10 ms·

Is Elden Ring that hard? Well, it depends what you mean by “hard”

57 points by evo_9 5y ago

throckmortra 5y ago
The level of craftsmanship they brought to this game really blew me away. Many open-world games have a feeling of emptiness or a lot of pointless content to fill in their map. Not so for Elden Ring - every area feels like they added something meaningful and interesting. Exploring is very rewarding
- ipiz0618 5y ago
  Exactly. Every enemy placement is relevant to the lore. Even their moves, spells, incantations tell you something about the backstory. This was what I like in the Souls series, but they had a "linear" path. To think they pulled this off in one of the most massive maps in a video game (without any DLCs!) is incredible.
LoveMortuus 5y ago
What's the appeal of Elden Ring? I haven't played it because it looks very similar to Dark Souls. Does it have a very good story?
- zemvpferreira 5y ago
  It is a Dark Souls, that's the whole appeal. And as a Dark Souls game, the story is inscrutable.
- jacobmischka 5y ago
  It's essentially Dark Souls with a lot of QoL improvements and much larger. Story is relatively interesting, though still very fill-in-the-gaps-yourself.
- nemo44x 5y ago
  To me it’s the next step forward after Breath of the Wild. It’s similar in many ways but leans more towards D&D than puzzles. The bosses are more varied and designed exceptionally well. It’s just one of the best crafted games ever imo.
- linedash 5y ago
  Its dark souls in skyrim
- kuraudo 5y ago
  The combat is simpler overall, but weapon choice massively impacts playstyle thus giving it more variety. Whereas breath of the wild encouraged you to try new weapons by breaking them after use, elden ring (like all "soulsborne" games, encourages you to try its arsenal of weapons by simply showering you with them at every possible opportunity. Even weapons in the same "class" such as shorts words can have different movesets, lengths, and weight which makes it completely possible that you may prefer to play with the starting weapon (and armor if you're inclined) the game gives you for the entire game. This type of play is viable. In addition to being able to upgrade any weapon, you can also attach special abilities to them (this one let's me do a charge! That one makes me flip over attacks and slam my sword! The other one let's me make a magical flame!). So in the end, while the base system is less complicated than breath of the wild's combat, the customization makes it "wider." Don't let cries of "it's difficult!" enter into your judgment. Every enemy, especially bosses, are just Megaman battles where you memorize patterns. Due to the rpg elements and how you customize your character, you can ignore entire boss mechanics all the way to the end if you so choose. The difficulty people complain about likely comes from your lack of movement (compared to spiritual ancestor ninja gaiden black) and the fact that there is a noticeable delay between commands and execution coupled with a command queue: if you press dodge you will note your character is not immediately dodging so you press it again: your character then dodges twice.
jmyeet 5y ago
I like CRPGs but they're so few and far between now. The last big studio releasing them was Bethesda and I really hate the systems used in the various Elder Scrolls games. Specifically, I hate scaling content. The old style was that level was used to direct a player to or away from certain areas and to provide a broad direction. Too weak? Go somewhere else, get some levels and gear and come back. It's easy to understand. Somewhere along the line studios decided this wasn't enough freedom or it was simply too hard to get the levels right that they gave up and just made everything scale to your level. So really there's no point in gaining levels. In fact, it can actually hurt you if you level ineffectively. So this robs the player of the reward of progression and removes player agency. Breath of the Wild broke the mold (or returned to the old model depending on your POV) and gave you open world without scaling content. You can complete the game with 3 hearts and base gear if you really want to. The speed runs of BotW are amazing. Or if you want to play less sweaty you can take the scenic route. I'm honestly surprised there haven't been more copies of this wildly successful formula. I feel like Elden Ring is really the first to try (and succeed). That's how you have to look at it though: boss too hard? Go somewhere else, get stronger and come back. You're essentially choosing your level of difficulty. People who ask for an easy mode are missing the point entirely. They're asking for a content conveyor belt with no player agency, essentially. Game companies need to stop listening to these people. They're just wrong. This is a massive mistake game companies make: trying to market their games to people who don't like them at the expense of people who do.
- paulryanrogers 5y ago
