1 Thing every Soulsborne Game did better than Elden Ring

With the 10+ years of experience Fromsoftware has in making these games, it's surprising how many little things were done in the past that felt like they should've been a non-issue, but here we are. I discuss 1 detail from every prior Soulsborne game that I felt has been done better than it is in Elden Ring! You can let me know your takes in the comments :)
0:00 - Intro
0:31 - Demon's Souls
4:07 - Dark Souls 1
7:02 - Dark Souls 2
9:21 - Bloodborne
11:32 - Dark Souls 3
14:39 - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
16:53 - Outro
#EldenRing #Fromsoftware #DarkSouls
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[@BertoPlease]

UPDATE: OPPOSITE CONCEPT VIDEO IS OUT kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zn65iaOBa5eEfq8 I want to address a few things because some folks are making assumptions that are just outright wrong and are maybe getting heated for the wrong reason: Obviously Elden Ring isn't my favorite game in the series but I still LIKE it a lot, I've replayed it a shit ton of times and would consider it an A tier game. The purpose of this video isn't to bash it or to say it's the worst, and I hoped the video came across that way with me giving it credit where it deserves it, I'm by no means implying ER did any of the things mentioned outright BAD, unless I strictly say so, but I also understand the premise of the video maybe gives the wrong idea. I've been a fan of the series for almost 10 years now, played all the games multiple times, and from my perspective, the point of the video is looking at things that I felt could've been done better because they obviously HAVE done it better in the past, but for one reason or another they didn't; I would hope most of them are objective but I understand that not all of them are, and have some subjectivity. Now yes, some of the things I comment on simply discuss some of the things some of the games have done BEST in the series, but on the flip side, I also could've talked about things that Elden Ring outright did TERRIBLY, like most of the duo boss fights and such, but I opted out of it since it's a very documented critique, and I couldn't necessarily pin that to one game, most of the games did duo fights even a bit better. I also hope that this video would maybe be an incentive for anyone who hasn't played the prior games to give them a shot, because there's PLENTY of reasons to do so, or to LEARN about some things that maybe aren't even done the best in ER, even if they're still done well. I'm passionate about game design and just want to see the best out of Fromsoft as they can have, so it's just a tad disappointing seeing some steps back in some mechanics of the series, but there also could've been external reasons for some of the differences. Nevertheless to me this video was a fun thought experiment and I'm glad most of ya'll just took it as that, trust me I'm not THAT upset about the majority of the things I talk about lmao, but it is an opiniated video so I did expect some disagreements, but again, just keep it civil 🤷‍♀

[@flamingmanure]

"I also could've talked about things that Elden Ring outright did TERRIBLY, like most of the duo boss fights and such, but I opted out of it since it's a very documented critique, and I couldn't necessarily pin that to one game, most of the games did duo fights even a bit better." nah, i summoned and cooped in the duo fights and had some of the best most chaotic moments ive had in the entire series, maybe you souls vets should learn that just because it isnt designed to be beaten solo, doesnt mean its bad, fromsoft are tired of designing every boss encounter to be done solo, especially in an open world game, so no, they didnt make duo fights worse, they just wanted to take a different approach for a game this big. maybe make a video of the many MANY things does better than the older games to even out your nostalgia bias?

[@simonealcazar816]

@@flamingmanurethis is not nostalgia, I think many of the takes on ER overblown or straight up wrong, I put ER above DS1-3 but the Duo bosses are not good. Even if it was balanced with summons in mind, they are not unique at all and being two enemies that don’t mash well together. I will defend what ER does right but will not defend the flaws. Are some of the people overblowning it. Hell yes! Is it true also yes.

[@questionablezoomer764]

@@flamingmanureThat’s the thinest argument I’ve heard defending Elden Ring. The game is made so that people can choose to play however they want, even the devs said that. Keep in mind that when designing variety in playstyles, you have to try to make them all as fun as possible, and this is where FromSoft jumped the shark with Elden Ring. They couldn’t handle making the variety of playstyles work well with combat encounters and just combat in general. Unfortunately they made a huge misstep there, and it’s sad (especially because I was extremely anticipated for it), because I want the team to succeed because I loved their previous works.

[@BertoPlease]

lol why are you so gung ho about duo boss fights in ER, I've never seen someone defend putting two basic enemies / repeat bosses into a room together and claiming they're so good so passionately. Of course doing shit with friends is fun, there's less things that AREN'T more fun that way, doesn't make it good. But you commented on my retrospective video so you'd have already seen me discuss this in the godskin duo section so you know my constructive thoughts on this, riiiiiiight? :)

[@tomjohn3387]

It was a good video. Keep up the good work!

[@ChuckFinelyForever]

One thing you have to give FromSoft is that all of the souls games feel unique unlike most series.

[@hionajoseph4611]

I mean most of them are unique but elden ring is probably the least unique as it literally takes so many reused assets from all the other games re used boss animations etc etc not to say it's a bad thing but it did take out the "oh shit that's such a cool enemy or boss attack" moments for me when literally all the other games had already done this shit before not to mention it looks graphically and artistically very similar to ds3 but thats just me

[@thedarkroom6416]

@@hionajoseph4611I disagree a lot from soft has been reusing animations for years and no one ever complained until now the boss animations only a few for certain moves are reused I think it’s the most uniqe as it’s open world and the world looks uniqe as long with the bosses design and how it plays into the lore if you look the graphics are simmiliar to ds3 like bloodbourne is but they all have uniqe style

[@thedarkroom6416]

@@hionajoseph4611also I disagree with the ds3 thing ds3 was very grey and dull on purpose elden ring is a lot more vibrant and uniqe ur looks simmiliar cause the game engine

[@dificulttocure]

@@hionajoseph4611 What makes Elden Ring unique is the open world.

[@icebox1954]

@@dificulttocure A good lesson that just because what you do is unique it doesn't mean that it's good. Elden Ring's open world was by far the worst aspect of the game and it doesn't help that 80% of the game is pure fluff reused content or have very little to nothing of note in it. Quantity over quality was where they went wrong. I just hope they make the DLC better with a more linear place as all the best content even for Elden Ring is in the linear places.

[@oresthopiak8609]

Bloodborne had an amazing "limb break" system too, which would be super awesome if it was integrated to Elden Ring, judging by how many huge bosses there are

[@lucaschalub585]

The limb break was first in ds2 bro

[@vfxjoyboy]

​@@lucaschalub585we don't talk abt ds2

[@oresthopiak8609]

@@lucaschalub585 damn, I want to buy that game now even more! But I am forcing myself not to, as I am already playing Sekiro, Nioh and Elden Ring, and those were quite fucking expensive for me, ahah

[@darkstar_xd]

@@vfxjoyboy We do talk about that mate

[@roohni2226]

@@lucaschalub585limb break in ds2 isnt rly the same as bb

[@horse_dog]

i think elden ring’s biggest weakness is that it might be a little too massive. my first playthrough was easily one of the best times i’ve had playing a game. however, i haven’t been able to finish a subsequent playthrough since because every time i do, i get burned out and i get option paralysis. i don’t have these issues with the other souls games. in the past year alone i’ve played bloodborne 3 times.

[@kfc4056]

Is lack of replay-ability always bad. Most open world games have this because a major portion of enjoyment is the sense of discovery which you can’t replicate on another play though. Are you really going to say it’s flawed in that way simply because you can’t replay it when you stated on your first play-through it’s one of the best experiences you ever had? I’d say a great first playthrough in this games case is better then it being replayable

[@Darkheart00]

I’d actually somewhat disagree here. I was thinking… And I’d compare Elden Rings open world to Botw, Skyrim and Witcher… and came to the conclusion that Elden Ring is actually significantly the smallest out of the bunch…. I remember thinking why the game felt big on subsequent play through, when it wasn’t. ER focused on Density/population of content rather than pure *size* That’s why, after that moment of realisation, I’d complete Elden Ring far quicker than any other open world game on the list lol

[@ni9274]

You can ignore the open-world after you first playthrough, just doing the main bosses you can finish the game in 10hours

[@skeley6776]

@@ni9274 but most of that time will be randomly running around.

[@BertoPlease]

I do agree with @kfc4056 that not all games have to be replayable like that, I know that's something Sekiro got a lot but I think it's one of those games that you can just cherish a playthrough every few months or years, but it is unfortunate that you WANTED to replay and its not turning out well 😥

[@gus8723]

Dark Souls 2 also is the only game where backsteps are actually useful because they have s, being able to dodge attacks with backsteps made for some pretty stylish combos in pvp/pve.

[@midgetydeath]

Backstepping is often useful to me in general regardless of any i-frames. Because I can use it to not get hit or get some distance to breathe without spending much stamina.

[@altur5596]

In ds3 it's useful depending on weapon. Some heavy weapons' roll+r1 is only a short range while their backstep+r1 hits much further

[@98-carlmarkmarak22]

Bloodborne better because they travel further distance

[@Grimnoire]

Back steps are useful in Elden ring for backstabbing and skill expression. Also who gives a fuck about back steps when we have a dash that turns you into smoke and a spear that lets you become lightning

[@nayyarrashid4661]

They should have incorporated back step or even side steps like the Black Knife Tiche. I liked Tiche fighting style with a knife. Because knife weapons otherwise are totally useless having almost zero range.

[@Galgamos]

DS1: Fairness in interactivity. If you could see something, you could affect it, and the rules were usually consistent between the player and enemies. Managed to throw firebombs over the boss fog and hit the boss? You can bring it down to 1 HP. Is there a gap in the wall? You can usually make the boss fall off. Meanwhile, Elden Ring has bosses that leap backwards on narrow bridges, and get saved by invisible walls.

[@jeef4692]

so DS1 is better because it allowed you to cheese bosses easier?

[@MrSnakexxxx]

​@@jeef4692No DS1 is better because it enforces the same rules on the player and the enemies which makes the game feel fair.

[@jeef4692]

@@MrSnakexxxx the enemies are all meant to be stronger than the player, it makes beating them feel like a challenge and makes it rewarding to succeed, if winning was made as simple as cheesing, or, as you say, "if the fights were made fair", it'd take away the whole purpose of the initial difficulty, and make every fight way less rewarding.

[@supergamehunter0539]

@@jeef4692 A good example is the bow cheese for commander Niall iirc. The boss arena has a small hole that you can use to shoot him from a certain angle a distance away and as such cheese him. I don't support cheesing bosses but that's a good example of what Galgamos said.

[@Fabrosixdx]

What are you talking about? You can make the gargoyles fall off in Elden ring but not darksouls, you can also cheese bosses like commander Niall.

