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The RPG Files: Elden Ring Review | MMORPG.com
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The RPG Files: Elden Ring Review | MMORPG.com
Elden Ring, FromSoftware's latest "Soulsborne" game has been out for a few weeks. After more than 100 hours in the game, we're ready to give our verdict.
Comments
PC players are fighting through it because the game is great, but it's still inexcusable.
As a non-Souls fan, I love Elden Ring so far, but I'd give it an 8.5-9 due to the PC port and having to use the same tired mechanical systems they've been using over the past decade in the camera, combat, and UI.
You do this meaningless unchallenging thing for half an hour for your ticket to the loot lottery.
About the PC port, as a PC player my life went considerably easier when I selected the interface option for keyboard that is set by default on controllers. Also when I remapped the <- -> respectively to 1 and 2 (that I activate using side mouse buttons), allowing me to summon Torrent and Spirits as quickly as possible.
It is a real epic heroic-fantasy adventure as it should be, and the MMORPG genre should learn a lesson or two from this game.
I changed it, but that's not really the problem.
It's things like the limited key mapping options, the locked framerate (tied to game physics, which is a novice level no-no), and lack of ultra-wide support.
Luckily, the game is good enough to deal with these issues, but they're all pretty standard port work, which is why I feel reviewers shouldn't be dismissing them.
I didn't think of that. Thanks!
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I entirely agree that the PC port should have been better. I was just mentioning ways to ease the problem not solve it entirely (unfortunately).
Because most people (not necessarily you) don't try things before complaining to the Internet.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I've seen reddit threads with other PC users reporting the same after trying Elden Ring when they've been gaming with 144hz or 240hz monitors.
>>>Have never been a better open world game
No, there have been tons of much better open world games, The Elder Scroll 3: Morrowind is still the best in terms of how alive the world feels and how much you can interact with it as well as its inhabitants. Morrowind is also probably the only "Sandbox RPG" to date where your actions affect everything in the world on such a scale that it warrants for multiple playthroughs, simply because you can't experience everything the first time due to choices you've made, whether you make all the right choices, it still makes other paths unavailable. Factions hate each other, joining one makes the members of the other hate you as well. Enemy and aggressive humanoid NPCs like bandits, cultists or what have you can become friendly to you if you have a very high Speechcraft skill and you can talk to them, some turn out to be skill trainers, vendors, other have unique dialogue options, which can't be experienced otherwise. What other RPG does this to this day? I don't know of such and I doubt there will ever be an RPG on Morrowind's depth.
>>>Elden Ring gives plenty of opportunites to adapt and grow
Probably, didn't last more than an hour in the game before getting rid of it for good.
>>>Most engaging story FromSoftware has told
If that is their their standard, their standards must be pretty damn low. I did not see any difference in the story from the other Souls games - same thing all over - the world is ending, it's corrupted, the gods and the world's inhabitants are corrupted, you must save it.
>>>Fantastic Visuals
How? The game literally looks the same from start to end. It has modern graphics, I agree, but the art direction and how the world looks as a whole is just bland. Washed out colors, that predominant yellow color everywhere, especially of the Elden Tree(s) in the distance, it just looks the same and generic.
Morrowind has a great world in some ways but in no way does the world feel alive unless you are using mods.
I've played Morrowind for over 2 years initially with another 6 months or so since that time and part of what makes Morrowind feel somewhat unique is the austerity of the world. I don't say that to say I'm some Morrowind expert but I have more than a passing experience with the game.
So sure, you are getting attacked by Cliff Racers all the time but what is there really that makes it feel alive? NPC's stand in static areas and as I recall they themselves don't have as much movement when it comes to daily schedule.
You have guars, rats, those stocky worm things with the mouths (can't recall the name) Essentially just monster to attakc you. Other than the peaceful scribs.
And again, unless you are using mods, there is not alot of ground cover for vegetation. All that said, this isn't a bad thing, it's just the nature of the beast for the time it was made. It gives the island a rather somber mood. Not bad just what it is.
And while it's true that factions will hate you if you are part of an opposing faction, it's a more gamified implementation. Your character gets a tag and suddenly everyone knows you are an enemy. You could role play some version where your pictures is on a wanted sign somewhere but the truth is if I am in some enemy faction or have enough crime then I"m automatically pinpointed as an enemy.
