Elden Ring FAILED Where Bloodborne Succeeded: A Late-Game Analysis

A deep-dive into both the late-games of Elden Ring and Bloodborne to figure out why I don't play Elden Ring past Leyndell.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
02:21 Early-Game Exploration
05:26 Late-Game Exploration
07:09 Plot Actions and Consequences
09:35 Copy-Pasting
12:02 Late-Game Exploration Contd.
17:12 Bloodborne's Combat
20:10 Elden Ring's Combat Intro
21:09 Animation Reading
22:14 Malenia
24:47 Good Bosses
26:12 Following the Rules
27:48 Hunter Fights
28:57 Bloated HP/Damage
29:50 Radahn
31:00 Elden Beast and Final Bosses
34:35 Bloodborne's End-Game Bosses
36:01 Moon Presence and Elden Beast
38:04 Endings
43:32 Conclusion and Thanks
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#eldenring #review #videoessay

[@thelegendofxander]

Thank you for watching! The clip of the Frenzied Flame ending was streamed on Twitch, so if that was fun, or you'd like to hang out, go follow me there! www.twitch.tv/thelegendofxander

[@Noah-rd8xe]

I'd personally like radagon to take your pieces of the elden ring and mend it, then you'll fight an even stronger monstrous radagon, with the full strength of the elden ring, with his shape and power changing depending on how many parts of the ring you had (so skipping malenia for instance makes him weaker)

[@thelegendofxander]

@@Noah-rd8xe This is a REALLY cool idea!

[@DeathxStrike18]

@@thelegendofxander How about the fact you can reverse the frenzied flame essentially to save her and still be worthy, but there is no ending for this nor any reaction to this event of purposely fighting the hardest optional boss in the game to achieve this.

[@hardluckmk.52]

When i think about everything elden ring has shown me in 500 hours, it’s that for better or for worse a lot of the game seems like it was effortless to make surprisingly as it’s a biiig game

[@hardluckmk.52]

Also astel copy paste is a little odd, the cave fits it but how did it get there, same with fallingstar beast…maybe the mine with astel was a fallingstar beast that evolved into Astel if that’s possible since they are the same thing and the stars are alive so more than one astel is acceptable but the copy paste godrick is unacceptable more because it feels like the reskin of godrick was given to a spinoff of godfrey named godefroy who also drops godfrey talisman yet still looks like godrick, if there’s an explanation it’s too obscure for my playstyle and I haven’t seen a vaati vid for it if even he can explain it but yes i feel like it killed fighting the “exclusive” boss (as i was told) and this minor astel is the one that the quest Astel doesn’t which was fun when experienced on the minor astel but then you realize “why does the weaker less atmospheric astel have a unique thing and the quest astel doesn’t?”

[@ariavergil9631]

I actually laughed when you said Malenia felt like she should be in a different game, because while I was fighting her I remember thinking "this girl is the best Devil May Cry boss ever" lol.

[@dequasont1063]

Her waterfowl dance attack is also an ability in sekiro lol, and it’s pretty much identical

[@tomohawkcloud]

@@dequasont1063 and she has a tricker weapon

[@serumseven6760]

beacuse fromsoft are kinda cheap i love them but we cant deny there cheap they use assets animations etc from all the older games the door opening animations are literally the same as the ds1opening animations 😂 yet any other dev does thst everyone loses there minds 😂

[@Mr.Happy777]

@@serumseven6760 Fromsoft doesn't own Devil May Cry tho

[@estebanvelazquez353]

@Mr. Happy no but they do own sekiro and malenia definitely is a sekiro boss. Ding ding ding ding posture break

[@spectrasoulfaire215]

I could forgive almost all of the problems with Elden Ring's lategame if somebody would just turn down the amount of damage everything deals you post-Morgott.

[@CodyHeim]

I'm on my 4th playthrough now, and I pretty much just make a beeline for the mimic tear as soon as I beat Morgott because the rest of the bosses piss me off so much without it

[@nyleen]

@@CodyHeim See you shouldn't have to do that. :/ They dropped the ball with Elden Ring. Only excuse they can make is the scope of the game got out of hand and they had to release it some day. Still, makes me rank it lower than DS2 on my personal list.

[@enman009]

With damage resistance talismans and high vigor (unless you have a debuff or a scarseal/sorseal), you should never be near oneshots or near death.

[@michaelwilcox8187]

@@enman009 You're delusional

[@titojefe330]

@@michaelwilcox8187 Except he isn't. I bet you guys are the gamers who don't put any points into Vigor and just max your main damage stat out the first 80 levels... No wonder you get one shot. My character has 40 vigor and nearly 1400 health with the Godrick rune and a Rune Shard. Nothing is one shotting me until I get into new game+...

[@josephcola9662]

100% Agree on Elden Beast. But my caveat would be this: Elden Beast is a vassal entity created by the Greater Will to maintain its control over the Lands Between. In the default endings, the Tarnished is attempting to become an Elden Lord under the Greater Will... which means it makes even *LESS* sense that the Elden Beast is trying to STOP you from from doing what it's boss wants. Instead, it should have been similar to the Moon Presence -- a final boss that only shows up under specific circumstances. Radagon (and maybe Marika, because I honestly have no issues with Radagon as a boss on his own) would be a boss if you were going for the any of the endings that have you mend the Elden Ring. On the other hand, if you take on the Flame of Frenzy, or complete Ranni's questline (which should, and in this hypothetical scenario WOULD, lock you into that ending), since you are attempting to oust the Greater Will from the Lands Between, THEN the Elden Beast would show up as a last-ditch effort to stop you. This would have made Elden Beast feel WAY more lore appropriate, and would have been a cool way to make a semi-secret final boss for players to discover. Also, please give us Torrent for that fight. The entire Elden Beast fight felt like it was built and balanced around the player having Torrent, but then they just got rid of them at the last second and didn't change anything else. Just imagine: you haven't seen Torrent since the Fire Giant. The whole of Farum Azula, possibly the Haligtree depending on your progression, Gideon (who is also a joke), Godfrey, and Radagon have been on foot. Then, during the cutscene for the Elden Beast, Torrent, who chose *YOU,* shows up of their own volition, and you hop on, ready to ride into one last battle.

[@tehSunBro]

Elden Beast attacking you makes perfect sense, because the greater will doesn't want you, or any tarnished for that matter to become elden lord. The tree rejects you when you reach in in leyndell and you literally have to set it on fire to reach the center. The reason is also pretty simple. The Elden beast and by extension the greater will being just another outer god is a secret that only Marika and thus Radagon actually know about. Radagon is allready trying to repair the Elden Ring, so in the eyes of the Greater Will there is no need for a new Elden Lord. Morgott was trying his hardest to keep it a secret that no Tarnished will be able to actually become Elden Lord. We learned something we shouldn't have been able to. And the Elden Beast is the last ditch effort for "fix" that mistake. That would also be the explanation why it is able to bring back Radagon and Marika, when you fail to kill it. Too bad nothing can stop the Tarnished from trying over and over again.