[@ahmz1404]

Elden Ring did something very special, it brought back the feelings of "surprise" and "wonder" to me since my first Souls game. You see, DS1 was my first From game, and the genuine surprise and exploration were the best parts of the experience. In the subsequent games, I never *truly* had that feeling return, I felt like I always knew what the "formula" was. It wasn't until I played Hollow Knight that those feelings returned. And then came Elden Ring. From the beginning, when I got snatched into a cave and walked out into the burning red hellscape that was Caelid, I was shocked. And then I was teleported to what felt like the top of the world, at Leyndell. But before I got to Leyndell proper, I rode down an unassuming elevator that just keep going, and going ...and going. Wow. THERE'S AN UNDERGROUND MAP?! It was unbelievable. Then I got to Leyndell proper, and it was Anor Londo, except it was all explorable, not only that, but there was an entire sub system of sewers, and then, a secret boss! But did it end there? No... I jumped on the altar and it moved... I kept going down further... and further... and further... behind 2 more illusory walls, and I was in the Deeproot Depths. Simply put, the wonder of exploration was absolutely incredible, and no other game did that better than Elden Ring.

[@michaelmango23]

Cringe

[@Man2Goblin]

I agree, it was all really refreshing coming from the previous games. They even took your knowledge from ds3 bosses and flipped it on its head. Enemies now had more delayed attacks and combos to throw your muscle memory off. I loved it.

[@robertfernandez3746]

nop@@michaelmango23

[@djlethargic]

​@@michaelmango23You're so badass 😎

[@matthewackley4643]

@@michaelmango23L person.

[@derrickcrowe3888]

One thing that was really strong in Demon's Souls but has been steadily getting weaker to the point of almost non-existence in Elden Ring is boss arenas that influence the fight. DeS arenas had features like hallways, cramped spaces, multiple levels, environmental hazards, destructible barriers, interactable objects, traps, narrow bridges, and even interactions between boss mechanics and the environment (Dirty Colossus' flies can be burned away with the torches in the arena). But by the time we get to Elden Ring, despite adding jumping and a lot of verticality in exploration, virtually every boss arena is just a large, flat, empty room, sometimes with a few pillars. With as many repeat bosses as ER has, some arena variety could have done a lot to make them feel less repetitive.

[@BertoPlease]

One of the unfortunate side effects of the games focusing more on the combat and bosses than.. everything, making the world as immersive as possible. I will say, for this reason I do kinda appreciate the overworld bosses a bit in this regard, since it feels the battle feel more natural, but on occasion it can backfire if the terrain is a w f u l. Like with Ekzykes

[@theoroberts3727]

Tbh tho demon souls bosses that had the stuff you mentioned are almost all gimmick bosses and some weren't done well at all

[@derrickcrowe3888]

@@theoroberts3727 Even if that's true, so what? I'm talking about arena design, not boss mechanics. Demon's Souls having clunky bosses doesn't make ER's arenas any less boring.

[@parris739]

@@BertoPlease i want to say i enjoy souls and bloodborne more than ER because of its environments. And i would argue that most players enjoys souls is because of its tight and interconnected world design. It always felt so good when I finished exploring the areas and end it off with a boss fight and especially the when the boss is good. It felt like a horror game with added combat elements most of the time, and the satisfaction clearing an area and looting everything is unmatched. The lack of deliberate area design and the switch to more boss and combat focused is what made me dislike ER. ( and i think what made BB the best souls to a lot of people is because its a perfect balance of both area and combat)

[@jankbunky4279]

​@@derrickcrowe3888but that's really intertwined. DeS generally had gimmick boss fights that were 90% environmental, whereas bosses in Elden Ring almost always focus on being a tight 1v1 experience. If arenas would be more complex, boss behavior would be exponentially more complex too. There's only a limited amount of permutations that keep a boss fight fun and able to be made with the resource limitations development of these games have.

[@river7874]

Humorously enough, the Tonitrus is my favorite base-game weapon in Bloodborne. I ran a Strength Arcane build in my blind run, and the Tonitrus with 3 bolt gems hit like a truck.

[@justkubz]

Tonitrus for life!

[@BertoPlease]

It is veery strong with the right chalice gems indeed, just feels like a waste that all it does is buff itself 😩

[@river7874]

@@BertoPlease That's fair. I used it as a Boss/Kin Killer to great results. Funnily enough, you not liking the Tonitrus fits with the lore behind it. The Hunters of Archibald's time didn't care for it either. "Unfortunately, for reasons untold, the hunters of Archibald's time did not fully take to the device."

[@flamingmanure]

tonitrus is greatly underrated.

[@fl4avv721]

It should have transformed into a flail, i don't know what they were thinking

[@myrb2622]

Honestly I think my biggest criticism of Elden Ring is a bit of a dual issue. Player builds can hit ridiculously hard, especially magic and weapon ashes. Enemies in return hit way too hard, yet have some of the most complex movesets and attack chains in the series. Which I feel caused a lot more relying on weapon ashes and powerful spells to spam. Because learning to fight some of these is a pain to run back, when I could just spam a hard hitting ranged ability and keep space. It also contributed to me personally feeling less like I learned how to fight quite a few of the bosses, and more of I learned how to exploit them. Where as in the previous games I felt more likely to learn and master their movesets.

[@M.M.1996]

Yes, you are spot on. I tend to play every Soulslike with some kind of basic weapon on my 1st char. Just a hit and roll style without magic, which I consider default way to play. On subsequent chars I go through caster styles etc. In Elden Ring the fighting-game style boss chain attacks filtered me hard. By Faram Azula I was like "why am I doing this?" The game simply moved away from "learn the boss [moves]" to comet azure him before he pulls some bullshit. Like yeah, someone will learn to beat Malenia with fists on a dancepad and blindfolded. Not an argument, autism finds a way. Doesn't change the fact that they went over the top with combos and chaining attacks. There is very little room to even attack the bosses with normal attacks. At one point you try INT and notice that you just gotta burst the boss down 1st or hit him from a distance, that's how you get around them being overturned. inb4 some rivers of blood/moonveil soylord: git gud

[@Ghorda9]

@@M.M.1996 with elden ring you have to use positioning a lot more paired with roll and jump attacks and force openings, don't wait for a boss to give you an opening instead you should make your own.

[@dominiccasts]

@@M.M.1996 I noticed with both Sekiro and Elden Ring were specifically trying to push players out of the hit and roll style into a more flexible approach to defense, given how much less distance rolls covered in both, but also how blocking was improved, running was made more effective than rolling for re-positioning, and jumping was made available as an evasive maneuver and not just a traversal tool. I've found From has been trying to figure out how to keep rolling from being overpowered but still an option ever since Dark Souls 2. Bloodborne and DS3 decided to lean into it as a specific challenge instead, designing the bosses around well-timed rolls and not much else, though it was mostly Bloodborne that went "you want to roll all the time, well I'll give you a reason to roll all the time" and made enemies never let you get far enough away to not be a threat you had to time rolls against, while DS3 didn't do that, giving the player a lot more opportunities to just roll out of range, something Elden Ring no longer allows.

[@The_Novu]

ngl cheesing some of the bosses was really funny but the fact so many of them felt like a chore than something I want to do (like any video game should) was a shame. Mimic Tear for example was one of my favorite bosses because figuring out that you can go in fully naked with no equipment and just have a naked fist-fight to the death was hilarious. I dunno if that was actually a cheese strategy or intended though. Fire Giant though is a massive pain in the ass that isn't fun whatsoever because you can't see half of what it is doing simply by being too big. The nearly one shot fire balls didn't help anything either. It's just un-fun.

[@Ghorda9]

@@The_Novu you don't need to see what the fire giant is doing in the first phase because you can hear it and just see what his feet is doing, the fire balls only come out when you're far away but at that point you should be using torrent to close the distance and avoid them. Fire Giant also doesn't roll so much if you're in front of him.

[@zviyeri9117]

from a DS2 fan: - availability and ease of upgrading normal (smithing stone) weapons. true, there are bell bearings, but they can be a hassle to hunt for and they're usually a step back from the damage you need for the area - leveling curve. i maintain ds2 has the best leveling curve out of all the souls games, even if you think you have to spend points on ADP. you can get to drangleic castle comfortably with under 15 vigor. imagine trying to do that in elden ring. also most damage to weapons and spells comes from upgrades and not leveling so you don't have to minmaxx your build and can generalize, experiment, and have fun without needing to respec - weapon infusions. almost everything in ds2 is infusable, even boss weapons. in Elden Ring the only somber buffable, not even infusable, is Bloodhound's Fang - man i really just want bonfire ascetics back as a form of boss refights I love elden ring but every time i replay ds2 these are the mechanics i miss in it and other souls games

[@uraviry5066]

Yeah, bonfire ascetics are a gift from heaven, it is weird how not many talk about them.

[@kindlingking]

Just boss refights at bonfires like in sekiro would already be good.

[@Mike-xp8zc]

Wepon and armor variety was also really good in DS2 And who could forget Majuila

[@thulsa_doom]

I'll never get tired of saying that DS2 is the most replayable and most fashionable of all.

[@xviithestar2356]

Ds2 has the most refined poise system too, surprised Ds1 was mentioned instead. I know some people like ds3 "active poise" or whatever but that's only avaliable to 2 handed heavy weapons lol, Ds2 had an hybrid system that even took your stamina into account.

[@hungryhyena783]

World exploration was fucking godlike in DS1. Absolutely godlike

[@poparena]

I think the thing I liked the most from the main Souls series that's much more limited than Elden Ring is how free you were to attack and kill NPCs. Not for sadistic "hehehe, let's kill everyone" reasons, but because these are games that trust you to live with the consequences of your decisions. If you kill a major NPC, you cut their storyline short. If you kill a merchant or blacksmith, you no longer have access to their services. If you hit an NPC, they're forever hostile to you until you pay out for absolution (which not all these games offer). And then, occasionally, there would be additional content hidden behind attacking someone friendly. The most dramatic example would be attacking Gwynevere in DS1, which unlocks an alternate Anor Londo and the Gwyndolin boss fight. Elden Ring is far stricter in ways that feel just the tiniest bit condescending. The pacifism effects in places like the Roundtable Hold and Volcano Manor are bad enough, but the magical protections on certain NPCs out in the world are weirdly immersion breaking. "Hey, Roderika, where did you get this magic force field? Why can't I have one?" Ball bearings mean there are no consequences to killing merchants. Killing the Beast Clergyman in Dragonbarrow doesn't result in an empty boss arena in Azula, while killing the Pursuer early in DS2 lets you skip him later. That's not to say Elden Ring doesn't have consequences for killing NPCs. The biggest example off the top of my head is killing Patches cuts you off from the Tragoth assassination quest and keeps you from getting the heaviest armor in the game. But these moments are far rarer than in the rest of the series.

[@heinrichzemo3766]

you dont have to kill Gwynevere to fight Gwyndolin

[@reign1594]

I think the reason for that is the change in objective. In almost every souls game, you're in a cycle and will likely not be remembered, leading your actions to be lumped into the group(the undead, hunters) You aim to become Lord in elden ring, and I feel like you're hold to your title of royalty and should act as such. Maybe I'm coping for it

[@sorensouthard927]

I feel if elden ring had a bigger ratio of castle to open world the game would feel a lot bigger and more interesting. Oddly enough, despite the open world being you know, an open world, I often find the experience of exploring it to be tiresome and disinteresting. I still do get sidetracked often so it's not too much of a complaint, but larger dungeons and more alternate pathways would certainly mix things up more than just a large landmass. If you just chopped out a lot of the needless space I feel like it would even be an improvement.

