Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

The RPG Files: Elden Ring Review | MMORPG.com

2»

Comments

  • giantessfangiantessfan Member UncommonPosts: 185
    Holy shit, this game is great. However, I suck at souls games so I am 20 hours in and still can't be Magrit. I get destroyed when the dude busts him hammer out every time. I just don't get it
    Sovratheoloe
  • unfilteredJWunfilteredJW Member RarePosts: 398
    Game is the closest to a 10 I’ve played in years, and this is from a soulsvourne virgin. It feels like an older Zelda game or SOTN. Hot fucking damn.
    SovratheoloeKyleran

    I'm a MUDder. I play MUDs.

    Current: Dragonrealms

  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 32,933
    Holy shit, this game is great. However, I suck at souls games so I am 20 hours in and still can't be Magrit. I get destroyed when the dude busts him hammer out every time. I just don't get it

    Use the summons that appears on the right before you go in and use the Jelly Fish Ashes unless you have something better.
    eoloemaskedweaselKyleran
    Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb." 

    Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w


    Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547

    Try the "Special Edition." 'Cause it's "Special." https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64878/?tab=description

    Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo 
  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 44,057
    Sovrath said:
    Holy shit, this game is great. However, I suck at souls games so I am 20 hours in and still can't be Magrit. I get destroyed when the dude busts him hammer out every time. I just don't get it

    Use the summons that appears on the right before you go in and use the Jelly Fish Ashes unless you have something better.
    It's all about learning the moves


    eoloe

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • cameltosiscameltosis Member LegendaryPosts: 3,847
    I'm only a few hours in, plus i've not played any of the Souls games before, so it's been a bit of a rough start.


    I mean, i knew it was hardcore action combat, and i dont like action combat, so i knew it wouldn't be my cup of tea. But, I was hoping it would be educational! I've always wanted to try a Souls game, but the depressing setting always put me off.


    So, its good to experience something other people think of as hardcore action combat. The thing that has surprised me most is the animation locking. I hate it, as I do whenever I encounter it in an action game. It removes a key component of the action - reaction times - because if you've already started an action, you cannot react to the enemy until you've finished your action. I can't break out of an attack in order to block the enemy.

    As a result, every fight seems to boil down to the same thing: walk in, wait for the enemy to attack, then block/dodge, get off a counter, then wait for the next attack. Trying to go on the offensive just gets me killed due to animation locks.



    I'm hoping that as the game progresses and I unlock more stuff, I'll get more options for how to proceed in combat. I'm hoping other weapons won't suck so hard in terms of animations (im using battleaxe right now), maybe if I get a quicker weapon like a katana or daggers I'll be able to react quicker and the action will improve.

    I also need something ranged, some of the bigger enemies just have such a large radius on their attacks that it's impossible to dodge them properly, I have to instead make use of the short duration of invulnerability when dodging. But, that feels like cheating to me.
    Currently Playing: WAR RoR - Spitt rr7X Black Orc | Scrotling rr6X Squig Herder | Scabrous rr4X Shaman

  • ashiru_1978ashiru_1978 Member RarePosts: 818

    Sovrath said:


    I'm going to way disagree with you on that.

    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.


    I understand what you're saying about NPCs standing in the same spot, but that's more common about NPCs outside of settlements, especially ones involved in quests. While WoW or LOTRO are MMORPGs, I don't recall anyone complaining that NPCs involved with quests are sitting on the same spot. Remember the Defias Messenger quest in Westfall? Where you had to walk along a road from one end to the zone to the other looking for the NPC assuming someone hasn't killed them? That is the kind of stuff people found to be annoying.

    Skyrim had moving NPCs, but from what I remember, they were just a bunch of soldiers escorting a prisoner, they didn't bear any significance to the world.

    I think saying that NPCs not moving doesn't make for an authentic living world is:

    1. You're contradicting yourself when you said "you can roleplay how your character's face is on a wanted poster"

    2. It's like saying Star Trek 1966 or any Sci-Fi movies from the 60s is not authentic, because it doesn't have the CGI and overall visuals that today's Sci-FI movies have.

    I think part of what makes Morrowind feel alive is how outdated it looks and the technical limitations like static NPCs, which motivates the player to use their imagination. That's what makes older games and books so much cooler - you have to imagine some things, with new games, the graphics are so detailed that everything is already "imagined" for the player and what isn't present can be considered a limitation or lack of creativity on the developers' part. What's stopping Skyrim from being deeper gameplay-wise compared to Morrowind? The game engine became better through Oblivion and Fallout, so why is the game dumbed-down?

