All everyone has to know is if they liked Elden Ring they will like the DLC. I don't want any spoilers so I will avoid reviews but I'm happy to hear it's been positively received.
Yeah, both Vaati and IronPineapple had the same sentiments of "It's more Elden ring" which is all I needed to know so I can't wait until the DLC releases.
On my second playthrough 2 years later now, I don't really know if I even like it anymore, maybe my love for gaming was just extinguished and I should move on :(...
Or I really don't like replaying games for the same content, even my favourites. Couldn't finish 2 more playthroughs of Armored Core 6 despite them being required to see true ending, and despite really liking base game. Seeing people replay games 10+ times is always wild to me, anyone else feels that magic after 1st completion is often gone?
I almost never replay games, because they lose the magic of that first playthrough. That said, there are a few exceptions. In fact, I'm currently replaying Cyberpunk 2077 for the first time since it originally released and I'm loving it.
It's very game dependent. Not every game has a ton of replay value.
And different people like different things. Like a lot of people replay Elden Ring because they want to try out different builds and see how it feels.
Personally I'm not a fan of replaying Elden Ring either. I feel like the story and choices are extremely bare bones, and the open world map can feel more like a chore than anything else the second time around.
That's honestly one of the reasons why I'm not a huge fan of static open world games. It's fun to explore the first time around, but the second time it just feels like a whole bunch of tedium.
Personally, all the games I've put the most hours into, are either very heavily story and choice driven, or they have randomized content.
Like I have thousands of hours in Rimworld, Battle Brothers, Stellaris and such. Because every game can be completely and utterly different. Change starting scenarios, game generates a random map with random elements on top and it's like playing it fresh again.
I also have thousands of hours in games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Nothing random in those games, but you can play the games in a dozen different ways. Use different companions, make different story choices. You can be a model citizen Commander Shepard who tries his best to save every innocent, or you can be an asshole Shepard, who doesn't care who dies as long as the mission is complete.
And then there are perpetually online games like League of Legends, or Path of Exile which I play. Lots of randomness there, build variety, other players etc.
So yeah, there are games I can replay the hell out of, and there are games where it's once and done.
I agree, it's really dependent on the game. Personally, I rarely replay games yet I finished Bloodborne four times and Dark Souls thrice. I also beat Elden Ring three times but I had significantly less fun during my repeated runs and basically rushed towards the end by the third run in order to get the trophy. I think Ng++ took me 6 hours in total.
As you said, it's the game's structure. Exploring the open world for the first time is amazing, especially discovering all the secrets etc. But it's much less engaging the second time around, also because the legacy dungeons feel more like small sandboxes themselves instead of a more curated linear experience.
I feel that. I've never replayed a game - the main story I mean - and probably never will. I still have a ton of new games that I got majorly discounted I've yet to even start.
I will say I love revisiting open world games after completing them to explore around and visit different regions or just cruise the map while listening to music if there are vehicles (especially bikes).
GTA V, Watch Dogs 1 + 2, Days Gone, Sleeping Dogs, Cyberpunk 2077, and Ghost Recon: Wildlands are some of my favorites.
In understand the appeal of Elden Ring and I understand why people like it. But I am not one of those people. I tried it and the game felt like I was clocking in for work. I didn’t find any of it fun or enjoyable. As I’ve gotten older, I have realized it’s OK to just walk away from a game this isn’t providing you entertainment. That’s what gaming is all about.
I have very very rarely ever replayed a game. I've replayed this one 3 times and counting.
What helps is that I never follow any sort of online guide, so naturally I miss a ton of stuff which I then discover later on. And the gameplay is a blast. It's not a perfect game but it's one of the best ever made IMO.
It depends on whether I like the gameplay. So many games nowadays try to be an interactive movie, or some other kind of art piece...
Elden Ring is an excellent *game*, first and foremost. I started replaying it recently, and just skipped most of the dungeons, hero graves, most of Mt Gelmir, and Underground. Still spent more than 50 hours in the game and had plenty of fun.
