Why Elden Ring Is One Of The Best Games Ever 

What was your experience with Elden Ring? I'd love to know. There's no discussion of Invasions in this video as I honestly didn't enjoy getting slapped around 1v3. Thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next one. Use POGDOWNWARD16 for up to 16 FREE MEALS + 3 surprise gifts across 6 HelloFresh Boxes, plus free shipping at strms.net/DownwardHelloFresh #Ad #HelloFreshPics TIMESTAMPS 0:01 Introduction 0:23 Part 1: World Design 11:35 Advertisement 12:39 End of Advertisement 19:37 Part 2: Balance, Bosses & Combat 29:50 Conclusion

I am 73 and just still enjoy gaming. What I like most about Elden Ring is how accessible it is to all play styles. You can use summons or you can go it solo 100%. You can totally immerse yourself totally offline or you can put up with invasions. I am at the last boss and it has been a totally enjoyable experience for me. Last time I noticed, I had 300 plus hours in the game and no regrets. Not sure I will do a game+ but certainly will do any DLCs if/as they come out.

Dude. As a longtime from software veteran, this game blew my mind. i had the frame of mind, that a game like this should not work. "Dark souls meets open world? 2 conflicting elements, im worried now", i was thinking, but it turns out i was SO WRONG. This game is bafflingly good. I was at around 160 hours by the time i beat the fire giant, and i was like, wow, what a shitty final boss. And then BAM. i find the Haligtree dungeon, and wrap up millicents questline, cementing her as my fav From npc. I found the crumbling faraam azula, and i realized that you can hit left or right on the d pad at the rold lift to select a different medallion key. Then the ash capital, and while im exploring that, i found the sewers. Then the found the area under the sewers. Then a secret area. Then a secret area below that. Then a secret area below the secret area thats part of the secret area. Took 260 hours to complete the game. I explored everywhere, and checked every nook and cranny. And im still finding shit i missed. Damn, elden ring is something else.

I was talking with a buddy, I said... if there wasn't everything on the internet already... particularly utube, this would be a ten year game and you would never figure everything out. For 60 bucks, hands down the best game so far in '22 and for me the best game on next Gen consoles to date. And probably for a long time to come.

What a game. Most jaw dropping moments in terms of scale. - I held off Leyndell thinking it would be the end. Discovering that this was just a gateway on the map was amazing. - Thinking Nokrom and Siofra River was everything underground then stumbling across Nokstella, Lake of Rot into Astel. Just out of this world

My play through was 120 hours - I explored every region and beat every Demigod before facing the final boss. BotW was my favorite game of all time, but Elden Ring's taken the crown. Its truly the greatest Open World game ever made, and will be remembered as a benchmark in gaming history.

I am over 220 hours. No playthroughs, no hints, exploring everything on my own. Finding paths on my own, builds on my own. My map is packed with dungeons, towers, buildings, ruins. This is the most rewarding game I have ever played. For sure in my top 3 ever. Mass Effect level of excellence. I am still finding new areas lol.

This game is simply incredible, the fact that this was made in the same time as a PoS like BF2042 speaks volumes to how the industry is.

The moments that stick out the most to me? My jaw was on the floor when the serpent turned its back and revealed Rykard's face. Radahn's meteor attack is a huge spectacle, and the best transition to the next phase in a boss fight. Morgott staining the thrones with his cursed blood, and the shame and anger he has for doing it. Realizing the Fire Giant is the very last of his kind, surrounded by the corpses of his kin. That and the sacrifice of his own flesh to become an avatar of his god. And Godfrey, deciding to fight in earnest, slaughtering his own animal companion and tossing his axe away, only to bust out some insane wrestling moves.

One point you absolutely nailed was at the end, when you said you felt empty and didn't want to keep playing after you've done and tried everything in your first playthrough. I suspected that I might feel the same so I stuck to my original build for the whole game and only respecced twice or so to make tiny adjustments. Now (after about 200 hours) I'm done with my first playthrough and I still feel motivated to have a go at it again but with a completely different setup, different weapons and all.

One of the most perfect imperfect adventures a game took me on. Its like playing Zelda Ocarina of Time for grown ups 20 years later or being a central character of a LotR/GoT story 180 hours in, 20/10 would recommend

U put it perfectly. After 150 hours in, in NG+3. I want to stop, because each additional play through is me just trying to recapture the feeling that I was playing one of the best games ever made I had on my first play through. I felt almost depressed when I finished, knowing the journey was over. But what a journey. Well done From.

