000h in total playing FromSoftware games, 150h in Elden Ring, and I couldn't figure out why there is so much hype about this game which is clearly the worst of all souls-games (besides DS2). Now I think I figured it out.

    FromSoftware told people that Elden Ring is not Dark Souls and it is more accessible to regular players. Both information is a lie obviously because Elden Ring IS Dark Souls 3.5 and IS much more difficult than other souls because of bad boss fights balance, bad locations balance, and unhandled balancing issues caused by open world.

    Therefore, my guess is that people giving 10/10 are mostly new players in the genre who have experienced the souls game for the first time and obviously any souls game will give you this amazing feeling of accomplishment. Even though Elden Ring is the worst of all FromSoftware games in terms of lore, performance, balance, dialogs, and boss design. So they give 10/10 to the game that is different than anything they previously experienced, not knowing that this is not the best the genre offers :).

    Btw. Elden Ring has the worst user reviews score from all souls games on Metacritic.

    I guess soon Elden Ring players will play other FS games like Bloodborne and will realize that Elden Ring is not the best souls game :) then reviews will be updated.    … Expand
  68. BenFauWriter
    Apr 10, 2022
    6
    Don't expect an open world full of things, this is a soul game, so you'll die a lot and the "open world" will be full of tough monsters/knights to farm in order to level up. Unfortunately, you'll have to rely on guides to find what to do at the beginning. The game is good, but certainly not goty! Graphics are disappointing for ps5/xbox series x, there's a lot of bugs. Gameplay is archaic.Don't expect an open world full of things, this is a soul game, so you'll die a lot and the "open world" will be full of tough monsters/knights to farm in order to level up. Unfortunately, you'll have to rely on guides to find what to do at the beginning. The game is good, but certainly not goty! Graphics are disappointing for ps5/xbox series x, there's a lot of bugs. Gameplay is archaic. Fan of the Souls serie will love it, but again isn't for everyone and is certainly not as good as all the reviews says.… Expand
  69. jacko6299
    Feb 28, 2022
    6
    Am I the only sane person without mob mentality left?
    Man I don't know what is warranting these high scores, I've never seen so many misleading review scores in my entire life. There's no story really, just esoteric lore peppered around. While the open world can be visually interesting from a aesthetic point of view at times, the open world can feel boring, empty lots of space and no    Am I the only sane person without mob mentality left?
    Man I don't know what is warranting these high scores, I've never seen so many misleading review scores in my entire life. There's no story really, just esoteric lore peppered around. While the open world can be visually interesting from a aesthetic point of view at times, the open world can feel boring, empty lots of space and no real incentive to fight a lot of the monsters. So the BOTW comparisons is laughable and Skyrim! lol i cant even... The game isn't bad its just 100% more of the same, don't let these people fool you about the magic of "discovering the open world" That this is straight up dark souls 4. same look, same feel same outdated graphics and same gameplay. You fight monsters in sometimes interesting fantasy settings, with extremely difficult combat. But 10s!! no!    … Expand
  70. Mourning_star
    Mar 4, 2022
    6
    Towards the end game the game gets less fun and more frustrating as leveling gets harder as enemies and bosses 1 shot you despite your rune level and armor making it more frustrating than fun when exploring towards the middle of the game. It losses the game loop as you find more things that don't go towards your playstyle. You also can't summon less of you need help and grinding becomesTowards the end game the game gets less fun and more frustrating as leveling gets harder as enemies and bosses 1 shot you despite your rune level and armor making it more frustrating than fun when exploring towards the middle of the game. It losses the game loop as you find more things that don't go towards your playstyle. You also can't summon less of you need help and grinding becomes mandatory. Also you start getting repeat bosses only they have more health and do more damage causing bosses fatigue. An explorer mode needs to be added for those that like exploring lore rather than being forced to deal with repeat bosses already defeated… Expand
  71. MonopolyJai
    Mar 4, 2022
    6
    In all honesty it's more of the less the same souls stuff just in a big open world. It's good but it doesn't innovate the series. From all the reviews and playing it myself. I just don't really get what the fuss was about. Don't get me wrong it's a good game but it's definitely not a masterpiece. Same Combat you expected from a souls game. They need to in ovate by adding new animations andIn all honesty it's more of the less the same souls stuff just in a big open world. It's good but it doesn't innovate the series. From all the reviews and playing it myself. I just don't really get what the fuss was about. Don't get me wrong it's a good game but it's definitely not a masterpiece. Same Combat you expected from a souls game. They need to in ovate by adding new animations and moves you can chain to make combos. Open world aspect is good for souls game. I love it but It personally doesn't offer a wow factor because the world is kinda lifeless outside of the NPCs, the classes are awesome, customization is always nice despite the armor being the way majority of the time lmfao. Difficulty is good for new comers this time around. That's about it I don't really talk about the lore because that's not the forefront for these style of games kinda got to roam around the world to find it. Classes are pretty awesome.… Expand
  72. JustADude15
    Mar 24, 2022
    6
    It’s FromSoftware. Nothing new to see here. Likes:
    > Art Style
    > Lore > Depth of customization > Throttling of features / new mechanics to discover Dislikes: > Usual FS combat — Slow, with few inputs. Boss fights are a matter of memorization and trial/error. FS elitists will call it skill, but it’s no reflex test — all about memorizing hitboxes / what you can or cannot parry/block /    It’s FromSoftware. Nothing new to see here. Likes:
    > Art Style
    > Lore
    > Depth of customization
    > Throttling of features / new mechanics to discover