[@geraldyeager7652]

​@@tehSunBro Okay if that's the case then why is their a site of graces everywhere in Lands Between. For me it's that Radagon doesn't want you to become Elden Lord while Marika does. Considering how they are both on opposite ends of the spectrum. For two more endings the Dung Eaters and Destined Death make sense why the Elden Beast is fighting you considering it wants it Elden Ring 'pure' considering how it labeled the crucible, heretical in the order while the other is self-explanatory

[@massimilianoreali4398]

​@@geraldyeager7652i always thinked that fighting the elden beast is a part of the process for becoming new elden lord and start a new order of the world basically for restauring or change the old order you must fight the manifestastion of that order also you when defeat the elden beast you are just taming her and imposing your will on the order of the world since if we truly destroyed the beast than we would have destroyed also the ring thing that happen not after the defeat of the beast but after your choice in two specific final ( frienzed flame and ranni)

[@magnanimousmartyr421]

Actually, there is an explanation for why The Elden Beast attacks us that I feel that you may not necessarily have realized right away! The idea is that The Elden Beast is barring entryway into The Erdtree through Radagon and Marika so that it can maintain control over The Realms of The Lands Between! It does this because it has fallen out of The Greater Will’s good graces, and is now acting in open rebellion against what The Greater Will desires most, for somebody to take over and fix everything!!!!!!!

[@krispo7256]

​@@geraldyeager7652I know that this comment was made 8 months ago but why would the greater will demonize the crucible when the greater will created it, remember that the crucible was only hated during the era of the golden order when radagon was elden lord, and if the greater will truly hated the crucible it wouldn't have given grace to the dung eater and give him visions of the rune of the fell curse.

[@Danothyus1]

i've heard in another video a good idea of the problems with the late bosses. "You're playing dark souls while every boss is fighting like Sekiro".

[@flamingmanure]

theres also another video by the youtuber lupine completely stopping this logic with actual vids of him playing ER correctly, and not like a boring old sould game aka bb or ds1. in truth, ER requires more from you than just timing your dodge in any direction and pressing R1 a few times. I still remember so many bb fanboys saying the same about ds3 "youre playing dark souls while every boss is fighting like bb". Funny how souls vets still dont realize that every game is played differently, alot of those folks need to take their own advice and "get gud"

[@AlastorAltruistGaming]

@@flamingmanure it does not matter if each game is “played differently,” because if FromSoft would just SPELL IT OUT FOR US, we wouldn’t have this problem. I figured the mechanics of other Souls entries out with almost no problems, but Elden Ring is where I just stopped & realized it’s too much.

[@jenjoe4359]

@@flamingmanure how are bloodborne and dark souls 1 “boring old school games,” they’re not even that old and they’re fun to play(well, except for certain bosses and areas)

[@revenant097]

@@flamingmanure This. People have a real hard time accepting they simply may not be so good at the game. Look at the guy above me literally saying "if FromSoft would just SPELL IT OUT FOR US" LMFAO

[@thatguy1488]

@@AlastorAltruistGaming i am a souls rookie and beat elden ring and figured out it’s mechanics with ease. i mean shit bro USE A DAMN SUMMON IT IS A MECHANIC IN THE GAME. if you refuse to use a summon that is completely on you and saying “i shouldn’t have to do that” holds literally no logic because that’s like saying you shouldn’t have to use prosthetics or mikiri in sekiro. you’re just refusing to use the tools given to you and then complaining that the game is too hard while making it harder for yourself

[@thechosenflutterbox]

I think the biggest issue regarding all the items in ER is the way they're given to the player: completely unupgraded, be it a weapon or ash summon. Weapons I understand, but I think ashes should have been done differently, where instead of upgrading each individual ash, you, say, upgrade the bell. This could work too if there were say 2 bells, one for normal summons and one for special/legendary summons. This way the player would be encouraged to try every summon and not just immedietely pass them off as too weak to use. This would make summons more like pseudo spells Also, at the end there, I never realized that was Torent's ring, I thought it was the literal remains of the Elden Ring, but it being torrents ring makes more sense

[@tehSunBro]

Well the game gives you tons of upgrade materials for the ashes, and even let you buy them. The whole idea is to try out and find which ever Ash fits your own playstyle just like the different weapons. Obviously on reruns you know which Ashes work the best and people just beeline the materials to get their choice to max asap, and ignore everything else, but thats just how things go. I do think its too easy to level legendary ashes and that they are too powerful, maybe they should've found a way to make it worth using regular ashes. Like being able to summon other regular ashes after they're dead, or summon two at the same time.

[@thechosenflutterbox]

@@tehSunBro i was thinking more on the lines of comparing it to other open world games or games with different loot systems, in FromSoft games anything you pick up is often in its weakest state, whereas in some other games, weapon drops are scaled to whatever area you're in, which benefits those games because it's more worth it to explore, I think I agree with your points though

[@Gamer_G33k]

@@thechosenflutterbox Well to be fair, Black Blade +0 is still far stronger than Shortsword +0. Weapons are scaled to where you get them. Pretty sure most end game weapons even get less increases per upgrade overall, in order to be better balanced with earlier weapons.

[@muniromar9205]

That's why you have bell bearings

[@ayemane2828]

You upgrade everything with stones, I loved the process of upgrading my weapons

[@TripleCheekedUp]

Another point about Bloodborne that was kinda grazed over when you talked about insight and the night changing is that different enemies also spawn in some areas. Main instance of this is Hemwick Charnel Lane. It my first few pmaythroughs I went there before I best Amelia then one time I decided to beat up Amelia first and the mobs the witches spawn started appearing. I never knew they spawned before that time because they are locked to spawn until after night. Another subtle change happens in cathedral ward after you have a certain level of insight. While the Amygdalas appearing is the major thing you notice, there are also changes to weapons of the enemies. The one with the scythe is now glowing showing off the arcane damage he deals that isn't visible before but you still take more damage. You can see the ones with the wooden stake snow covered in red what look like thorns showing off the frenzy build up they inflict. It's a very nice touch thats easily missed. Also quick note, while they do largely suck and are tedious to do I feel like Chalice Dungeons are worth mentioning in the end game. Having to search up glyphs to get exactly what you're looking for and having to use the rites and everything is quite annoying to do, but I actually like that there are bosses completely unique to the dungeons. My favorites are probably the ptumerian elders specifically the caster that makes different weapons, as well as the abhorrent beast, and the bloodletting beast. Sure getting paarl or rom with buffed up rites is a nightmare but some of the bosses just shined. It's a shame they were locked to this part of the game.

[@thelegendofxander]

I did have an entire section dedicated to the chalice dungeons in an early draft of the script but there wasn't really an easy comparison to Elden Ring, which was the main focus of the video. I don't hate the chalice dungeons, but they can certainly be tedious. I do like that you can do some extracurricular activities in a game, so farming for blood gems and giving yourself an extra challenge in exchange for some min-maxing goodness is fun! But then again I'm a massive Monster Hunter fan so that kind of grind isn't as much of a downside.