Legit this is the fantasy game I've been waiting for my whole life, it's fresh yet familiar, absolutely the most imaginative and mind bending fun I've experienced since I was gaming as a kid. That feeling of wonder and adventure yet also the challenges to overcome!! That feeling of being able to dive into a mythological world. As Randy once said in South Park "Out here I'm a simple geologist, but IN HERE...I am FALCORN defender of the Alliance."😂 legit Elden Ring is an absolute masterpiece🌌

I had the pleasure of playing Elden Ring as my very first Fromsoft title and it blew my mind apart. I had always avoided Fromsoft games in the past because they looked "too dark and gloomy" and the comments about their difficulty level put me off from even trying. I am humble enough to know my own limitations in gaming and didn't fancy dying a hundred times to a boss. However, Elden Ring, with its amazing scenery and much brighter surroundings and assurances from other reviewers that it was much more newbie friendly made me take the plunge and I have never regretted it. I am nearly 200 hours played and like you, I took the time to explore so many places and nook and cranny. I am in the late game now (killed Fire giant, in Mogh Palace now), and the difficulty is truly there. I am probably a much better gamer now to Fromsoft type bosses and can probably handle the steep rise in difficulty (except maybe Malenia), but the experience up till now has been nothing short of amazing and I agree with everything you said. This is the first complete review where I enjoyed watching from start to end. Because while it acknowledges there will be some short comings, it also addresses that these are the result of trying to balance and present such a massive open world game and fill it with interesting stuff to do and bosses to fight. Its such a massive undertaking I am amazed Fromsoft managed to pull it off. This game has already taken up close to 200 hours of my time and yet I am not even at the end. There are far too many titles out there that could have taken an average gamer like me ten to twenty hours to finish and put down and never look at again. For a title like Elden Ring enable me to get ten times the kind of true enjoyment (and I had far more fun playing this game then I did on many many other games) than I did playing other titles speaks of how much loves they poured into this game. And how other titles just try and sqeeze "barely enough" content into their game to call it done. In conclusion, Awesome almost poetic like review. I will be listening to it more than once! Because I agree with everything you said, and enjoy watching and listening to a fellow gamer gush so poetically about the exact same things I enjoyed as I was playing through this game. Your review has truly done Elden Ring justice!

I'm 100 hours in and still love exploring this world...you never know what's around the corner...I'm still finding new things all the time.....its one of those games that calls to you when your working or doing your house hold chores to sit down and play just one more hour.

I think a lot of players have perceived that feeling of "completeness" right at the beginning of the NG+. I felt really sad when I noticed that.

Never been an fan of the linear way of Souls game. I am now an Elden Ring Chad Enjoyer. This is. An. Epic. Game. Period. Take it from an guy who didn’t find the games fun enough or time investing enough to git guud. Elden Ring is close to an perfect game at our current day n age. Play it, you will enjoy it if you like games.

I remember playing "tennis" on the Atari. I remember beating Sonic on the master system 2, I remember playing starwing on the SNES and first seeing the open world of Mario 64 and the feel of my N64 box Christmas morning mid 1990s and a Christmas or so later I remember seeing the fields of Hyrule for the first time wide open before me in The Ocarina of Time...Elden Ring now sits fondly in this bank of memories of iconic gaming moments. It is truly wonderful.

Haligtree was my favourite. It reminded me the most of Dark Souls. It makes sense to have an optional zone be that hard.

I had unrealistic expectations of this game before it was released and there was absolutely no way it could live up to them, everybody knew that. Right? It exceeded them in almost every way. This game is the first game in a long way that made me feel like a kid again. The sense of wonderment, the joy in exploring and finding out stuff and those big ahhhh moments when something clicks and you piece together a connection between people or a side quest. The epic, often cinematic fights. The quirky characters. The weapons. The world. The art. The music. Turtle pope. I've spouted a lot of words and not a single one of them can do this game justice. If this isn't game of the year then either it will have been straight up robbed, or we are in for some serious fucking treats as far as gaming goes.

I just camr here to say, I am 43 years old, I have been playing games since 80's, I started with Commodore 64 and Amiga and Atari and Colicovison which mybfather had bought for himself when I wasn't born yet I think. Anyways, I have played so many games, I am an old fart who still enjoys playing games. I couldn't care less what others think about that btw. To make a long story short, Elden Ring is the greatest game what I have played in whole my life. Everything about the game is just perfect, so for me, it is the greatest game ever.

I was exploring an area today that I had not unlocked the map for. Just happened upon a dungeon and found the head covering that I was wanting for the rest of my playthrough behind an illusory wall. It's moments such as this one that makes me love this game. It rewards me for my actions just as much as it punishes me for my mistakes.

I just started playing this game & it’s intimidating the eff outta me. Unlike other games where goons or soldier character seem like they are just trying to slow you down in this one it’s like they wanna make sure you are DEAD! Not even just by outnumbering you. An individual knight attacks like he’s going for broke & not taking any chances. The thought of collecting a lot of runes knowing I might loose them forever is gonna take me time to get use to.

I best the game, did NG+, took a few months off, started a fresh character, missed my old character, started NG++ and have fallen in love with the game all over again. This game is definitely one of the best of all time.

Its so good it doesn't warrant more than 1 play through. Its an experience that I think many wouldn't want to change so people leave it at 1 play through. It's so long and full and rewarding it satisfies by the end unlike so many other games. I will be very disappointed if Elden ring doesn't clean up all the awards as nothing is going to be as good as it this year (Especially not overrated of war). It's got pretty much everything. Its accessible through it's huge variety and choice, its difficulty is debatable its just challenging which is something that most games dont offer. I genuinely don't see how people cannot think this game is nothing but superb and I'm not even a huge souls fan but this was as close to perfect gaming as it gets.