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

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

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

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

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

    It’s just not for me, at least not as a solo experience.    … Expand
  73. crslnr
    Mar 13, 2022
    6
    Ist halt einfach gesagt Dark Souls mit Open World ohne irgendwelche besonderen EIgenschaften.
  74. anoncritic
    Mar 5, 2022
    6
    After years of success, which each entry into fromsoftwares legacy, Elden Ring was hyped to be the pinnacle of the Souls experience. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t live up to the hype. It feels like a step back from the progress sekiro and Bloodbourne made. The open world is bland, empty and boring. Finding reasons to continue playing the game gets more and more difficult as time goes on.After years of success, which each entry into fromsoftwares legacy, Elden Ring was hyped to be the pinnacle of the Souls experience. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t live up to the hype. It feels like a step back from the progress sekiro and Bloodbourne made. The open world is bland, empty and boring. Finding reasons to continue playing the game gets more and more difficult as time goes on. It is nowhere near FromSofts best entry, arguable being their worst. It feels like open world dark souls 1. A major step back. Completely disappointing. Rampant with performance issues and bugs. I could not see myself recommending this game to anyone.… Expand
  75. FredtheMole
    Mar 7, 2022
    6
    I've definitely been enjoying this game a lot, but I don't think it's really lived up to the hype. The combat is really fun and the world is pretty fun to explore, but the open world doesn't really do much but take you from battle to battle. It's definitely a good game, but not really sure if I'd call it a great one.
  76. Henryzera
    Feb 28, 2022
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. O jogo é bom, tem bastante conteúdo, mas é mais para quem curte estilo souls.
    Gráfico ultrapassado animações bem fracas tirando algum boss ou outro.
    Não consigo entender o ripe criado no jogo.    … Expand
  77. Acelaryk
    Feb 27, 2022
    6
    This review will concern the game only if you play as a mage, first of all the optimisation for pc is bad, 60fps, can't go higher, can't play with high resolution... Then for the gameplay, as a mage you'll experience some "fun" at the beginning but this fun will rapidly decreased since you're going to be more and more useless by the time spent on the game (lack of damage...). It clearlyThis review will concern the game only if you play as a mage, first of all the optimisation for pc is bad, 60fps, can't go higher, can't play with high resolution... Then for the gameplay, as a mage you'll experience some "fun" at the beginning but this fun will rapidly decreased since you're going to be more and more useless by the time spent on the game (lack of damage...). It clearly impact too much of the gameplay for me. There is even an invisible "boss" that you can barely kill just because you're a mage. And if you forget the gameplay as a mage, this game is good but that just don't deserve a 10/10 review like a lot of people did, too much hype just for that... I think it don't deserve more than a 6/10 but i will understand if some people goes with a 7/10.… Expand
  78. HTrembler
    Mar 7, 2022
    6
    I've never understood people who put lots of time into finishing a game that offers nothing but difficulty. what is the gain here?