[@FranklinThe1]

That’s the problem with open world games. They feel filled with copy paste small areas and hav r the occasional bigger area that is actually where your meant to go. There needs to be more unique and significant content. Have big unique dungeons and then medium and small ones. I feel like Elden ring did that a little hid with the shaded castle and castle morn and also some other smaller castles but other than that the rest of the game is big dungeons and small copy paste dungeons.

[@ni9274]

Not really, maybe it’s just that you don’t like open world, most people didn’t have any problems exploring everything. Elden Ring open-world isnt big compared to other open-world games

[@ni9274]

@@FranklinThe1the dungeons are not copy paste

[@FranklinThe1]

@@ni9274 Not the big ones the small ones like the catacombs and caves.

[@simonealcazar816]

@@FranklinThe1 The dungeons problems are that they look the same. The Layouts of most of each dungeons don’t repeat each other but does uses similar architecture. If the small dungeons a little more different look per region it wouldn’t feel as samey. Like how the cave in snowfields all iced over.

[@butterschunkmcdonalds5333]

Honestly i just greatly prefer the more linesr semi-openworld feel of other Fromsoft titles as it has more of a metroidvania feel to it, Each area feels like its own distinct place that feels amazing to discover rather than something you just kinda wander into like the regions of ER. And the areas that do have their own charm to it in Elden Ring are almost always spoiled by repeat bosses or enemies. I found that my favorite areas in ER were the ones that felt like something outta Dark Souls, Volcano Manor, Subterranean Shunning Grounds, Haligtree. The open world regions are fun to explore the first time around but on other playthroughs it honestly feels like a chore, To the point I'm just running past everything to get to the next part of the game i like. Everyone talks about its atmosphere but tbh its probably the least atmospheric Souls game to me. As far as the bosses go, While i still prefer DS3 & Sekiro bosses, The main bosses of the ER are all fantastic IMO, If theres anything i can comfortably say i enjoy more in ER, Its far and away the lore. I LOVE ERs lore, It makes each boss fight feel so much more significant than ever before, And tho some hate it, I enjoy how the bosses live up to their lore, Malenia is like this terrifying legend who's never known defeat, Willing to do whatever it takes to win, And her fight fits perfectly. This applies to Radahn, Mogh, Renalla, Godfrey, Maliketh, All the main bosses fit their lore perfectly IMO. Overall i think its an incredible game, And that first playthrough will always my favorite, If i ranked it among the other Souls games, I'd say BB>Sekiro=DS3>DS1=ER>DS2>DS.

[@midgetydeath]

This is why the Legacy Dungeons are by far peoples' favorite part. Like, I can understand it being the favorite, but we're talking to the point that people often talk about wanting the rest of the map to be like the Legacy Dungeons. That says something.

[@robertobelleri3523]

For me replayability is by far the biggest issue in elden ring. It's super boring to run around the whole map to get the item you need for your build.

[@flamingmanure]

the replaybility in ER is far above the older games if you have the time, it has far more customizability and things to test your builds on, but i agree that the size is a problem. my biggest issue with this game is balance tbh, im fine with running around to get stuff for my build, but im not fine with end game balance being based on exploring atleast 80% of the map for your hp and damage to become viable, thats what kills it for me, then again i dont have the time that i used to to replay any game for long so it doesnt really matter to me in the end.

[@thulsa_doom]

Despite the blind rage the game gets, DS2 is the most replayable of all, in the series.

[@theofficialnationwidehater]

​@@thulsa_doombruh

[@rikybj0276]

​@@theofficialnationwidehater?

[@theofficialnationwidehater]

@@rikybj0276 it's just when a ds2 fan always gotta say sum shit about how ds2 is the best at whatever

[@futuristicbus61]

One thing I really want in Elden Ring is the covenant system.

[@manuelmarcuzzi6959]

What i miss in ER is the big forhead moment you get when in DS1 you kick the ladder to the Undead Burg bonfire from the Drake bridge, opening the first shortcut in the game for the first time.

[@BertoPlease]

Fr, they really rely too much on bonfires / graces / whatever too much later in the series, rather than shortcuts to the same checkpoint 😩

[@manuelmarcuzzi6959]

The thing is that the moment you realize where you are, you also realize how in depth the world has been designed; like when you unlock the elevator from firelink to the two gargoyles which liks you to sen's fortress (and the blacksmith) and the darkroot garden. When you have a map so massive and so full of checkpoints you lose the connection with the world. Yes its beautiful and everything but you can quickly get burnt out.

[@FlyingFox86]

With regards to Elden Ring's world, my main gripe is how static and dead it all feels. I don't get the sense that I'm going on an adventure in a fantasy world (as I would in something like Skyrim), but rather that I'm playing a massive video game level. Every item and enemy is in the same place every time, there's only very limited friendly interaction with only a few NPCs, and those NPCs are nailed to the ground. This worked well in the more tightly designed worlds of the Souls series, but not in an open world game.

[@BertoPlease]

Yeeah the minimal NPCs made sense in the older games, often being extremely hostile, borderline post-apocalyptic worlds and helps with the isolation, but it kinda backfires in this one doesnt it

[@FlyingFox86]

@@BertoPlease Indeed, though I do think they could have made it feel hostile and apocalyptic while still making it feel "alive". Some other youtuber described it as feeling like the world is still there when you exit the game. I don't get that feeling in Elden Ring. What makes Elden Ring's hostile world a little harder to swallow is the inclusion of those very few NPC characters within it. Characters like Kenneth Haight, the merchants, Ranni and her crew, Irina and her father, and even Godrick the Grafted. Their presence implies that the world isn't a completely non-functional, stagnant world like the Dark Souls series. So why is everything hostile and static anyway?

[@BertoPlease]

Honestly I do feel like the NPCs have suffered in that regard even since DS2 maybe? Definitely by DS3 though, where they're just where they are for the convenience of the player, in DS1 they felt like they had their own lives, adventures, goals, etc

[@crimsonclockwerk8503]

I feel like these are good fair points, however I'd like to add onto this with the following: Demon Souls: The character tendencies actually affected how much damage Demon/Soul Brandt did, the more evil you was, the more damage Soul Brandt did. Now apart from Dark Souls 2(With Forlon weapons) this idea was never touched upon ever again which in my opinion was a huge shame. Also I'd like to add that the Word tendencies altered the world depending on how many times you died vs how many bosses you killed while in physical form, again another idea which was never touched upon again and finally I'd like to talk about another unique boss: The Old Hero. The boss is blind, so if you fight it in soul form it's actually much easier because it can't hear you. Dark Souls 2: Honestly this game felt like it had the most unique bosses/areas weirdly enough. I don't know if it's down to personal taste but there was something about them that really stood out. While I can say that spears of the church & old monk boss fights are amazing(Which they are), there was something pleasing about the Looking Glass Knight literally spitting out players from it's shield. The whole ascetic of fighting in the rain, the atmosphere etc. made that fight one of the best in the whole series. Also the power stance system in this game was and always will be the best. The ability to infuse and buff weapons too was a great touch, it made almost any weapon useable with any build Bloodborne: I'm surprised I heard nothing about chalice dungeons. Those were incredible and damn right scary, the fact you had literally infinite areas to explore is amazing and how it never got touched upon again is beyond me.

[@BertoPlease]

I was VERY close making Chalices my entry for Bloodborne, I know they're not super popular and I think neither are catacombs but at the very least the reward you get for going through the chalices is IMMENSE, and I generally find them less annoying than catacombs. You do gotta be in the right mood for them though haha

[@dopaminecloud]

Demon Souls is the peak of this vision of playing an old cryptic obscure game that was somehow made with modern technology. It's truly a miracle it exists at all.

[@nosdregamon]

In Dark Souls 1 I loved , that you needed "Humanity" to reach out to other players. It's only semantics, I guess, but it just seemed so fitting. I also loved the "foreshadowing" that the verticality of the game gave you - Landing in Firelink Shrine you could see so many places, It was quite unreal and satisfying to actually visit them later (ER kinda does the latter, too, and better than most other Soulsbournes I played, but DS1 did it best in my eyes).

[@_Tzer]

early game dragon shrine hints at another iirc loved that in elden ring.

[@disgoop]

I personally also prefer the Berserk-influenced dark fantasy dungeon crawler vibe over the high fantasy anime fighting game one.

[@kwame3819]

Enemy Variety in Dark Souls II is underrated.

[@maxburrill6192]

Dark Souls II is underrated.

[@skeley6776]

The level design in DS 2 is underrated. Its extremely open especially in the beginning of the game.

[@thulsa_doom]

Enemy variety, weapon variety, armour variety... POISE existing, the ability of climbing ladders faster, a better attention to dark spells, being able to re-fight bosses, many armour gear that actually have special abilities, the best replayability of all, a fairer PvP system (despite the rage it gets, its still the best), spells consuming stamina for the sake of balance... the list goes on. The only thing I absolutely despise in DS2 is how Estus regenerate HP, comparing to DS1.

[@maxburrill6192]

@@thulsa_doom the Estus thing was good, too. Made chugging easy to punish.

[@Exel3nce]

Its shitty, yes

[@lukes401k]

as a sekiro enjoyer: the boss fights in sekiro are made to make you understand the flow of combat. in ER, you can have a magic build, so its apples to oranges there

[@ll-ll5gt]

there are mages in ds1 2 3 too😐

[@lukes401k]

@@ll-ll5gt I know, but this video was comparing souls to elden ring, and brought up sekiro. That was the comparison I was making

[@ragegaze3482]

@@lukes401k on that note I do think elden ring did the best job out of dark souls 1 2 3 with dealing with mage builds. Mainly because ER blatantly reads the players inputs, so the bosses are a little more punishing against mage builds. Although mages are still busted.

[@k45oz29]

They all have their charms A true fromsof enjoy what they are given instead of gatekeeping

[@sobky6378]

Good video but I feel like this is just things that each game did best not things they did better than elden ring specifically

[@flabbajabba9527]

True yeah.

[@jaya.regalado5086]

Exactly, like what was the point of this video?