Just hit 200 hours and started journey 2, its a blast going through and destroying the bosses that gave you so much trouble on the first playthrough 😂

I think I’m almost 150 hours in between my 2 builds now. Easily my favourite from soft game to date

I played through the game for almost a month. That's 30 days. I was constant because I wanted to make Guides, so being "there" ASAP was of paramount importance. That being said, it rarely felt like I was burning out. Near the 130 hours mark I hit the final fight, beat the boss and returned to the overworld before going into NG+. I still haven't started that. Still finding stuff. Now that I am not pressed for time, I can appreciate the design even more. One piece of friendly advice: Don't rush. Not one bit. Never allow yourself to be "tired" for playing too much. Treasure the experience. We're not gonna get another one like this for a long time.

On your conclusion about a feeling of "doneness" when trying to new+ I think it's because it's really a game about discovery and adventure more than any other FROM game before, and once you've seen most of everything you need a while away from it to let it fade from memory a bit so you can come back in a few years and experience it again as best you can

Downward Thrust, keep em coming man. This is by far the most impassioned review of Elden Ring on RU-vid. You nailed my exact sentiments of this game. I am over 120 hrs into this game and I've only now started to tackle Raya Lucaria Acedemy. I'm easily distracted by the shiny object in the distance or a path that doesn't lead straight. From Software has created a game that isn't linear, similar to real life. I am allowed to explore and get challenges done at my own pace and either reap or sow the actions of my decisions. I am allowed to make this game (life) as difficult or easy as I see fit. The bar has been set very high for all games after this.

Same experience here. Massive area after massive area. Just the sense of real exploration and discovering secrets on your own. I'm so used to games telling me "turn back" or having a kill wall. I absolutely love that the exploration let's you do exactly that. There are a lot of great things I could say about it but you've pretty much nailed it in this video.

First playthrough, 339 hours. I loved every second of it…

Elden Ring is a masterpiece. My only gripe with it is the use of certain bosses more than once or twice. I haven't gotten bored with Elden Ring since I bought it and I'm about to be on NG+2. With other games that have come out the past 5 years or so (RDR2 and Sekiro excluded) I could play for a few hours at a time every other day because I'd lose interest. But once I get on Elden Ring, my hands are glued to the controller and I play all damn day. First game to do that to me in a while and to me that's what counts the most. Having fun. And it's a shit ton of fun. It's highway robbery if Elden Ring doesn't win GOTY

Elden ring is absolutely phenomenal. Thank you fromsoftware.

the best thing about elden ring is: when u figured out the chore game mechanics and somehow remembered how to reach certain items and spots and know how to progress in story lines: Than this game even shines more. After this: great replayability is granted. But it will take its time to memorise things and to know which dungeon is worth for later playthroughs in the beginning :)

Elden Ring was my first from software game. Once finishing it, I begged for more. It made me understand how much I have missed. A week later, bought Dark Souls 3. Finished it in a few days, again filled up with the feeling that I wanted more, even more than the feeling after finishing Elden Ring. Damn, I am now at Dark Souls 2, I cant stop. This genre is my FOAT.

I remember just looking around in liurna after having a blast in stormveil and being amazed that the atmosphere, colours and landscape only got better. Everything is a freaking painting, it looks so clean. I'm 23 and played maaaany singleplayer games and haven't been this impressed since the witcher 3

Things that positively stand out in elden ring for me are the sheer size and the insane amount of different stuff in there. It's not the same recycled enemies everywhere with different bulletspunge metrics, but they all look and move differently. Same with the loot. There is so much weird loot that it is baffling how they managed to put so much in. This creates a constant feeling of the world feeling alive.

This is the only Souls game from FromSoftware I’ve played besides Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. I’m usually pretty thorough when playing games I really enjoy… Sekiro with the longest “good” ending took me around 100 hours. In Elden Ring I’ve been extremely thorough, trying to find everything…camps, dungeons, secrets, bosses, etc…before I’ve really moved onto exploring the next large area. Last night I finished Leyndell Capital City and finally moved to the snowy mountain area. However previously, I have also fully completed (to the best of my knowledge) Limgrave, Liurnia, Caelid, Mt. Gelmir (minus Rykard because I still have an assignment in mountains from lady Tanith), Altus Plateau, Capital Outskirts, and all underground areas including Ranni’s and Fia’s quest. I say all this to explain my playtime… just getting to the snowy Forbidden Lands I have just passed 200 hours. I realize I might Be slower than most. Anyways I wanted to say that after all of that, in any other open world game I would be burnt out well before now and have to take a break (for example AC Valhalla)…but this game is so different and so interesting that I’m instead exactly the opposite…. I can’t get enough and haven’t touched another game (outside D2 when playing with friends) since I started it. With the mountains, Halig tree, and Mohgwyn palace remaining… I still have a good chunk of the game left. This game breaks the formula in my opinion for an open world game so well that I can honestly say it’s the best open world games I’ve ever played and probably will be for a long time. Loved the critique!

I’ve never played a fromsoft game in my life, but I can sit and watch the lore of these games for hours. That says a lot about how much care goes into these games.

I'm about 140 hours in, looked in every single possible location so far for treasure, caves, catacombs and every other possible secret, and I still haven't started the Mountaintop region yet, and it doesn't feel like a chore when doing so. Without doubt one of the best games I've ever played.