    Do you get an excellent and engaging story? no. unless you have hundreds of free and useless time to read scrolls. Do you get breathtaking and exciting combat? no. all you should do is die too many times just to figure out when and how each enemy attacks,    I've never understood people who put lots of time into finishing a game that offers nothing but difficulty. what is the gain here?

    Do you get an excellent and engaging story? no. unless you have hundreds of free and useless time to read scrolls.

    Do you get breathtaking and exciting combat? no. all you should do is die too many times just to figure out when and how each enemy attacks, which might be enjoyable for some minority of people, but for most of the people, it just doesn't worth the time and effort.

    so the only times you really "enjoy" playing this game, is when you have defeated a boss or when you enjoy the beauty of the world itself.

    despite all things mentioned above, I admire their risk in creating an open-world game this wast and adding some features like a horse to the series ...

    To conclude, this is only a good game for just a minority of people and definitely not a "must play" for everyone. This is what happens when all of the reviewers are die-hard fans of the series.    … Expand
  79. Oldboy1988
    Mar 28, 2022
    6
    I'm a massive fan of FromSoftware games. Bloodborne is my favourite game. A masterpiece. It was a game that i bought a ps4 to play and the game didn't match my expectations... It surpassed them. Just writing this post just makes me want to play Bloodborne again. Elden Ring got me all hyped. I bought a ps5 to play it and I'm sorely disappointed by my experience. I'm 90 hours into the gameI'm a massive fan of FromSoftware games. Bloodborne is my favourite game. A masterpiece. It was a game that i bought a ps4 to play and the game didn't match my expectations... It surpassed them. Just writing this post just makes me want to play Bloodborne again. Elden Ring got me all hyped. I bought a ps5 to play it and I'm sorely disappointed by my experience. I'm 90 hours into the game and it's boring. It's (excuse the pun) a soulless experience. This game suffers from what Metal Gear Solid 5 suffered from. It just didn't need to be open world. FromSoftware excels in tight level design. This is their first stab at open world and it shows. You end up riding around a dull world looking for action only to be confronted with too many bosses, many of which are lazily recycled. I'd prefer a smaller world packed with danger around every corner and less but more unique enemies. FromSoftware fell into the trap for open world games that more is better. I bought this digitally so I'm really pushing myself to finish it but after 90 hours in struggling. And not due to the difficulty. The game doesn't reward the players time. Empty, barren worlds with crappy gifts at the end of a dungeon or mini boss isn't fun. Bloodborne **** all over this game. I've been playing FromSoftware games since demon soul's on ps3 and (excluding ds2 and sekiro) this is my biggest disappointment. Dark souls 2 gets a pass because the FromSoftware B team made it and sekiro was an entirely different game with a few overlapping mechanics. Elden Ring could've and should've been their magnum opus but instead ends up as just another bland and repetitive open world game. The only difference being that it has harder enemies compared to other triple A open world games.… Expand
  80. mithril_dm
    Mar 13, 2022
    6
    After days and days of seeing this game praised to the end of the earth and back I picked up a copy to try my hand.

