gbanas92

@Ralizah When I first started Elden Ring, I had planned on going back to the rest of their stuff, but I think I might've scared myself out of doing it now, even though I could wind up liking DSIII so much. Especially because I stubbornly wouldn't let myself play it without DS1 and 2 first and I do noooooot wanna do that haha.

Yeah, Caelid, I just....one enemy to the next was a coin toss if you were gonna be way over-leveled or be so underpowered it'd take ages to kill anything. The entire region was just so bizarre as far as figuring out the point in the game they wanted you to be there. I did quite like the way statting and upgrading weapons worked. I found it a lot easier to upgrade many weapons instead of feeling like i had to hoard everything until I knew I wanted to upgrade a specific weapon like in Bloodborne. The open-world meant you could get your hands on a lot more material, so that's one thing I did appreciate at least.

@SplooshDmg Yeah the interconnectedness is just so interesting. WHich, sure, Elden Ring does that still, both in the smaller self-contained areas, and with gaining access to new areas in the open world, but yeah, most of my favorite elements from this wouldn't have been out of place in their older games from a level design standpoint!

@Northern_munkey It's still insane to me that the game's gone this long without a 60 FPS upgrade, at this are they just gonna wait until doing a full remake of it? Not that I really think it needs one, but I mean, I would definitely play it haha. And for sure, those lower areas gave me some Bloodborne vibes. Some of the boss fights down there did too!

@JSnow2 torture chamber games hahahahaha

@NEStalgia For me, I was hoping Elden Ring was gonna be the one to make me interested in playing all of FromSoft's stuff, and it just didn't really happen. It cooled my interest in going back to their other stuff if anything. Bloodborne might wind up being a fluke for me in just how much I loved it!

@Ramb I was actually dreading the comments section to this initially, but everything's been surprisingly engaging. Lots of civil disagreement, which is exactly why I would have wanted to write something like this in the first place. It's always fun to engage with dissenting opinions, just so long as they're not mean-spirited haha. Plus what would be the fun in everyone just having an identical opinion!

It sounds to me like you ARE considering giving Bloodborne a go! I support you! Go for it haha. No harm in trying if you actually wanna do it! Plus, if you don't like it as quickly as DSIII, then you won't lose much time from doing it either!

@Andee I let 7 years pass in between Bloodborne attempts. Just let an entire console generation pass in between trying it! haha

@berte Haha yeah! I wasn't really struggling to play the game the first time I picked it up so much as just not really enjoying it. I fully expected when I put it down that first time, I would never be playing it ever again. All it took was to wait almost a decade before trying again to enjoy it haha.

@ErrantRob Hmmm, would adding more content to it make it a better game though? I don't know that I think it would. Caelid felt like a choppy mess, but everything else in the game felt complete to me. I think I would have wanted less of the game to like it more if anything, not more! Not to say that was necessarily your opinion since you were mentioning the Subreddit, but still!

@Shakybeeves Hahaha, glad you got enjoyment from their other stuff at least! Even if we appear to have had identical thoughts on Elden Ring. Send me the link to the vid! I wanna watch!

@Ralizah Hahaha, Journey Abzu, and The Last Of Us represent some of my favorites funnily enough! And Bloodborne now I think, and then I also felt the opposite with Elden Ring. We might be polar opposites with games I think haha!

@gdog989 I can't even being to count the number of times I got 1-shot out of nowhere, sometimes ever from attacks that I had already taken with little to no trouble sometimes within the same encounter haha. Absolute madness! Also agreed on the skyboxes, the underground areas especially, the cosmic skybox on the cave ceiling, in particular, is one of the prettiest I think I've ever seen!

@kyleforrester87 Yes, definitely gorgeous! The art direction is incredible. That riverbed area, with the stars on the cave ceiling area? Absolute perfection!

@TeapotBuddha Yeah I started the game with a brutish strength build, stick to a similar vibe to how I played Bloodborne, and shifted away from that to Dex and Magic pretty early into the game though. Things got much easier, though the fun factor never really changed haha.

@Vriess Honestly, I don't think I've ever had to cheese things in a game as much as I have with Elden Ring haha. It's surprisingly open to exploit in that respect. Not everything of course, but there were quite a few moments where I just looked up cheeses to see if there were any, and almost every time there sure were haha

@EverydayRobot Mercifully no, I think Bloodborne might have been the only FromSoft game that handled health potions like that. One of the worst elements of that whole game!

@Teddie-bear Funnily, I actually love Control haha. One of my favorite games of the last gen! Can absolutely understand that sentiment and feeling of disappointment though!

@Constable_What Hmmm, curious how you felt about the first Horizon? I never picked up Forbidden West, but I felt the way you feel about the second one with the first one haha. Did you really enjoy the first one?

