Completely open would require level scaling to make sense, and that would be very ugly. The way they do it is still mostly a-linear, but with some sense of progression rather than a theme park.
Big fan of open world games but can’t personally see the the hype behind Elden Ring, perhaps someone can enlighten me?
- Thread starter Multievolution
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Completely open would require level scaling to make sense, and that would be very ugly. The way they do it is still mostly a-linear, but with some sense of progression rather than a theme park.
I like how half the posts in the thread are "play the game". The OP said they can't afford to buy a game they might not like which is the entire reason they're trying to get more in depth thoughts from the Era community so they could see if there's more chances of them liking it.
Talking directly with people who play the game can lend more direct opinions than just a general review or playthrough.
Talking directly with people who play the game can lend more direct opinions than just a general review or playthrough.
If you love open world, then I'm sure you love exploration?
Elden Ring has it in spades. In most open worlds, locations are merely hubs, with vast open stretches of "lands in between". But there's usually nothing interesting or special in these lands. In Elden Ring, the landscapes are deliberately designed for you to be able to navigate visually, they reward you with secrets for exploring.
Then the spectacle of these locations are definitely the best among games. It's not just castles, but otherworldly locations that feels alive, I won't spoil it.
So if you love exploring, visiting cool places with some cool encounters, then Elden Ring is a fantastic game.
Elden Ring has it in spades. In most open worlds, locations are merely hubs, with vast open stretches of "lands in between". But there's usually nothing interesting or special in these lands. In Elden Ring, the landscapes are deliberately designed for you to be able to navigate visually, they reward you with secrets for exploring.
Then the spectacle of these locations are definitely the best among games. It's not just castles, but otherworldly locations that feels alive, I won't spoil it.
So if you love exploring, visiting cool places with some cool encounters, then Elden Ring is a fantastic game.
It's fun. Play it if you want. Or don't. There are 100's of threads and thousands and thousands of posts giving opinions on the game in the last month on this forum. Everything that can be said, has been said.
I think ER in particular has the best perspective shift of a world being more than it appears. Area's you'd never expect, world state changes, some seriously cool settings, enemies and weapons/armour that show up through the whole game. If you don't like their games in terms of gameplay then I doubt its going to really change that much.
Yeah, thats kinda the point. People like souls games and now its in an open world.
Pretty much this. I enjoyed it. Freedom and felt like exploring was great.
Speaking as someone who dropped BoTW pretty fast after 5 hours. What a boring game.
First of all, what kind of open worlds do you enjoy and what are you looking for when playing them?
Personally, I enjoy having a huge beautiful and interesting world to explore. And that's something that Elden Ring does beautifully. It has a lost of different vistas, the way everything is placed makes sense and feels alive (it's akin to a game like Fallout New Vegas where places aren't put at random and feel coherent). You're constantly rewarded for exploring, whether it's a hidden boss, a new gear, a new piece of lore or even a complete hidden area.
The amount of variety in the enemies is crazy for an open world. My biggest issue with open worlds is that you usually fight the same kind of enemies wherever you go. That's not the case here. Each area has its own kind of enemies and you'll encounter new ones until the very end. Once again this helps the world feel alive and coherent.
The traversal is fun and easy to get the hang of. I enjoy mounts that just do what I ask of them (like horses from the latest Assassin's Creed) and the mount in Elden Ring is a joy to play with. Now this sadly means that it makes the exploration too easy for my tastes, but I just decided not to use it when discovering new places and that fixed the issue. It's a matter of preference as a lot of people enjoyed having an easier time with the mount. But it does break the ai of most enemies and a lot of ambushes will not work while you're riding.
Anyway, unless you're looking for a sandbox open world kind of gameplay, Elden Ring brings everything you'd be looking for in this kind of game. At least that's how I see it.
Out of curiosity, what kind of rewards would you be expecting to get if you don't intend to change your loadout throughout the game? You cannot expect the game to give you upgrades for a specific build every time, right?