Again, and don't get me wrong, this isn't "bad" but just the way they implemented it.
I would say Elden Rings world falls in line with other souls games. There's always a bit more opacity to what is going on. I've always likened (at least those I've tried) the souls games to being in some sort of weird purgatory where things exist only to wait until time ends.
In thinking on it, I'll add that the Elder Scrolls games are made to try to feel like a living world. The Souls types games are as I said above, some sort of odd purgatory like world where everyone is waiting for the end. Two completely different takes on what a world is. But I don't think Morrowind truly feels "alive."
Also, will add that I disagree about the visuals, they are brilliant.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Let's party like it is 1863!
The world is large and often confusing. You can find someone, chat with them for a couple lines of dialogue, move on and they won't be there when you get back. They'll move to another location, sometimes in a high end area where you may not see them again for dozens of hours..and by the time you find them it's like "so who are you again?" And more importantly "why do I care?"
A good story and just good questing in general usually revolves around some sort of character that is important in some way or at least has their own storyline with some relevance to.... well... anything. Better questing gives you options and alternative opportunities to complete the quests.
Very few quests in elden ring really give you choices worth exploring, even more quests are reliant on you doing things in the "right order" and one of the longest quests, and achievement, revolves around you specifically NOT doing something the developers flat out tell you to do.
If you take the whole game as an open world, open ended, adventure game with arbitrary quests that you can choose to do or not do, it makes the game better than if you think of it as an RPG game with a story.
Even bosses you fight show up and have a one sided conversation with you that's largely incoherent, and then most of them transform in some unnecessarily gruesome way with virtually no explanation, and meet their end with no real resolution of the conflict. It's just kinda like... "okeydokey, another one down".
And don't even get me started on the creepy finger reader lady...
A lot of it is definitely the flavor of the Souls like games.
I agree it'd be nice to have an in-game way to more easily track things like key bits of info an NPC gives you (like how do I get into Ray Lucaria past the magical seals again?!?!), even if it's just an in-game notepad easily accessible in the UI so I could jot it down really quick without pulling myself out of the immersion of the game.
A mix between how Divinity does quests tracking and how Souls games do quests, imo, would be the perfect sweet spot for a true adventure game.
Look I won't say I think the game is a 9.5.. But your complaints are a joke. You say you played the game an hour and figured this all out.. how? The game has some vastly different areas for sure. Some are down right disturbing. It is a fantastic open world but I wouldn't call it the best but I don't know if I would put morrowind as the best either. On the story, again you played for an hour so you didn't get any story.. going to guess you got stomped out by the first boss you encountered and quit?
This isn't the best open world if you considered like what was brought out how worlds can be changed by decisions. However it truly is huge, extremely open to the point where you can find ways around quest gated areas. Its not a story on par with lets say a final fantasy rpg but better than some out there. It is indeed the best souls game. Customization with builds is off the charts. difficulty is hugely scalable if you know where to go since they purposely put op weapons in easily accessible spot to where it can get you through to end game.
Oh and like what was mentioned above, change input to keyboard and mouse takes this game from a 5 to a 8.5 easily.
My experience in DS3 was bad. Barely touched the game. It sits grayed and inactive in my Steam library.
Elden Ring, in the contrary, really allows you to grow and does not stop your progression (level wise and exploration wise) by boss-gating you in a corner (my DS3 experience).
Elden ring, thanks to its open world let you tackle easier targets until you
- over-level/over-gear the f0ck3r who killed you so many times
- understand the mechanic better
- git gudder
Also there are several tools to ease the difficulty such as
- spirit summoning (think temporary pets)
- cooperators
- the mounted combat with Torrent (ass spanking giants on a horse has never been so fun)
Until now, I also find the "respawn/teleport points" are overall rather numerous and well placed. Still in castles, in which the gameplay is less open world, you can feel more the die'n retry feeling from the previous Fromsoftware games.
The art direction is amazing. Not everything looks the same. I think for example that Limgrave and Caelid have very distinct identities. The depth of field is also very impressive inciting players to sometimes shift into some kind of sightseeing trance.
As for the open world, like mentioned @Sovrath, it is not supposed to be alive. This is, like I mentioned in an other thread, a post-apocalyptical medieval fantasy. Everything is in ruin after the Shattering and life looks like death. Less interactions for sure with the locals, but bashing their face, which is in my book very fun!