@SplooshDmg I think I'd tend to agree with you! Liurnia was definitely the peak of my enjoyment, especially Raya Lucaria!

@pyrrhic_victory Weapon degradation, I'm out!

@Colour I can't tell you the number of times people have told me that at this point haha. I should legally just change my name to that! Definitely agreed that Bloodborne is very different though! From's games get compared to one another in a way a lot of other developers don't really get, and sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn't, but yeah, definitely different experience with those two for sure!

@Northern_munkey that could just stem from my lack of experience with the rest of their stuff, Bloodborne's the only other one I put enough time into to use as a comparison, so something that might more overtly feel like a Souls' game just wound up feeling like Bloodborne to me!

@johncalmc okay, the floor is closed 🤣

@Shepherd_Tallon I didn't dislike every boss fight, but I liked so many fewer of them than I was expecting. I did LOVE the Astel fight though! Probably gonna remember that one in the same breath as many of the Bloodborne bosses years from now!

@HeeHo So you're specifically saying I should go to Twitter right now, and just shout about Elden Ring?! Okay, it's bold and I wouldn't think to do that, but let's try it!

@johncalmc The floor is yours. Let's get spicy!

@cuttlefishjones Approachability was part of why I opted for this after Bloodborne instead of going to one of the Souls' games. Figured it would be a better-optimized version of the older games, taking lessons they had learned from all those prior design experiences! After beating it though, I'm thinking I might have been better off going to one of the older ones first haha.

@CynicalGamer There were moments within Elden Ring that felt that way too, which was the stuff I liked most. Raya Lucaria just basically felt like a chunk of Bloodborne plopped into the middle of the ER. More vertical, claustrophobic, and self-contained. And it was easily my favorite part of the game haha. There were spots of the game here and there that felt like that, but the open-world areas in between all of those I wasn't in love with.

@Gloamin Nah, they have to make Déraciné 2 first! Thennnn they can make Armored Core! 🤣

@TheArt Yeah, the chalice dungeons do definitely lean into that repetition factor! They annoyed me less there when I saw a boss pop up an extra time, probably just because the chalice dungeons weren't something you could just stumble upon while exploring the world. You had to make a conscious decision to visit them, so I think that brought with it an awareness that I could see a boss I'd fought previously. As opposed to just stumbling up a cave while wandering and then finding that the "reward" at the end is just a boss I'd killed 8 times previously in other caves.

@TallBlondeTexan Definitely agreed on the pricepoint haha. Definitely hard to argue the game doesn't give you your money's worth. So so so much to explore and find across that massive map. A lot of it really interesting no less!

@add286 The repeated bosses for sure were a problem for me too! I understand why they did it, but it definitely sped up the rate at which playing through the game would start to get on my nerves! Definitely agreed on build flexibility. It's such an impressively malleable game for just how many ways you can approach a given situation!

@Kanji-Tatsumi Definitely agreed about Bloodborne! I loved practically everything about it to a much greater degree

@BeerIsAwesome More often than not games with reputations like that for me usually do live up to the hype, but I know that feeling of disappointment too for sure. It can be so disheartening! Like, "what am I not seeing that absolutely everyone else is?"

@PenguinLtd For real! Without summons for the majority of the boss fights...hoo boy. Things would have been so much worse haha. Thankfully they're integrated so well into the game!

This is so above and beyond what I was expecting from the headline! sign me all the way up for this! looks surprisingly excellent!

@AnnetteM Yeah that sounds about right. Back in the old days of EA Big! But yeah, definitely not a cover image that screams simulation racer haha

I used to love Mototrax so much back in the day, haven't played I for years now though. Let me know if you do pick it up at some point!

@GusBH You can turn that off, so turning is entirely done with the left stick still, for what that's worth!

@AnnetteM Yeah, I used to play split-screen Superfly with my dad all the time. And my personal fav, MTX Mototrax! FreekStyle I have heard of, but I never played it myself. I do still remember the box art though haha

@BoldAndBrash Yesssss!!!
@AnnetteM I loved untamed back in the day! And Unleashed. I probably spent more time with the standalone MX games though. Superfly I think one of them was called? Regular ol' vanilla MX Unleashed was the first one I bought I think?

@RocketRaja

@MonkeyGibs Never say never, but it's going to need a lotttttttt of patches!

@AnnetteM Sadly I would keep waiting I was hopeful! I want a good motocross game!

@get2sammyb Yeah, absolutely wild there hasn't been something trying this idea out! The mix of first and third-person sounds really cool too!

@Gbarsotini Oh hey, I reviewed Lego Builders too actually haha. They're both excellent! Can't really go wrong with either one!