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

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

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

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

    This is a game made only for fans, and even though I think there's a lot to be enjoyed, feeling like the developers are constantly trying to hamstring me in stupid (and not game play related) ways and sell me a product that is extremely unoptimized is not my idea of fun.    … Expand
  81. tithonus
    Feb 26, 2022
    6
    Elden Ring is a good game, but... The game has a big optimization problem. Looks like it's from 2017 on the graphisc. Musics bad. You should be ashamed of bluepoint. If we leave this aside there's a lot of sloppy work in the game. They enlarged a normal enemy in sekiro, bloodborne and dark souls and added it to the game as a boss. The venues were the same. How many more times will you useElden Ring is a good game, but... The game has a big optimization problem. Looks like it's from 2017 on the graphisc. Musics bad. You should be ashamed of bluepoint. If we leave this aside there's a lot of sloppy work in the game. They enlarged a normal enemy in sekiro, bloodborne and dark souls and added it to the game as a boss. The venues were the same. How many more times will you use Anor Londo? Even the animations are the same. Also dualsense does not vibrate once. Aren't you ashamed to do this? I don't understand how they give 10 to this game. Did you get any money from the producers? Horizon F.W. 88 Elden Rind 97. Engrossing...… Expand
  82. Tclare
    Feb 26, 2022
    6
    Certainly a good game, but performance should be better, even though it’s easy to over look whilst playing, and enjoying the story, gameplay and exploration. Certainly not a masterpiece, but a good game non the less
  83. tmldan
    Mar 18, 2022
    6
    Tons of quality of life issues, performance is poor (tons of FPS drops on any platform), pop-in is all over the place and the world feels pretty empty and co-op is broken, graphical fidelity is also poor for 2022. Why can't from soft just allow people to play together consistently, this isn't 10 years ago where this was acceptable, the network is broken and co-op is just a pain in the ass.Tons of quality of life issues, performance is poor (tons of FPS drops on any platform), pop-in is all over the place and the world feels pretty empty and co-op is broken, graphical fidelity is also poor for 2022. Why can't from soft just allow people to play together consistently, this isn't 10 years ago where this was acceptable, the network is broken and co-op is just a pain in the ass.

    Over the years being a huge souls fan, i've been lenient with From Soft and hoped they would improve upon many things but they refuse particularly because reviewers are too nice to them. They deserve criticism not 10's.

    Anyways, this feels like dark souls 3 but open world, the world is made well but this is not innovative and feels samey.

    I hope From Soft becomes more ambitious rather than just making an open world.    … Expand
  84. Narvis
    Mar 17, 2022
    6
    Not as good as people claimed. Gets boring and repetitive fast. Main focus is grinding Runes. Attack, dodge, attack, dodge. Some boss you don't really know why you are fighting. Story becomes unnecessary and forgotten. End goal of the Gomes is basically to level och and kill the next boss. Then repeat
  85. Edgard5
    Feb 26, 2022
    6
    Game journalists,, how dare you with a top Critic Average of 97 in this game? The game has a lot of problems. Inside open world, there`s a frame drop between 20 to 15 I guess, even playing on ps5. How dare you give alot of 100 in this game? Were you bought for From software? This game seems to be so nice, but 100 ? My gosh are you crazy? The problem about Fps looks like cyber punk.
  86. BoomLBS
    Feb 26, 2022
    6
    In no way is this a 10/10 - I’ve been made a fool again. If you like boss fights and getting killed over and over and over again until you learn the rhythm then go for it. The open world is cool at first but you quickly realise that it is completely absent of story and reason for being. You are only exploring so you can find a some stupid rubbish to add to your flask or slowly improve yourIn no way is this a 10/10 - I’ve been made a fool again. If you like boss fights and getting killed over and over and over again until you learn the rhythm then go for it. The open world is cool at first but you quickly realise that it is completely absent of story and reason for being. You are only exploring so you can find a some stupid rubbish to add to your flask or slowly improve your stats. The game starts with a loose story structure and some guidance of where to go but within one hour you meet a boss that is really difficult. You then have no idea of what to do and just start walking around. I managed to defeat two side bosses and level up my character quite a bit. But in my 10 hours of wandering i never came across an interesting side story. Just lots of things to fight. - which quickly becomes really tedious.

    I’m giving it a 6 as I get why some people would love it. But 10’s are surly reserved for games with broader appeal and for open worlds that actually have interesting things to interact with.    … Expand
  87. jj02
    Feb 26, 2022
    6
    How is this kind of performance acceptable? (PS5) 10/10 sure... The art style and visual Fidelity are two different things, but both help one another that's something From software doesn't understand. You don't have to look super realistic or graphically impressive because that isn't the point, I'm just asking for an improvement the art style is amazing, but it looks substandard. A goodHow is this kind of performance acceptable? (PS5) 10/10 sure... The art style and visual Fidelity are two different things, but both help one another that's something From software doesn't understand. You don't have to look super realistic or graphically impressive because that isn't the point, I'm just asking for an improvement the art style is amazing, but it looks substandard. A good example of doing both Right is BOTW and Ghost of Tsushima both focusing on the art style, not realism.… Expand
  88. LimitedGif
    Feb 27, 2022
    6
    Another game that’s hyped up by die hard dark souls fans. Don’t get this game if you’re not familiar with dark souls games.
  89. phulp
    Feb 27, 2022
    6
    I've been a die-hard fan of this 'series' since demon souls. I think Bloodborne is one of the best, if not the best, game ever made. I had been looking forward to this 'new IP' and the professional reviews were out of this world - 'best game ever' says the Guardian... etc etc.