Probably good thing that you didn't do another playthrough, keeps the "pristine" feeling of your first experience intact. I did a second playthrough immidiately after my first one, both times doing every dungeon, killing every boss.. During the second playthrough you will really notice how many things are wrong with the game.. Still, i absolutely love the game, with faults and all.. Joseph Anderson's review said it best: its a shattered masterpiece.. hopefully the sequel will be closer to perfect

Demon Souls has been brutal but it forces me to figure out, all solo. Not even a fan of 3rd person games but Miyazaki has just created such amazing adventures. Can’t wait to try out Eldin Ring as it looks great. Not being that skilled, the ability to grind XP/power is a major bonus.

I can relate to your feeling of doneness you describe in your conclusion section. I have over 340 hours on my 1st playthrough, just about done the snow area about to enter the haligtree and know there is the floating area I got to see a taste of from the four belfries one teleporter. I have searched every nook and cranny and have genuinely enjoyed this game and have been amazed at how well Fromsoft has done on their first open world. It is hands down the best one I have ever done. For me being a completionist and wanting to search and collect everything I expected this game to burn me out before half way in like almost all other open world games have. Yet I still even after 340 hours in my first playthrough am still not bored though I have a feeling that when I complete Elden Ring I am not gonna be in a hurry to start another journey right away. It is just so massive it takes alot out of you over time even if you do enjoy it. I look forward to playing more Elden Ring playthroughs but I probably will take a break from it when I finish my first playthrough. Excellent review and I agree with alot of what you said. As far as difficulty and scaling I think most of us are aware that its basically impossible to perfectly balance this kind of open world game.

my first playthrough just hits so different. now knowing what lies at every corner or end of a challenging boss fight gave me some kind of rush I have never felt in any game before. I was so sure I already got everything when I started ng+ but even in ng+ I discovered completely new sub-areas I have never even noticed before.

I've been exploring and living the experience for more than 200 hours, I'm pretty sure I'm about to beat it and I can tell you this is probably the best game I've played to this day, it's simply amazing.

Elden Ring has been added to the open-world hall of fame alongside, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Knights of the Old Republic, Red Dead Redemption 1&2, The Witcher 3, Skyrim, Ghost of Tsushima and others than I'm sure people will tell me. Elden Ring is truly a masterpiece and if this is the new template for FromSoftware's Soulslikes then I'm guessing they're only going to get better from here cause they are one of the only true examples of game development studios learning from their mistakes.

Hi there! Great video. Just finished watching right now and already planning to watch more of your channel. I have my 2 cents about the difficulty topic, as you said it can mess up with balance sometimes. That's a valid point of view, of course. But I rather say that these things (use or not use summons, play as a "overleveled" or "underleveled" character, and so on) are just a different way of difficulty selection. And, indeed, it is possible to beat the game with a level 1 char with no summons. I watched a streamer doing it then tried to do it myself and it is really possible. So, I dont really found the game to be unfair or unbalanced at any point. You always have the option to use summons, overlevel your char, or simply getting damn good at the game to the point you don't need any of those things. It is really a game that satisfies a big range of people, I would say that almost anyone interested enought can find a playstyle that suits their liking.

Hi, great review. Very personal and poetic. I am at my 2nd playthrough building a stagger-heavy machine, strength build with full on armor. It is great playing with shields and high poise... But the best thing about this playthrough is the fact that I am able to appreciate all the environmental story-telling. I am telling you, almost every part of the map tells a story. I can also pay attention to the lore. And a huge recommendation: Play without the horse as much as you can. There are certain bosses and areas that are best on horseback, but dude - going on foot as much as you can is the best thing. Give it a try, you will not regret it. Have a nice day