  > People who ask for an easy mode are missing the point entirely. They're asking for a content conveyor belt with no player agency, essentially. Game companies need to stop listening to these people. They're just wrong. This is gatekeeping. Game developers at the AAA level should strive to make them as approachable and accessible as practical. An easy mode or other accessibility options don't necessarily have to dumb down the 'intended' way to play. They can supplement the core experience so that busy or differently abled consumers can enjoy it as well.
  - emsy 5y ago
davidkuennen 5y ago
For me this is the best open world game since Skyrim and ignites the same epic exploration feeling I had in the first version of WoW and Zelda Ocarina of Time. That's because you have to figure out yourself where to go. No quest marks or quest helper. Just you and the open world. As for hard, for me it is. The first boss took me 30-50 attempts. But it was awesome to slay it in the end. I think you can play it somewhat as hard as you want. Nothing's stopping you from challenging areas with a higher level than usual. It just takes more time.
- neogodless 5y ago
  Every time I think I'm convinced I might like this game, I read something like this. > The first boss took me 30-50 attempts. Oh. Nope. Wow. Maybe it's a factor of 10 problem. Some people like this repetitive method of perfecting execution, but for me 3-5 attempts would be a much more ideal number.
  - Vanit 5y ago
    I'd really encourage you to ignore that comment and give the game a shot :) In ER you never have just one avenue of progression and this player decided to brute force the boss (which can be really fun if you want to level your own reflexes up), but that's not the only path you can take. I got stuck on the same boss for a bit, then just explored and came back when I was a bit stronger and got him on the 3rd attempt.
  - awild 5y ago
    Sibling already said this, but you can go through most bosses with an easier time without getting extremely good at it. I've played through all 3 dks games and am not exactly good at them (ironically they are by far my favourite games), but in those games you had less opportunity to use adjuncts like summons or spells. You might feel bad about using other means than pure combat skills (I certainly do) but the devs put those things in for a reason.
  - mercer 5y ago
    So far I've found (and heard) that if you avoid a boss until you 'finished' much of the content in a region, they can often be beating in much fewer attempts. So far I just roamed and enjoyed myself for tens of hours, and I killed the first boss (who is apparently unusually challenging, relatively) in < 5 attempts. I never got far in previous FromSoft games, but here the difference is that you can become quite overpowered for a boss without needing to do boring farming/grinding.
emerged 5y ago
I’ve never found the Dark Souls type games interesting at all. But I’ve never tried one. Is it worth a try even if you don’t feel interested at all?
- jeremyjh 5y ago
  It might be worth a try. I don't really consider myself a gamer anymore - I hadn't really been into a single-player game since I was a kid before I tried Dark Souls Remastered a couple of years ago. I had bought at least a dozen games over the years but never played any more than a few times. Dark Souls got me hooked completely, I ended up playing through the game 3-4 times which I had never done with any game even as a kid.
- nerdponx 5y ago
  I wasn't interested until I tried it, because I didn't get it until I experienced it for myself.
- fishtacos 5y ago
  I haven't either and I've played Dark Souls. A cursory search on YT will yield tons of results and inform you best. Watching someone try and fail to beat a boss 20 tries later is not conducive to wanting to play it, personally. It simply comes across as masochistic and a waste of time. OTOH, a friend of mine loves the series and Bloodborne. The way he explains it, the satisfaction of finally conquering a boss after so many trial and error runs is unmatchable. In a sense, it's similar to difficult games (platformers for me) of the 80s and 90s, or some old school shooters. A slow and steady build-up of skills culminating in mastery. I'd rather do that with something else than videogames. My take is that I've gotten lazier over time, wanting to enjoy a game for its escapism and relative challenge it provides, but not enough investment that it becomes a chore.
  - fendy3002 5y ago
    It's not masochistic, it's more like a challenge. I never played souls game, but monster hunter. The moment you know how the game works and what specific strategy works for specific monsters feels really2 fulfilling. I still remember the moment which I understand how to land a charged greatsword attack to yian kut ku. It's an eye opener. But yes it's not the game for everyone. It's hard.
mwaitjmp 5y ago
How are people finding it on PC? I’ve heard reports of issues with stuttering which is putting me off purchasing it for now.
- mizzack 5y ago
  There is a shader cache issue present on Windows that seems to be completely fixed by the latest Proton version on Linux. No stutter or fps hitches for me in Manjaro with a Vega 56
- washadjeffmad 5y ago
  It looks like Valve has mostly solved it (at least on Linux) with Steamplay by not using Windows' DX12 API. I haven't played on Windows, but it runs great after the shader pre-cache update.