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

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

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

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

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

    Graphics on PS5: 6/10
    Performance: 5/10
    Art style: 7/10
    Originality: 5/10
    Gameplay: 8/10    … Expand
  90. ObligedRanger
    Feb 27, 2022
    6
    unstable fps, graphics from ps4 played on ps5. I don't enjoy it at all. high marks for no reason. many things recycled by ds3
  91. Survive
    Feb 27, 2022
    6
    This game is ok, but endlessly frustrating. You die 8-10 times each encounter. There is no quest log or real explanation as to whats going on.And every time you die you lose all your xp (runes) progress and the enemies respawn every time you save or die. If you dont enjoy level grinding and locked boss fights you probably wont enjoy this one. But here is the biggest issue- the co-op isThis game is ok, but endlessly frustrating. You die 8-10 times each encounter. There is no quest log or real explanation as to whats going on.And every time you die you lose all your xp (runes) progress and the enemies respawn every time you save or die. If you dont enjoy level grinding and locked boss fights you probably wont enjoy this one. But here is the biggest issue- the co-op is hard baked into this game, especially the boss fights. Once the servers for this game are shut off it will be unplayable.… Expand
  92. Ohenoki
    Feb 27, 2022
    6
    There's nothing really new here. It's the same game in a new game world. There's no advancement in the AI that really matters to the game. It's a lifeless world, where there is only combat. The graphics are not up to scratch. Unless you're someone who plays Soulsborne games, then you probably wont like this one either.
  93. Jb5216
    Mar 1, 2022
    6
    It's a beautiful game with awesome areas and cool enemies but imo the combat is crap. It's slow and clunky and mostly its just dying a bunch until you understand the enemy patterns and there's alot of recycled bosses as well. Don't get me wrong It's a good game just completely overrated. It's absolutely no where near a 10
  94. Gothmog94
    Mar 2, 2022
    6
    Its ok but that's all it really is. Its DS3 but with more build customization basically. So if you just want the same old Dark Souls but more content you'll be satisfied. But it isn't nearly as innovative as the press and streamers have made it out to be.

    Cons Combat hasn't taken any steps forward its still L1 Spam or R1 spam no real combos or varied movesets like Nioh has for example.    Its ok but that's all it really is. Its DS3 but with more build customization basically. So if you just want the same old Dark Souls but more content you'll be satisfied. But it isn't nearly as innovative as the press and streamers have made it out to be.

    Cons
    Combat hasn't taken any steps forward its still L1 Spam or R1 spam no real combos or varied movesets like Nioh has for example. Enviromental collision/obstacles is terrible with enemies reaching through whole walls and pillars as it always has been. Frames drop pretty consitently during combat even on framerate mode. But hopefully that'll be a simple patch here soon.

    Not enough boss variety to fill the open world. They use many of the bosses 4 or more times throughout a single playthrough. With one of them being Asylum Demon from DS1. I mean come on we already had to fight him 3 times in that one 11 years ago now another 4 in this game?! Poise still sucks. I don't want broken DS1 poise where everyone havels but there really is no point in heavy armor if even hits that do almost no damage can stagger/stun lock. Pros
    Atmosphere is the best its been for a souls game.
    Actually a decent number of NPCs to meet and have minor roles/quests with
    The new customizable flask is probably the best part/innovation.
    Map & fast travel is an extreme improvement but I can't give them major credit for something that's been a feature in other games since 2005 lol. That should have been a thing already.    … Expand
  95. DarkDragon2k22
    Mar 2, 2022
    6
    This game is a dark souls game with open world. It very playable, but it not a next generation console game. I think Software is screwed us with a PS4 game and released as a PS5 game. The graphics is a PS4 game and I think Dark souls 3 is better then Elden Ring. The loading speeds is better then PS4, but it can't compare to game like Demon souls remake. Elden Ring is less than 45 gig.This game is a dark souls game with open world. It very playable, but it not a next generation console game. I think Software is screwed us with a PS4 game and released as a PS5 game. The graphics is a PS4 game and I think Dark souls 3 is better then Elden Ring. The loading speeds is better then PS4, but it can't compare to game like Demon souls remake. Elden Ring is less than 45 gig. Demon souls are around 100 gigs. You can tell the graphics and loading speeds are way better. The price tag should be less. They want to make alot of money without spending more money.… Expand
  96. mikeaustin
    Mar 3, 2022
    6
    the only thing i love about this game it's the open world and exploration
    but the rest of the game sucks , the mobs & the bosses sucks , same frustreation of
    all the souls game , i don't care and i have no hype. Zelda botw is way more fun