Elden Ring is one of my favorite games of all time. Its flaws feel almost meaningless because they felt very uncommon with the reuse of bosses/enemies being the only major thing bothering me. I would still give this game a 10/10 despite the tiny things because the overwhelming enjoyment I got from this game is almost unparalleled. I made a list of pros and cons after I was done and here they are: -Too much reused content (biggest complaint, almost all of mountaintop of Giants and the Haligtree is reused) -Post Leyndell was weaker than the rest of the game(Mountaintop, Mogh's Palace, Beginning and Last part of Haligtree) except for Farum Azula -Some build balancing issues(rivers of blood for example) -Crafting feels kinda underwhelming -Some enemies are annoying (rune bears, revenants, lobsters, kindred of Rot) -Subterranean grounds and first part of Haligtree sucks -Some attacks kinda suck (ground shaker from Rykard 1st phase, waterfowl dance from Melania, star attack from Elden Beast, Giant Gravity attack from Caelid Falling star Beast) -It's hard to keep track of NPCs and too easy to accidentally fail questlines -future playthroughs probably won't be as good (same thing happened with Breath of the Wild for me) -sometimes lag, not too big a problem -Some Spammy Enemies/Bosses (Alecto) -No bosses lived up to bosses like Friede, Gael, Artorias, or Maria for me -Catacombs are too samey -Horse is almost useless for combat late game because it gets knocked so easily -Fall damage isn't as proportional as other games, so it's hard to tell what will kill you -Some of the best areas in the series (Leyndell, Farum Azula, Stormveil, Nokrom, Raya Lucaria, Linuria, Nokstella, Volcano Manor, Caria Manor, Middle part of Haligtree) -Shit tons of build variety -Lots of really cool enemies like many of the knights and giants -Sense of exploration is almost unparalleled, lots of really cool moments(Going down the elevator to Siofra, Teleporter Chest to Caelid, making predictions about future bosses(especially the last few), seeing future areas through teleporters like Farum Azula, discovering puzzle towers, discovering the underground areas, uncovering secrets, finding out Radagon is Marika then seeing him as the final boss using the hammer attack in the intro and blasting the main theme, Finding a way to get to Nokrom and the cliff in Linuria, finding out Godfrey is Hourah Loux, Entering Altus and Linuria for the first time, getting to see the Erdtree on fire, seeing the Erdtree the entire game and finally being able to go inside it, seeing the size of Stormveil for the first time, finding Bell Bearing Hunter/the fact there are bosses at night, figuring out the regal ancestor puzzle, finding the Valient Gargoyles when my friend thought he explored all of Nokrom, finding out the beast man was a major boss, that one area inverting, discovering the divine towers, finding the loading screen areas, seeing what was under the smaller trees for the first time, realizing that paintings corresponded to real locations) -One of the most consistently good boss lineups with me liking every single remembrance boss and hating very few bosses -One of the prettiest games I have ever played. I have stopped and taken screenshots at multiple points -I love being able to recover estus from clearing enemies -Guard Counters, Jump attacks, and Ashes of War are great additions/expansions -My first playthrough felt really balanced with very few difficulty spikes or extremely easy areas -Most NPC invasions were fun -Least frustrating Fromsoft game -Best hitboxes in the series -Lots of Great Side quests/characters -Great open world that feels like a game in itself -Lots of good duo bosses(Valient Gargoyles, Crucible Knights, Godskin Duo) -Rewards were really good for the most part -Lots of fun weapons with a variety of abilities and customization -Cool ideas and concepts like the focus on the Stars, Trees, Magic, and Scarlet Rot -Story is engaging and it was cool learning bits and pieces of the lore -I like how the map only reveals terrain and is are located in the middle of areas -I love how the horse controls and the big jumpads -No durability/infinite inventory space -Vanishing Hud -Infinite Stamina out of combat -Pouch system is so useful -Plenty of opportunities to respec

This was beautiful and i agree with every point you made here. 100% relatable to everyone has finished this game feeling a sense of fulfillment and emptiness at the same time unable to describe it in words. Well done friend

I feel the same way about ng+. My first playthrough was completely blind, all discovery, and took my roughly 195 hours. I also used different builds and looked in every nook and cranny. It was such a heavy experience I wasn't in the mood to start all over immediately. It was just such an undertaking. I know ill play it again and again over the coming years, but its kinda like playing the entire souls series in one go. It was just enough

Man, it's been less than a month since I finished Elden Ring and I just wish I could forget it all play it all over again. So many cool and unforgettable moments like Godrick's phase 2 cutscene, fighting Radahn, Ranni's questline, beating Malenia after hours of trying, and all of the Radagon and Elden Beast fight. My favourite Fromsoft game and likely my favourite game of all time!

Beating the twin gargoyles fight was my most memorable boss encounter. Others were cooler, but the dodges just clicked for me, like it did for Nameless King in DS3.

I’m on ng6 I’ve enjoyed all runs, but none have compared to my first run, everything was just so new to me that when I got to radagon there was soo much emotion built up and I played with the same friends from start to finish I will never forget that moment.

Took me about 170 hours to finish my first playthrough and the game is an absolute masterpiece. I'm about 30 hours into a second playthrough now on a new character. Following a 100% checklist with the intent of fully completing the game and having at least one of every single item, spell, and piece of gear in the game. Dispite having 200 hours into the game so far, I'm still obsessed.

Just started my second playthrough with my son and starting from the very beginning instead of NG+ is much better, imo. I chose a completely different class this time and the game is just as fun as it was during the initial playthrough.

I also struggled with motivation to start a new character after my first play through, I believe it’s because of how lonnnng it takes to get out of limgrave and the lakes area to get to the mid/late game. I desperately want to go straight to the end and fight the end game bosses, its the same with the other souls games but also like the other souls games it takes a long time to get to the end game even if you run through everything as soon as possible

Well spoken, Sir! At this point, I do not even know where the end might be with From Soft... I was extremely cautious with the hype beforehand, what with the previous entries each and all being my favourite game(s) in decades...but as you say, basically nothing was lost in translation. The aesthetics, the feel of it all...craftsmanship of the highest order.

The first view of Limgrave after the tutorial area and the elevator ride from the Mistwood to Siofra River… mind blowing. Haven’t had this feeling towards a game since TBC WOW release. Once in a decade kind of game imo.

Loved your take on the game, I think you captured really well what makes Elden Ring such a brilliant game, and what it did to evolve the open-world and the Souls formula respectively. It's one of the best gaming experiences I've had and I can't stop thinking about it still. Thank you for making a video on it, it is great!

It’s funny how elden ring is nowhere near perfect, yet it’s so much closer to perfect than most modern games that it *feels* perfect.