    Why did Morrowind have 27 skills and Skyrim only 16? Does that made Skyrim better or more streamlined? I think it just made it simpler and dumber. Same can be said about every new RPG in comparison to older ones - the newer ones just lack the depth that old ones did. The developers focus about 70-80% of their resources on visuals and not enough is left to build deep gameplay mechanics and replay value... Or is it that the game developers of today just lack the vision and imagination ... or is it that the player demographic statistics report that players enjoy simpler games so they don't feel overwhelmed or incompetent... or is it both?

    Why does a whole genre have to be degraded to a simple hack & slash with a simplistic inventory system just for the sales and revenue?

    Also, there are really no mods that can make Morrowind more alive than it really is. A player who has played through the vanilla game once, only needs a handful of mods:

    - MGE XE - for widescreen and distant land generation
    - MPC - for patching some bugs that the developers never did
    - Morrowind Rebirth - for adding new content, such as NPCs, enemies, quests, locations

    Visual mods hardly make the game more alive, in fact they are so bugged that they break immersion with the floating patches of grass and whatnot.





    ...


    I played through the intro, which took like 10 minutes, then I entered the world, talked to a few NPCs, saw how boring it felt, walked around, fought some enemies and decided the game is too boring for me. I don't see why someone should waste 10-20 hours on a game they don't like so they can have a "valid" opinion on a game. If I don't like the game from the start, it will never get better for me, and I certainly won't force myself to play it if I'm not having fun.

    Changing keybindings doesn't fix the bad UI on mouse and keyboard. I had no problem with the bindings as they were, except jump, which I quickly rebinded. I just don't have low enough standard to think Elden Ring is fun. If you have played RPGs for the past 15-20 years, you would see that the games actually become more simplified and dumbed down while 90% of the game files are simply for the graphics and nothing else. Games like Gothic 1, Enclave, Prince of Persia Sands of Time (not exactly an RPG) look pitiful by today's standards but offer so much more depth than games today. The paradigm has shifted:

    OLD GAMES:
    - bad graphics
    - deep gameplay

    NEW GAMES:
    - fancy graphics
    - shallow gameplay
  • TwistedSister77TwistedSister77 Member EpicPosts: 1,144
    I'm only a few hours in, plus i've not played any of the Souls games before, so it's been a bit of a rough start.


    I mean, i knew it was hardcore action combat, and i dont like action combat, so i knew it wouldn't be my cup of tea. But, I was hoping it would be educational! I've always wanted to try a Souls game, but the depressing setting always put me off.


    So, its good to experience something other people think of as hardcore action combat. The thing that has surprised me most is the animation locking. I hate it, as I do whenever I encounter it in an action game. It removes a key component of the action - reaction times - because if you've already started an action, you cannot react to the enemy until you've finished your action. I can't break out of an attack in order to block the enemy.

    As a result, every fight seems to boil down to the same thing: walk in, wait for the enemy to attack, then block/dodge, get off a counter, then wait for the next attack. Trying to go on the offensive just gets me killed due to animation locks.



    I'm hoping that as the game progresses and I unlock more stuff, I'll get more options for how to proceed in combat. I'm hoping other weapons won't suck so hard in terms of animations (im using battleaxe right now), maybe if I get a quicker weapon like a katana or daggers I'll be able to react quicker and the action will improve.

    I also need something ranged, some of the bigger enemies just have such a large radius on their attacks that it's impossible to dodge them properly, I have to instead make use of the short duration of invulnerability when dodging. But, that feels like cheating to me.
    I've seen a bunch of streamers play castor.  ZAP it from range (there are melee range spells too).
  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 32,933
    I understand what you're saying about NPCs standing in the same spot, but that's more common about NPCs outside of settlements, especially ones involved in quests. While WoW or LOTRO are MMORPGs, I don't recall anyone complaining that NPCs involved with quests are sitting on the same spot. Remember the Defias Messenger quest in Westfall? Where you had to walk along a road from one end to the zone to the other looking for the NPC assuming someone hasn't killed them? That is the kind of stuff people found to be annoying.

    Skyrim had moving NPCs, but from what I remember, they were just a bunch of soldiers escorting a prisoner, they didn't bear any significance to the world.

    I think saying that NPCs not moving doesn't make for an authentic living world is:

    1. You're contradicting yourself when you said "you can roleplay how your character's face is on a wanted poster"

    2. It's like saying Star Trek 1966 or any Sci-Fi movies from the 60s is not authentic, because it doesn't have the CGI and overall visuals that today's Sci-FI movies have.