[@TripleCheekedUp]

Yeah that makes sense. I guess the dungeons spread around the Lands Between can kind of count for a comparison but a very weak one since more often than not it's just a 5 to 10 minute exploration to get more than likely a crappy item you don't want or need, pull a lever, and fight a game boss that leaves you wondering why you bothered with the effort. On that point though, I do think it would be cool if they had some special dungeons hidden around where you could kind of set it up like a chalice dungeon. A few materials and some souls to make a rare dungeon to get dungeon specific items would be cool. Would add another layer of depth to elden ring. Though I can also see how it wouldn't be for everyone.

[@troyvanleeuwen3296]

Fun fact: the Witches are actually really easy when at 0 Insight, as you aren't "enlightened enough" to understand their power, and therefore none of the apparitions that they summon are visible or able to damage you in any way.

[@TripleCheekedUp]

@@troyvanleeuwen3296 really? Had no idea that was something. Might have to try that next time, make an easy boss easier

[@fahimtajwaar2521]

Probably a very unpopular opinion: If there ever was to be a Bloodborne 2, I would want chalice dungeons to not only come back, but become way more complex and convoluted too. And while they’re at it, add as many different effects as they can, and massively diversify the gem pool. I know people can find them soo annoying but quite frankly learning to understand all the mechanics of the chalice dungeons has been the biggest draw of the game for me in recent years, now that it’s 8 years old. It just satisfies the inner inquisitive nerd in me, and I still find myself learning new things while meandering in them.

[@dredgendorchadas6770]

Something else about the taurus demon and Cappa demon is when you get later in the game you come to realize that what was so hard weren't bosses, but minions who got trapped

[@adamfowler350]

Here's one thing that I realized with ER. Going after a special weapon or item gives this whole Odyssey meets clash of the titans feel...because to get one weapon, you have to go fight an even more deadly challenge than your path originated...like perseus having to kill Medusa in order to kill the kraken. Needing her head to fight another boss.

[@sparkybadge8811]

I don't wanna be the party pooper but Perseus didn't killed Medusa for having the head to kill the leviathan, he killed her because he had to, this quest was given by the king of his land, for proving his value as a hero. During the way back he encountered this monster assaulting a city, and decided to kill it, then he married the princess of this city and came back home, sorry for the long text 😁

[@TheKeyboardBeatz]

Monster Hunter in a nutshell

[@peterdavis7695]

Do you consider this a good thing or a bad thing, or just a thing?

[@1992zorro]

still waiting..​@@peterdavis7695

[@Raidon484]

Correction: Orphan of Kos is hard, because nobody knows what the fuck he's doing, unless, after fighting him 50 times, you reach a state of clairvoyance and nirvana and just know by instinct what he will be doing

[@Infinity1055V5gil]

Even Kos doesnt know what he is doing😂😂 He is so hard I had to question my existence in this world😂😂 but to beat Ludwig I had to die and born again.

[@joshuakim5240]

Hunters: "My god! This creature is so unpredictable! What kind of eldritch combat style of unforeseeable mastery is it using to fight?!" Orphan of Kos: *just flailing around randomly*

[@simongomes7250]

I beat him on my first try, just beaten BB a week ago after 1000 hours on Elden ring, I was bored with BB. I don’t understand what people see on that game. But it makes sense because we always are going to love and prefer the one we try first

[@Raidon484]

@@simongomes7250 I mean, that was Elden Ring for me... The excitement just fades when you can predict every boss because you played all the other games...

[@simongomes7250]

@@Raidon484 yes exactly. It’s always the nostalgia and the experience

[@JayTheMushyLover]

Your take on Malenia is 100% how I feel, the first phase would feel so much more fun if either waterfowl didn’t exist or it existed as a transition thing like Godfreys’ pommel slam. The phase 1 feels fantastic once you learn the moves but once you get to the point its just a tedious game of “oh she’s slow walking at me but I better not try and hit her with my giant crusher or else I might die instantly,” completely ruins the flow of the fight. Winning doesn’t even feel good, cuz every time I’ve won against her it wasn’t because I mastered her moveset, its because RNG didn’t let her use one of her moves that near immediately kills you if you fuck up. Also it seems like waterfowl was designed to be dodged when not locked on which is weird asf

[@muhammadsaduddin308]

Yeah waterfowl is the most bullshit attack ever. Well at least you could still block it with giant crusher

[@Ghorda9]

@@muhammadsaduddin308 you don't have to block it, you can run and jump the first flurry, dodge the second and then just reposition for the third.

[@muhammadsaduddin308]

@@Ghorda9 yea i know, i mean the first flurry is yhe hardest to dodge. If you're on recovery time while malenia flying point blank in front of you, you couldn't running. So better block the first flurry

[@Ghorda9]

@@muhammadsaduddin308 if you're up close you can either run and jump or just spam light roll four times away from her.

[@muhammadsaduddin308]

@@Ghorda9 yeah, i know that too. The run and jump not reliable though, but you can definitely survive by only getting 1 attack from the first flurry then get knocked down the floor, automatically dodging the second flurry. Light rolling also work of course

[@adamfowler350]

When you consider the size of Elden Ring, I think FromSoft did a pretty damn good job. Ds3 is my favorite, but i loved elden ring. I believe most people did as well.

[@staLkerhu]

One of the reasons why I probably like Elden Ring a bit more is the world design. I mean, in DS3 I constantly have a feeling, that I'm trapped in a box. The path you take from start to finish is way too structured and limetied by walls. I know it isn't a lot different to be on a huge island, but the world of Elden Ring still feels like a lot more realistic and open. I don't know which one has a bigger overall area by measure, but I know which one feels a lot bigger! Also, Dark Souls 3 is just... well, dark as f*ck. If you think about the overall look and feeling of the different environments, then even Caelid is a lot more welcoming and pleasant place, than most of the DS3 areas. 😀

[@victory8928]

@@staLkerhu The caelid part I think is a bit subjective, but yeah unless you are doing into a cave, dungeon or underground area then the world has a different atmosphere from Darks Souls, I still don't like it cause several story beats from DS trilogy are just copy pasted into ER with no care for making it unique while also slapping in Norse mythology although I do think the Erdtree and the other giant tree are good concept choices for the game as it gives a visual target for the player to work towards which is getting into that tree. But at the same time, the level design and enemies are also of poorer quality than say Bloodborne due to that openness and vastness. Plus the game has some poor difficulty scaling even in the same region as some minibosses are just harder than the main bosses of the region. Which you don't see in the past games due to how linear they are.