You’ve summarised exactly how I feel about the game, including the ‘doneness’ after one or two runs. However, I recently came back to the game after an 8-month break and found myself enjoying it almost as much as before. Putting it down for a while then coming back definitely helps.

its been around 170 days since i stop playing the game .... around 350 hours , completing ng3 , doing solo run with no spirit summon, doing 1 minute malenia run , doing solo fist only astral run, uploading them to youtube cause i thought i did something different from the usual.... this game is amazing....it is definitely on the same tier where i would put deus ex 1, bioshock 1 ,half life 2 , witcher 3 , and then i try to think why so....then it makes sense.....no monetisation involve, full games with immersion where you dunno the day has gone by , and everything about the game is beautiful ....perfect but not yet perfect ? ..Elden Ring is the definitely our goty and probably the closest how half life change the fps genre and how deus ex and bioshock change the fps rpg genre ....its the reason people will start playing souls game

For me personally, this is the best game of all time. Never had so much fun and such immersive experience playing a game.

This video was a absolute pleasure to watch. Thank you Downward Thrust!

I feel the same as you. I'm stuck on Maliketh and started to explore more thoroughly. I missed so much content. I found melena and she's for sure the hardest boss. I started looking up content because I'm already 130 hours in. I'm going back and finishing the catacombs and finishing quests I missed. By the time, I decide to go forward and beat the game, I won't have any desire to play anymore. I'd be over 150+ into it and I'd feel accomplished. I'm already looking forward to the DLC and I haven't even beaten the game lol.

I finished my strength build at 110 hours, around level 120. As a long time souls fan, Elden Ring absolutely surpassed my expectations, and they were quite high. I decided against starting NG+ as I’m sure there’re bosses I’ve missed. Ended up creating a dual katana dex build and have been having a blast again. I’ve been using this character to help other players defeat the first few bosses. While I understand your sentiment for invasions, it is absolutely worth giving it a go for a while. Some of the experiences are hilarious and create even more replay ability, and the feeling of besting 2v1 or even 3v1 is blissful. I’ve even ran into cooperators/hosts who wait their turn while you take on the other, often times with a respectful bow which harkens back to the soul of past games (see what I did there?). This game is indeed an absolute masterpiece, and will certainly keep me engaged for months to come.

Elden Ring is one of the games released this year.

Fantastic review, one of the few that fairly evaluates the endgame and acknowledges the staggeringly difficult balancing act required from From Software. You have accurately identified challenges connected to designing game of this scope. There is no other game that comes even close to doing this much this good so consistently. Not even close. That's why this game is 10/10, not because it's perfect(it isn't), it's because it's this great and this fun while maintaining enormous scope, depth and size. I also loved the short shout out to hit boxes, far too few people give game credit in this regard, along with acknowledgment of top notch level design.

Only RPG game in recent memory where i didnt feel like i was ever grinding. If I needed to level up or enhance a weapon or 2 I would just go to a portion of the map i felt looked a little empty. Just go exploring and boom a couple hours later i had tons of souls and smithing stones to use on whatever i needed without ever noticing that i was acquiring them in the first place. This works so well for me because the game had me fully focused on playing the game other than what items i was looking for. Majora's Mask type of world for me so much fun to be had.

Best Review Ever. You liked it, I get it, I understand, deeply. More deeply here is what I feel... What makes this review and your perspective stand out for me is your engagement. You poetically express your sense of wonder, challenge, and even frustration in a way that anyone who has played this game for a significant time can relate to. I have never seriously played a souls game before. For me, with Elden Ring, the challenge was secondary at the start. The sense of majesty, wonder, and discovery drew me in. The accomplishment of those challenges has forever tarnished my Soul.

I played through it twice back to back different builds. 200 hours. It's a masterpiece, the best game ever made ever. It's kind of like if took DarkSouls and Morrowind by Bethesda and spliced it together. I think if they want to top it next time they should create a couple large cities, and some small towns populated like Oblivion, and Skyrim with NPC's going about on a 24 hour schedule to really finalize the creation of an virtual world. Elden Ring for me is my first Souls game. I played Bloodborne for about 6 hours over two days but found it too confusing and difficult. Day 1 in Elden Ring i met Margit and he two shot me over and over. So I gave up on him, I cleared all the caves, catacombs and monsters I could find in Limgrave. Day three I went back and he kicked my ass still even though I got him very close to death twice. I gave up on Margit, then I went to Liurnia and I defeated Renalla. Day four I came back to Margit and I defeated him. It was one of the greatest moments of exaltation in my gaming career and i've gamed since Space Invaders in the 1970's. On Day 2 I hit that trap in the Limgrave Lake and ended up in Caelid where I died about 20 times trying to figure out how to escape the Tunnel. After I defeated Margit and Renalla I went after Radahn. Again it took me four days and over 50 deaths before I beat Radahn. Beating Radahn was again an enormous joyous experience. Elden Ring's free open world and beautiful level design always drew me forward to see the next Ruin, the next Cave, the next Catacomb, the next group of monsters, the next shiny item even if it was white and being guarded by a monster, to search the ledges of cliffs, to challenge every monster, to talk to every NPC, and I kept going and going and going. And then came the RU-vid Tutorials every day I'd watch several to see what other people had discovered or new items to go search for, new quests to take on. One RU-vidr released a Ranni's Quest guide and it took me a full week to finish it, after watching a simple 15 minute video on how to get the Darkmoon Greatsword. And at Godrey The First Elden Lord I learned I could put my finger down, and help people with boss fights, so every major boss I fought I put my finger down and helped dozens of people bring down the worst baddies in the game. I must have done the Astel fight over 100 times slowly learning to master the intricacies of that crazy fight. And on my second play through with my sorcery build I could not beat Milania and it was driving me crazy, so I summoned Players to help me and after another 20 tries with random players I finally had beat all the major bosses in the game. Morrowind was the last game where upon finishing it I was this pleased with the journey. Morrowind told you nothing, and everything was a discovery. You were always engaged as you tried to determine your place in the world, where you were on the map, what roads lead to what cities, and that's what Elden Ring does so well. It engages your mind always, you can't just autopilot this game, You need to learn it, to memorize it, to be engaged at all times. In Elden Ring if you turn off your brain and you aren't present in the game you can die any second, any encounter. My biggest Pet Peeve with Elden ring is the Sniper enemies with unlimited range, and a very short casting time between each projectile. Masterpiece, best game ever made ever. Better than God of War 4, GTA 5, Zelda BOTW, Skyrim, Red Dead Redemption 2, Witcher 3.