- Jochim 5y ago
  I was worried about the same thing but happy to report that it's been pretty stable for me. The only stutters I've seen have been straight after alt+tabbing back into the game. I've had one crash in about 50 hours. I'm running Win10 on an i5-12600kf and 2080 super.
i67vw3 5y ago
Xqc (video game streamer) playing elden ring is one the funniest livestream you will find https://yewtu.be/watch?v=bS_OR-8xQfQ https://yewtu.be/watch?v=bS_OR-8xQfQ
- chockchocschoir 5y ago
  I almost never watch game streams as I don't find watching other players playing a game fun, but the domain kind of jumped out at me. Why not just link to regular YouTube instead of something called "yewtube"? Here is the original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS_OR-8xQfQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS_OR-8xQfQ
  - crtasm 5y ago
    It's an https://github.com/iv-org/invidious https://github.com/iv-org/invidious instance, the video is still pulled from youtube.
  - i67vw3 5y ago
    I dislike linking the official youtube domain. It is filled with trackers, ads, requires running various scripts, has bad privacy policy etc. 'yewtube' is one of the invidious instances. Invidious is an youtube proxy service through which a user can watch youtube videos without touching official youtube.
Al-Khwarizmi 5y ago
I have always been quite good at gaming, both in terms of reflexes and strategy (played and completed various Nintendo Hard games in the 80s and early 90s, played at competitive league level in various FPS games, can win games such as Civilization at rather high difficulty levels, have completed various roguelikes such as the 1.1.1 and previous versions of ADOM which were widely regarded as very hard and I could win quite reliably, etc.) but for some reason I was really, really bad at Dark Souls. I gave the first boss (Taurus Demon) a few tries and quit. I didn't even try the sequels because time is a scarce resource and I supposed I would have the same problem. Not sure if it is because the game doesn't suit my personality (it seems to appeal to highly methodical types of players, which I guess I'm not) or I was just missing something (I remember the game having a lot of "arcane difficulty" as mentioned in the article, in the sense that it had almost no instructions -or at least I read none- and I'm not too keen on looking at wikis or guides due to spoilers as I enjoy doing my own exploration and being surprised by things, so maybe there was something essential related to weapons, leveling, etc. that I missed). This one looks really good but I fear my experience will be similar. Although I may still give it a try, given all the hype.
- nerdponx 5y ago
  I watched a video recently where someone explained that this difference is exactly what makes Dark Souls special, unusual, and interesting: mechanically it's not a hard game, the challenge is in practice/familiarity, patience, and timing. Also there are plenty of guides without spoilers, the player community seems to value not giving up secrets.
  - UncleMeat 5y ago
    It is mechanically a hard game. DS1 has some truly awful hitboxes, provided virtually no actual in-game explanation of rather important mechanics surrounding needing certain kinds of weapons in the tomb of the giants, entire stats that basically don't work so you can accidentally stick all of your souls into a wasted build, and more. The primary system for making it easier (summoning phantoms) also encourages the community to send people to just gank you and waste your time. "All you need is patience" is not true. There is no way in hell my dad would make it through DS1 even though he is retired and doesn't have anything to do all day.
rafaelvasco 5y ago
I'll probably die far more then in the previous games as things are going. And this is a great thing. This is now my favorite game of all time.
tulios 5y ago
This game is a masterpiece, it's hard to explain to some people asking if they should try how immersive the game is. The feeling of dread and joy, mystery lurking from everywhere, that gasp of joy when you find a secret path or something unexpected. Bloodstains showing people fighting some crazy stuff in a safe area, making you question your safety. The game has so many memorable experiencies that is hard to explain it all, it's not about the graphics but the supreme immersion and game play. The multiplayer approach is also something that fits right into my alley, you get help whenever you need (want), not more not less.
- iambateman 5y ago
  This is exactly how I feel about Wordle.
  - christophilus 5y ago
    This made me snort, and I almost got got coffee in my sinuses.
- Bancakes 5y ago
  Elden Ring is one of many open world ARPG's. Souls games were unique and untouchable. now ER is in human form outside its safety bounds, and being invaded. The game's supposed to compete with Monster Hunter, Final Fantasy, Elder Scrolls, Dragons Dogma, etc. And how can it? You don't have a party, you don't have quests, you don't have a narrated story, nor giant enemies who react to weaknesses and have special ways to be fought. What's the difference between your first handcrafted Draugr cave filled with traps in Skyrim, and your first handcrafted goblin cave filled with traps in Elden Ring? I think, it's that one came out 11 years ago.