    I think part of what makes Morrowind feel alive is how outdated it looks and the technical limitations like static NPCs, which motivates the player to use their imagination. That's what makes older games and books so much cooler - you have to imagine some things, with new games, the graphics are so detailed that everything is already "imagined" for the player and what isn't present can be considered a limitation or lack of creativity on the developers' part. What's stopping Skyrim from being deeper gameplay-wise compared to Morrowind? The game engine became better through Oblivion and Fallout, so why is the game dumbed-down?

    Why did Morrowind have 27 skills and Skyrim only 16? Does that made Skyrim better or more streamlined? I think it just made it simpler and dumber. Same can be said about every new RPG in comparison to older ones - the newer ones just lack the depth that old ones did. The developers focus about 70-80% of their resources on visuals and not enough is left to build deep gameplay mechanics and replay value... Or is it that the game developers of today just lack the vision and imagination ... or is it that the player demographic statistics report that players enjoy simpler games so they don't feel overwhelmed or incompetent... or is it both?

    Why does a whole genre have to be degraded to a simple hack & slash with a simplistic inventory system just for the sales and revenue?

    Also, there are really no mods that can make Morrowind more alive than it really is. A player who has played through the vanilla game once, only needs a handful of mods:

    - MGE XE - for widescreen and distant land generation
    - MPC - for patching some bugs that the developers never did
    - Morrowind Rebirth - for adding new content, such as NPCs, enemies, quests, locations

    Visual mods hardly make the game more alive, in fact they are so bugged that they break immersion with the floating patches of grass and whatnot.



    I don't really see what the contradiction is. I'm saying that "suddenly" you are an enemy to an entire faction. It's not presented in any way that seems anything other than ridiculous so one of the only ways is just to "role play" in your mind and assume that a wanted poster was put up with your name on it.

    Taking away skills doens't necessarily mean "dumber." You can have 1000 skills and that could be pretty ridiculous. I don't really like how Skyrim handled many of their skills but I preferred the more action combat over Morrowind's fake action combat.

    As far as npc's making a world feel alive, Skyrim has the two young lovers in Whiterun, one Battleborn the other Gretymane. You can hear them verbally attacking each other in the pub.

    But if you are quick you can discover that they secretly meet and I believe they are lovers.

    It's that type of stuff that makes a world feel alive.

    I would say that the more hack and slash combat makes the game feel more visceral. It's just much more exciting.

    But that's a taste thing.
    Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb." 

    Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w


    Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547

    Try the "Special Edition." 'Cause it's "Special." https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64878/?tab=description

    Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo 
  • TheDalaiBombaTheDalaiBomba Member EpicPosts: 1,493
    edited March 2022
    As a result, every fight seems to boil down to the same thing: walk in, wait for the enemy to attack, then block/dodge, get off a counter, then wait for the next attack. Trying to go on the offensive just gets me killed due to animation locks.
    This is how I've always felt about the Souls-like boss fights, too.  A lot of the optional bosses in ER aren't so bad, especially if you're properly leveled/equipped.  They actually feel more fun to me than the main boss fights where 90% of my inputs are strafing/backing and dodging or blocking only to stuff a few swings in as quickly as possible between boss attacks.  That didn't make them easy- I think it took me 6-7 tries to take down Leonine Misbegotten- but I felt like I was learning more each fight because it wasn't composed of mostly diving for my life and swinging 1-2 times when I see an attack animation that has a long recovery.
  • eoloeeoloe Member RarePosts: 864
    As a result, every fight seems to boil down to the same thing: walk in, wait for the enemy to attack, then block/dodge, get off a counter, then wait for the next attack. Trying to go on the offensive just gets me killed due to animation locks.
    This is how I've always felt about the Souls-like boss fights, too.  A lot of the optional bosses in ER aren't so bad, especially if you're properly leveled/equipped.  They actually feel more fun to me than the main boss fights where 90% of my inputs are strafing/backing and dodging or blocking only to stuff a few swings in as quickly as possible between boss attacks.  That didn't make them easy- I think it took me 6-7 tries to take down Leonine Misbegotten- but I felt like I was learning more each fight because it wasn't composed of mostly diving for my life and swinging 1-2 times when I see an attack animation that has a long recovery.