Amazing review, this game made me feel like i was playing games for the first time again.

I think my favourite part of this game is that even after my 300 hours playing it I can still discover new things about it. Especially about the map size like wow after new game plus two I decided I really wanted to find everything so I looked up where the prince of death staff was and I think my brain imploded when I realized there was yet ANOTHER giant underground area that I just hadn't discovered yet.

Really surprising hearing your path through the game. I stumbled across siofra river about 5 hours into the game and persevered through it until I popped up the other side in Caelid at which point I noped out of there. I didn't even hit Liurnia until 60 hours in. I'm still mopping up the last bits of Caelid at the moment 120 hours in and have only briefly stepped foot in the Altus Plateau via the back door entrance. Hearing other paths that people have taken and how they're totally viable really shines a light on how good a job Fromsoftware did allowing the player real choice

The summons definitely break the balance of the game, especially the mimic, that’s the easy mode right there

Missed opportunity: Tonald not doing a White Samauri build.

Mygod the amount of "areas" you could explore blew my mind. It was soooo humongous and instead of getting defeated by the sheer amount of obstacles ahead of me, I was just becoming more and more excited... excited for the NPCs I'd meet, new spells, new weapons/armors, and new lore.

I felt the same way about replaying the game immediately. I finished the game first at level 69, but I kinda rushed that so I did a somewhat more comprehensive playthrough afterwards at level 125. After that, I had no rush to re-play the game immediately, which is weird because I sunk 700+ hrs in DS3 alone with multiple replays. But then I took a week off because of a vacation, and when I came back my head started wanting to re-play the game with a different build at NG+, and do a truly more comprehensive playthrough. I think it might be burn out what you're feeling. Stepping away for a while or playing other games could solve it the way it did for me. Now I'm doing a playthrough on NG+ with a build I havent tried in the Souls series ever (a greatshield using tank that blocks instead of rolls) and it reinvigorated my enjoyment of the game.

It’s a good game, but the hype will die down.

I have never immersed myself so much into a video-game, it’s story, gameplay, characters, mysteries, open world mechanics, bosses, all memorable and rich in design, truly a love letter for all of us. A game so good is unreal.

The audio quality of your voiceover is wonderful (as always, Lord Tonald), but, after that initial title card sting? I'd recommend making that audio contrast a little less drastic; it hurt in the ol' headphones. Keep up the awesome work though, dude :) Wonderful commentary :)

This video was incredibly impressive. You stated well thought out points AND counter points, while making sure to acknowledge the possibility of emotional bias. I watched from start to finish because I was genuinely interested in how your words would frame the spectacle that is Elden Ring. Thank you for putting so much time and effort into this video.

for me its my favourite game since witcher 3

Bro this is one of the best game reviews I've ever watched. This video is seriously phenomenal. So detailed and perfectly written. So thank you for this experience. It's almost like a dlc to elden ring!

You’re the first person that I’ve heard that felt the same way I did after I beat the game. I explored the same way you did and looked everywhere. Elden Ring is likely my favorite game of all time but I’m not eager to play through it again. My play through of 125 hours was amazing but like you, I’m afraid to damage my thoughts of the game by blasting through it again. It’s a little odd I feel like this about the game. Fantastic Review! I cleared the game several weeks ago and I’m still watching reviews. That’s the type of impression the game left on me. Side Note: Dark Souls was my favorite game prior to Elden Ring. There’s history between From and I. I’m so glad they hit a home run and so many people loved the game. They absolutely deserve the recognition.

The game has blown my mind. I’ve been a fan since 2010 when I first played Demon’s Souls and have loved every Souls game and thought From Software and Miyazaki have just gotten better and better with time. The first few hours I was “eh the open world is just okay” but about 15 hours in when I completed Stormveil castle and walked into Liurnia of the lakes it all changed and clicked, I also started to feel burned out near end game but stuck it out until I completed it, decided to go into new game plus and respec and change up my build and now I’m incredibly hooked again over 100 hours into the game

3 playthroughs, currently on my 4th on my original (since release) character level 656 BEAST! For a total 640+ hrs. Recently started a NEW character for the upcoming DLC to NOT be op. for its release! That's so far ANOTHER 50 hrs. I have a legitimate addiction to this masterpiece FAVORITE GAME OF ALL TIME to me, friggin game!!😅😅😅I regret nothing, I still get shit done and work my ass off but, at 47, I don't give a shit, I LOVE this fuckin flawed but amazing piece of work!!🤘💀🤘

I feel wrong for not liking this game. So many videos said this is the Fromsoft game for everyone! It's not for me.