[@shanetaylor761]

@Victory I agree with most you said but I definitely think fromsoft has made randomly difficult mini bosses before. Sekiro did that. I don't mind something like that that makes the world feel less predictable compared to the classic leveling problem. It's so awkward to fight a hedge boss that decimated you earlier but now dies in ten strikes. I also agree about the level design but I think there's a trade off. No any one place is going to be as detailed in a game that's multitudes bigger but now you get a way more epic feel of discovery. Never sleep on the effectiveness of open space. The whole rhanni questline felt so sidelong sprawling. The experience of accidentally finding an entire underground city full of viking ghost was amazing. Getting transported to a hellscapes and having to fight and sneak your way back for what feels like miles only to find the world's bigger dragon. Tornado world. Then you add in the added space for creativity in multi-player and I can't help but think the detail they sacrificed wasn't in vain for the vastness they gained. I'll never forget trying to get to volcano manor forever only to have patches help out. If I were to ever put other games on a pedestal compared to elden ring it would mostly just be because of the story and combat. Visually i think the game was stunning.

[@victory8928]

@@shanetaylor761 Let me put it like this honestly, it depends on the player. I don't really care for open worlds like Elden Ring if I feel there isn't much to guide me through it . I personally prefer Fallout New Vegas because it doesn't feel like a slog in a good chunk of places especially since I don't have as much time to play these types of games compared to other more shorter games. Even then I don't really care about the visuals when my hardware can't handle it well and has issues cause of just that expansive feel to it. Plus for the amount of cash I put into the game I don't feel like I get my money's worth due to these issues. I do agree that it has a good exploration mechanics but they do sacrifice a lot of the game potential for that and I don't really care for most of that explorable content. I do agree that finding hidden areas are fun but when there is such a lack of stuff to do in them it can feel dry especially if one hidden area is just used to get to another then it feels like less of a hidden area and more of a passageway to the proper hidden area. But if you enjoy the game then good for ya, I personally don't and its fine eitherway, if you find it is worthwhile then do it, I just don't/ really think the devs of these games should be given more time cause it feels outrageous and they really need some proper breaks. A good way of thinking about my thoughts is this; they bit off more than they can chew and while it is still on par with - a tad substandard for the most part it doesn't give me the drive to finish it so I don't see the point in doing so.

[@torahibiki]

I'm gonna go out in a limb and say. Bloodborne bosses up until rom. And harder than all of the late game bosses combined. Which is a let down. And bloodborne (base game) isn't necessarily as perfect as every one seems to regard it as.

[@SkarrGaming]

Yeah I agree with this. For me, Elden Ring is just too big. It's a problem I have with most open world games. With Bloodborne I can make multiple characters and give them different stats to use different weapons because a play through doesn't take that long and it's paced well, it isn't frustrating to get through. With ER I made 3 characters then thought, I can't do anymore, I'm not having fun. Although unlike BB you can change the stats of a character so I suppose that helps a little.

[@AlastorAltruistGaming]

See, I have no problem with open-world games, but if they’re not done RIGHT (The Witcher 3 & Ghost of Tsushima being a few examples that use the open-world concept exceptionally well), then what is the fucking point of making an open-world game that doesn’t even remotely leave me interested or in complete awe? This is bullshit, especially coming from FromSoft, who are generally masterminds of good game design!

[@flamingmanure]

dark souls does that far better than bb tbh, bbs build variety and design is shallow in comparison. starting a new character is a chore in ER eff that, but i got to mountaintops in 3 hours on ng+ and i have never experimented and changed my build as much as i did in ER when compared to any other fromsoft game. its just far deeper and more complex than the older games, although that introduced some balance issues. it is more fun to start new characters in older games, but frankly speaking, ER, is designed as an exploration game first, its all about that feeling of discovery on the first playthrough, and tbh not even bb or ds1 combined come close to measuring up to ER when comparing that first playthrough imo, i dont think fromsoft will ever replicate ERs magic ever again. "I suppose that helps a little." considering ER drowned the internet with build videos for months after release, i would say it helped alot.

[@ayemane2828]

Elden ring is by far my most favorite so far, bloodborne just has t hooked me yet,i feel like its really small

[@josephcola9662]

I noticed you didn't even MENTION the outright insult that was Gideon. He was built up over the entire game as a manipulative bastard, with agents and spies all over, entire bands of mercenaries at his beck and call. He seeks knowledge and power, to truly match his mantle of All-Knowing. He order the death of the entire village of Albinaurics just to get *HALF* a medallion that would get him to the Haligtree, which he only wants to reach so that he can aquire Miquella's knowledge and spells (and perhaps some magic from Malenia too). He's the one to figure out that Marika planned the Shattering the whole time, that she used Ranni and the Black Knives to kick things off by killing Godwyn, to give her an excuse to shatter the Elden Ring and throw the whole continent into chaos. That she doesn't want ANYONE to become Elden Lord, and wants all contenders to struggle unto eternity, effectively "starving out" the Greater Will as the passage of time combined with the Fractures Elden Ring forces the Outer God from the Lands Between entirely. All the teardrop scarabs have HIS symbol, are spying on your progress as he follows in your footsteps, gaining new spells with every Shardbearer you defeat. And then we get a fight against a guy with a hammer that spams spells all day. He also has virtually no poise, meaning his "boss fight," is just a mandatory, glorified NPC invasion. And you know hammers are awful in Elden Ring when even the AI Gideon doesn't actually use his scepter beyond the weapon skill. Speaking of, the weapon skill is just awful. 20% more magic damage to everyone including YOURSELF, for some reason. You'd think an All-Knowing guy would have figured out how to not have his own weapon debuff him. Then he just switches to a seal and a staff. Now, I don't have a problem with him spamming high-damage magic. It makes sense with his lore, and makes up for his minimal poise and low (relative compared to other bosses at that point in the game) health pool. But just picture this as a rework to Gideon: His hammer is instead a staff, that can cast both incantations AND sorceries, and requires a decent investment in both INT and FTH to compensate (30/30, maybe even 40/40). Which would be RIGHT up his alley for who he is. And instead of a blanket debuff, Knowledge Above All (the weapon skill) would instead do something that no one else in the entirety of the Lands Between could figure out how to do, including demigods: It would cast an area of effect, and anything within it would act like it was under Vow of Silence from DS3 -- you can cast any spells, and unlike the paltry 23 seconds of DS3, this would last a full minute. But more importantly, it wouldn't apply the debuff to the caster. If that happened, Gideon would be a FAR more credible threat to the player, a dangerous bossfight rather than a joke, and he makes up for his general squishiness by being an absolute powerhouse at range, with means to prevent you from fighting back outside of melee.

[@dredgendorchadas6770]

I don't know about the timer being a whole minute, but it would be cool if he had some 30 or 45 second there, but there was a second version that reduced melee damage towards him by, let's say, 60% and poise damage by 80% for a different 30 to 45 seconds The two abilities would be unable to overlap and would be random, idea just being to spread the joy of not having a workable build.

[@higaiwokeru]

Wait wait hold up, where did you get that Marika planned the Shattering? Where does it say it?