[@kfc4056]

@@jaya.regalado5086people in the souls community from what ive seen recently are just bashing Elden ring for no reason when 1. They don’t actually understand the mechanics and full systems of the game 2. Half the complaints are literally issues from other games that they don’t want to admit is just them being upset 3. The changes made where to change up the formula while still keeping the core gameplay loop. Which they did well. However since it’s not just dark souls 4 open world edition people seem to think because it’s not a carbon copy of every single aspect of it it’s bad 4. Bosses the main complaint seen is that there are too many undodgable moves which is false all are dodge-able. Only 2 moves waterfowl dance and the roll from the noble are unavoidable at certain positions or in waterfowl’s case very hard to dodge. And the other complaint with the bosses is they attack to much without leaving openings, this is completey false every boss has punish windows and can be beaten hitless. The key difference is unlike previous games the bosses don’t sit there while you hit them they go into another combo after a hit or two unless poise broke. Basically everybody doesn’t like the drastic changes because they enjoy the old. From soft made a more approachable and overall more enjoyable game for the average person just happens most souls fans don’t like what they changed regardless of the complaints being mostly unsound

[@sobky6378]

@@jaya.regalado5086 there is a point to this video i just think he could have presented it differently

[@sobky6378]

@@kfc4056 it’s ok for some people to just have different preferences and taste in games, if someone doesn’t like elden ring it doesn’t matter because as long as you enjoy the game then you can keep having fun

[@psterud]

DS1 added Gravelord infection to NG+. I think that's a pretty cool inclusion.

[@bun_kun4552]

Love the gauntlets and reflection of strengths from Sekiro, would love to refight bosses in elden ring.

[@Battleguild]

Dark Souls 2 vs Elden Ring: Spellcasting Mechanics and Support - Duplicate Spells are useful. - Spell Merchants don't just sell Spells. - Farmable FP Restoration Items. - Items that restore both HP & FP. - Cast Speed is tied to Mind. - Passive FP Restoration. - Catalyst Shields/Weapons. - Dual Spell School Catalysts. - No DMG+ Talisman Reliance. - Catalyst Infusions (Used Elden Ring terms instead of DS2 terms. Used Catalyst as shorthand for any spellcasting instrument.)

[@davidboyajian1399]

I thought casting speed was tied to dexterity

[@Battleguild]

@@davidboyajian1399 DS1, DS3, Elden Ring: Yes DS2 is the only game in the series to use Attunement instead of a primary combat stat (Str, Dex, Int, Fth, or Arc) to determine Cast Speed. Dexterity never made sense as the stat to determine cast speed in the series to me. You're playing as Mages casting spells, not Ninjas using Ninjutsu.

[@davidboyajian1399]

@@Battleguild Ah gotcha, I thought you were talking about Elden Ring not DS2. My mistake.

[@TREVORVADER]

@@BattleguildI actually really wish it worked that way in ER so I could feel fine dropping more points into mind on a mage

[@spacecowboy5486]

Simpleton and skeptic spices were very cool too

[@hhhdomination]

I recently learned that Fia's champions are player builds. Now I know why so many people struggle with the game.

[@thatll-do7606]

I would add cross-class dual-wielding tbh, kinda sucks I can't use a hammer and an axe at the same time

[@luckydragon6067]

Like DS2 had, yes it’s powerstancing was a stamina hog but there were SO MANY unique combinations of how to dual wield and certain weapons had excellent powerstance fun times. Powerstanced majestic greatswords my beloveds.

[@justanothercommentercarryo8367]

@@luckydragon6067 the majestic greatsword was an amazing weapon period, simply for how awesomely unique it was on all fronts. Hell, DS2 was so experimental and interesting when it came to movesets, so many weapons had their own character to them. Still want another loyce greatsword type weapon one of these days...

[@spacecowboy5486]

Yeah bro I wanna cosplay as a hammer and sickle wielding communist tarnished. Why can't I do it Fromsoft?

[@c.l.a.u.d.e]

Maybe it's time to say that NPC battles have always been bad because PvP in all these games is essentially played with one button only and as such there can't be any interesting aspect to such fights; the situation is particularly aggravating because infinite stamina and mana plus high defense and HP makes them deadly in L2-to-win Ring. A feature missing from both DS2 and Sekiro are boss rematches: it takes just about a lifetime to get to Malenia. BB had something similar via Chalice Dungeons, speaking of which these are still the only endgame content in the whole series. Something interesting DS2 did was also peculiarity in boss arenas, like the raisable platforms for the Dragon Rider, the Ballista in the Pursuer's, the water flooding the Flexile Sentry's ship, the removable poison against Mytha. Cutting limbs off mid-fight like tails for dragons and arms from the Last Giant and the Rotten were fun little additions. Lastly, one thing all these games do better is giving you access to full armor set early from the start: the first attires I can think of in ER that can be acquired early (minus purchase or farming) are the Sage's Set in the poison cave of Liurnia or the Royal Knight's Set in Raya Lucaria.

[@jyanbei]

This is my first fromsoft game but personally elden rings biggest downfall to me is the enemy scaling. It gets really crazy after Leyndell and no matter how much I want to play or how many play throughs I do; the damage dealt just makes the game unenjoyable

[@Ghorda9]

the ritual shield talisman helps a lot.

[@maboilaurence8227]

I love the series because each game exceles in some areas, they all have their merits and playing more than one game in the series doesn't feel redundant.

[@stanislavstrapec190]

What i really enjoy about bloodborne is the fighting system pushing you to be more agressive, the dark atmosphere and somehow, even after more than 1800 hours, i still enjoy playing it

[@Void2124]

I’ve only played ds1 aside from elden ring so far, but here’s what I’ll say is needed if it could ever get fixed: A gauntlet of sorts for bosses. Either making sites of grace kept in ng+ or keeping medallions/key items,making the bosses take less time to run through and more back to back would keep the most fun part of Elden Ring constant. Making it to where you can go to the prerequisite bosses immediately to continue the boss line easily, or even making it to where you can fight any boss at any time regardless, and only making you beat them all to START a ng+ rather than in order. Either way, it would be a decent improvement imo.

[@candybetta4061]

About the DS1 segment: repeat playthroughs do indeed unfortunately become tedious, but the size of the world makes the first playthrough or few a truly magical experience. From a dev angle the first playthrough is the most important. Ofc it is subjective if you like it or not.

[@adolfhipsteryolocaust3443]

Well you can skip a lot of stuff in d1

[@dopaminecloud]

@@adolfhipsteryolocaust3443 Having the counter be "you can play less of the game" isn't an answer to "I wish it wasn't as tedious to go through the game".

[@Vedrlaufnir]

I prefer Looking Glass Knight over Old Monk or Spear of the Church. Looking Glass Knight was a badass encounter where the boss would summon a player to help him against the host, which could end up on a 3v3 with the host having two summons, and the boss having two players (who by the way, could heal the boss if they handled miracles). Also, the summoning animation was epic.

[@LashknifeTalon]

I think something that was improved from Dark Souls 2 to Elden Ring that wasn't iterated fully by DS3 was the weapon modification system in Elden Ring is more freeform than DS3, but not the loosey-goosey "Yeah, sure, you can do that!" of DS2. I think Elden Ring strikes a happy medium between the more aggressively curated system of DS3 and the freedom of DS2.

[@tylermatthew378]

you guys are trying way to hard to convince yourselves and us that elden ring wasnt an amazing game

[@HeyTarnished]

Hating on Elden Ring makes you a genius of some kind or someone with a “good taste” I guess, most of them are just stupid Souls veterans that are unable to acclimate to Elden Ring’s audacious & innovative game design philosophies compared to the safe Dark Souls 1/2/3 & Bloodborne design.

[@BertoPlease]

I don't recall saying it wasn't

[@Zorro7269]

You got a timestamp or something to back up your claims?

[@supremacy-dt7ud]

@@HeyTarnishedAnd what might those innovative and audacious design philosophies be?

[@ExoGhost]

​@@supremacy-dt7ud I love how you didn't get a response after 6 months. That person was a perfect example of throwing out terms without reasoning

[@tomjohn3387]

Bloodborne's parrying is the best in all soulsborne games by far imo. Shame they didn't implement it in elden ring in some way

[@simonealcazar816]

It’s just a far range parry. It’s no different than any other parry. Also I think gun parry aggressively simplifies the hunter fight and makes them less interesting as whole.

[@facundovera3227]

Golden Parry.

[@mightymoon6791]

I think biggest mistake of the Elden Ring is Legacy Dungeons being too open too I love the linear and straight foward but complex and beatifully crafted maps of Soulsborne games There are no places like Tower of Latria,Anor Londo,Central Yharnam in Elden Ring And funny thing is Despite being more open Actual dungeons itself are even more linear and simpler than previous Souls Dungeons/maps Like Point of Soulsborne maps is You memorize every enemy in the map Minimize the usage of your resources so you can save them to boss Open shortcuts Then beat the boss But in Elden Ring You don't have to worry about enemies because they are mostly placed to fit the setting rather than actually being there for the challange You don't have to minimize the usage of resources because Stake of Marika exists Shortcuts are stupid because there is no point at discovering one Elden Ring Dungeons feels like a huge open random place rather than something that is there to challange the player Bosses of areas except fews like Maliketh,Malenia feels like they are only there randomly rather than being the final challange of the area I don't feel the satisfaction of finally defeating a boss and moving to a whole New area with New challanges and things to memorize Stormveil despite destroying both in amounts of content and stuff to find First Area of Demon's Souls or Cainhurst Castle from Bloodborne still feels way better than it I still think Elden Ring is the best game among Souls games But I think it can be weakest game when it comes to being a Souls game

[@yaqubebased1961]

There is absolutely no way you genuinely think Cainhurst is better than Stormveil lmfao. It's more reasonable to say the earth is flat than that 😂

[@bully2681]

DS3 has the best bosses in the series. Bloodborne, Demon souls and DS1 first half has the best atmosphere.

[@theshreddedone8322]

Based

[@Exel3nce]

Mh idk. Bb is packed with good bosses too

[@bully2681]

@@Exel3nce yeah but too many bad ones too. It’s not on the same level as DS3. For every good Bloodborne boss you got atleast 2 if not more DS3 bosses

[@Exel3nce]

@@bully2681 mh yeah, maybe. but stuff like maria, gascoigne, gehrman are just going so hard, its quite easy to forget there are some bad ones cause these are easily the best in the whole soulsborne franchise

[@bully2681]

@@Exel3nce true, I might even add Ludwig, Orphan and even Martyn there. It has some of the best bosses in the franchise but the bad ones are too many. DS3 has bad ones too but you got Gael, Midir, Friede, SoC, Twin princes, Demon Princes, Dragonslayer, Champion Gundyr, Nameless king, Abyss Watchers, Dancer, Pointiff… Not all of them are best of the best but are far better than the average BB bosses. For BB has really 6 bosses that stand out and 3 of them are DLC

[@majinlilkek4367]

I'd also say DS2 does Dual Wield better The stat requirement and the stamina usage are kinda annoying but you can at least use different weapon types with each other and there are unique movesets for some weapons.

