Recommend we keep track of antics in a separate thread and maybe use spoiler tags as well just to be on the safe side.
I am still in the tutorial bit, but it already feels good.
I'm playing as Wretch because I want every new item I find to be something I want to try out.
Not taken any hits so far and just downed a tutorial boss, so my Souls reflexes seem to be working for me so far.
I also went with the wretch, for the same reason. I tend to always railroad myself into a strength/faith build but I want to just use whatever seems fun this time around.
So far I've just been wandering around the area from the network test, backstabbing everything and anything and trying to get the stats to equip the cool sword I found. You can totally play this as a stealth game at least in the open areas.
Getting used to this jump button might take a while.
So far I am finding the trash mob combat much easier than Souls, but I can tell already that this is probably not going to last long.
As you say, stealth is absolutely doable - I was able to clear a camp stealthily.
I'm already rocking some equipment and levelled up twice, so I'd say I am well away.
Overall impressions?
It feels like open world Dark Souls, which is exactly what I signed up for, with a smattering of other mechanics.
One change I really like is the posture-like mechanic, which makes using heavy attacks much more viable, rather than just spamming R1.
I will stop playing for today (it is 3:45 am where I am).
Already, very promising, with only minor stuttering encountered.
The stuttering is pretty bad for me, but my CPU is an ailing ryzen 2600 so that's to be expected. I still get mostly 60 fps after lowering some settings, but moving from one cell to another causes some pretty severe choppiness. I have a nice upgrade path with AM4 but I've been waiting for local prices for the 5800x to go down; it's hard to justify paying 400 euros when it's $250 elsewhere. Anyway, it's still perfectly enjoyable, and I don't regret not getting it for the PS5 instead, either. But maybe I'll fast-track that CPU upgrade.
Anyway I really love the open world aspect; so far the exploration and sense of adventure is way more satisfying than in your average open world romp. You can find little projects for yourself all over the place, even if it's something as simple as killing a particular enemy or trying to get to a specific point.
Edit: oh, and the mounted controls are great, I half expected to hate mounted combat because I always find it really fiddly even in games that focus on it like Mount & Blade, but it just does exactly what you want it to do
It's really good. I'm finding it hard to focus on work today because I just want to be playing it again.
I haven’t had an eight-hour video game day in a long time, but I did today. Elden Ring is engrossing. It feels like Dark Souls crossed with Breath of the Wild, an enormous open world that’s constantly compelling you to go to the next landmark (and I had the exact same moment as in Zelda where I realized how big the map truly is) but with the deeper combat of DS3 and Bloodborne. It actually maybe feels a little better than those games, a little more responsive and weighty, but as a wretch I spent most of the time using a stupid club, so I’ll have reserve judgement until I’ve got a bigger arsenal. Dodging feels as good as it ever has. I don’t really know what poise is yet.
At this point it seems like I’ve ridden past more stunningly beautiful locations than I’ve explored. I’m currently stuck at Margit, who is crushingly difficult but also fair and fun. His moves are well-telegraphed, but you have to dodge perfectly, and he mixes up his combos unpredictably. I can get to his second phase most of the time but only last a few seconds after that. I should probably level up and come back, and that’s okay because I’ve already found like three totally different paths I could try. I also managed to kill a Mad Pumpkin Head a few NPC invaders, and I found good old Patches in a cave. I may have fought some other things but I can’t remember and am afraid to look it up for seeing spoilers.
Atmospherically it feels very much a From game if maybe a little less mysterious and a tad verbose, but I think once I get my bearings with the lore that might change. What little I’ve seen has still been wildly imaginative, and the pictures in the loading screens of things I haven’t seen yet are tantalizing.
On PS5 in performance mode it runs fine; not a solid 60 FPS by any means but way better than Bloodborne, and I haven’t noticed any stuttering. The quality mode is pretty jerky, though, and it didn’t look noticeably better to me.
I mean, there was really no way I wasn’t going to love Elden Ring, but I can already tell that it’s one of those rare, special games that burrows into your brain and lays eggs, and I suspect they’ll be hatching in there for a while.
Well, I am currently at around level 20, I have had my ass handed to me numerous times by Tree Sentinel and Margit (got him down to around 20% health a few times though, so it's within reach.
I have also met the same guy as Aja, only 1 NPC invader so far though.
