After two years I finally gave this game a chance, and wow. This game is pure cinema, one of my favourite games of all time for sure. Stunning visuals (it’s a CRIME that this game does not have a photo mode!), cinematic boss fights and incredible, rich lore. Lots of challenging and fun bosses. What I love about Elden Ring is that the game is as hard, or as easy as you want it to be. For example at the very start of the game just behind the starting area you can get one of the most powerful weapons in the game that can carry you through an entire playthrough. You just have to look for it. This game seriously rewards exploration.
If a boss is demolishing you, you can easily just put it aside, explore and level up, tweak your build and come back later to fight them easier.
Now for the DLC…I honestly have very mixed opinions on it. Most of the bosses are fair and balanced, Rellana is a personal favourite of mine— however I really did not enjoy Commander Gaius (who is basically required if you want to level up your Scadutree Blessing) since he has broken hit boxes, unpredictable moves and is generally just a pain to fight. Putrescent Knight is another boss I had issues with, however this might just be me. Consort Radahn I feel like is a very fair fight, but in 2nd phase he is a pain. The thing I hate most about the DLC however, is the verticality of the map. On my first playthrough it was genuinely becoming so tedious figuring out where to go that it almost put me off playing it altogether. I was glued to a guide for most of the DLC, and I really don’t like having to do that. I didn’t have to do this for base game. The Realm of Shadow map is absolutely gorgeous though, if not a bit empty. The finger ruins take up almost half the map but there’s nothing there except for horn in the middle you have to use which grants you a talisman. It is also used for a quest.
Overall, I’d give the base game a 10/10, and the DLC a solid 8/10. I’ve platinumed the game and I’m very excited to see where FromSoftware go next.