[@riotguards]

Personally i feel that Fromsoft games are best when Fromsoft can curate the experience of each zone, DS1 and 3 are great as they feel open world but each area feels historic and that you could piece together the events that came before it all went to ruin (plus how they lived etc) whereas with elden ring i can't even remember of any instances of seeing a DS1 black knight enemy (i.e. intimidating, lore impactful and "run as fast as possible"

[@kizaruthegreat]

i wanna add the re-use of bosses as enemies. older games re-used them better cause when you met them again they usually had around the same amount of health so you truly felt stronger in the game. in elden ring i didn't get this feeling cause when i met some "bosses" again they got an insane healthboost which always made it feel like i didn't get stronger in the game. best example is the lion misbegotten who i might add is a boss 3 times and gives you a unique weapon 2 times (kinda lazy imo) but when i met him in some area's as a tougher enemy he was like insanely buffed. way stronger than his bossfight. so i would say the older games did it better cause that early challange became a little obstacle later on and you felt like a boss when you could low diff them later on. (capra and taurus demon, the shadows of yarhnam to name some examples)

[@BertoPlease]

Yeah I thought they way they reused bosses in the previous games was very clever, and i imagine efficient use of resources. Good one! 👌

[@jankbunky4279]

Eh, previously they'd just reuse a boss as a common enemy, but due to ER's world design, there are simply a ton of places for mini-bosses. I don't think it's too fair to compare the taurus demon to the leonine misbegotten for example, because DS has way simpler and way fewer bosses in general than ER. Leonine misbegotten has a good variety of attacks, and every leonine misbegotten boss encounter after the Morne boss has an extra enemy as a buddy, or new attacks. Also, the taurus demons and capra demons in DS were shit. Way too many in a small area. Fighting a bunch of boring enemies in a boring area isn't improved by having previously fought them as boss fights.

[@facundovera3227]

Elden Ring fashion >>> Bloodborne fashion. Also you don't get ten silly hats, which is a plus.

[@lunchboxsuxatvideos2235]

Weeping peninsula feels like it should've been the tutorial area. I could see dying to the tutorial boss, getting thrown into the sea, and washing up on the shore next to the merchants shack to the far south

[@BertoPlease]

iiinteresting, I wouldn't be opposed to trying that 🤔

[@lentongaming]

I think DS1 did summons a lot better than Elden Ring, specifically NPC summons. In ER anyone who wants to kill a boss easily can just google Ranni's quest, the location of some Ghost graveworts and beat the game easily, and for NPC summons they're mostly always there regardless. In DS1 however there were no spirit ashes, and most bosses had NPC summons, however you had to work for them by interacting with the NPC, like talking to solaire and saving him later, or defeating the lady in the swamp to get her help. This meant you almost had a connection with the person you were fighting with. ER doesn't do this nearly as well, the only exception being Alexander, but then again you can only summon him in 2 fights. If they removed ash spirits they could add lots more NPC summons, i personally think Bernahl for Maliketh if you did volcano manor quest and helped him in the old roundtable, and millicent for Malenia if you'd done her quest. They could almost be more powerful then NPCs are now, as it would still take time and effort to summon them in, and them being personal to each boss encounter is much better than just summoning in the same +10 mimic for every boss.

[@simonealcazar816]

None going to first of a game google spoilers for a spirit ash they wouldnt yet. Also you don’t really get any of the stronger ash of wars until 1/3 of the game w/ mimic being lock behind Radahn to get it. There’s also advantages to summoning npc summons due to them being way more tanker and have heals on them in comparison to spirit where they have no self preservation. Also what do you meaningful ER npc helper? Yura can help fight Agheel, talking to Roger and Nepheli they will help with Godrick. After finishing her quest she’ll help with Godfrey. Befriended Blackguard and help Millicent will be with Magma Wyrm Makar. Freaking Melina helps fight Morgott and gets a modified BKA move test to help. D help with the Tiban Mariners after you join his side w/ Gurrang and later the Vagrant Duo. Blaidd assist with kill the Bloodhound. The list goes on. ER has plenty of these, what are you talking about? I can understand spirit summon do cheapen the npc one but saying they dont those npc interactions is nonsense.

[@zubz5944]

The whole point of spirit summons for new players to ease into boss fights and learn their patterns. It is a tool for reaching out to new players and an awesome addition. This is completely different from npc summons in dark souls, as the npc is there to help the player with specific aspects of the boos, like Solaire distracting Ornstein so you can kill Smough. As I said before, spirit summons are there to help new players learn bosses so they can progress. Both are entirely optional, and removing them would be an awful choice. Fromsoft decided to not add the npc summons to specific fights to make it more challenging, wether or not you used spirit summons or not. I personally think you picked a wrong summon, lost, saw this video while being pissed, and decided to take your rage out on a almost perfect game.

[@flamingmanure]

@@zubz5944its not perfect, but it seems to me souls veterans are just blindly biased to the older games and alot of them are writing headlines like this for clickbait, due to how highly regarded it is, its miyazakis magnum opus by a long shot and he himself has said that its the closest hes ever gotten to his ideal perfect game, this makes me feel like elden ring is so good the older games have to gang up on it in individual merit points to stand a chance lol. the problem with ER is alot of its design is based on player competency and self guidance, its not a developer guided tailored experience like the older games, in essence alot of souls vets fucked the game up for themselves. elden ring vs older fromsoft games is like breath of the wild vs older zelda games(except in dungeons, botw doesnt have dungeons like the older games, while the legacy dungeons and underground of ER curbstomp the older games, especially in level design, not a single area in the older games comes even close to touching the legacy dungeons of ER), overall it truly is miyazakis magnum opus.

[@likmabollz5775]

Bro this was a feature edded to the game precisely for this reason 😂 You yourself said that anyone who simply wants to defeat a boss can summon the mimic that's why they edded this. That doesn't mean you have to use the mimic or any other summon if you don't want to

[@shrewbu]

Not bringing up the lore / atmospheric design of ANY of the games in this series feels CRIMINAL.

[@BertoPlease]

The lore in particular I do NOT feel equipped to discuss at aaalll, anything I say will be extremely subjective and not have any bones to stand on, just me rambling about what I like or don't care for 😅 The atmosphere I certainly considered for a few (especially Demon's and Bloodborne), but that's also... not necessarily subjective but I think it's something that you either care about or you don't, so for a lot of people it'll probably go over their head I think and it's kinda hard to try to argue why the atmosphere enhances the game unless you get into hyper specific examples, and while I could do that, I just wanted to discuss something else in most cases. But yeah u rite, they're good in a lot of these

[@TheBrothermanOfMens]

in a way elden ring has everything from every game and sure they are not perfect but all together in one game is hella of an experience

[@BertoPlease]

All the games are flawed in their own way 👌

[@AlastorAltruistGaming]

I regret to inform you that just because one game has a culmination of different Soulsborne titles doesn’t mean it’s genuinely good. If anything, any game that uses elements from previous titles to try & bring forth “nostalgia” feels more like cashgrabbing. Which is what Elden Ring is at the end of the day. Yeah, Bloodborne takes elements from Demon’s Souls, especially with the Tower Knight & Penetrator references in the One Reborn & Blood-Starved Beast boss fights respectively, farming for Blood Vials & Bullets like you would farm for grasses, and a singular lamppost like only having one Archstone in a level, but Bloodborne doesn’t go the cashgrab route & remains its own title. The same goes for Sekiro; it’s its own title that doesn’t go the Tenchu route of taking elements from those games, because Sekiro is a standalone game. The only references to previous Souls games is in Dark Souls 3 where there’s the Shield of Want (from Dark Souls 2), reference to the Dark Soul (in Dark Souls 1) & a final boss fight that reintroduces Lord Gwyn (again, in Dark Souls 1). There are plenty others, but those are a few examples. Elden Ring is trying to be a combination of every single Souls game, and it just doesn’t feel right. It’s trying way too hard to be a more… revamped version of Dark Souls 2 but with DS3 combat, if you will. Combine that with a boss fight resembling Gehrman & the Moon Presence (Radagon/Elden Beast), a boss fight that SHOULD HAVE BEEN Tomoe (Malenia), a boss fight that resembles TOO MUCH like Ludwig (Maliketh), similar copypasted dungeons & caves like the chalice dungeons, DS3 combat (as mentioned before), input reading/heal punishes like Sekiro, a pretty unbalanced late-game like DS1, a lot of unfair bullshit even post-ADP like DS2, and you have a game that gets really unfunny & not worth playing very fast. Don’t even get me started on how exploration is no longer a priority by the time you enter NG+2, because you’ll have already explored everything & collected every item/copy of items. What makes NG+ in The Witcher 3 better, is exploration is still key & adventures in Kaer Morhen, Velen, Novigrad, Oxenfurt, Toussaint, etc., never get old. Elden Ring is a major detraction. I can never get enough of Lothric, nor can I get enough of Yharnam. I just get super bored of the Lands Between after a while.

[@TheBrothermanOfMens]

@@AlastorAltruistGaming no way you called elden ring cash grabbing lmao I ain't reading all that but saying elden is a cash grab is WILD

[@JohnDoe-pu5gk]

​@purpleblood6173 elden ring is a meme and so are u 🤡

[@AlastorAltruistGaming]

@@TheBrothermanOfMens “I ain’t reading all that” shows your intelligence, or lack thereof. Just means you can’t read a valid argument.

[@samplingtoast2023]

I remember playing through The Ringed City when it first came out with 2 of my friends. None of the bosses were scaled properly for three people, including Spears Of The Church, meaning their health resistance and damage skyrocketed. Combine that with how the Paired Greatswords were at first, and it was not a fun experience haha. Especially when the boss reaches low health and starts running away waiting for the Painting Guardian to heal them

[@BertoPlease]

I DO recall Spears of the Church's invader player scaling was quite strong at first, it got nerfed like the week after but way too much 😅

[@unepomme1375]

Man i killed so many people as a spear of the church, so much fun.

[@Markus-se9se]

I love being the boss in the Spear of the Church. My favorite part of DS3.

[@Exel3nce]

Noone plays a souls Game First playthrough with Friends

[@mikeyb0121]

On my first ER playthrough I got every grace, explored every area and killed every boss. It got tedious very fast and I found myself playing less and less each session until in finally did it. Then subsequent playthroughs I just ran to the bosses to get the rest of the achievements

[@Demokaze]

What I wanted ER to take from previous FS games: Demon's Souls type world tendency (the world changing based on your morality), Dark Souls armor variety (too many oversized helmets in ER and many same armors of different colors), DS2's SotFS NG+ changes, the ability to reject Melina's accord and beat the game without her/Torrent/the Hold (DS2 SotFS even added rewards for completing the game without lighting bonfires and without dying), old fashioned covenants, Bloodborne dodge by default, quality over quantity weapons like Bloodborne, mechs.

[@LittleFisching]

I feel like the only reason I have a slightly sour taste about the open world in ER is because we had some of the most beautifully designed legacy dungeons we’ve ever seen. The open world was still fun and definitely cool but when I experienced things like Leyndell, Stormveil, Farum Azula etc, I just ended up thinking that I would be more than happy to get rid of one of the open world zones if it meant that we’d get another one of those legacy dungeons.