  - karpierz 5y ago
    I think that you've missed the beauty of Elden Ring (and the Souls series in general). > you don't have quests You do have quests! They just aren't forced upon you. Listen to the dialog of characters and you'll hear where they're heading and what they want you to do. > you don't have a narrated story Exactly! Instead of being told a grand narrative of what happened, you piece it together on your own, if you care. If you don't, then just ignore it. > nor giant enemies who react to weaknesses and have special ways to be fought. The whole point of combat in the Souls series is that every enemy (giant or small, boss or minion) is dangerous, and you have to learn how to fight them to win. Every enemy has weaknesses (whether that be to damage types or after certain attacks). The core difference between Elden Ring and the other games you listed is the atmosphere and tension. If you don't feel it, maybe it's not the game for you and that's okay.
germinalphrase 5y ago
Can the game be enjoyed in small doses (1-2 hrs)? As I’ve gotten older, I simply don’t have the time for long gaming sessions.
- whynaut 5y ago
  absolutely
- mercer 5y ago
  I'm 30+ hours in, and I rarely play for longer than an hour at a time. The copious amounts of graces (like bonfires, to save at) and the list of stuff to do that doesn't require much commitment make it perfect for shorter bursts of playing.
ipiz0618 5y ago
If you only follow the main quest, you're going to get stuck at some point unless you follow online guides to get overpowered early. This forces the player to explore the map, fight some manageable bosses and come back. Only then the player will find how massive the map really is. I'm 70 hours into the game, and am still finding new areas in Limgrave (the area where you start the game). And like all FromSoftware games, the side quests are very interesting, and lets you discover more of both the map and the lore. This game is really a masterpiece. Also, being a mage (astrologer) is definitely not easier than the other classes, unless you find powerful spells and staffs early in the game by chance or through guides. Any class could be made easy using this method.
scotty79 5y ago
I tried one of those. My objection was not that they are hard even though they are, I gave up on the first boss. My primary objection was that they are clunky. I had no pleasure at all in controlling the character even when I wasn't pummeled to death by a thing the size of half of my screen. So if I don't feel good even when unobstructed than why bother in conquering obstructions.
falcolas 5y ago
I have a nit to pick here: > Elden Ring just isn't very mechanically difficult. Most enemies telegraph their attacks with massive, seconds-long animations that give players plenty of time to react with a well-timed dodge, block, or parry. The windup animations in Elden Ring have random lengths. This makes them unreliable for executing dodges et.al., though they do tell you how to react. The timing of the defense relies on the start of the actual attack, which is tight. I noticed this difference because I’ve been working through Demon’s Souls lately, where the animation lengths are static. In other words, Elden Ring relies on mechanical difficulty as much as everything else to keep the game challenging for long time fans.
proc0 5y ago
I think people have forgotten what a games used to be (PS1 and before)... a self-consistent system of interactions with a challenge attached to it. That challenge is meant to stump the player, and that was a huge part of the appeal, to be good at something difficult and overcome/triumph over the challenge issued by the game developers. After mobile games became huge, the laziness of gamers has been increasingly catered to with fancy UI, quest tracking, dying with little consequence, etc. Elden Ring is doing something refreshing and apparently surprising to other game devs: it just simply leaves the player alone to solve a challenge.
- jockc 5y ago
  tbf if you have very few runes on you in Elden Ring then dying has very little consequence. Only your progress is reverted a little.
  - davidkuennen 5y ago
    I always get rid of all my runes before starting a tough boss fight :D No regrets then
  - alisonkisk 5y ago
    Starting a long game from scratch on every mistake is from an era was when content was incredibly expensive. Forced repetition, especially of the early part of the game, is a cheap gimmick.
    - whynaut 5y ago
      it’s not really a thing in ER.
- ElFitz 5y ago
  I tried playing some PS1 games again « recently », using an emulator. Wow. I had forgotten how few, if any, instructions and indications we were given. No wonder some of these games took me years to finish as a kid.
- 5y ago
arrakis2021 5y ago
The game is a masterpiece
- rafaelvasco 5y ago
  It is. In its genre, I'm pretty sure it's now the best game of all time.

