Elden Ring: The Kotaku Review

BrainSyphoned1391d ago

Yet it is the most rational thing they have lead with in living memory.

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frostypants1390d ago (Edited 1390d ago )

Isn't this the same publication that published an article that the Series X has too many holes and holes are scary? Yeah. This one is high quality by their editorial standards.

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UnSelf1390d ago

Forbidden West > Elden Ring

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EmperorDalek1391d ago

Did you actually read the review to find out what he meant? Or did you, like most people do, simply read the small quote on N4G and feel as though you read enough to judge the entire article?

gamer78041391d ago

Most people don’t read kotaku reviews, for good reason. Bad Takes: The Kotaku Modus Operandi.

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garos821390d ago

no and i simply wont give them any clicks. besides i dont need Kotaku to validate/discredit my GOTY. Their articles are usually trash anyway

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Phoenix761390d ago

If its a Kotaku article, it's usually best to just skip it and head to the comment section first and search for clues there LOL

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Chriswynnetbh1391d ago

Frustration is built into the foundation of souls games. Not everyone likes to breeze through games on easy mode with no challenge involved. It is the frustration and the feeling of overcoming it that draws people to those games in the first place. If you don't understand that it's perfectly fine and the game is clearly not meant for you.

Seraphim1391d ago

hands down, imo, there is no better sense of achievement than beating some of the bosses in these games. While it only took about 8 tries, 3 of which were using a bow cheese that I was impatient to properly try lol, beating General Radahn was an epic sense of accomplishment. As were some other bosses.

side note: for those who want to breeze through everything that is an option with the numerous rune farms available & ridiculously strong weapons/builds. The boulder can be accessed right away and the bird can also be accessed relatively early on for even more exp. Pre nerf a friend used Sword of Night and Flame and laughed at General Radahn. My quip, but did you feel a sense of accomplishment, the answer was no.

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Crows901390d ago (Edited 1390d ago )

Just recently beat the gargoyles. Felt great after getting pummeled so many damn times.

The hardest boss for me so far. Running a bleed build so wasn't doing much damage per hit and so getting a bit overwhelmed when the 2nd dude joins the fray.

Radahn i beat on my first attempt....but damn is that fight cool.

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ChubbyBlade1391d ago

Read the review…

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CorndogBurglar1391d ago

Because it's difficulty can get frustrating when stuck on a boss that you've tried to heat 30 times. But the game is built that way on purpose. All Souls games are. It's the feeling of finally beating that insanely difficult boss that makes it so great.

There are different types of frustration. If they said the game was frustrating because it was full of bugs, but then called it "master class", then yes, you would have a point. But thats not what this is at all

As others have said, try reading the article. The small intro summary doesn't tell you anything.

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soulrebel1390d ago

Ah, you need more than one layer of thought to understand that...

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SyntheticForm1390d ago

Elden Ring is my personal game of the year. However... God of War Ragnarok could change that. I don't know though; the Elden Ring is so powerful.

zahdab1390d ago (Edited 1390d ago )

par·a·dox
/ˈperəˌdäks/
noun
a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.
"in a paradox, he has discovered that stepping back from his job has increased the rewards he gleans

spicelicka1390d ago

Because the frustrating and master class are referring to two different things. Master class is referring to the world building.

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+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 1390d ago

Harryvok1391d ago

I really enjoyed Dark Souls 3 and the Demon's Souls remake. Never really got into Bloodborne or Sekiro, those game just didn't gel for me like Dark Souls 3 / Demons Souls did.

I'm about 20 hours into Elden Ring and yes, it's really good. The step up to open world has worked well and I'm glad the combat is more in line with Dark Souls than Bloodborne/Sekiro. Lovely art style too. Managed to beat Margit first go as an Astrologer. Was actually really easy with a summon by the gate and the spirit wolves.

There are things that grate on me though. The game feels... Old? Like the animations, the physics, the character and environmental models all have this feel like they're out of a PS3 game. Overall graphics are just 'ok' as well. Textures need work etc. It's the impressive art style that helps cover some of those things up. Also, performance isn't very good. Feels like From Software have never really learnt how to optimise a game properly.

Is it a really good game? Yes. But with all the issues in it, there's no way I could give it the 10/10 so many did. Things other developers/games would get blasted for by critics just seem to get a pass and get glossed over for this game.

Epicor1390d ago

I get what you are saying. And I agree that the game feels a bit dated. But maybe mostly because many modern games are very responsive and buttery smooth. Something we've used to. Elden Ring has it's technical issues. Especially in early phases of the game. For some reason the screen tearing / frame rate issues get way better after few hours to a degree where they are almost non-existent (at least on PS5). Graphically it feels like PS4 game. I just played God Of War on PS5 (which is a PS4 game) and it looked and felt way better technically. But Elden Ring provides enough reasons for me to forgive these technical issues. When you are so engaged with the exploration and challenging combat, you don't really even notice nor think about any technical shortcomings. The world is amazing. The sense of achievement in this game is unparalleled. I'm okay with many sites giving this game a perfect 10/10. I would personally maybe rate it as 9,5/10 game but that's just me of course. I feel so stupid that I almost postponed purchasing this game thinking that I'll play it when the technical issues are fixed. No reason to wait. These technical issues are not major issues. Only a really minor inconvenience.

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Harryvok1389d ago

I guess I'm just more fussy when it comes to actually giving some sort of score. So far I'd give it an 8.5-9. I still stand by saying things this game gets a pass for would see other games blasted and marked down for.

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Chard1390d ago

Demon's Souls feels far more 'old' than Elden Ring, even with the new graphics of the remake

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Harryvok1389d ago

Agreed. I just think after this many games and in this day and age, I expect more from this studio in terms of technology and the technical aspects of their games.

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Replies(1)

Crows901390d ago

Haven't had a single issue with the game so far.

I make the game harder for myself by barely upgrading the weapons, not using the summon ashes and definitely not using help from other players for bosses.

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Nacho_Z1391d ago

Enjoyable article. The word frustrating up there is misleading because the writer absolutely loves the game.

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CorndogBurglar1391d ago (Edited 1391d ago )

It's not misleading. People just don't understand that there are different types of frustration. The game is frustrating because of its difficulty. But that being hard doesn't make it a bad game.

Whereas, saying a game is frustrating because it has tons of bugs is an entirely different story.

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Nacho_Z1391d ago

It is misleading because it implies a relatively critical viewpoint whereas it's actually nothing but praise for the game, while acknowledging the tough but fair difficulty.

I'm not sure if you read the article or not.

gold_drake1390d ago

i think you're reaching here.
it never said its bad.

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CorndogBurglar1390d ago

@curtainswoosh

I never said ghe article said its bad....

CorndogBurglar1390d ago (Edited 1390d ago )

@Nacho_Z

I did read the article. And I'm not saying the article said its bad. What I'm saying is that this game's difficulty can 100% be frustrating. Anyone that has played the Souls series has gotten frustrated as hell at one point (likely several points) in every single one of them. But that kind of frustration is not a bad thing. In fact, it makes overcoming that frustratingly difficult obstacle even more rewarding. Which is really what we all love so much about these games.

That type of frustration is good frustration.

Bad frustration is when a game is full of bugs and it frustrates you (which isn't the case in these games). That's why the headline is not misleading. The game is 100% frustrating at times. But in a good way.

Crows901390d ago

I got pummeled by some bosses.....never frustrated. I was always excited for another go.

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