[@huntergarland3234]

“The map is just too damn big” Me in the corner who thought the map was pretty small: 😐

[@minerman60101]

Elden Ring has amazing bosses when it feels like it: Morgott, Radahn, Maliketh, Godskin Apostle, and of course my third favorite boss in gaming: Mohg. It just has a smattering of okay bosses and a few notable bad ones. I'm still in the middle of my RL1 run, and I'd say that has fared fine in the game's large open world. I've been steadily making my way throughout the game, imposing that I can't go get the strongest gear and smithing stones until I beat the previous regions. This is my second proper playthrough, so I've been going for full completion. The dungeons are more engaging with this challenge restriction, and Fia's Champions were pretty brutal, as was Juno Hoslow. P.S. should I go through and compile all of my comments on the 1.00 series into one big one on the community post for you?

[@basicpug2998]

You should

[@ni9274]

Most of the repeat bosses are optional

[@BertoPlease]

I do like a lot of the bosses a lot, and for base game (aside from Sekiro :) ) might have some of the best in the series. I do find a lot of them have some annoyance that I wish it didn't have is my only complaint

[@Exel3nce]

Scratch maliketh

[@minerman60101]

@@Exel3nce Maliketh is unintuitive and can quickly kill you, not a poorly designed boss. If you can get past those two then he is actually a great experience. I'd recommend looking up an RL1 +0 weapon fight with him; that's what changed my perspective on the fight.

[@holymolythejabroni9040]

Man, if you think Elden Ring was “controversial” among hardcore fans, you should check in with the discourse in the Final Fantasy fanbase about XVI.

[@BertoPlease]

lmao yeaaaah it happens with all long running franchises doesnt it

[@keepdeathonhold]

As someone who doesn’t like pvp I think that was an improvement. I do agree the NG+ could have been better, though it’s not like they’re going to rework it.

[@fefferryerr1818]

elden ring becomes a giant supermarket. we travel around getting the items we want and ignoring the rest. upgrading takes too many stones. better to do away with upgrading like they did with armor.

[@The_Novu]

NPC quests in this game where a nightmare just because they copied the extremely vague nature of Dark Souls quests without adapting it to the open world and giving you some sort of quest log or indication of what to do after an NPC changes positions. "Good luck, I'll visit the hills up north," or something then you re-load the area and they're gone. Ended up not being that big of a deal but I had to pour over Fextralife just to get back up to speed after I stopped playing due to irl obligations and disinterest. Had I not had a guide open I would've easily ruined several quest lines until the next play-through. Also I hated the over-world map before I had the map completely filled out. It was an absolute nightmare trying to figure out where to go half the time. And the damage scaling when you first get to the mountain tops being ass is just mean. I felt like I was over-leveled when I was hitting 120 but apparently getting to 170 in NG is absolutely normal suddenly? I wasn't close to that in NG3 in Dark Souls 3 ffs. I mean it works now but until I found out that's relatively normal and Fextra's whole "mountaintops is fine when you're lv 90 : ^ )" is absolute bs I nearly dropped the game because I was making no progress at all. Overall though I love Elden Ring to death. 9.5/10 and easily rivals DS3.

[@SonnyFRST]

2 Things about Bloodborne to add: Limb System (which ER lacked) and beside the Tonitrus/Boomer ones where you only really have one moveset, another type of weapon that struggled due to poor design conventions was the firearms due to no free aim mode. (also trick/gun hybrids get shafted outta most forms of buff/enhancements) rip Rifle Spear (it's not really a rifle, it does shotgun shots)

[@ngFruits]

It has probably been said already, but my big hang up with Elden Ring was the lack of legacy dungeons, and their inneffectiveness due to the inability to balance an open-world experience. During my first play through I was always excited to reach the next legacy dungeon, only to be extremely overpowered or super underpowered when I got there. The bosses I wrecked were unmemorable because they were too easy (they also held no emotional weight), and those that wrecked me didn't feel balanced, presenting me with a choice of beating my head against a brick wall or exploring an open world environment that I didn't want to explore, because it felt empty and uninteresting to me.

[@philosophyofiron9686]

One thing better in all of the other games imo: Use of i-frames was optional. I think in the past, i-frames were just in the games as a shortcut by developers to make dodges work more or less as intended without perfecting the hitboxes of every single move by every single enemy. Some players chose to abuse and exploit this shortcut by using it to perform physically impossible dodge rolls that move in the wrong direction and pass straight through attacks, but in DeS, DS1, DS2, BB, DS3 or Sekiro, there was never a point when you NEEDED to intentionally use i-frames to dodge attacks; it was optional, and you could always choose a more immersion-friendly approach where you actually roll in the correct direction on the correct timing to fully clear the attacks visually, as would be intuitive in real life. Elden Ring removed the latter option, and codified i-frame dodge as a mandatory part of the core gameplay, by creating lots of enemy attacks that cover to large a radius too suddenly for it to be POSSIBLE to dodge them in way that makes physical or visual sense, at least from many positions you're likely to be in when said attack initiates. Rolling straight into massive shockwaves, or cones of fire or snow and taking no damage makes no intuitive or visual sense, and trivializes and kind of makes obsolete the previously core soulsbornekiro skill of precisely controlling your position and spacing, and roll direction at all times, so that you are always ready to visually clear certain threatening attacks. Now with all the Elden Ring attacks that are physically undodgeable based on what we see onscreen, I don't worry about the direction or my position, and simply tap roll on the rhythm and nonsensiclally phase through everything. Distance, position and direction basically don't matter anymore, as once they did. I played through the older games without ever making deliberate use of i-frames, but because of how ER works, I'm as much of a de-immersing abuser as the average DS3 PVP enthusiast!

[@BertoPlease]

Since I have seen all the "no hit no roll no run (etc)" challenge runs in all the previous games, I do know that technically it's probably possible to beat most of them that way, but I do feel like as the later games went on, they *did* sort of make rolling the default or more optimal way to avoid damage, where in DeS and DS1 at the very least, maybe DS2, shields and positioning were still VERY reliable. I will say though I do like that jumping is actually viable as a dodge too, although it does have s, it just switches it up just enough to spice it up a bit, but yeah

[@philosophyofiron9686]

@@BertoPlease Sorry, I don't think I was clear enough that I am making a distinction between (A) using dodge roll normally ("properly" dodging), and (B) "i-frame dodging." I have always rolled in these games, and my complaint doesn't have to do with challenge run styles of playing. (A) = rolling in a way where your entire character model fully gets out of the way of all attacks (by going to left of them, right of them, under them, or backward out of range). i-frames are something hidden that trigger under the hood to make this happen more smoothly, and the player doesn't need to know they even exist to avoid damage. (B) = learning at what point in your roll animation invincibility triggers, and then exploiting that to "dodge" attacks without getting out of the way, taking no damage even though we can visually see your character model passing through blades, fire, ice, explosions, etc. The possibility of doing B to me seems like just an artifact of the attempt to make A work smoothly. Prior to Elden Ring, doing B was an optional approach, since you could do proper dodges for all attacks for every enemy, and didn't actually need to know about the i-frame aspect of your roll or ever make intentional use of it. The only exception I can think of is Darkbeast Paarl's AoE; from some positions it seems physically impossible to roll out of its radius in the short time it takes to trigger, so you have to just phase your body through it using rhythm. Elden Ring however, is FULL of attacks like Paarl's AoE, where the speed and/or radius cannot be negotiated by moving in an intuitively correct way to get your character model out of the way (ex. Godfrey's ground stomps; Fire Giant's snow attack). The game also seems extra generous with your i-frame window - it feels extra long and forgiving in ER. This all makes for a downgrade imo, because (1) it requires the players to engage with the game in a way that breaks the fantasy and has no in-universe justification, and (2) it encourages a simplified approach to play that relies on timing alone, without worrying much about either position or direction.

[@Forbiddensirenz]

If add for DS2 just how much overall experimentation with new ideas and stuff they at least tried. DS3 kind of went back to playing it safe and polished the DS1 experience and they’ve kind of felt that way since

[@serbiancrusader7813]

No one calls blues in DS3 "heros", we call them cops/police

[@BertoPlease]

In fairness I *do* think most of the people who call them heroes do it ironically to shit talk 😂 but yeah cops/ police is also used

[@JC-kl3uc]

16:12 It's not just speedruns, though. It also applies to people who simply want to create another character. The ammount of preparation you need to do in order to get to the fun part is ridiculous. That was the reason why I quickly dropped second playthrough, even though it was my tradition to beat From game at least twice with different builds.

[@BertoPlease]

I'm sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it, but tbh I enjoy the process of making new builds for the most part! It's a little like Dark Souls 1 for me where *most* of the time you can make a mad dash for whatever you need, unless it's in Mountaintops or something but generally there are things you can get on the way. The only build I actively disliked making was an arcane build cause you don't get most of the fun blood spells until Shunning Grounds or Snowfields 😩

[@theshadeofmyass]

Dark Souls 1 Dark Wood Grain Ring. Always wished it came back in some fashion despite how awkward it can look.

[@CAVerylising]

I think one big thing ER failed at, are the OST. This is personal preference ofc but I found them to be mostly "generic fantasy" rather than being interesting and cool to hear over and over like BB or even the og DS

[@kanalight2898]

Demon Souls: Better Immersion Dark Souls 1: Better World Enviroments Dark Souls 2: Better New Game Plus+ Better Overall Experience Bloodborne: Better Gameplay Dark Souls 3: Best PvP and Core Game Elden Ring: Re uses an insane amount of bosses, lack of impressive scenarios like the castles (no Anor London, no Lothric Castle), duo bosses are a mess design wise and finally, it ruins Souls games core. Soul games are about you being a normal dude fighting a giant or the legendary lord of fire, but Elden Ring makes you special too. Swords with flame arcs that recover your HP, huge AOE weapons, broken spells and miracles, it loses it's souls to the sake of mainstreaming. Put super cool main protagonist weapon in Elden Ring, we don't want to hurt player's feelings by not making them super special...lmao. And they say Elden Ring is a masterpiece, sure buddy, whatever let's you sleep at night. Thanks for the video Berto! It was great!

[@BertoPlease]

LOL the roast at the end got me 🤣 Stop kana they're already dead 😭

[@kanalight2898]

@@BertoPlease I had to do it! Hmph!!!! Other souls games are great despite Elden Ring! They have more of the true essence of souls games!

[@sketch8432]

Maybe comparing them to previous souls games isn't really that fair since ER has fundamentally a different type of progression and overall direction the game wants you to take. Soulsborne games are more linear and I would say easy to progress since after every boss the amount of souls you get levels you just enough or over the needed amount for the next area, while ER encourages you to walk into a roadblock, realize you might not want to bash your head into a wall for the next 2 hours trying to beat a boss dealing 89 damage a hit and go explore and level up then come back. Also regarding first point to NPC enemies not having emotional connection, HAVE YOU NOT DONE ALEXANDERS QUESTLINE? D:

[@BertoPlease]

LOL lisstennn... I was talking about bosses okaaay 😅the questlines are fiine

[@nateriver5841]

The open world and the horse was such an amazing add. I was iffy on Elden Ring when I first played it but I took a LONG break fron ER and replayed the previous souls/sekiro games then finally came back to ER and its such a massive refreshing world.