    btw good game but not a game of the year 2022
  97. BankerDoGames
    Mar 7, 2022
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Elden Ring, the successor to the series of games that gained renown for the variety of enemies, character builds, arsenal of weaponry, memorable boss fights, level design, the combat and … it’s lack of cohesion in their story.

    All this can be found in this game with the exception that the world environment has been massively expanded in an open world format.

    I can fathom that all the Fan’s who fell in love with those previous games will massively dive headstrong into this one.

    I am not one of those Fans. I have zero experience in previous FromSoftware games. However, I had many expectations considering the marketing build up of this game. Let’s look at the achievements thus far with this game; the expanded level design in an open world format.

    This game comes in with an open world that is filled with a variety of enemies, items, bosses, dungeons, secret routes, hidden NPCs and even teleportation devices which you can discover on your own. The size is massive in scale and density.

    The density of a particular area involves multiple levels in verticality consisting of beaches, ravines, rivers, swamps, deserts, cliffs, mountain paths, mountain tops and some hidden dungeon that leads you to a whole new underground map. Anywhere you go there is a sense of intrigue built upon the excellent artistic style and the unique architecture of far away landmarks.

    While at ground level, you see the cliffs beside you and you head in a direction to discover a path to the top. At the cliff's edge or at a bridge, you pan the camera constantly to see if there are ways you can jump down to the ravine below safely. You see a far off island and discover an under passage that leads to it. You look at the map and see a dead end to discover explorable catacombs. Every time you venture off in exploration, 80% of the time you find a reward that furthers your character. Be it upgrades, new weapons, new spells, new summons, new armor, new bosses or even finding an NPC that has their own side quests. This is a great incentive system to keep the player engaged and continue this play loop. The only catch here is that the player has to find their way to make this loop work. Leading to my next point, navigating in this world.

    I want to mention that this game is the least accessible game I have ever played in an open world game. There are no mini-maps, no waypoints, no side quest tracker or written item descriptions that give clear indication to the next destination or side content. The world map comes with these markers that clearly tells the player to go fill it out themselves.

    There are subtle markers in the world that point to places of interest. Like these birds, that faces off into the distance and you wonder what they are looking at. Is there something there? Then there are these weird looking statues, or a dim glowing flame in the darkness of a blue misty night. These point to side contents while, the main campaign direction, if you check the map, there are these large yellow arrows that point you to a general direction. Usually it is not hard if you ride in that direction, to discover the largest and most impressive structure is probably where you need to go.

    The sense of mystery, exploration, discovery and reward actually reminds me of past JRPGs. In those world maps, you wander aimlessly to try and discover for yourself side dungeons, towns and the next destination that would drive the story forward. Given this, I don’t mind but actually give appreciation that FromSoftware has taken this approach and applied it to a world as rich in diversity and density in the lands in between.

    This reminds me of what video games were like garnishing feelings of mystery, exploration, discovery and reward. This is the main concept that was applied to this game and it is a proud achievement.

    As I traverse this vast and immersive world, I find myself asking questions about the location, the enemies and the backstories to them. There is so much unexplained lore that gives breath to the unique settings in which it is pivotal to this game and the driving core of the player’s engagement.