Great Video Man!!! I'm like one of these little sucker fishes in the aquarium, and clean a game while I take the longest time to enjoy every experience there is! Elden Ring took me about 400 hours(!!!) to end it, but it's the first time I discover new stuff I've overseen through my first journey, where I got the platin trophie, my first in the Fromsoft games!!! Amber star shard, Talismans that were very hidden away, the storm tear in caelid, even a painting I didn't see on my first trip in the shadow castle, I still find new weapons and I was so sure I had everyone! I don't know if you can get the normal curved sword of the snake humans in Vulcano Manor, it looks like the lava one, but it's black?! And when you kill Edgar, Irina's father, you not get just his halberd, but a powerfull ash of war, and nobody talks about that!!! I don't understand why certain people talk about a repetition in caves, catacombs and I think graves (not sure), but no cave, no catacomb (maybe one) and no grave looks like the other one, there is even another type of cave, the mines where you can find stones to upgrade weapons, and they are as well different!! The repetition of bosses is mostly caused by the stories in the game, and they are well scaled up through the hole game! Or they did repeat certain bosses because you can totally change the way you approach the journey! Elden Ring is just an incredible awesome game! And it's worth the title of masterpiece!!! What I very rarely say about a game!

My first playthrough was quite bad due to the way that I was 30-50 levels under-leveled for most of the late game - I was level 61 in Mountaintops of the Giants and only got up to level 87 by the time that I beat the game. This put me in a balance spot where either bosses sat on me because I delt slivers of their hp bar with most bosses having really limited counter opportunities when compared with those of previous games, or I dismantled bosses by using the mimic tear, the most overpowered summon in the game which I found as I pursued Ranni's questline. In one way, towards the end, I did get quite lucky, I used what I thought looked cool rather than trying to optimize my weapons which just happened to be rivers of blood as I already was a big katana user throughout the game; this definitely helped with getting past the endgame while under-leveled. My second playthrough was so much better. In most games like this, I do a second playthrough in which I use resources like the wiki to comb through the game to find all the hidden parts (And there were a LOT in this game). Due to being at a higher level, more balanced in the difficulty, I had a lot of fun enjoying the (mostly) beautiful world (the Caelid, the Sub-Terranean Shunning Grounds, and the Lake of Rot are not beautiful imo). Even for my complaints though, it was an absolute banger, and while no boss personally topped Gael for me (still my favorite boss in any video game), most main bosses were really cool (Valiant Gargoyles and Godskin Duo are... not so cool) Also, completely unrelated note, I find it funny how I can be: 1. A member of the Volcano Manor, hunting down fellow tarnished; 2. In the service of Ranni, a character who directly detests and fights against the two fingers; and 3. Openly planning to commit big time heresy by burning the Erdtree with a giant fire that got almost an entire race wiped out of the Lands between; No one in the round table hold cares, or mentions the first two, and the person who should care the most about the heresy, the finger reader, is like "Honestly who cares at this point just do it."

Unironically a bad game and a failure to the souls series

Elden Ring i.e. Dark Souls 3 with horse, copy paste enemies, boring empty open world, and broken overpowered ashes of war carefully crafted by From Software to cater to the mindless masses who are blind sheep that cannot see how Miyazaki is just a one trick pony who can only make the same ffing game over and over again.

I’m 240 hours in. I’ve played and loved every soulsbourne game to date. Elden ring is no exception. If I was to review this game when I’m finished I would imagine it would be very similar to this amazingly done review! I couldn’t agree more with every point you made and the downfalls it has. I just can’t believe how big this game is and that even after all these hours I still don’t want it to end!?! Awesome video!

Pretty much summed up my thoughts on it as well, great review. There's still tons of character builds I haven't touched so I'll be returning a few more times for that, but I also have that feeling of "done-ness" after my first playthrough. I'll take a break for a while. Hope there's a DLC but it's fine if not.

Dark souls fans love the word masterpiece. The context your using the word makes it meaningless

This praise is exagerrated. The enemies and bosses are broken. That is a HUGE FAILURE when considering those are the most important part of soulsbornering games.

I’ve never played online in a from software game. I never understood the mechanics of invading and it doesn’t really park my fancy to have other people in my world. I think going to help people with bosses is awesome, I might try that once I finish my play 3rd through. Love this game!

Great video. I couldn’t agree more on all accounts. I had to take a break before Leyndell Royal Capital. I couldn’t find it, lol and I got frustrated. When I went back I was so happy I did. I loved the quest lines. I played on PS5 and got the platinum plus so much more. I was amazed by all the extra bosses and worlds. Definitely a top 5 game for me. I also agree, just behind Bloodborne. Great video. Thank you for summing up my thoughts.