[@MrBlueWaooWaoo]

At the very least, Elden Ring could've at least given unique movesets to the rememberance weapons. You spend hours fighting Malenia and when you get her weapon the only thing unique about it is it's weapon art. There are only 20 or so rememberance weapons iirc, so it wouldnt have been unachievable to give them all unique movesets.

[@lorkain]

regarding the exploration and open world vs how its in dark souls, i really prefer it not to be open world as it lets the world be twisted around itself, i mean take bloodborne for example when you find the poison cave that takes you back to the start of the game , elden ring does not have this since its open world and the legacy dungeons are to far apart for it to make sense to be connected in that way

[@Darkheart00]

Enter Leyndell, go down the sewers, parkour down to the frenzied flamed 3 fingers, from there you’ll find a hidden/smooth entrance to the Deeproot Depths, from the Deeproot Depths you hop into the box which takes you to siofra river, from siofra river you’ll go to the mist wood well…. And by he end of it, you’ll find yourself back at limgrave… All from Leyndell to Limgrave, in an interconnecting way, *without* having to *teleport* a SINGLE time lol

[@lorkain]

@@Darkheart00 yeah true i did forget about that , but thats still not the same as its over such a large area and also the Soifra is almost an entire open world on its own lol and like he said in the vid, i agree there should probobly be some way to travel from altus to cailid, would be cool if it was through one of the side dungeons basicly imo the way elden ring connects all via the Soifra is just to long of a travel to feel like a cool worth while find like it does in bloodborne and at the same time , finding and opening shortcuts in deamons souls and ds1, most likely due to there being to many bonfires

[@ni9274]

Sorry no, it’s just better being an open-world

[@lorkain]

@@ni9274 to each their own, i still find bloodborne and ds1 n 3 more fun mostly due to them not being open world Im not saying that elden ring is bad due to being OW

[@unepomme1375]

@@lorkain I think elden ring level design is quite poor compared to every modern fromsoft game.

[@Ricardo-qq8pn]

As someone who likes exploring open world games and not be restricted on things I can do in them. I think elden ring is one of THE games being able to achieve that feeling.

[@justkubz]

Gotta comment on your mention of Weeping Peninsula, strongly disagree that there is not much going on in that area, it provides a great place for the player to grasp key mechanics of the game. There are multiple churches to visit which shows the player the value of finding these areas to upgrade their flasks, there are several good weapons to be found, there's a tower for increasing your spell slots, a mine that has plenty of upgrade materials, introduces us to the first walking mausoleum, has a unique quest that most will start upon arrival, a small legacy dungeon to get players familiar with the concept before taking on Stormveil, I mean I could probably keep going on how great Weeping Peninsula is for the game and overall experience, but most importantly it's entirely possible to miss this area on a first playthrough which further reinforces what FromSoft is going for with Elden Ring. Great work on the video, Peace and Love!

[@BertoPlease]

Oh for a first time playthrough I agree that Weeping is a good detour, I meant more so for a repeat playthrough, aside from the sacred tears and maybe the memory stones, there's not usually much reason to go there haha, but maybe that was the point

[@justkubz]

@@BertoPlease I appreciate that you reply to many of the comments that viewers leave, keep up the great work gamer!

[@ProduccionesPaquito]

Couple of counterpoints Dark souls one, does have an iconic interconnected world, however that element goes away at the midpoint of the game. Elden Ring’s open has different vibe and it stays much more consistent. Of course DS1 and 2 are much more replayable, but I’d say that’s more because of the length of the game itself. The very fact that ER is replayable at all is already a great compliment given it’s sheer size. While the NG+ argument is valid it’s something that a large majority of the community won’t ever engage with, and I’d say DS2 has much more interesting features you could have picked. How about the deep characters or the deconstruction of it’s own (and DS1’s) plot? I’d take Vendrick over Godfrey or Radahn (as a character, not a bossfight) a 100% of the time. I’d actually praise the bossfight design of DS3 over Sekiro’s and Elden Ring. My main problem with ER’s is the artificial difficulty that comes from the sheer ammount of damage bosses inflict in the late game. Don’t really care for the “too many repeat bosses” argument either, since it’s a much longer game and even still they managed to add twists to fights you’d already played. Sekiro’s bosses, despite how amazing they are, are, at the end of the day, a rythm game. You get accustomed to the boss’s rythm and you win. The part, I think, that deserves the most praise in Sekiro is the world, traveling from zone to zone is a joy, the different areas are some of the more atmospheric of the series, if not the most, and is filled with dinamic quasi open world encounters and set pieces that are a joy to experience. The two arguments I really don’t agree with at all are the bloodborne weapons are better and the atmosphere in demons souls is better. ER’s and Bloodborne’s weapon design are entirelly different beasts. One gives you a few options of amazing weapons to pick from, that reward a flexible playstile, allowing you to adapt to the faster pace of the combat as it happens. Brilliant. ER’s goes for variety. You can build a thousand characters in elden ring and not use the same build twice, as well as change your playstile progressively throughout the game as you get newer and shinier weapons. It is DESIGNED to reward player progression and encourage replayability in a MUCH longer game. Complaining about having to run through Liurnia because the map is not “well connected” and complaining about the lack of demons souls’s deep atmosphere in the same video… I just don’t get it. I’d say you made this video from a challenge runner or repeated playthroughs mindset. In demons souls you will be awestruck or spooked in different sections of the game, Latria in particular comes to mind, but if you impose that same mindset some of those set pieces also can become boring slogs of enemies to skip until you get to wherever you wanted to get to. Get lost in liurnia’s swamps, listen to the chants of the ancestral followers, take your time to look at the art in Leindell, get spooked in Mogwyn’s palace. You say the weeping peninsula has no content but I think you just missed the forest for the trees.

[@BertoPlease]

Most of this comment I'm fine with, but the Bloodborne weapon thing: isn't that literally what I said? I even summarized at the end of that segment that the quality of BB weapons fit that game, and the quantity of weapons in ER fits it, it's just different priorities and mainly took that segment to appreciate the level of detail they could afford in BB As for the last paragraph: yes ER also has some segments that are really good atmosphere, I never said I think it doesn't have anything good in that regard, or that none of the games besides DeS do, I just think DeS universally gets that the best, and it was the most palpable to me there, as it's very much tied together with the immersive world. I think the difference between the two types of games and their replayability lies in that replaying a game LIKE Demon's Souls probably won't be that different than a first playthrough; exploring a game like that or Dark Souls very thoroughly is very much part of the experience, and there's generally not a ton you can skip in some of the major areas unless you do skips and such, so you get to soak in the atmosphere just as much. As for Elden Ring, you're just NOT gonna explore the entirety of Liurnia every single time, it's too much, and that's where being an open world can be both a pro and a con, cause no matter how much you like an area or the atmosphere, unless you're specifically doing a very thorough playthrough or specifically FEEL like going around the entirety of the area, you just won't do it. But either way, there's a reason I didn't make "atmosphere" my main point, even though I could've, and is just a small point someone mentioned and I felt like commenting on it, I realize that it's not something that can be compared so 1 to 1.

[@ProduccionesPaquito]

@@BertoPlease I think my problem with the video is that you present each point as things that other souls games do BETTER than ER, as other people have commented, that is my problem with your point about bloodborne weapons, for example. I think you could have also picked things that are genuinely better to things ER does, say, the covenants and kindling in DS3 are better activators/incentives for online play than anything ER does. I don't know, I think you could have presented your points better or just chosen different features to showcase.

[@BertoPlease]

Yeah in some of the cases I can see that. I did have a couple of candidates for Bloodborne for example, I considered doing chalice dungeons vs catacombs but I also felt like it'd be a harder argument. But tbh I decided and wrote most of the script months ago and I just hadn't had a chance to make the video, and I CERTAINLY didn't expect this to get as much attention as it did 😂 Learning experience I suppose

[@TheHogfatherInvades]

Ds1 had some cool pvp arena maps

[@Alex-qt4yo]

Honestly the dark souls games are more quality and Elden ring is more quantity. I’ve had fun in both games but the souls and blood borne felt way more impactful and not necessarily short, but I admittedly spent a lot more time on Elden ring than an individual souls game.

[@BertoPlease]

On first experience with the games they still felt loooong too, easily in the 90 hour range for a noobie

[@gundamdetractor337]

in DS2 we can use ballistas on the battlefield.

[@BertoPlease]

RESPECTFULLY let me know if you agree or disagree with any of my points, or if you have any other things you think we're done better in the past games :) I'll also take feedback on the opposite ideas as I mentioned in the outro!

[@simonealcazar816]

I disagree with the atmosphere part. I really don’t like how loose the term atmosphere is used in the souls community because it’s extremely vague and nebulous in its meaning. It ultimately feels like people just mean they like the overall design and tone. I struggle with which atmosphere is the best because ER isn’t going for the same vibe, tone, whatever DeS is going for. ER is going for high fantasy, a presenting feeling of adventure and mystery. DeS is dark fantasy, with a more grounded approach. I feel say this is better “atmosphere “ when they are not going for the exact feeling they want to convey is silly. If we’re talking about who do better at conveying the tone From is going for? I think they both do well but in different ways.

[@t2av159]

How dare you ask me to be respectful

[@doromizu.]

@@simonealcazar816 Yeah people equate atmosphere as anything "spooky" for some reason

[@liamrobertson9508]

I think elden ring took one step forward, one step back, one step to the side, then hopped in place a few times

[@maran947]

Sorry but to me it seems like you are trying way too hard to bash Elden Ring, you are listing what each game does the best and then just say it is better than Elden Ring but you could select any other souls game to compare it to and the video would be exactly the same..

[@HijoDelHongo]

Might be a bit of a controversial opinion, but I truly think Elden Ring (or whatever souls IP they work on next) could really benefit from some MMO characteristics. Having world events that are completely optional and near summon pools would be so fucking fun.

[@Mortiel]

I absolutely could be wrong here, but wasn't the giant Warrior Jar fights based on builds of other online players, albeit still AI controlled? Or was that Fia's fights (which the exception of at least one fixed NPC) that I'm thinking of?

[@felipeguedescampos851]

Both fights have that

[@voflondor]

Berto, GG on such great video and also I'm happy to see it have such success! Also, happy to see Cerp's comment in the video 💙

[@BertoPlease]

Aww thank you V 🥺 also WAIT I HAVENT SEEN CERPS COMMENT I DONT THINK?????