[@josephcola9662]

@@higaiwokeru Vaatividya

[@aephyn_]

Gideon really wasn't that much of an asshole lol, it's just that your path crossed his. Both of you are tarnished after all, and only one tarnished can face Radagon/Marika. That said, i agree he's piss-easy.

[@ThiccRat-Chan]

To be fair, this is after you killed all the Lords meanwhile he doesn't even have one

[@pbdenizen3008]

I agree with almost all your criticisms of Elden Beast, except that I felt it was hinted on by the Elden Stars description: “It is said that long ago, the Greater Will sent a golden star bearing a beast into the Lands Between, which would later become the Elden Ring.” So when I saw the Elden Beast I had the “Oh this guy” moment. But you’re right, it doesn’t work as well as the Moon Presence, whose precence we felt althroughout the game in BB.

[@kaiser2543]

A bit of a late reply, but whilst yeah Elden Beast is mentioned in the Elden Stars description, its also ONLY mentioned in the Elden Stars description. Elden Stars being an incantation that is not only one of the few legendary ones, but is located in an out of the way path in a hidden area (Deeproot Depths) behind an annoying optional boss (Twin Gargoyles) in an already hidden area (Siofra Aqueduct) in turn hidden behind an optional Shardbearer boss (Radahn) who is only accessible after either reaching Altus (Which either has the player having to go through the entirety of the Ruin-Strewn Precipice or suffering through the endgame-scaled Dragonbarrow for the medallion half there) or through Ranni's quest (Which in turn is hidden behind not only the entirety of Caria Manor but also an optional dragon field boss in Adula.) So yeah, whilst you can technically find out about the Elden Beast prior to the boss fight its like saying you can know the answers to a school test before it happens, you just need to find the one specific sheet of paper in one specific folder in one specific office in the back of the school that is locked unless you find the one specific key on one specific keyring... and also have to fist-fight three janitors along the way.

[@anthonycrater8064]

As I said in another comment, the ending would have been so much better if they upped the difficulty of radagon and turned elden beast into a purely spectacle fight like divine dragon was.

[@flamingmanure]

@@kaiser2543 what? u dont feel moon presences presence at all in the game, u just hear a few lazy tidbits about blood moon this and pale moon that, overall it doesnt help you understand or figure out the boss at the end at all, in fact, i would say the hints to radagon is far FAR better designed final fight in both lore, tidbits and spectacle, elden beast is just the ice on the cake. moon prescences reveal had no weight at all to me, its one of those cases where the journey was far better than the destination, not to mention the boss was a little mediocre on the combat side, while radagons reveal was extremely impactful, and EB at least has the best final cutscene in fromsoft by fa, although being worse than presence mechanically, its better overall due to the aesthetic, music, spectacle and majesty, most majestic boss fromsoft ever made imo, too bad the fight couldve done alot better.

[@josephwalker1853]

​@@kaiser2543 moon presence also isn't really mentioned hidden behind a cryptic ending where you have to find three ambilical cords and eat them to be rejected by the moon presence. I honestly don't know how people figure this out without a guide.

[@deathbringer5743]

Bloodborne's final boss isn't even Gerhman nor the Moon Presence as they're technically optional, Mergo's Wet nurse is the actual final boss.

[@Maceyoshiman]

Depends on the ending you want.

[@chopsandtoots]

Man the Wet Nurse is just a boss I can never find myself enjoying, she's just so boring.

[@deathbringer5743]

@@chopsandtoots Agreed

[@chopsandtoots]

@beef business if you're looking to trigger the NG cycle you do at the very least have to fight Mergo's Wet Nurse. Unless your take is "you don't have to play the game" optional.

[@Moody.Smiruai]

true lol

[@samfish2550]

Honestly I'd be more ok with at least some recycling if we saw more things like the misbegotten in the consecrated snowfield where it used the model of the weapon it dropped and had a new move. Like the one in morn or even the one misbegotten that drops the rusty anchor having the anchor as a weapon would be SOMETHING!

[@joeybesignano9203]

You can get the anchor as a weapon

[@samfish2550]

@@joeybesignano9203 that's not my point really, it's more about the boss using a similar weapon that could have gotten a model swap and like 1 new move so it could get at least SOME personality/uniqueness.

[@takeyourheart3030]

There are over 100 unique bosses in Elden Ring and you’re complaining that they didn’t make some of the repeats unique as well?

[@jacksongolden2820]

@@takeyourheart3030 13 are the only bosses that stand out lol bai

[@archersterling6726]

I imagined the Erdtree Avatars would absorb the environment and get new moves or effects depending on location and level. It didn't lol

[@Kjetilstorm]

I loved Elden Ring. My biggest problem with Elden Ring is that every time I want to reinstall and make a new toon I have to ask myself if I really feel like doing all that shit all over again and the answer is no. In DS1/3 I can chew throught the entire storyline in no time. But Elden Ring almost feels like gearing for mythic in WoW.

[@jonpapi_2247]

Facts I completely stopped playing bcuz I don't wanna do EVERYTHING again 😂.

[@NikoTeaJay]

It does seem like on those games where you'd better just decide on an end point. Like Morgott. Or whatever your personal peak for the game is.

[@Kjetilstorm]

@@NikoTeaJay In all honesty, I agree on that being the endpoint at a Morgott. The game really starts to drago by the time you get there. and god forbid you are an archer and literally have to farm to make arrows...

[@joejardine4489]

@@Kjetilstormto be fair to Elden ring, a majority of ds1 players stop playing after ornstein and smough

[@Kjetilstorm]

@@joejardine4489 What??? since when and according to who? Source please. Edit: Please give me the source, I really want to know when people stopped playing DS1 45 minutes into the game.

[@benjamintodd2618]

I played the shit out of Elden ring when it came out. It honestly affected my work ethic as I was using some PTO just to play. Yet, I haven't even completed it. Being a completionist, I take alot of time exploring every knook and cranny of souls games. I stopped playing around the snow area. it was just way too much fatigue at that point for me. Way too much content to shift through and most of it could've been forgotten about. I went back to DS3 and felt like the pacing is just perfect for me when it comes to souls games, DLC included.

[@steinkalv]

It gets relatively bad at that point anyway. Feels like a boss rush (literally 6 bosses back to back, starting with the end of farum Azula to end of game), with the joy of exploration pretty much removed starting with the snow area, due to re-skinned/re-cycled enemies and a much lower concentration of interesting sights and dungeons/caves.

[@enman009]

Some of the best bosses are in the later half. If you have your vigor high and are using damage resistance talismans, none will near kill you. As for side content, yeah, being an ARPG, above all else, can feel tiring. The game isn't asking you to do all (I certainly don't), so don't feel the rush to finish. The story has a bigger focus at the end, so you won't have to explore every corner of the map.

[@flamingmanure]

i took my time with this game when so many souls veterans rushed it and fucked up their stat distribution cuz they thought this darkborne 4 or something.