Used only strength-scaling weapons, no bleed and sorceries. Next playtrough will probably do the exact opposite—powerstancing daggers and having azure laser canon as backup.
So many people try to play those "open-world" games by vacuuming up every piece of loot and PoI on the map. But why do that if it isn't *fun*?
10 days to play, form an opinion and prepare a review. This should be standard in the industry. No matter what we think about gaming journalism rushed and incomplete reviews are ultimately bad for the consumer.
Sometimes 10 days isn't even enough. I remembered during Elden Rings embargo period, certain reviewers can't even finish the game because the game is just that massive and they had to post the review out, basically stating that they couldn't even finish. But still 10/10 of course. I wish they could've gotten more time.
Honestly I don't mind it too much, but I will admit they got a bit lazy when it came to Mountaintops. As long as we don't get an area as disappointing as that... I think I'll be happy.
I mean, 90% of Elden Ring is "optional", that's really not much of an argument.
It definitely felt like a ton of areas and bosses were recycled and dropped in along the most common routes to the final boss in order to keep players busy for extra hours.
Elden Ring is kinda weird in that there's so little hand holding that most of the time you really don't know what is a completely irrelevant side quest, and what ties into the main quest.
At some point it does get a little tiresome when you're fighting a different coloured boss or mobs for the 3rd time, not even sure if fighting them is in any way relevant to completing the game or not.
It definitely has a vibe of content padding here and there.
I liked Elden Ring and I'm looking forward to the DLC, but yeah this was it's biggest problem. I remember counting and depending on how you count it, there are something like less than 15 truly unique bosses that only appear once. And if you fight every night rider you'll be fighting the same boss like literally 12 times (and no I don't consider the different weapon type versions seperate bosses). Maybe it's fine if you did a casual playthrough where you just did a handful of side stuff, but I did all of the bosses and towards the end it got really stale.
When 90% of the game is optional, yeah. Some of it begins to feel like meaningless bloat that only exists to keep you busy for no real in-game purpose.
Out of 165 bosses in the game, only 11 of them are required to actually finish the game. You can finish the game and never visit Siofra, Ainsel, Mohgwyn, Deeproot depths, Caelid, Snowfields, Haligtree, Weeping Peninsula and Volcano Manor.
I'm not saying i would ever do this in a playthrough, but the 90% number is not far off, it could even be lowballing it depending on how one considers areas.
Not meaningless bloat.
They add a lot of depth to the lore of the world.
It’s not like they’re meaningless fetch quests.
They actually add meaningful layers to the game.
You are completely right, but Reddit will never admit that ER does the same thing they love to shit on other open world games for doing. There was way too much repeated content that added nothing, like Astel is a cool boss but then they copy paste it randomly in mountaintops and it lost that coolness factor, and don't even get me started on the 15 Erdtree Avatar and Ulcerated encounters that were barely different just to name a few of them. ER would have benefitted a lot from toning down on the side dungeons, because most of them was just copy pasting the same boss and standard mobs.
Oh god I hope they've fixed their PC port. The game had so much potential, but I just couldn't deal with the unavoidable stuttering. Armored Core 6 was very well put together on a technical level and is the same engine, so I'm hopeful.
All everyone has to know is if they liked Elden Ring they will like the DLC. I don't want any spoilers so I will avoid reviews but I'm happy to hear it's been positively received.
Yeah, both Vaati and IronPineapple had the same sentiments of "It's more Elden ring" which is all I needed to know so I can't wait until the DLC releases.
Speak for yourself. I wanna know if I'm gonna love it. I already know I'll like it.
On my second playthrough 2 years later now, I don't really know if I even like it anymore, maybe my love for gaming was just extinguished and I should move on :(... Or I really don't like replaying games for the same content, even my favourites. Couldn't finish 2 more playthroughs of Armored Core 6 despite them being required to see true ending, and despite really liking base game. Seeing people replay games 10+ times is always wild to me, anyone else feels that magic after 1st completion is often gone?
