Haudacow

120 hours in and I completed every trophy on PS5, and I’ve got to say what a journey. From the tree sentinel to the final boss there was no lack of awe or wonder I experienced. The world is an absolute joy to explore, and for what seems like the first time any play style is viable. I remember playing dark souls 1 for the first time and getting toxic applied to me (poison on steroids) and I thought huh that be cool if I could use that against. Yet that never happened in Dark souls 1,2 or 3. There were ways to do it, but they were kinda gimmicky. However Elden ring blows the roof off and says be creative! The toxic equivalent (scarlet rot) is more than just a oh shoot better watch my health mechanic, but now you can use it against any enemy if you want. My most memorable moment was when I killed a boss 2 seconds after he killed me just because he was poisoned. It just felt so damn good to beat him my way. When I say this game allows you absolute freedom I mean it. Magic is amazing though maybe busted. Bleed has never been better, there are so many little things you can do and yet I can never decide how I want to play this game. It really is up to the player how hard this game becomes. Sure people may complain about over leveling, but it’s a valid play style and this game supports it via exploration. If an enemy is too difficult then explore some and come back later. It’s your game, play it the way you want! Bosses can be wonky, (especially grab attacks since they usually 1 shot kill you). But those attacks are easy to avoid once you see them the first time. Yet I never once felt a boss was unfair. (Except the godskin duo screw those guys). If I walked into a room with two bosses or some tough enemies then I’d use an item to summon spirits to help. Again another mechanic added to give you the edge. Gone are the days of gank boss fights, the only thing keeping you from succeeding in this game is pride lol. To sum it up Elden ring isn’t a perfect game, but it is a great game. The overall gameplay loop is addicting. It’s fun to explore and to fight new enemies. It challenges you to get creative with different encounters and that’s fresh especially within todays gaming market.