[@TheNero97]

I remember being old that Souls games are like a dance. Once you get the flow you dance with your opponent and beat them. Elden Ring is in a similar sense but like trying to do the Cha Cha slide to the beat of Running in the 90s trap remix bass boosted made by a Soundcloud DJ. Its cool a couple times but other times you kinda want something less intensive and more methodical like the other Souls/Fromsoft games

[@johnnyd.1004]

Perfect comment, especially considering that Lorian from DS3 attacks in perfect sync with the Macarena. I'm going to go listen to a Running in the 90s trap remix now.

[@iamamish]

I've made countless builds in DS 3 - easily over 50. I've played Bloodborne at least 15 times, and it is probably my favorite PVE Souls game. During my first playthrough of ER, I thought, "this is probably the best From game I've ever played", but I just can't bear the thought of playing it a 2nd time. For me, the open world that suits the first playthrough so well really works against you for subsequent playthroughs.

[@thelegendofxander]

This doesn't really bother me too much, but I totally get it. The tighter level design is more engaging to run through on follow-up playthroughs than the open world for sure, but I just treat them as big levels really.

[@iamamish]

@@thelegendofxander what bothers me is how scattered everything is, and it makes it hard to come up with an efficient game route. There are a million things you need from various locations for a build, and I hate keeping track of it all. I could just dupe everything but...eh

[@LordofMonkes]

I disagree. The open world allows the you to have different experiences at different levels with new playthroughs. Aswell as more discoverable as your bound to miss some stuff in your first playthrough. 2nd playthrough you have an option for a new build, new talismans, new weapons, new AoW, mess with the crafting system, new summons, incants/Sorcery. You'll most likely encounter a new cave or ruins or side boss or maybe even a quest that you didn't know existed. Obviously everyone knows what's in the game now so you can just look up whatever you need whenever you need it. But if you haven't watched that much elden ring you can definitely have a new experience with the game itself. (I'm aware that once you finish the game for the 1st time you lose that "what's this/where does this lead" feeling specifically for areas you've already feel like you found everything in)

[@bbyjohn11]

The open world allows you to get most builds off the ground with out fighting a single boss. Bloodbourne by contrast has so many weapons locked behind progression.

[@thrillainthemanilla1409]

@@LordofMonkes ​ you don’t need a 2nd play through for new builds, talismans, weapons, etc. Finding new catacombs/dungeons doesn’t add significant replayability because almost all of them have the same layout and very few of them have memorable bosses. The largeness of the open world is impressive on your first runthrough but it becomes tedious spending tremendous amounts of time on Torrent the second and third go around. I’ve done three playthroughs and I’m fully satisfied. It is a fantastic game but it does not have the same replayability as the other games simply because the games massive size. There’s nothing wrong with that either. The game is worth every penny and more

[@oglungbusta3587]

Ds3 was the first one I played. I am an indecisive person, I wanted to use soul magic, a giant axe, healing spells, and obviously LIGHTNING. I ended up with a sickening quality build, and by the time I had got to soul of cinder, I was still ass. After the 5th-6th try I started to realize, he started using a curved sword when I did, and he would use the same soulmass spell. I thought I was literally fighting some kind of ai doppelgänger that could mimic my play style, which was kinda terrifying. Still pretty cool how it’s every player and lord of fire condensed into one tho

[@89Wrathchild]

23:50 100% agree with this and I *hate* it. On one attempt vs her, I just knew she was gonna use that move, so I kept my distance, only moving in as a means to baiting it out. She did nothing. I tried moving slightly closer, but still being cautious. She still did nothing. I then closed in and hit R1 at close range and yep, she popped into the air the second I pressed it. I think we can all agree on how objectively unfair that really is. I literally *knew* she was gonna do it but there was just nothing I could do about it.

[@facundovera3227]

You could... throw a knife?

[@frysebox1]

@@facundovera3227 you could... uninstall your OS, throw your computer or phone out of the window then fax a letter from the library to Google and ask them to delete your posts and account?

[@jakestlaurent9057]

The game inputs your button reads

[@connork9745]

@@jakestlaurent9057 throwing knife or using a ranged attack causes the Malenia Ai to have greater odds of fowling

[@jakestlaurent9057]

@@connork9745 Ummm ok? It still inputs your reads.

[@Puppet1Show]

I feel the last couple of updates where everything is basically sped up is them acknowledging how soloing (at least with melee) the game feels

[@flamingmanure]

with some heavy weapons, yes, and honestly, it shows how much they love this game. they shouldve done the same with alot of bb weapons and ds3s ashes of war, the saw cleaver is objectively better than too many weapons not just on dps, but on an animation level too. alot of bb weapons switch animations re utter crap, which explains why most of the fanbase stick to spamming R1.

[@ThePalebloodHunter]

​@@flamingmanure No.

[@thejallenator5722]

For me the final boss Elden Ring felt like you had to fight Gehrman and then you had to fight a worse version of Rom, the vacuous spider. Oh if you died to Rom, you had to beat Gehrman again before facing Rom. Did Fromsoft not realise that we thought the way they did Bloodborne’s final bosses was fine and that everyone hated Rom, because Elden Beast is scarily similar to Rom.

[@cyborgchimpy]

how is Elden Beast similar to Rom?

[@thejallenator5722]

@@cyborgchimpy they’re both large bosses that teleport to different corners of the arena and hail attacks down from the air. Elden Beast had a few more tricks but at least he doesn’t have minions like Rom.

[@cyborgchimpy]

@@thejallenator5722 I didnt fight Elden Beast yet, but I found Rom to be mega easy. Rom also only teleports away at health intervals. the first 1/3 of his health he doesnt even attack, and the rest is incredibly easy to avoid. you just gotta take your time with the minions is all.

[@greathoonta3461]

@@thejallenator5722 I would still say Rom is better purely because at least Rom only teleports in stages and not just whenever you actually get close. Elden Beast is such a long fight when it doesn’t need to be.

[@insertjokeh3r3]

one thing that always held bloodborne back for me is how much damage certain things do. its like your taking ng+ whatever damage in a normal new game even with 40 vigor.

[@bubbajoe117]

Yeah but you're given extra evasive capabilities and a natural means to recoup the damage you receive through rally that it balances out, never mind the clockwise and anti-clockwise metamorphasis glyphs which increase your HP and stamina by 5, 10, and 15% respectively, stack a 10 and 15% health glyph on a 40VIG character and you'll notice the difference immediately.

[@insertjokeh3r3]

@@bubbajoe117 personally i think theres a sweet spot for damage for the souls games where the games are at their best with the perfect mix of challenge and difficulty that every game should strive for where you don't need things like stacking hp equips just to be able to not get hit with 80% damage from normal hits. when it goes over its nowhere near as fun cause it feels like it was more cheap then you just failing to beat the enemy like 99% of sekiro enemies, elden ring grabs and lots of bloodborne cause you can't learn anything from getting 2 shot by a single normal mob when you just start the game other then don't fight them.