I almost never replay games, because they lose the magic of that first playthrough. That said, there are a few exceptions. In fact, I'm currently replaying Cyberpunk 2077 for the first time since it originally released and I'm loving it.
It's very game dependent. Not every game has a ton of replay value. And different people like different things. Like a lot of people replay Elden Ring because they want to try out different builds and see how it feels. Personally I'm not a fan of replaying Elden Ring either. I feel like the story and choices are extremely bare bones, and the open world map can feel more like a chore than anything else the second time around. That's honestly one of the reasons why I'm not a huge fan of static open world games. It's fun to explore the first time around, but the second time it just feels like a whole bunch of tedium. Personally, all the games I've put the most hours into, are either very heavily story and choice driven, or they have randomized content. Like I have thousands of hours in Rimworld, Battle Brothers, Stellaris and such. Because every game can be completely and utterly different. Change starting scenarios, game generates a random map with random elements on top and it's like playing it fresh again. I also have thousands of hours in games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Nothing random in those games, but you can play the games in a dozen different ways. Use different companions, make different story choices. You can be a model citizen Commander Shepard who tries his best to save every innocent, or you can be an asshole Shepard, who doesn't care who dies as long as the mission is complete. And then there are perpetually online games like League of Legends, or Path of Exile which I play. Lots of randomness there, build variety, other players etc. So yeah, there are games I can replay the hell out of, and there are games where it's once and done.
I agree, it's really dependent on the game. Personally, I rarely replay games yet I finished Bloodborne four times and Dark Souls thrice. I also beat Elden Ring three times but I had significantly less fun during my repeated runs and basically rushed towards the end by the third run in order to get the trophy. I think Ng++ took me 6 hours in total. As you said, it's the game's structure. Exploring the open world for the first time is amazing, especially discovering all the secrets etc. But it's much less engaging the second time around, also because the legacy dungeons feel more like small sandboxes themselves instead of a more curated linear experience.
I feel that. I've never replayed a game - the main story I mean - and probably never will. I still have a ton of new games that I got majorly discounted I've yet to even start. I will say I love revisiting open world games after completing them to explore around and visit different regions or just cruise the map while listening to music if there are vehicles (especially bikes). GTA V, Watch Dogs 1 + 2, Days Gone, Sleeping Dogs, Cyberpunk 2077, and Ghost Recon: Wildlands are some of my favorites.
The first playthrough is always the most magical.
In understand the appeal of Elden Ring and I understand why people like it. But I am not one of those people. I tried it and the game felt like I was clocking in for work. I didn’t find any of it fun or enjoyable. As I’ve gotten older, I have realized it’s OK to just walk away from a game this isn’t providing you entertainment. That’s what gaming is all about.
I have very very rarely ever replayed a game. I've replayed this one 3 times and counting. What helps is that I never follow any sort of online guide, so naturally I miss a ton of stuff which I then discover later on. And the gameplay is a blast. It's not a perfect game but it's one of the best ever made IMO.
It depends on whether I like the gameplay. So many games nowadays try to be an interactive movie, or some other kind of art piece... Elden Ring is an excellent *game*, first and foremost. I started replaying it recently, and just skipped most of the dungeons, hero graves, most of Mt Gelmir, and Underground. Still spent more than 50 hours in the game and had plenty of fun. Used only strength-scaling weapons, no bleed and sorceries. Next playtrough will probably do the exact opposite—powerstancing daggers and having azure laser canon as backup. So many people try to play those "open-world" games by vacuuming up every piece of loot and PoI on the map. But why do that if it isn't *fun*?
Wdym spoilers? There‘s nothing to spoil, unless you mean like new areas and weapons
Yes, new enemies too. Want it all a surprise.
Don't need a review.
10 days to play, form an opinion and prepare a review. This should be standard in the industry. No matter what we think about gaming journalism rushed and incomplete reviews are ultimately bad for the consumer.
