4.5/5 ★ – Kalle_Deimos's review of Elden Ring.

TLDR: I really liked this game. And then I really didnt. And then I liked it again. Elden Ring is a fantastic game, but like all the other souls games, it's not perfect. Excluding Sekiro maybe. Gameplay: Elden Ring is a great interpretation of a dark souls game. There is so much content to consume spread out upon such a large world. Compared to the other souls games, ER stands out with roleplaying and making builds. The amount of options that each class has available to them in terms of spells, weapons, armor and special moves is staggering. And I can imagine testing out dozens of different builds to experience all the game has to offer. Weapons and spells are handed out to you like candy, but armor is dropped much less often which is a bit strange as I had the same armor for most of the game until it all piled up in the end. I loved ER's gameplay loop of exploring an area, getting new loot and moving on. But it can lag when you're trying to find the next big thing to do. It's also plagued with some of the most bizarre design decisions I've seen. Spirit Summons are clearly encouraged with the amount of gank squad bosses and other power scaling shenanigans. But this may be a testament to the changing times rather than actual negative game design. The open world could also be a sign of this. In place of an inter-connected world with very intricate and detailed level design, we have a massive world to get lost in. On one hand, the sense of scale is impressive. Entering a new locale and seeing how it functions is fantastic. On the other hand, there is not a whole lot of interesting stuff going on between these micro areas. There's little to no reason to stop your forward momentum to engage in a group of enemies that are likely to be more trouble than they are worth. Enemies drop souls, but they aren't enough to be very significant, and they don't drop materials to craft items. You could farm items and weapons from them but the drop rates are so small it doesn't seem worth it. I'm also a bit conflicted on the difficulty, as I feel like went a bit too crazy with a lot of these bosses. The biggest complaint I see is how aggressive the bosses are with extremely long combos, very small attack windows, frequent AOE moves and stalled attacks. I feel like this complaint is relevant depending on which Souls game you may have started with. I can imagine those accustomed with DS would be less receptive to the challenge ER brings and those who began with ER are more receptive since they aren't getting screwed over by their mental programming. When I reached mid / late game (Leyndell), I really had an issue with this. As I felt like every enemy I was encountering has poor balance no matter where I was going to progress. Eventually I got past that block and got into the vibe again. But it was still a dark day for me. Souls games typically get better with how good you get at playing them, and I definetely think thats true. Similar to Breath of the Wild tho, I would struggle to say I liked it certain other Souls games. My favorite part of the Souls series is their intricate level design that simply is not present in Elden Ring in order to create that giant open world. Moving forward, I would hope they cut down on the open world and make larger levels similar to Stormveil Keep to explore. As it's the biggest area to explore besides Leyndell. There's also plenty of complaints about re-using enemies and bosses. And at first I didn't understand the complaint but by the end of it I did see how most bosses were re-used for areas. I actually didn't have a problem with this as almost every enemy was challenging so it was nice to keep testing my meddle against them as I kept going. But I was not a fan of being at the end of the game and getting bodied by scaled up rats and dogs that do 700+ damage. I am most certaintly going to return to Elden Ring to try a different build and maybe then it will fully click and I was give it a 10/10. But until then, I am satisfied with the experience I had. Story: Out of all the Souls games, Elden Ring probably has my favorite story. It's still that classic Fromsoftware nonsensical story telling but probably the least damning in that aspect. I am genuinly intrigued with the lore and mythos of the world and feel like the answers are out there somewhere. The concept of the Elden Ring and Greater Will being actual tangible things that affect the world greatly is enticing for the player to reach. And other concepts such as Destined Death are additions that deepen the story and complicate our characters. The sidequests that lead to endings are the most interesting as well as the endings themselves. Deciding what to do with the world is a legitmate choice rather than the binary "Relink the Flame" or "Begin the Age of Dark". Not that it changes anything besides the ending cutscene but it's still a different path the game takes you down with unique story to consume. All the characters are pretty interesting too. My favorite sidequest was probably The Volcano Manor. It feels like a weird evil mirror of Roundtable Hold that ends in disaster. Even the boss fight as sick as hell, even if it was a gimmick fight. Probably because it was a gimmick fight. Graphics: On the surface, it looks like Dark Souls 3. In actuality tho, it looks much much better. Good use of colors, particle effects look great, actual environments and textures all look good. Characters specefically look fantastic. DS3 had a fugly character creator that I could not for the life of me get to make anyone look good. Maybe that's just a me issue. Like the Souls games, the art design is great as always. Probably the personal favorite due to the amount of gigantic things present in every part of the world. I love that type of shit. Sound: I don't have much to say about the sound besides that it's good. I really like the Godskin Noble's theme. Extra: Man, everything is extra in this game. See Gameplay lmfao. There's a lot to digest and explore and questing to do. Favorite Thing: Blackgaurd Boggart is a funny dude. Not My Favorite Thing: The strange and numerous design decisions that do not match up to their previous titles.