    It depends on what kind of enemy we are talking about. There are some utlra easy fights in which just bashing opponents staggers them to death. Sometimes, initiative is key.
    TheDalaiBombaKyleran
  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 32,933


    I finally watched a play through on this today....It literally felt just like watching someone play Dark Souls....Judging by the sales, that is what people want....An almost identical game to something we already have and just give it a new name and a new coat of paint....I was bored within 5 minutes...It's just too familiar....Also the player was one shotting alot of the enemies....I am guessing the trash is super easy and the bosses are hard?



    They only reason they are one shotting enemies is because they leveled very high and want people to see how "uber" they are.

    If you watch a regular player play You might get a better sense. It's also not really "same old" though the game plays along the same lines as a souls game. The Open world as well as the smaller details make the game feel differently.

    I will say that some of the more regular enemies can be a little stupid at times.

    Heck, becoming cursed and being transported across the map was a nice surprise.

    or let's say you decide to run from the tree guardian and try to hide in the nearby church. That will also lead to a nice bit of details.
    Theocritus
    Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb." 

    Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w


    Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547

    Try the "Special Edition." 'Cause it's "Special." https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64878/?tab=description

    Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo 
  • GinazGinaz Member RarePosts: 2,571
    edited March 2022
    I've never been a fan of Souls-like games before.  I think I have a TOTAL playing time of about 12 hours on Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1-3, Bloodborne, Sekiro, Surge 1 & 2 and a few other like games.  I now have over 120 hours in Elden Ring and I'm not even half finished.  So far, this has easily been my favourite game in the last 5 years.  It's still very hard but I don't get the feeling that I'm getting my dick punched all the time like I did with some of the others I've mentioned.  I've even re-installed DS3 and made it past the first noob boss after giving up and uninstalling a few years ago due to repeatedly dying for an hour to it.  Thinking of re-installing Sekiro and Jedi Fallen Order sometime in the future to see if I can get into them a bit more after playing Elden Ring.

    I'm playing on PC and while it's a lot better than other FromSoftware ports, it's not perfect.  I've had to fiddle with the settings a bit to get things to a point where I'm comfortable playing now.  There's still some issues with stuttering but thankfully it hasn't affected me too much.  I saw someone mention the movement on screen gives them motion sickness and I can definitely see how that can be a problem.  All these issues aside, I'm happy I've been able to play using K&M with few problems this time.

    I'll have to see what else comes out this year but I have a hard time seeing anything other than Elden Ring being my GOTY.
    Post edited by Ginaz on
    Sovrath

    Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?

    Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.

  • GinazGinaz Member RarePosts: 2,571
    edited March 2022
    templarga said:
    Sovrath said:
    templarga said:
    Its a solid game for the 30 minutes I got to play.

    Some games trigger my motion sickness. I can play all MMO's fine, Destiny 2, all Fallout and Elder Scrolls, Cyberpunk 2077, so many games are fine.

    Something about Dark Souls and Elden Rings triggers it within 30 minutes. I am not sure what it is but its nothing I can change. I tried every tweak you can imagine. I think its something inherent in the engine as other games on other engines do it too (All the Half Life games and the associated engine). 

    Its a great game and I wish I could play. By far one of the most beautiful games I have played.
    I know you said you tried every tweak but did you try altering the field of view? that seems to fix nausea for some people in certain games.
    Yeah, if its a setting, I tried it. FOV is one of my go to settings and turning off motion blur as well. Normally I am okay with 3rd person so I really cannot explain it. Just like with the other games I mentioned, I cannot figure it out. Its been this way since Half Life 2. I find it oddly funny a game like Destiny 2 or FO76 do not bother me at all.

    I'm not having this issue myself but I can understand if other people are.  After playing for the first hour or 2 I said to myself "I think some people might get motion sickness playing this".  I don't know if there's a fix for this but I wish developers in general could look at this issue and do something to fix it before they ship a game because as you said it's not a problem with every action game where your character moves around the screen a lot.

    Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?

    Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.

  • GinazGinaz Member RarePosts: 2,571
    Sovrath said:
    Holy shit, this game is great. However, I suck at souls games so I am 20 hours in and still can't be Magrit. I get destroyed when the dude busts him hammer out every time. I just don't get it

    Use the summons that appears on the right before you go in and use the Jelly Fish Ashes unless you have something better.

    Mimic Tear is my waifu, even after the nerf.
    Sovrath

    Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?

    Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.

  • UrdenUrden Member UncommonPosts: 51


    Enjoyed the read, and noticed you played it on consoles, but you really still should've mentioned the extremely poor PC port. It is so bad, it's worth mentioning.



    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.



    My pc ran it perfectly from day one. What are you talking about?
Sign In or Register to comment.