[@voflondor]

@@BertoPlease ✨ 14:29 Cerp in the discussions hehe

[@TransientWitch]

What I dislike most about Elden Ring is related to the combat: specifically, I like to play Sorcerer (laugh if you want) - it feels worse to play Sorcerer in Elden Ring than it does in DS2 (Hexer had so much utility in addition to battle spells!) AND there is a HUGE dead zone for free-aimed spells only present in Elden Ring that makes playing a Sorcerer against player-type enemies and...well, other players, far more tedious than ever before. I can't mindgame people like I used to, I can't rollcatch with most of the normal combat spells I've got (or jumpcatch now) because not only are my animations longer than most weapon swings, I can't angle my spells except at very oblique angles up/downward. Compare that to charged heavies using an unlocked camera where you can spin something like 270 on the spot as soon as the animation for the attack starts, and how running attacks have extremely good tracking with lock-on (while spells still lazily drift towards your opponent). Unlocked weapon strikes got significantly better in most regards (except spears and the like...Which suffer the same freeaim issues!) but unlocked ranged combat got so much worse and took a huge skill and learning curve that made being a ranged fighter satisfying out entirely.

[@ViralVibes61122]

I personally love the atmosphere of Demons souls,DS1 and perfer the bosses of ds3, i also love some of the creativity of ds2

[@AGhostsGhost]

Me casually scrolling through the comments looking for the ER simp's paragraph essay about how ER is the most perfect game in existence and nothing even comes close.

[@kindlingking]

Every time. They'll always find excuses to ignore ER's flaws and worship From even harder.

[@simonealcazar816]

@@kindlingkingou guys freaking embarrassing. Also most of the comments are criticizing the game what fucking planet are you in?!?!?

[@lorenzo8208]

I am the biggest Elden Ring simp you could find and yet I agree with everything in the video, except the Demon Souls bit, but that's only because I haven't played it and can't really compare. But yes, the NPC fights in Elden Ring are garbage except maybe Alexander I guess

[@BertoPlease]

True simps acknowledge the flaws of their... simpee

[@AlarchyGaming]

One thing i gotta say is how they make so much lore that is so different from every other soulsborne game and it all is so good the creativity is incredible

[@Pie_Smacker]

One thing that I think really would have fixed the world design issue, that being that it's too big with too little filling the space that's actually worth repeat exploration, would have been to expand on what Demon's Souls did. The Round Table already exists in its own pocket dimension, like the Nexus, so allowing us to choose which part of the continent we want to go on would have both made the setting feel realistically large (since they can just throw in some detailed backgrounds to make it feel like we're exploring a continent and not a small island with like two villages total) while also giving plenty of freedom to explore as we can choose which place to start with. Like in Demon's Souls, you can throw in some requirements before allowing us into the Leyndell, like needing to kill a few Demigods or finding a key or something. Unlike in Demon's Souls, you can enhance exploration by throwing in even more pocket areas, like the underground cities and Farum Azula, but make them accessible through telporters and questlines, like they did in base Elden Ring. I think this would work the best because it allows them to focus on the best parts of their linear but detailed designs, while not being too needlessly large and riddled with empty space. Every area would be handcrafted, a lot more dungeons can be interconnected instead of being dead-ends with copy paste bosses, the map wouldn't feel so out place, and secret areas (like Farum Azula and the underground cities) would feel even more interesting to discover, with more time and detail given to each. Of course I'm not a game designer, so this is merely an opinion at best.

[@BertoPlease]

I kinda want this now

[@Kryliph]

this video makes it more clear than ever that dark souls fans are so jaded and set in their fundamentally flawed ways of looking at games. its as frustrating as it is sad to see someone even make an attempt to compare the intricate environmental story telling and the attention to detail that goes into every location and the spaces between those locations in elden ring to the confined, tedious, cluttered mess that is every step you take in dark souls 1. Exploration is such a key part of Elden Ring and you can gather so much about the lore of the world by just being even remotely invested in the world you're experiencing. To everyone that feels like dark souls 1 is better to explore than Elden Ring, I plead with you, I absolutely beg you to take a step out of your way of perceiving the game and the world around you. I promise if you truly invest yourself in Elden Ring and don't just look at it like "dark souls but with less direction" you WILL have a better time and you WILL see why Elden Ring is a better game.

[@HeyTarnished]

You hit the nail on the head here.

[@thegigahebrew3154]

I don't necessarily agree with the "Dark Souls has better exploration" one as both games kinda did their own thing. In Dark Souls, it was more "Holy shit! I'm back in Firelink Shrine, I'm finally safe!" and in Elden Ring it was more "Holy shit! 40 hours in and thousands of miles trekked and there's STILL more to this game!"

[@frewtlewps1152]

One thing that made me stop playing Elden Ring was the combat system. The most effective melee style is using a high damage sword, and jump attacking when there’s a small opening (which has the least cool down). It feels like the enemies are so fast and have such a small cool down on their attacks, yet the combat system doesnt give the player enough tools to keep up with the speed.

[@snomwithaknife4478]

Elden Rings pvp was basically the equivalent of always dealing with the Aldrich Faithful 😂

[@ksw8514]

I loved Elden Ring, but I desperately hope that From Software will still produce leaner, more focused (and balanced) experiences like Bloodborne or Sekiro.

[@justfun4703]

This is a very strange comparison video. 1) The player-type bosses are worse in ER than in DeS. Well, neither DS1, DS2, DS3 or BB developed this concept. At best we got player-type bosses of the same quality (Old Monk and Halflight ARE the same), at worst we just got player invasion during the bossfight (DS2). In my understanding, this mechanic didn't get developed because it was bad, so it was further reduced in ER. I think the next games won't have this mechanic at all. 2) World exploration. Like you said, it's comparing warm to soft. All I'm saying is that no one forces the player to explore every inch of the map in ER. I think it was assumed if the player fails a boss in legacy dungeon, they can always go level up in open world. Overall, I agree with your point of view. 3) NG+. Again I agree, but I would also say that this concept was not developed in later games. DS3 should be blamed for ER having an uninteresting NG+ in the first place. 4) Weapons in BB. It's not a quality vs quantity situation. It's a quality vs quantity AND quality situation. At best, the weapons in BB are on the same level as in ER, but overall, they are worse. The variability of builds in BB also suffers because of this. 5) PVP matchmaking. Is this a joke? DS3 was the first to use a nasty player matching system that prioritised hosts with summoned phantoms. Average PVP experience in DS3: gankers, gankers, gankers, gankers, fight club near pontiff, gankers, gankers. Also, ER makes it clear that PVP has been sidelined: you have to use a special item to participate in online activity, so you don't get invaded by PVP-tryharders and hackers while you just want to enjoy the game. 6) The bossfights of Sekiro. Compared to ER, Sekiro has less variation in player playstyle. This gives a massive advantage to the developers, as they know exactly what the player can and can't do at any given moment. This is what allows for great bossfights to be created. I think the ER developers tried their best to make bossfights balanced and interesting. But you can't really cover a lot of ground. In the end, you're comparing the game on rather obscure and neglected mechanics and features. Yes, it used to be different, but maybe it's for the best that some mechanics have been simplified (player-type bosses)? I'd like to see a comparison of games based on core mechanics that every game (or most) has, rather than dead-end offshoots that felt like experiments. I'm not optimistic, I'm sure there will be examples against ER, but overall it's the best game in the series IMO.

[@CITYZEN50]

Elden ring is goated fr, every game has its flaws but the fact that these Bloodborne fans attack elden ring for having reused bosses while bb having normal enemies as bosses (celestial emissary) is just ridiculous considering the fact that bb is a linear game and it still has lazy bosses compared to a massive elden ring that needs to fill up it's places with reused bosses, not to mention bb's bosses after Gascoigne is just mid af up until the final boss,gehrman compared to elden ring constantly throwing absolute bangers at you (remembrance bosses) during your journey, well absolute bangers for the most part...I'm looking at you fire giant.

[@Astald798]

Imo, you kinda treated BB weapons kinda too harsh, because all of them are very good (And for me personally ER and BB weapons are equal and both are my favorites), but I'm glad to see that someone is thinking similary to me about quantity and quality of these weapons. For me quantity of weapons in Souls/Elden Ring never was a downside to me - it's literally same advantage as quality and tbh it had more versatility, because you always have weapons of the same class with alternative movesets.

[@dr3amwatcher960]

DS2 also had better power stancing imo, certain weapons gave entirely different movesets if you powerstanced them, along with being able to powerstance weapons that didn’t belong to the same category. (I.E. the helix halberd that could only be power stanced with other thrusting weapons) or Artorias’ greatsword giving an entirely different moveset + a scaling bonus if equipped in your left hand. Game had so much charm to its weapons and how you wield them.

[@jamesputterlik225]

The ps3 version of DeS had the smoothest parry animations. The Dark Souls games had this slight processing delay to their animation that usually left me getting ganked. DeS was one of the few games where i could consistently pull off parries.

[@_Tzer]

7:22 Gwyn related items in ds1 are ng+ exclusive and the full power of nito's faction(spawns a bunch of horrifying red phantom enemies) ds3 has ring upgrades other than that yeah they don't have much at all.

[@BertoPlease]

Oh yeah guess thats true 🧐

[@The_Stickle_Cell]

Build variety is cool in Elden Ring but then they only let you have 10 characters, which I feel just isn't enough for this game. I would love to make a new character but I'm not quite ready to part ways with any of my current ones.

[@TREVORVADER]

I made more profiles on PS4. Have like around 25 characters total. Then a few on PC as well I’ve done

[@Exel3nce]

Why would you even need 10

[@Astald798]

I had similar problem, but I just saved my savefile, and deleted it from game folder to make space for another characters.

[@TREVORVADER]

@@Exel3nce some people like to make a new character for each build they run

[@Exel3nce]

@@TREVORVADER thats extensive...

[@bishopjordan9482]

Mimic tear was an attempt to create an extremely unique boss that was supposed to be similar to your fight with Dark Link in the Water temple in Ocarina of Time. But the major flaw in it lies in it's greatest uniqueness. I don't know how Fromsoftware overlooked this but players figured out pretty quickly that you can pretty much ruin the amazing and wondrous concept of the "You versus yourself" idea by just unequipping all of your stuff and then re-equipping it back after the Mimic tear spawns in, making it the only boss in Fromsoftware history to be able to be rendered literally harmless and what would have been a Dark Link type fight, is now just a helpless soul for you to just knock aside and forget about it in 2 minutes.

[@janah6473]

This only holds up in todays standard of people incessantly spoiling themselves by watching streamers play games before they do. Or googling strats before ever attempting a boss. The beauty of Mimic Tear is that you DONT know its coming at you. The beauty of Mimic Tear is that you ARE given the choice to think about what to do to fight it (aka stripping). Thats the POINT of the fight. It reminds me of true gems of gamings history like MGS1 psycho mantis swapping your controller, or MGS3 waiting real life days so a boss dies of natural causes. This is what makes Mimic Tear a great encounter, even without being a tough fight.