    What type of creatures are these (plant pods), why are there zombie soldiers roaming the land, why is this Godrick so salty and began attaching people’s arms to himself, why are there giants chained to pull this cart, what’s the story behind these dragons, what is this underground place and have this guy hanging upside down, why are there so many chairs here and so many more questions.

    Overall, I feel this game is a bit overrated considering the simplicity in their combat system, the terrible controls, the lack of a driving and invoking story, the inexcusable inaccessibility of options, heck there is no pause button in this game, the flat and mono thematic music. The only part this game gets right is the world building and the variety of enemies. Sorry not sorry, this game is no masterpiece.    … Expand
  98. kaitou96
    Mar 8, 2022
    6
    Elden Ring is not a casual game. It’s brutal & requires that no job gamer life. Do not buy if you only have a 1hr a day to play.
    It’s grind session & it’s more annoying than fun.
  99. ddeerreekk
    Mar 8, 2022
    6
    The world is large, full of surprises, spells are cool, storyline is epic. If it weren't a FromSoftware game, I might give it a 8 or even 9.
    BUT. Elden ring's combat system is a full disaster. After the success of Bloodborne and Sekiro, I can't believe FromSoftware is actually selling this defected, boring and somewhat unendurable combat system.
    Skills are way more powerful than basic    The world is large, full of surprises, spells are cool, storyline is epic. If it weren't a FromSoftware game, I might give it a 8 or even 9.
    BUT. Elden ring's combat system is a full disaster. After the success of Bloodborne and Sekiro, I can't believe FromSoftware is actually selling this defected, boring and somewhat unendurable combat system.

    Skills are way more powerful than basic attacks and eventually melee weapons are nothing different from staffs, they are just skill casters. Weapon movesets don't matter at all because no one will use R1/R2 when L2 has larger range, higher damage and even faster speed. Without those broken skills/spells/ashes, our tarnished is basically nothing different from the ashen one in Souls 3, while the bosses has Bloodborne-level mobility. But with these skills, you can just beat any boss on the first try without even knowing what the boss does. I highly doubt that FromSoftware didn't really test the game thoroughly.

    If FromSoftware really wanted the players to make use of skills in their fights, I am totally fine with that and I think it's a good change. There are a lot of ways to do this, they can let players equip many skills like spells, or merge skills into weapon's movesets, or even just allow players to use left hand weapon skills. Any change on the combat system accommodating the use of skills is good. But FromSoftware didn't change the skill system at all, not even a single bit, instead they just brutally dump in a bunch of overpowered skills and force players to use those skills or else suffer.

    Not to mention how imba some skills are and how many bugs there are causing some weapons to be either OP or not playable at all.

    They showed that they can make a good combat system in Bloodborne and Sekiro, but choose not to in Elden ring. This is what really disappoints me.    … Expand
  100. aljinn
    Mar 14, 2022
    6
    Even if Dark Souls / Bloodbourne are 10 (which is not true)...
    Elden Ring brings us
    obviously worse UI and UX -1 unoptimized performance -1 same old story (Martin's touch barely exists) -1 and worst of all, worse enemy design -1 or -2 The good part? Gigantic world and better exploration. That makes it 7-8 at best. Where does the 9 and 10 come from? And don't forget most players    Even if Dark Souls / Bloodbourne are 10 (which is not true)...
    Elden Ring brings us
    obviously worse UI and UX -1
    unoptimized performance -1
    same old story (Martin's touch barely exists) -1
    and worst of all, worse enemy design -1 or -2
    The good part? Gigantic world and better exploration.

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

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

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

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

    Upon further deliberation I decided to lower the score once again, due to the fact that the narrative techniques and riddle design obviously do not go hand-in-hand with its openness and vastness. Many NPCs give no or very ambiguous directions, and very likely appear in places the players have been to; as a result, the "chore" or "fetch boy" feel is even stronger than other open-world games even when there are only a few "side-quests". Riddles like looking for a certain animal never specify a range, combined with the fact that they can climb up the tree, fly in the sky or be invisible. And the instant-death stupid chariot stuff that make players an idiot -- mere trials and errors. All of the above are not challenges to players' intelligence or observation but just tedious tortures. Giving this game a 10 is like encouraging the designers to keep such meaningless and time-wasting tricks.    … Expand
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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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