Bloodborne, DS3 etc did really well with set dressing to make the world feel huge. Its just that now all the impressive looking things you see in the distance are real and part of a world you can reach if you want to. Being able to do that while keeping the larger, more labyrinthian levels is incredible.
From what I understand, souls games are more fun to play than watch.
If you have a PC, you can always return it if it's not your thing. You'll get a full refund so long as your total playtime is under 2 hours.
For me personally, I'm just gonna wait for a sale before hopping in.
If you have a PC, you can always return it if it's not your thing. You'll get a full refund so long as your total playtime is under 2 hours.
For me personally, I'm just gonna wait for a sale before hopping in.
Not that I think it would change your mind but you do know you're not meant to fight that horse boss until multiple hours later, right? This is From's way of telling you early on that you will find obstacles you can't overcome everywhere in the world and that you should just avoid them until you've levelled up / got better weapons
See, its here where you went wrong.
The absolute strength of the game for me is to discover and overcome challenges myself. But, as you stated you'rr just simply not the target audience. Not much more complicated than that. There are tons of other games for you.
I don't mean to come across pissy but I'm kind of tired of the idea of having to constantly explain my favourite games to people due to their FOMO, as if theres something wrong with the game.
I'm going to preface this by saying I have played both blood borne and demon's souls and bounced off both pretty quickly.
Elden Ring works as an open world because nothing feels like an obligation. In other open world games the stress comes from to king quest markers off a map, whereas the stress of this game comes from enemy encounters. In effect g the e only gating is through your own skill level, so you only really need to grind to match what you may need. You will die, but checkpoints are plentiful too and that helps.
I can't say you will enjoy it, but I can say as somebody who is apprehensive about this game I do not regret buying it and it was very refreshing coming from the more formulaic horizon.
Elden Ring works as an open world because nothing feels like an obligation. In other open world games the stress comes from to king quest markers off a map, whereas the stress of this game comes from enemy encounters. In effect g the e only gating is through your own skill level, so you only really need to grind to match what you may need. You will die, but checkpoints are plentiful too and that helps.
I can't say you will enjoy it, but I can say as somebody who is apprehensive about this game I do not regret buying it and it was very refreshing coming from the more formulaic horizon.
Here's my opinion as someone who despises FromSoft gameplay but likes the lore/worldbuilding/etc. and only watches let's plays instead of playing the games:
Elden Ring simply has the best open world level design ever and incarnates the "show, don't tell" approach of worldbuilding and story telling.
People love the game because it's actually an adventure disguised as a video game instead of a video game that tells an adventure.
Exploration has real rewards, not just some chests with gold but complete and hours long new level to further explore, with even more lore and challenges and rewards.
The level design borders on genius at some points, and at its worse it's simply the industry's best. FromSoft manages to make you want to take a screenshot at least once every 15 minutes or so with how straight-out-of-a-painting everything looks.
There's so much positive things to say about this without even touching upon the gameplay itself, it's actually insane. I'm really mad that I just can't bother with FromSoft gameplay.
(But at the same time I can't handle a game this big nowadays :( )
Elden Ring simply has the best open world level design ever and incarnates the "show, don't tell" approach of worldbuilding and story telling.
People love the game because it's actually an adventure disguised as a video game instead of a video game that tells an adventure.
Exploration has real rewards, not just some chests with gold but complete and hours long new level to further explore, with even more lore and challenges and rewards.
The level design borders on genius at some points, and at its worse it's simply the industry's best. FromSoft manages to make you want to take a screenshot at least once every 15 minutes or so with how straight-out-of-a-painting everything looks.
There's so much positive things to say about this without even touching upon the gameplay itself, it's actually insane. I'm really mad that I just can't bother with FromSoft gameplay.
(But at the same time I can't handle a game this big nowadays :( )
Im with you op. The open world is very basic in elden ring. Its better for them to create smaller but more detailed area's. It also doesnt fit the game as its more combat focus then exploring. I mean, if you always spent a lot of time defeating an enemy when counter one... there was even a complain thread about this...
Ugly, how so? Every time you get a Great Rune, the other areas scale up, not a big deal.