[@steinkalv]

Yeah, but Elden Ring does the same, but without the agility and evasive capabilities that Bloodborne offers. Maliketh and Malenia are ridiculous bosses to me, they belong in Bloodborne where you have ranged parry and a much better dodge. I never felt unfairly treated in Bloodborne, except for in chalice dungeons, but those are very much optional, like a lot more optional than Malenia.

[@oglungbusta3587]

That’s funny because I feel the exact same way about elden ring, especially yesterday when I got one-shotted by the 11,000 dps giant dog at 60 vig

[@insertjokeh3r3]

@@oglungbusta3587 pretty sure that shouldn't be happening anymore cause it was a bug that i think was fixed awhile ago. unless your playing unupdated.

[@robertt2603]

Bloodborne is my favorite as well, but I felt like some of your points were unfair. Mentioning certain flaws with Elden Ring, that are present in Bloodborne, but you conveniently ignored to prove a point. Boss asset reuse is rampant in Bloodborne's chalice dungeons. You're comparing the level design of an open world game to a game that is semi linear. It's much easier for Bloodborne to wrap around on itself, because the world is so much smaller. I thought the legacy areas of ER did a good job of introducing neat secrets and shortcuts, and a good portion of Bloodbornes areas are "Point A to Point B" as well. One of the "point a to point b" examples you use in ER was the haligtree which is literally a secret area within another optional area. You have to explore a crap ton to even find it, unless you're using a guide. I get the feeling that even if the haligtree did have a side area, you would complain that it's side area is linear. There's nothing wrong with an area being self contained.

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

Wait, what's this? A Bloodborne fan who has a subjective preference for it, but can remain objective in his criticisms about it? How... How is this possible?

[@HerrFinsternis]

But many of those chalice dungeon bosses are unique to the chalice dungeons, as are the assets of the dungeons levelsdesign, and flesh out the lore of the bloodborne even more. The reuse of assets in both games is very different. The problem with the shortcuts in almost all of the legacy areas in ER was that there was often a site of grace right next to it. Most shortcuts didn't mean anything. It was cool to see things connect but you didn't need to use said connection. Even the capital is guilty of this because there's so many bonfires. Bloodborne probably has some useless shortcuts as well, but more often then not has several ways of getting from point A to point B, depending on how many shortcuts are unlocked. In those areas where that's not the case, the nightmare frontier for instance which is super linear, the shortcut is still great and you don't want to miss it.

[@chopsandtoots]

@@TheStraightestWhitest the bloodborne fandom is arguably the most chill. Pretty much everyone agrees on this. There are quite a few things I'd 100% change in BB if they ever do a remake or remaster. I mean shit, there are things all of us would like to change in all the games to some degree. Unfortunately if you don't have anything but upmost praise for Elden Ring the fans can't handle it and everyone defends it no matter what.

[@vikarsan3296]

@humblepotatofarmer3348 Live what you preach, you are literally doing the same thing your complaining, the irony.

[@chopsandtoots]

@@vikarsan3296 looks like I upset an ER simp 😂

[@Hakitosama]

Ludwig fight is sooooooo perfect ! The feeling of dancing with the boss rather than fighting, the bone chilling cinematic, the music THE MUSIC !! and the LORE !!!! The tragic fall from grace of a true knight ! Brilliant

[@starfthegreat]

Imo Elden Ring's re-use of main story bosses were its main weakness (Margit/Morgott is the exception since its a very cool twist), it should be said for the sake of fairness that Bloodborne is also guilty of this, albeit ina different way. Many Bloodborne bosses reappear in the Chalice Dungeons, such as Rom, Ebrietas, Amygdala, Darkbeast Paarl, Blood Starved Beast, and some reappear as normal enemies such as Shadows of Yarhnam, or the Witches of Hemwick. Chalices also re-use alot of basic enemies as bosses, like maneater boars or brainsuckers. With that being said, Chalices are optional areas many players don't bother with, but also alot of the areas with repeated main bosses in Elden Ring are also optional and rather well hidden. For example the weaker Mohg is at the end of a huge maze (even the main one is off the beaten path unless you do Varre's questline) and both Astels are well hidden. An Godfrey repetitions is the worst offenders imo, since you need to fight him twice to complete the game (although Hoara Loux feels like a fresh fight).

[@aidenwrath1402]

For Bloodborne, I ignored the core mechanics of the game by going Pure Arcane my first playthrough which really shows that the game is absolutely not designed for you to have extremely high damage ranged options like I did lol. For Elden Ring, I ended up breaking it too by using Str/Fth that cheesed the hell out of even Malenia. Funnily enough, huge weapons are her cryptonite if they’re capable of knocking her down

[@Brotaro619]

Gotta agree mohg feels like the best boss in the game and he feels like a raid boss almost. Summoning help does negate him a bit but he hits so hard it might not matter.

[@asundelgun3487]

His second phase killed me in three hits and I have 70 vigor. I didn't feel cheated because it was my fault. I was able to learn the timing and beat him. Malenia on the other hand just feels like playing Russian roulette. Its all up to her rng if you survive her second phase. When I finally beat her she only did waterfowl once and never did her other devastating maneuvers.

[@minerman60101]

@@asundelgun3487 One of the biggest problems with Mohg is that he has a secret buff that's not made clear in the slightest. If bleed happens (to you or to him), then his damage gets buffed for a period of time. I've been trying to beat him with a Liurnia character who has 815 health and Mohg deals reasonable amounts of damage all the time, only a couple one shots in phase two... because if he bleeds me then I'm dead anyway (I got him down to a sliver of health and survived phase 2 for minutes on end, but haven't put in the time to get the kill properly). And he is my favorite boss in this game.

[@Brotaro619]

@@asundelgun3487 yea i feel the same. Damn good fight when you get it down.

[@Ghorda9]

@@asundelgun3487 you can deal with everything that melania does with any build, just requires more analysis and practice.

[@dvdivine1962]

Mohgs second phase is garbage, would be better if his period blood didn't fly everywhere and instead it was limited to a small aoe affect on his weapon.

[@insertedgynamehere]

Why would you think astel is unique? You literally see one on the path through ainsel.

[@jonnymario771]

He is pretty much a grown star beast or someshit, based on an Antlion. Well, ppl that ignore lore may come with those conclusions I guess.

[@TREVORVADER]

@@jonnymario771 yeah. It’s made pretty obvious that they’re some sort of alien magic species. The full grown fallingstar beast on Mt Gelmir even has the gravity beam (galick gun) like Astel has as well as thrn having many other similar capabilities and physical similarities.

[@luigiprofeta2295]

As someone who played ER with 2 friends (2 of us being souls veterans) all the way through, I'd like to say that the buff that the bosses get is borderline too much by the end game. The HP buff can really drag and dampen the fight out while the damage buff makes getting hit by 2 moves can kill you very easily. I'd like to say the player with spirit ashes is the happy medium at times, but there are those few that are way too strong for the game. (looking at you mimic tear 10+ that literally soloed one of my NG+ runs up to the fire giant)

[@christopheryanez]

It got to a point where my friends and I were better off summoning 1 player for help instead of 2

[@luigiprofeta2295]

@Christopher Yanez yeeeeep for pretty much fire giant to the last boss. I think we did malaketh as a 3-man party, but we barely skimmed by the second phase.