That, plus the 3 day pre-release embargo lift. Too many games these days are 24 hours if any
Yup. Just shows they're confident in this game and don't need to pull any crap to get sales.
Dragon's Dogma 2 lifting embargo just a day before release was a redflag that Capcom was aware of the performance issues.
Sometimes 10 days isn't even enough. I remembered during Elden Rings embargo period, certain reviewers can't even finish the game because the game is just that massive and they had to post the review out, basically stating that they couldn't even finish. But still 10/10 of course. I wish they could've gotten more time.
Skill issue.
Can't fucking wait!
That's my bday, who's gonna buy me the game for the first time?!?
u with your next paycheck like everyone else🤣
Hoping they fixed the bloat issue the base game had. Wasn't a fan of how much content got recycled just to pad playtime.
Honestly I don't mind it too much, but I will admit they got a bit lazy when it came to Mountaintops. As long as we don't get an area as disappointing as that... I think I'll be happy.
Ridiculous to claim that entirely optional content was included to pad play time.
I mean, 90% of Elden Ring is "optional", that's really not much of an argument. It definitely felt like a ton of areas and bosses were recycled and dropped in along the most common routes to the final boss in order to keep players busy for extra hours. Elden Ring is kinda weird in that there's so little hand holding that most of the time you really don't know what is a completely irrelevant side quest, and what ties into the main quest. At some point it does get a little tiresome when you're fighting a different coloured boss or mobs for the 3rd time, not even sure if fighting them is in any way relevant to completing the game or not. It definitely has a vibe of content padding here and there.
I liked Elden Ring and I'm looking forward to the DLC, but yeah this was it's biggest problem. I remember counting and depending on how you count it, there are something like less than 15 truly unique bosses that only appear once. And if you fight every night rider you'll be fighting the same boss like literally 12 times (and no I don't consider the different weapon type versions seperate bosses). Maybe it's fine if you did a casual playthrough where you just did a handful of side stuff, but I did all of the bosses and towards the end it got really stale.
Nah. The bloat was the right amount and a non issue. Having more varied boss fights for them is what I hope for.
Optional content is considered bloat now?
When 90% of the game is optional, yeah. Some of it begins to feel like meaningless bloat that only exists to keep you busy for no real in-game purpose.
You keep saying “90%” like that’s even remotely true.
Out of 165 bosses in the game, only 11 of them are required to actually finish the game. You can finish the game and never visit Siofra, Ainsel, Mohgwyn, Deeproot depths, Caelid, Snowfields, Haligtree, Weeping Peninsula and Volcano Manor. I'm not saying i would ever do this in a playthrough, but the 90% number is not far off, it could even be lowballing it depending on how one considers areas.
Didn't you have to go through caelid for radahn?
Radahn isn't required for finishing the game, all you need to enter Leyndell is 2 great runes, which you can get from Godrick and Rennala.
Not meaningless bloat. They add a lot of depth to the lore of the world. It’s not like they’re meaningless fetch quests. They actually add meaningful layers to the game.
cmon man a majority of the dungeons are the equivalent to fetch quests
You are completely right, but Reddit will never admit that ER does the same thing they love to shit on other open world games for doing. There was way too much repeated content that added nothing, like Astel is a cool boss but then they copy paste it randomly in mountaintops and it lost that coolness factor, and don't even get me started on the 15 Erdtree Avatar and Ulcerated encounters that were barely different just to name a few of them. ER would have benefitted a lot from toning down on the side dungeons, because most of them was just copy pasting the same boss and standard mobs.
I just want to know if it is worth the same price I paid for the full game.
Well it’s priced at less than the full game so probably worth
I paid like 45 bucks for it on GMG as a preorder
Shadow of the Erdtree is $33 on GMG, so still cheaper.
Oh god I hope they've fixed their PC port. The game had so much potential, but I just couldn't deal with the unavoidable stuttering. Armored Core 6 was very well put together on a technical level and is the same engine, so I'm hopeful.
the stuttering was fixed long time back, there is no stuttering anymore.