LazyBoy

I just can't find any time to play this at the moment and it's killing me. What little I get to play is of such a high quality, I can't believe how much of it they've managed to pack in.

Part of me wishes they removed fast travel from this game. As much as it would have pained me, the idea of being stuck in some of the areas I've found myself in until I could git gud would have made for great stories.

I've got loads of good Int stuff, but I'm saving it for my next run where I'll spec properly. I just want some fun tools to mix into my build

Can anyone hint me in the direction of some arcane dependent gear? I just haven't found much yet and would like to build some fun stuff into my kit. Playing a bit too traditional at the moment.

Its funny, we had a similar disagreement when we were discussing BotW. I think you ended up winning that argument, because when I pointed out that you can just go and try your luck on the end boss (thus justifying the need to 'level up' in the world first), you said you did, and you beat it. Now if you did that in Elden Ring you'd really be showing off. However to give you some credit, I had doubts when I was just out in that first open world section. As you highlight, I was just running about in the open world, riding away from areas I found too hard, and just doing the 'easy' bits. This weakened the experience, along with other doubts that were starting to seed. Where the game really came together for me was that first proper dungeon, the first checkpoint and first 'wall'. I implore you before you give up on this game to ride up to the gates of Stormveil Castle, and try your luck. I won't say anymore, but please come back to us if you do try it and let us know whether your opinion changed.

That'll be because I've been playing it every second I can spare from caring for my newborns (and I'm pushing that close to neglect). I'll be writing up my extended thoughts soon, but suffice to say not only is this a masterpiece, but it gives me hope that it can inspire the next generation of AA/AAA games to improve, after what I thought was a very, very poor generation for blockbuster games. I can't review it yet, because fuck me is this game massive. And not in the Assassins Creed - here's 100 hours of c&p quests - kind of massive. Its mysterious, challenging, rich and constantly surprising, and all I want to do is play it. More thoughts coming soon. Praise the sun.

On the difficulty question - and I'm posing this at those who haven't played these games before - yes these games are difficult, and don't let anyone tell you different. They are punishing to a fault, not because of the need for rapid input or reaction times, but because the game demands respect. It does not want to be beat by mindlessly button mashing. The one thing you absolutely need to enjoy this series is patience. The fact that the game even makes demands is the thing that sets it apart from so many modern games which seemly bend over backwards to help you 'win'. The difficulty of these games is cut in half when you understand the rules it lays down. It will still be tough, but you'll at least understand it, and thus can plan accordingly. It can help if you have someone to train you for an hour or two in the basics. I'm always willing to make myself available if anyone would like a bit of tutelage.

Midnight Thursday for us truly obsessed.

I knew it was going to review well, but some are putting this in instant masterpiece territory, which really does get my bits tingling. Blackout now for me until tomorrow night. Can't wait.

First time at launch for me, but with massive FOMO from the previous entries. There's so much to discover in these games and I really want to be part of it this time round. Will be making notes as I play.

Can't remember the last time I was this excited for a game. In fact the best comparison may be the Infinity War/Endgame releases for a similar level of excitedness. I've got 3 days blocked out, and I intend to absorb all of it.

PlayStation, so add me - WangJiLin is the tag. The online element is huge for me. It's not like I'm any good at the PVP, quite the opposite, but the emergent gameplay, the tension, the culture. Love it. And now with the open world? Ooh I can't wait.

I haven't watched any of the most recent previews, though I hear Vaati's is fairly spoiler free. Most important news to come out is that they have upped the difficulty from the network test and scrambled the items, so no unfair advantages. I did allow myself to see the starting classes. Suffice to say I've picked the one best aligned to my planned Sekiro/Musashi build. @Julius you playstation or xboX for this?

Alright the review sold me, though I may wait until I’ve gotten a bit more value out of Slay the Spire.

Called this out as vapourware the second that E3 demo dropped. You could tell they never had any idea what the game was. Shame, but unsurprising.

Watched the Skill up impressions, and that’s all I need to see for now. Media blackout for me now until release. Cant wait.

We’ll this is good isn’t it. Bought it a couple months ago, but bounced off straight back into the arms of Hades. Jumped back in up a couple days ago, won my first run with Ironclad and now I’m hooked. Christ it feels good when you got a good deck. Done Silent as well now (with a ridiculous deck based on getting out as many cards per turn as possible - towards the end I was firing off 12 double power shivs per turn). Now onto Defect, and I get the feeling he’ll require a lot more patience. I also need to get better at pruning my deck - any tips? On level 1 how do you know when to stop building out your deck and to start foregoing new card pick ups?

@Julius yeah the jump is a bit floaty but it was the same in Sekiro. I think it’s programmed like that to give you time to execute mid air actions. As for his inspirations Miyazaki has been quite open about his love for BotW and it’s influence on this game in particular. I’ve no doubt Dragon Quest is one of the multitude of other influences they borrow from liberally. The Manga Bezerk is the other notable example I know of, with the wheel skeletons in DS1 being a straight copy from that. Don’t care too much though, as long as the gameplay continues to feel unique.

My best time is 22 I think, running the fists rip and tear with the Poseidon dash. You just get into a flow Hotline Miami style.

Yep, that looks great. I wonder if the addition of those summonable spirits is meant to help balance the game against the coop experience - allowing them to make the co-op game harder without making it too hard for solo players.

I imagine it'll be the gameplay demo they showed to press a couple months back. Bloody excited.

@Mokong that last one was awesome

Yeah quite psyched for this after reading all that. It sounds like the biggest change is from the more classic 'level select' structure, to the more zeitgeist-y rogue like 'run' structure, which is a fairly substaintial change, and one I welcome. Its a wierd one, because part of the reason I was originally attracted to the first was that you had the Fire Emblem esque character building system, with the members of your party developing over time. However because life is so cheap in the first game, and often a character would have to sit it out after only one run to recover, it was really hard to build those bonds between yourself and the characters that makes FE games so rich (at least in the old games before they started having fucking tea parties). Also it looks incredible - those battle animations! Will wait for the switch port.

24 attempts isn’t bad, really.

Will this still be running on the Creation engine?