I've come to the realisation that Elden Ring is probably the dream game for Souls veterans. It has all the components of a grand adventure where you pick a direction, explore and fight fantastic beasts on the way.
The experience for novices is a tad different. You explore a bit, you find something interesting, you die. You pick a different direction you explore a bit, you die. Now, this freedom makes for a better experience than your normal Souls game but the core game is still bang your head against impossible enemies. Exploration suffers because while the enticement and rewards are there, the risk and combat difficulty makes it Impossible to play organically. So you end up just quick travelling between all the points you've got bosses left to do until you find one where you can progress a bit.
I still Iove it mind.
The experience for novices is a tad different. You explore a bit, you find something interesting, you die. You pick a different direction you explore a bit, you die. Now, this freedom makes for a better experience than your normal Souls game but the core game is still bang your head against impossible enemies. Exploration suffers because while the enticement and rewards are there, the risk and combat difficulty makes it Impossible to play organically. So you end up just quick travelling between all the points you've got bosses left to do until you find one where you can progress a bit.
I still Iove it mind.
Because scaling just doesn't easily work with the leveling systems in place. Being able to go to an easier area if you're way out of your depth is a significant factor with the appeal and freedom afforded. If everything's constantly scaling then the world stops being persistent and becomes how I described it, a theme park. Losing its intended sense of place and being more of a gamey-game, chasing after some ill conceived ideal of being just like BOTW instead of playing to the studios strengths (deliberate level design, world building, rpg elements).
They're already juggling a crazy amount of variables in balancing a game this open without attempting to modify areas per-boss victory.
When I think of scaling RPGs I think FF8, Skyrim. Its not good.
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It's a lot of fun if you enjoy Dark Souls and the Souls style combat (especially Dark Souls 3, this games combat is very much an extension of that game)
If you don't like Souls combat the game is not for you as there really isn't anything else to do in the game besides combat. Sure exploration is nice but you will need to heavily engage with the combat to explore
If you don't like Souls combat the game is not for you as there really isn't anything else to do in the game besides combat. Sure exploration is nice but you will need to heavily engage with the combat to explore
Its souls but open world.
That's basically it. And they apply the soulsness to the open world well so a lot of the exploration you felt in souls is there too.
That's basically it. And they apply the soulsness to the open world well so a lot of the exploration you felt in souls is there too.
- sense of adventure and discovery
- the scale of the world is mind blowing
- superb level design with a lot of verticality
- good number of ace magic spells and weapons to discover
It is by far most accessible Souls game and reason why some people who did not liked previous From games managed to get into this one.
you can go back to this boss at any time. :p It's one of the things this game does right - you are not gated behind the same boss or two like previous Souls games. Go on different direction, explore, kill some weaker bosses, get your character stronger etc.
- the scale of the world is mind blowing
- superb level design with a lot of verticality
- good number of ace magic spells and weapons to discover
It is by far most accessible Souls game and reason why some people who did not liked previous From games managed to get into this one.
you can go back to this boss at any time. :p It's one of the things this game does right - you are not gated behind the same boss or two like previous Souls games. Go on different direction, explore, kill some weaker bosses, get your character stronger etc.
Just wait for the discount. At least when you don't like it you won't feel that bad cus you didn't pay full price for it. I wasn't feeling Sekiro so i bought it cheap and just like how i expected, it was my biggest disappointment in years but at least I didn't pay full price for it. Going to do the same with Elden Ring just because of the hype and reviews. Otherwise I would have skipped it.... And I'm still thinking about it.
For what it's worth, I didn't like Sekiro and bounced off it after an hour. I wanted to like Bloodborne but couldn't beat the first Boss and gave up. I got quite far in Dark souls but hit a difficulty wall after a while I just couldn't overcome. DS2 I couldn't get on with and I liked what I played of DS3 but didn't get very far.
With all that said: I love Elden Ring and it will probably end up in my top 10 games of all time. It's the best open world I've played since Oblivion. The sense of exploration is unparalleled and you're always rewarded with good loot everywhere you go making every fight, dungeon and boss fight so satisfying. It's not an easy game but if every time you struggle, you just go somewhere else and come back later, I guarantee you that you will then overcome that barrier and when you do, you get such a great feeling of accomplishment.