57 points by evo_9 5y ago

The level of craftsmanship they brought to this game really blew me away. Many open-world games have a feeling of emptiness or a lot of pointless content to fill in their map. Not so for Elden Ring - every area feels like they added something meaningful and interesting. Exploring is very rewarding

ipiz0618 5y ago
Exactly. Every enemy placement is relevant to the lore. Even their moves, spells, incantations tell you something about the backstory. This was what I like in the Souls series, but they had a "linear" path. To think they pulled this off in one of the most massive maps in a video game (without any DLCs!) is incredible.

LoveMortuus 5y ago

What's the appeal of Elden Ring? I haven't played it because it looks very similar to Dark Souls. Does it have a very good story?

zemvpferreira 5y ago
It is a Dark Souls, that's the whole appeal. And as a Dark Souls game, the story is inscrutable.
jacobmischka 5y ago
It's essentially Dark Souls with a lot of QoL improvements and much larger. Story is relatively interesting, though still very fill-in-the-gaps-yourself.
nemo44x 5y ago
To me it’s the next step forward after Breath of the Wild. It’s similar in many ways but leans more towards D&D than puzzles. The bosses are more varied and designed exceptionally well. It’s just one of the best crafted games ever imo.
linedash 5y ago
Its dark souls in skyrim
kuraudo 5y ago
The combat is simpler overall, but weapon choice massively impacts playstyle thus giving it more variety. Whereas breath of the wild encouraged you to try new weapons by breaking them after use, elden ring (like all "soulsborne" games, encourages you to try its arsenal of weapons by simply showering you with them at every possible opportunity. Even weapons in the same "class" such as shorts words can have different movesets, lengths, and weight which makes it completely possible that you may prefer to play with the starting weapon (and armor if you're inclined) the game gives you for the entire game. This type of play is viable. In addition to being able to upgrade any weapon, you can also attach special abilities to them (this one let's me do a charge! That one makes me flip over attacks and slam my sword! The other one let's me make a magical flame!). So in the end, while the base system is less complicated than breath of the wild's combat, the customization makes it "wider." Don't let cries of "it's difficult!" enter into your judgment. Every enemy, especially bosses, are just Megaman battles where you memorize patterns. Due to the rpg elements and how you customize your character, you can ignore entire boss mechanics all the way to the end if you so choose. The difficulty people complain about likely comes from your lack of movement (compared to spiritual ancestor ninja gaiden black) and the fact that there is a noticeable delay between commands and execution coupled with a command queue: if you press dodge you will note your character is not immediately dodging so you press it again: your character then dodges twice.

jmyeet 5y ago

I like CRPGs but they're so few and far between now. The last big studio releasing them was Bethesda and I really hate the systems used in the various Elder Scrolls games. Specifically, I hate scaling content. The old style was that level was used to direct a player to or away from certain areas and to provide a broad direction. Too weak? Go somewhere else, get some levels and gear and come back. It's easy to understand. Somewhere along the line studios decided this wasn't enough freedom or it was simply too hard to get the levels right that they gave up and just made everything scale to your level. So really there's no point in gaining levels. In fact, it can actually hurt you if you level ineffectively. So this robs the player of the reward of progression and removes player agency. Breath of the Wild broke the mold (or returned to the old model depending on your POV) and gave you open world without scaling content. You can complete the game with 3 hearts and base gear if you really want to. The speed runs of BotW are amazing. Or if you want to play less sweaty you can take the scenic route. I'm honestly surprised there haven't been more copies of this wildly successful formula. I feel like Elden Ring is really the first to try (and succeed). That's how you have to look at it though: boss too hard? Go somewhere else, get stronger and come back. You're essentially choosing your level of difficulty. People who ask for an easy mode are missing the point entirely. They're asking for a content conveyor belt with no player agency, essentially. Game companies need to stop listening to these people. They're just wrong. This is a massive mistake game companies make: trying to market their games to people who don't like them at the expense of people who do.