@slips666 Yeah the number system can get reallllly complicated honestly haha. Cuz one game compared to one wildly different game could make the scores look completely ridiculous, whereas comparing it to a similar style game might not look right. And that's to say nothing of the individual experience of the reviewer too. Just an eye-watering number of variables haha

@Mostik That's what I was saying with @SoulChimera too! They had an open pre-order for a bit that just ended recently. It seems to be popular enough that it might get another physical release at some point though!

@TeapotBuddha The narrative delivery method is amazing! Actually reminds me of the creative way my fav game (Kentucky Route Zero) did character development. Even dialogue options you don't pick in that game help to inform who the characters represent in that game, and getting to see items come with you year to year gave me similar vibes!

@Titntin @L_Bosch I couldn't resist!

@R1spam Florence is excellent! One of my fav mobile games!

@SoulChimera They've started distributing some titles through Amazon I know, so who knows, it might wind up there eventually! I haven't bought anything from them for a while either though. I think Transistor on PS4 might've been the last one? That or Thumper

@SoulChimera I was tempted to scoop up the Physical PS5 one, but I waited too long to decide, and then the pre-order window closed. I shoulda done it! Hopefully, it'll get distributed again at some point, so I can rectify my mistake haha

Glad to see it getting all this love in the comments so far too! It's such a great game

@olwakachangchang At least for now, yeah. I could see it finding its way to disc at some point though. With smaller games like this, you can never tell when they might get a disc release.

@Apfelschteiner Yeah I think the cost of entry is a major obstacle considering just how much content there is with the game, $20 is steeeeeep

@Reeneman It sure does! And it looks phenomenal!

@riceNpea I think it's tomorrow everywhere? I've only seen the one date anywhere so far, so I believe so. Pricing won't be in dollars of course haha

@KahnArtizt07 Oooo, yeah definitely! That would be a really great fit too!

@Uncharted2007 there might have wound up being one track somewhere, but I don't recall ever actually seeing it. I think this might be a first!

Oh wow, I had no idea this was even a thing, I'd been thinking about how much I wanted to play Outrun recently too, this is perfect!

@RainbowGazelle @Uncharted2007 It's definitely possible. I know the first one had a disc copy come out about a month after it was released digitally in the states, cuz that's when I bought it. Hopefully, they'll release this one that way too!

@Robbirtles @lacerz That actually just started happening to mine. No problems with it, but now all at once, anytime I take it off, my forehead is covered in a whole bunch of those flakes

@SlySnake0407 Not really, its almost entirely instrumental, but once in a while, there are some hummed melodies. Maybe 2 or 3 instances tops where there's what you could consider vocals?

@Titntin Definitely worth your time as a one-sitting to complete type game!

@Amnesiac There are some chunks that prioritize melodies still, but the mechanics definitely function more where they just wanna get you in the groove. A lot of the tracks are the equivalent of people jamming, so those grooves are verrry important haha

@sketchturner Make sure you have a lottttt of free time if you wanna use some of these rules hahaha

@Deljo Hey, we try. It'd be too spicy to always play Cribbage. Gotta mix it up sometimes!

@Topov81 You know, I completely forgot about those Knowledge is Power games! Haven't thought about those in a lonnnnng time!

@riceNpea I mean, if you clicked on an article about UNO expecting something profound, I don't know what to tell you haha

@darkswabber It's definitely hilarious! If that's the kinda humor you like, then I think it's definitely still worth it. It doesn't play well, but it's only a few hours, so if it's the kind of humor that's up your alley, which it sounds like it is, then I think the gameplay's honestly worth suffering through haha

@HotGoomba Hahaha, the dialogue during that specific minigame was particularly annoying for me too actually. yeah a more traditional narrative game (even like the Telltale ones they've had) would have worked better I think, cuz wow did I love the writing! It's been a while since a script made me laugh as much as this one did!

@AndrehF Sam & Max themselves are definitely still worth it haha. Sales the right call though I think.

Yeah, I'd like to think PSVR 2 means at least a few of the issues would have been solved!

@nessisonett Now that right there. That's a big brain move

@3MonthBeef "Not enough gameplay" by no means implies that any game without gameplay is devoid of merit. Hell, many (or most even) of my favorite games could hardly be described as having traditional gameplay. It was used very deliberately in this review because the game has many brief flashes of moments with more traditional gameplay, and they're some of the brightest moments in the entire experience. It's criticism because it left me wanting more of those opportunities. Under some circumstances, sure that can mean "they gave me enough but left me wanting more," but in this case actually meant "I wanted more but don't feel that I'd gotten my initial fill." Which is why it stands as the biggest critique in the review. It feels like the promise of something more mechanically that never coalesces to a degree I was hoping for. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy playing the game, I downright loved the music gameplay, which is why the huge lulls between them caused a problem in this instance. A 7 is by no means a bad score, it's a game I enjoyed playing thoroughly.