I'm 200 hours in and only just started the final area. Amazing game.
It's a nicely crafted world that's very varied and not filled with repetitive activities (mostly). Everywhere you go you will find something you haven't seen before, which gives a great sense of exploration and discovery.
But that's basically it. Don't look into sensationalist takes on how it's redefining open-world games or how no other game will ever match it. It's not that special.
But that's basically it. Don't look into sensationalist takes on how it's redefining open-world games or how no other game will ever match it. It's not that special.
It's a fantastic game, but honestly, some aspects of it (like the open world) are very overrated. It's not revolutionising the open world formula, like some people claim. You can safely ignore those "what can other open world games learn from Elden Ring" threads. I love Elden Ring, but those threads are just silly.
Elden Ring is like Dark Souls, just better. If you didn't like the Dark Souls games, you probably won't like Elden Ring.
Elden Ring is like Dark Souls, just better. If you didn't like the Dark Souls games, you probably won't like Elden Ring.
You're not meant to beat the tree sentinel early on (IMO). I had to come back after 30-40 hours later being level 44 to finally beat him
For me it's just the opposite, as a general rule and with rare exceptions (GoT, Horizon) I usually dislike open worlds, let alone finish them. On the other hand with ER I have the platinum and 136h completed.
Perhaps what it does well is precisely to be an authentic open world, similar to the concept of BotW, and where they do not tell you where to go or what to do, however there is not only a world to discover, but big secrets and "is this for real?" moments.
Perhaps what it does well is precisely to be an authentic open world, similar to the concept of BotW, and where they do not tell you where to go or what to do, however there is not only a world to discover, but big secrets and "is this for real?" moments.
It's the best open-world game i have ever played and can say it's not revolutionising the open world formula, and frankly, doesn't have to, as long as it is fun, rewarding and varied and doesn't get old like 99% of OW games after 20 hours.
Imagine trying to fight that boss 50 times instead of literally doing anything else in the massive world around you then coming back later at a more appropriate level....
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The combat is tough but excellent (except a few specific boss fights) and satisfying.
I think that is, in the end, the core reason why I can play this all day but get bored by something like Assassin's creed in like 10 mins.
I think that is, in the end, the core reason why I can play this all day but get bored by something like Assassin's creed in like 10 mins.
I never said that it can't be anyone's favorite open world game. ;)
And then people balk when outsiders say the From fandom is toxic.
im pretty sure it was a joke post, being their only post on gaming side in like a year. If someone really did buy a game and then run at the optional boss right at the start over and over until quitting that's kind of incredible lol
It has Skyrim-like exploration platforming, which sometimes makes you think you're breaking the game in a way, but you really aren't (the platforming is either really bad or really good, I can't tell). The game is pure risk-reward, that goes for everything from combat, NPC/environment interactions, platforming to attribute levelling. So it enhances the feeling of exploration, because being an actual explorer involves a lot of risk.
"Toxicity" is a hollow buzzword devoid of any meaning at this point.
It's actually not, but I can see why you would want it to be.
Personally speaking, I like how in every direction I look, there is something that catches my eye and interest. There's always something weird to find.
Exploration generally rewards me appropriately for my curiosity.
I can't do sick combos or learn interesting mechanics in these games- so the main draw has always been the exploration and character builds, and when I look at it from that point of view this is probably the best of the Soulslike games for me.
Exploration generally rewards me appropriately for my curiosity.
I can't do sick combos or learn interesting mechanics in these games- so the main draw has always been the exploration and character builds, and when I look at it from that point of view this is probably the best of the Soulslike games for me.
I don't play Souls games anymore because they're too scary. But watching a lot of Elden ring coverage and streams it reminds me of Ocarina of Time and how well crafted that world was when there wasn't a formula to follow (other than the 2D games). I think From raised the bar and I expect the larger studios will try to chase it.