paulryanrogers 5y ago
> People who ask for an easy mode are missing the point entirely. They're asking for a content conveyor belt with no player agency, essentially. Game companies need to stop listening to these people. They're just wrong. This is gatekeeping. Game developers at the AAA level should strive to make them as approachable and accessible as practical. An easy mode or other accessibility options don't necessarily have to dumb down the 'intended' way to play. They can supplement the core experience so that busy or differently abled consumers can enjoy it as well.
- emsy 5y ago

davidkuennen 5y ago

For me this is the best open world game since Skyrim and ignites the same epic exploration feeling I had in the first version of WoW and Zelda Ocarina of Time. That's because you have to figure out yourself where to go. No quest marks or quest helper. Just you and the open world. As for hard, for me it is. The first boss took me 30-50 attempts. But it was awesome to slay it in the end. I think you can play it somewhat as hard as you want. Nothing's stopping you from challenging areas with a higher level than usual. It just takes more time.

neogodless 5y ago
Every time I think I'm convinced I might like this game, I read something like this. > The first boss took me 30-50 attempts. Oh. Nope. Wow. Maybe it's a factor of 10 problem. Some people like this repetitive method of perfecting execution, but for me 3-5 attempts would be a much more ideal number.
- Vanit 5y ago
  I'd really encourage you to ignore that comment and give the game a shot :) In ER you never have just one avenue of progression and this player decided to brute force the boss (which can be really fun if you want to level your own reflexes up), but that's not the only path you can take. I got stuck on the same boss for a bit, then just explored and came back when I was a bit stronger and got him on the 3rd attempt.
- awild 5y ago
  Sibling already said this, but you can go through most bosses with an easier time without getting extremely good at it. I've played through all 3 dks games and am not exactly good at them (ironically they are by far my favourite games), but in those games you had less opportunity to use adjuncts like summons or spells. You might feel bad about using other means than pure combat skills (I certainly do) but the devs put those things in for a reason.
- mercer 5y ago
  So far I've found (and heard) that if you avoid a boss until you 'finished' much of the content in a region, they can often be beating in much fewer attempts. So far I just roamed and enjoyed myself for tens of hours, and I killed the first boss (who is apparently unusually challenging, relatively) in < 5 attempts. I never got far in previous FromSoft games, but here the difference is that you can become quite overpowered for a boss without needing to do boring farming/grinding.

emerged 5y ago

I’ve never found the Dark Souls type games interesting at all. But I’ve never tried one. Is it worth a try even if you don’t feel interested at all?

jeremyjh 5y ago
It might be worth a try. I don't really consider myself a gamer anymore - I hadn't really been into a single-player game since I was a kid before I tried Dark Souls Remastered a couple of years ago. I had bought at least a dozen games over the years but never played any more than a few times. Dark Souls got me hooked completely, I ended up playing through the game 3-4 times which I had never done with any game even as a kid.
nerdponx 5y ago
I wasn't interested until I tried it, because I didn't get it until I experienced it for myself.
fishtacos 5y ago
I haven't either and I've played Dark Souls. A cursory search on YT will yield tons of results and inform you best. Watching someone try and fail to beat a boss 20 tries later is not conducive to wanting to play it, personally. It simply comes across as masochistic and a waste of time. OTOH, a friend of mine loves the series and Bloodborne. The way he explains it, the satisfaction of finally conquering a boss after so many trial and error runs is unmatchable. In a sense, it's similar to difficult games (platformers for me) of the 80s and 90s, or some old school shooters. A slow and steady build-up of skills culminating in mastery. I'd rather do that with something else than videogames. My take is that I've gotten lazier over time, wanting to enjoy a game for its escapism and relative challenge it provides, but not enough investment that it becomes a chore.
- fendy3002 5y ago
  It's not masochistic, it's more like a challenge. I never played souls game, but monster hunter. The moment you know how the game works and what specific strategy works for specific monsters feels really2 fulfilling. I still remember the moment which I understand how to land a charged greatsword attack to yian kut ku. It's an eye opener. But yes it's not the game for everyone. It's hard.

mwaitjmp 5y ago

How are people finding it on PC? I’ve heard reports of issues with stuttering which is putting me off purchasing it for now.

mizzack 5y ago
There is a shader cache issue present on Windows that seems to be completely fixed by the latest Proton version on Linux. No stutter or fps hitches for me in Manjaro with a Vega 56
washadjeffmad 5y ago
It looks like Valve has mostly solved it (at least on Linux) with Steamplay by not using Windows' DX12 API. I haven't played on Windows, but it runs great after the shader pre-cache update.
Jochim 5y ago
I was worried about the same thing but happy to report that it's been pretty stable for me. The only stutters I've seen have been straight after alt+tabbing back into the game. I've had one crash in about 50 hours. I'm running Win10 on an i5-12600kf and 2080 super.