@Pixelated I would be so on board for them doing terrorist hunt well again. The siege T-hunt is not good haha. If they can capture the magic from the older games, I would buy it in a second!

@frankmcma The multiplayer component and single play are the same, just with slightly more or less to do with objectives based on squad size. The "story" stuff is basically just a bunch of codex entries and 4 or 5 cutscenes. But solo is really easy to do on the lowest difficulty levels. Although I can't say how fun it'll be long term haha.

@Alan_cartridge_ Yeah, it's absolutely got its moments, but it's pretty rigid in how it wants you to approach. Which is definitely disappointing given how antithetical that is to Siege! I know that's against real people instead of AI, so of course it's more dynamic, but still. It's night and day!

@UltimateOtaku91 I would probably place it somewhere in between those 2, so it's very much of the same level haha

@Integrity I actually enjoyed it more than I was expecting to honestly haha. It's not the greatest thing in the world, but it definitely has its moments!

@nessisonett Yeah something like...a year ago? He got switched over to an incendiary grenade launcher! And his turret just became his primary weapon instead!

@get2sammyb Woah woah woah, it's on Gamepass?!?!?!? /s

@Northern_munkey It was not, and it was said in a jesting tone...

@Amnesiac That series was unfortunately shelved earlier in the year. I still miss it! Main menu loops have really gotten great over the last few years though, for real! I still spin the Outer Worlds and Borderlands 3 menu themes pretty often, and I haven't really played either of those games haha.

@Integrity Definitely agreed. Ashley Barrett has got to have one of my fav voices. Ever!

@MatthewJP Control was on the 2019 list 😉 . For the PS4 version though haha

@Jango-Forest Haha, I hope you do like it! I love Arkane's stuff!

@Loftimus Well, now I'm rescinding my invite! Kena is actually on my wishlist though

@Northern_munkey Whatttt, but this comments section has been 100% people in agreement about these selections! hahaha

@Akimi That game awards announcement was verrrry exciting haha. Couldn't believe it!!!!

@Jango-Forest IF you don't normally like shooters, Arkane's games are definitely a better way to experience to genre. There's a lot of stuff around the shooting you can do that would otherwise not be there on shooters from other devs, but it is still definitely a shooter, so you might still come away from it without liking it haha

@Mostik After Control's last DLC, those 2 games are VERY connected so that could be fun to see too!

@Juanalf Hades I didn't touch till the Playstation releases so that was brand new for me. Likewise Synth Riders. Alan Wake and Doom though...no comment lol

@Deadlyblack I really didn't like Doom 3 back in the day, but I LOVED playing through it now in VR haha. You might get a lot out of it!

@dBackLash The narrative and world-building elements definitely do more of the heavy lifting than they did this first time I played it haha

@kingbreww Yeah that's why the bit where I mention the setting being one of my all-time favorite gaming locations is important. Cuz ultimately, it is still a 10-year-old game haha.

@AFCC 🤣

@The_Pixel_King Tell me when you get it and beat it! I need people to talk about that game with haha

@The_Pixel_King KR0 is my #1 I don't wanna set you up for too high of an expectation, but it's so hard to not to call it the greatest thing I've ever played haha. Never played a game quite like it, and it's just absolutely PERFECT!!!! It's usually a tricky game to recommend because it's so unique, but like you said! Similar taste! Definitely grab it!

@The_Pixel_King Inside and Unfinished Swan for me as well big time! Those 2 and Kentucky Route Zero are probably my favorite indies of all time honestly. Great stuff!

Also great list @themightyant (and @The_Pixel_King )

And a few more choice selections from me, for you @Dr-M ! Hope you like 'em!

-Far From Noise
-Unravel
-Gris
-What Remains of Edith Finch
-The Unfinished Swan (one of my all time favs!)
-Coffee Talk
-Untitled Goose Game
-Oxenfree

@Iver I'm sure it has to have been a thing before, but I don't think I can think of any. Just the remaster of old game type things where you can toggle between the original and new versions of games. But other than that, I dunno!

@Iver the max setting, it's basically completely devoid of pixelation outside the pause menu! And you can crank it up to be REALLY chunky pixels in the other direction too!

@thefourfoldroot For real. You can't really hide or cower from it in the same way when it does get to you. Close your eyes, okay but you can still hear it, and by the time you try n pull the headphones out annnnnd cover your eyes, you're already waist-deep in discomfort!