Kyle Zwetz – Google

There is one thing that you need to understand above all else before playing Dark Souls: You have to know if you are the kind of person who will enjoy playing Dark Souls. If you are not willing to put in the time and practice to learn how the game works, then this game probably is not for you. If you think that you should be able to kill challenging enemies in your first five tries, then this game is not for you. If you think that the game will be forgiving enough to give you a ton of checkpoints so you don’t have to redo hard areas if you die, this game is not for you. If you think that the game will tell you what your objective is and where you are supposed to go constantly, this game is not for you. If you are an individual who would like to tackle a well developed, very challenging game, and you are willing to learn how to play it, then by all means play this game.

Let’s establish this: the game is a masterpiece, and it’s near perfect. I’m a massive fan of the Soulsborne series, and this game was a great entry to it. Definitely one of the best games I have played recently. So why 4 stars? Well, there are lots of positives to this game. The open world elements are beautiful and impressive. It still has that Dark Souls combat that we all love, and there is a ton of cool weapons to find and use, especially with the addition of ashes of war. Some people think it has good story and lore (although I thought it was the worst story in the series, besides DS2). Multiplayer is the best it has ever been. Unfortunately, I find some major issues with how they executed parts of the game. Number one being bosses. Almost all of the mini bosses are reused throughout the game. When considering the size of the game, that isn’t that bad. However: the major bosses are horrible. Most of the bosses are super easy, gimmicky, or downright unfun. They lack the impactful and memorable design that I have come to expect from Fromsoft. Unfortunately, bosses are major highlight of Soulsborne games, so I was very disappointed to see such a shift in focus to the open world. Level design is also pretty bad. The “legacy dungeons” are supposed to feel like normal Dark Souls gameplay, but they are too small and straightforward to feel even remotely similar to the levels in previous entries. Besides dungeons, enemies in the open world are basically useless. The map could be void of all enemies except for dungeons and it would be played the exact same way. There is zero incentive to kill anything in the open world accept for mini bosses. This makes the game an absolute chore for those who don’t realize that dungeons are the only combat encounters that matter. The soundtrack isn’t my favorite. I prefer Bloodborne’s and DS3’s. Magic is still broken. The story is more ambiguous and confusing than previous games. Malenia is not well designed (yes I beat her, quickly too). The dragon fights are embarrassing following Midir. Look, I know I’m talking about a lot of negatives, but the game is still a Soulsborne game. It offers the same content we all love, and it definitely lives up to the hype. I’m just warning people who care about the details that I do that there are certain things the game is lacking. So I’m conclusion, Elden Ring is a beautiful game with an impressive size and a lot of content. Level and boss design were the main highlights of previous entries in the series, both of which have been dumbed down with a greater focus on open world. The story is a mess, and the soundtrack is only okay. It’s a great game, though, and it is definitely worth playing if you are a diehard fan of the series. I would not recommend this game if you are on the fence about previous entries in the series.