i67vw3 5y ago

Xqc (video game streamer) playing elden ring is one the funniest livestream you will find https://yewtu.be/watch?v=bS_OR-8xQfQ https://yewtu.be/watch?v=bS_OR-8xQfQ

chockchocschoir 5y ago
I almost never watch game streams as I don't find watching other players playing a game fun, but the domain kind of jumped out at me. Why not just link to regular YouTube instead of something called "yewtube"? Here is the original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS_OR-8xQfQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS_OR-8xQfQ
- crtasm 5y ago
  It's an https://github.com/iv-org/invidious https://github.com/iv-org/invidious instance, the video is still pulled from youtube.
- i67vw3 5y ago
  I dislike linking the official youtube domain. It is filled with trackers, ads, requires running various scripts, has bad privacy policy etc. 'yewtube' is one of the invidious instances. Invidious is an youtube proxy service through which a user can watch youtube videos without touching official youtube.

Al-Khwarizmi 5y ago

I have always been quite good at gaming, both in terms of reflexes and strategy (played and completed various Nintendo Hard games in the 80s and early 90s, played at competitive league level in various FPS games, can win games such as Civilization at rather high difficulty levels, have completed various roguelikes such as the 1.1.1 and previous versions of ADOM which were widely regarded as very hard and I could win quite reliably, etc.) but for some reason I was really, really bad at Dark Souls. I gave the first boss (Taurus Demon) a few tries and quit. I didn't even try the sequels because time is a scarce resource and I supposed I would have the same problem. Not sure if it is because the game doesn't suit my personality (it seems to appeal to highly methodical types of players, which I guess I'm not) or I was just missing something (I remember the game having a lot of "arcane difficulty" as mentioned in the article, in the sense that it had almost no instructions -or at least I read none- and I'm not too keen on looking at wikis or guides due to spoilers as I enjoy doing my own exploration and being surprised by things, so maybe there was something essential related to weapons, leveling, etc. that I missed). This one looks really good but I fear my experience will be similar. Although I may still give it a try, given all the hype.

nerdponx 5y ago
I watched a video recently where someone explained that this difference is exactly what makes Dark Souls special, unusual, and interesting: mechanically it's not a hard game, the challenge is in practice/familiarity, patience, and timing. Also there are plenty of guides without spoilers, the player community seems to value not giving up secrets.
- UncleMeat 5y ago
  It is mechanically a hard game. DS1 has some truly awful hitboxes, provided virtually no actual in-game explanation of rather important mechanics surrounding needing certain kinds of weapons in the tomb of the giants, entire stats that basically don't work so you can accidentally stick all of your souls into a wasted build, and more. The primary system for making it easier (summoning phantoms) also encourages the community to send people to just gank you and waste your time. "All you need is patience" is not true. There is no way in hell my dad would make it through DS1 even though he is retired and doesn't have anything to do all day.

rafaelvasco 5y ago

I'll probably die far more then in the previous games as things are going. And this is a great thing. This is now my favorite game of all time.

tulios 5y ago

This game is a masterpiece, it's hard to explain to some people asking if they should try how immersive the game is. The feeling of dread and joy, mystery lurking from everywhere, that gasp of joy when you find a secret path or something unexpected. Bloodstains showing people fighting some crazy stuff in a safe area, making you question your safety. The game has so many memorable experiencies that is hard to explain it all, it's not about the graphics but the supreme immersion and game play. The multiplayer approach is also something that fits right into my alley, you get help whenever you need (want), not more not less.