My Wretch is now rocking a +3 greatsword and a great shield with 87% protection, plus some armour bits I managed to loot from corpses.
I also got transported to a really hostile area by a chest which was trapped, and that was not fun to escape from (though the place itself is awesome, if terrifying).
Now I am in some kind of subterranean city I found by descending an elevator in the middle of some woods.
Is anyone else using a notepad to keep track of quests and stuff? Folks on twitter recommended it and I'm finding it helpful. Helped me remember to snap my fingers when I hear a wolf howl in the Mistwood and go back and talk to Kenneth Haight after clearing out his castle.
I like that there's quests but the game expects you to PAY ATTENTION instead of just giving you quest markers to follow and littering the map with icons.
Yeah, I may start doing that, as I suspect in true FromSoft style, it will be easy to miss a lot of stuff.
How exactly do I snap fingers - is it a prompt?
The Sekiro-esque posture mechanic is for me the most meaningful mechanical difference from the Souls games.
100% subverts the standard tactic of R1 spamming in favour of mixing up attacks, which has an amazing impact on the way combat feels.
I just bought the game myself. Gonna play it through Proton, cuz I'm a goddamn NERD!
I dunno how I let this pass me by for so long. When I first saw the announcement trailers, I was just "...neat." Nothing more. Never really watched any of the gameplay videos. It was just something I knew was coming out, but didn't pay much attention to.
Then I started seeing the reviews pop up, watched some videos in response, and...
...wow. It's open world Dark Souls. How could I NOT play it?
So here I am, playing it. And it is good.
Yeah I don't think I watched any trailers beyond the announcement trailer either. Mostly because I thought I was all soul'd out and wasn't gonna play it, but I'm glad I went in as blind as I could.
It's a gesture. Don't worry, you learn it from the person who tells you you need to do it.Originally Posted by faetal
btw is anyone else not able to touch bloodstains? When I interact with them nothing happens. I see the regular white ghosts of other players, but no death ghosts. This is on PS5. :/
Bloodstains don't work for most people at the moment.
I've managed to get them to work a couple of times, but for the most part, they're dead for me too.
Has there ever been a situation where having a giant crab around ended up being a good thing?
At least they are easy to stagger.
Yeah, well, they're still buttholes.
There's giant lobsters too?
I've just started it on the PS4, as my pc is a little underwhelming, and PS5's are like hens teeth. It runs suprisingly smoothly, better than I expected tbh. Currently on the first area, seems really good, but very hard for me so I guess I have to " git gud".
Ok, Margit is dead as fuck finally.
On to Stormveil castle.
[EDIT] The art direction in this game is INSANE. This is the game to definitively cut off any "games aren't art" conversation. It's like playing in a fantasy painting.
Last edited by faetal; 27th Feb 2022 at 22:23.
Dinner?
I wandered south to Morne Castle and spent all evening trying to kill the boss there. I finally got him fair and square, and I’m kinda proud of the performance.
Without getting too spoilery, he’s super aggressive and barely ever stops attacking, but he staggers easily and doesn’t have a ton of health, so even though it took me a little over an hour, I was eager to keep trying and improve. At the start I was getting wrecked within seconds and by at the end I only used a single flask. FromSoft is getting incredibly skilled in their boss design; the ones I’ve seen so far have the focus and directness of Sekiro but with the varied approachability of Dark Souls. I have a sense that if I had decided to try a different method I could’ve potentially made this fight much easier, and that’s also a good thing for anyone who doesn’t want to have to learn the dodge timings. Here’s hoping there aren’t too many Gaping Dragon style flailers since those are always the most frustrating.
In other news, souls are pretty scarce so I haven’t leveled up much and none of my weapons are higher than +1. I’ve used no spirits or spells or incantations and I haven’t crafted anything yet, so it sorta feels like I should hunker down and delve into some of these systems.
That video was satisfying - nice.
I've found that while runes are scarce via defeating enemies, the useable rune item drops are far higher, so you can usually pop some golden runes if you need to buy something or level up in a pinch. I have yet to run out of them.
well after a couple of false starts I ended up with the Prisoner, which I realised is based on the Man in the Iron Mask?
Anyway, so battle mage basically, found some place near giant construction ogres with poison plants that move. Fuck that.
But then, stairs down! Pumpkin mans, big one.
Did me some magic and that guy=history
I got more spells as a result, good times.
And that's how you live a full life, people.
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