iambateman 5y ago
This is exactly how I feel about Wordle.
- christophilus 5y ago
  This made me snort, and I almost got got coffee in my sinuses.
Bancakes 5y ago
Elden Ring is one of many open world ARPG's. Souls games were unique and untouchable. now ER is in human form outside its safety bounds, and being invaded. The game's supposed to compete with Monster Hunter, Final Fantasy, Elder Scrolls, Dragons Dogma, etc. And how can it? You don't have a party, you don't have quests, you don't have a narrated story, nor giant enemies who react to weaknesses and have special ways to be fought. What's the difference between your first handcrafted Draugr cave filled with traps in Skyrim, and your first handcrafted goblin cave filled with traps in Elden Ring? I think, it's that one came out 11 years ago.
- karpierz 5y ago
  I think that you've missed the beauty of Elden Ring (and the Souls series in general). > you don't have quests You do have quests! They just aren't forced upon you. Listen to the dialog of characters and you'll hear where they're heading and what they want you to do. > you don't have a narrated story Exactly! Instead of being told a grand narrative of what happened, you piece it together on your own, if you care. If you don't, then just ignore it. > nor giant enemies who react to weaknesses and have special ways to be fought. The whole point of combat in the Souls series is that every enemy (giant or small, boss or minion) is dangerous, and you have to learn how to fight them to win. Every enemy has weaknesses (whether that be to damage types or after certain attacks). The core difference between Elden Ring and the other games you listed is the atmosphere and tension. If you don't feel it, maybe it's not the game for you and that's okay.

germinalphrase 5y ago

Can the game be enjoyed in small doses (1-2 hrs)? As I’ve gotten older, I simply don’t have the time for long gaming sessions.

whynaut 5y ago
absolutely
mercer 5y ago
I'm 30+ hours in, and I rarely play for longer than an hour at a time. The copious amounts of graces (like bonfires, to save at) and the list of stuff to do that doesn't require much commitment make it perfect for shorter bursts of playing.

ipiz0618 5y ago

If you only follow the main quest, you're going to get stuck at some point unless you follow online guides to get overpowered early. This forces the player to explore the map, fight some manageable bosses and come back. Only then the player will find how massive the map really is. I'm 70 hours into the game, and am still finding new areas in Limgrave (the area where you start the game). And like all FromSoftware games, the side quests are very interesting, and lets you discover more of both the map and the lore. This game is really a masterpiece. Also, being a mage (astrologer) is definitely not easier than the other classes, unless you find powerful spells and staffs early in the game by chance or through guides. Any class could be made easy using this method.

scotty79 5y ago

I tried one of those. My objection was not that they are hard even though they are, I gave up on the first boss. My primary objection was that they are clunky. I had no pleasure at all in controlling the character even when I wasn't pummeled to death by a thing the size of half of my screen. So if I don't feel good even when unobstructed than why bother in conquering obstructions.

falcolas 5y ago

I have a nit to pick here: > Elden Ring just isn't very mechanically difficult. Most enemies telegraph their attacks with massive, seconds-long animations that give players plenty of time to react with a well-timed dodge, block, or parry. The windup animations in Elden Ring have random lengths. This makes them unreliable for executing dodges et.al., though they do tell you how to react. The timing of the defense relies on the start of the actual attack, which is tight. I noticed this difference because I’ve been working through Demon’s Souls lately, where the animation lengths are static. In other words, Elden Ring relies on mechanical difficulty as much as everything else to keep the game challenging for long time fans.

proc0 5y ago

I think people have forgotten what a games used to be (PS1 and before)... a self-consistent system of interactions with a challenge attached to it. That challenge is meant to stump the player, and that was a huge part of the appeal, to be good at something difficult and overcome/triumph over the challenge issued by the game developers. After mobile games became huge, the laziness of gamers has been increasingly catered to with fancy UI, quest tracking, dying with little consequence, etc. Elden Ring is doing something refreshing and apparently surprising to other game devs: it just simply leaves the player alone to solve a challenge.

jockc 5y ago
tbf if you have very few runes on you in Elden Ring then dying has very little consequence. Only your progress is reverted a little.
- davidkuennen 5y ago
  I always get rid of all my runes before starting a tough boss fight :D No regrets then
- alisonkisk 5y ago
  Starting a long game from scratch on every mistake is from an era was when content was incredibly expensive. Forced repetition, especially of the early part of the game, is a cheap gimmick.
  - whynaut 5y ago
    it’s not really a thing in ER.
ElFitz 5y ago
I tried playing some PS1 games again « recently », using an emulator. Wow. I had forgotten how few, if any, instructions and indications we were given. No wonder some of these games took me years to finish as a kid.
5y ago

arrakis2021 5y ago

The game is a masterpiece

rafaelvasco 5y ago
It is. In its genre, I'm pretty sure it's now the best game of all time.