[@ZER-ww2nf]

this is actually a skill issue, you are suppossed to take adderall while playing late game

[@archersterling6726]

The key to matching Maliketh's cocaine speed

[@yoshigba2749]

@@archersterling6726 It took me 7 hours to fight both Gurrang/Maliketh and Godfrey/Horuah Louh and worth beating them! No drugs needed!

[@enfrax]

aw man, im not the only one who loves mohg (: Such a fantastic boss! Great video! The thing that gives me the most replay potential is trying out different builds. I really hope they gonna implement something like the reflections or gauntlets from sekiro at some point.

[@ay00wtf]

that nigga creepy asf im glad i killed him💀

[@Blittsplitt5]

Mohgs delayed attacks and 3 different things to deal with just makes it annoying

[@portl1298]

As an addition to the problems with Elden ring: while I cant prove this, I swear that bosses do more damage if you have more health. The only justification I have for this claim is that I could take 3 hits from Godfrey at level 40 and 3 hits at level 60 even though going from 40 to 60 near doubles your hp

[@eldritchtouched]

Late comment, but I wonder if it's percentage damage instead? Like, that's why bleed builds are so meta- in a game with massive health bloat on enemies, doing percentage damage instead of raw numbers which are lower than that percentage, is actually the optimal choice. It's another point for "Mohg has the best late-game boss design in Elden Ring" as well, because his whole thing is blood, so the player expects the percentage damage.

[@portl1298]

@@eldritchtouched he doesn’t, I was just malding like crazy because Godfrey was beating my ass. The real reason is because the hp jump between 40 and 60 usually isnt enough to take one more hit vs endgame bosses

[@Stryfe52]

As much as I love Sekiro, having to fight Juzou like 9 different times was ridiculous. One of those times was in the Owl Memory - *AFTER YOU KILLED HIM THE FIRST TIME!!*

[@takeyourheart3030]

It’s 4, not 9, and you only *have* to fight him twice, both times being in Hirata because it’s a memory, not reality.

[@Stryfe52]

@@takeyourheart3030 I was being hyperbolic.

[@luigiprofeta2295]

I honestly think that the Astel copy-paste is probably the least offensive. 1. There's always the possibility that the player could miss one or both of these bosses. 2. The evidence that these cosmic beings are evolutions/metamorphosis of the falling star beasts into the hanging versions into the final form implies that there's more than just one of these beings in the lands between. I'll admit that the non quest line version doesn't really have backstory to support why it's there, but there is enough reasoning to have more than just one.

[@DeathxStrike18]

The Round Table Hold is basically a dream of the Hold within the Leyndell capital (next to the divine bridge/Eastern Rampart grace) So your hub is within the worlds hub city. With bloodborne I was able to beat it at level 1 so I could cheese pvp with the weapon you got from orphan of chaos, Elden ring End game some fights I use summons to just not deal with some of the bs the bosses do or duo bosses that were not designed for duo/trio

[@ToxicallyMasculinelol]

these games aren't supposed to have an "endgame." they're not MMORPGs, they're adventure games. you play the story, you do some invasions and co-op if that's your cup of tea, and when it gets boring you start over. and you do that a few times till you get bored. then you move on w/ your life. and maybe revisit the game in a few years when the familiarity has worn off.

[@mandrews6282]

Elden Ring is fantastic, the first time. The sense of wonder in scale and exploration become much harder to replicate, even on just a second playthrough. And the massive time sink and length also are a negative hit to replayability. Those are mostly what separate it and something like Bloodborne for me. On a first playthrough though there were far more moments of mystery, surprise and wonder, rewarding exploration, and world building events. But where Bloodborne I’ve played multiple times, sometimes back to back, I’ve only played Elden Ring twice, and those playthroughs were separated by a 6 month break. Elden Ring just needs time to breathe after each playthrough where a game like Bloodborne does not, to the same degree at least. Also personally I’m more a fan of the lovecraftian aesthetic and Victorian horror than the fantasy setting of Elden Ring. But the same there can be said of personal comparisons between Dark Souls and Bloodborne for me. Which is why I also loved Thymesia. FromSoft just has a vibe and ambiance in each of their games that no other dev in the genre seems to replicate, no matter what setting their game takes place in. And I love that they never just rest on their laurels and are always changing things up with new IP’s in meaningful ways. It’s way too hard to compare Elden Ring and Bloodborne because they are two wildly different games, despite certain core undertones that FS brings to the table. Similar to how Dark Souls and Sekiro can’t really be compared. Also, PS5’s have totally been available for months now on PS Direct regularly. And are on many store shelves and sites as the supply issues come to an end. I actually had to replace my launch day console a few months back, and ended up walking into a GameStop on Christmas Eve of all days to find they had both Digital and Disc editions in stock. Was able to just walk in and walk out with one. Demon’s Souls is amazing though. Highly recommend whenever you grab a PS5. As well as Returnal. Returnal is very different in combat and game design, but, shares that tough but fair combat, a robust mysterious world that offers obtuse storytelling, and a similar sense of ambiance as well as satisfaction when completing a tough boss or biome. I had never played any FromSoft games prior to Returnal. Picked it up thinking it would be a filler game as most releases were getting delayed at the time, and thought I’d hate it. Ended up loving it so much I platinum’d it and put in another 200 hours or more just doing runs and completing the eventual dlc story expansion and tower. Wanted more or something similar, picked up Demon’s Souls, and I was hooked. Played every FromSoft title multiple times for months, and it felt great playing Elden Ring as a fan.

[@fiddledydoodle]

As much as I loved this video, I would have to disagree with the Moon Presence statement. It's not the best fight, but it _has_ been built up. The entire game revolves around the moon. After defeating Gascoigne, the evening phase ends and night begins to set in. After Amelia, the night blackens again. After Rom, the night enters the Nightmare phase. It's all hinting that the moon is important. The moon is unnaturally big too, especially in the Rom cutscene. Many items in the game reference the moon and its powers. I'll admit the design of it was completely out of nowhere, but the idea of fighting the moon in some form is hinted at throughout the entire game.

[@dracobutwhatever8611]

The changing of the map would have been so much effort for so little reward. In order for the whole map to change (not including the underground since the ash wouldn’t get there), I reckon they would have needed so much time and energy to think about how it would affect every area. The evergaol containing is there for an extra fight and lore purposes. The people trapped in evergaols were there when they were caught for their ‘evil’ acts. In Godfrey’s case, I think it was when he ran away from the capital. The map is so open and combined with the abundance of checkpoints, the shortcuts being revealed are pretty worthless imo. I do agree with your points of copy paste enemies, combat being better in Bloodborne, late game exploration, specifically Malenia’s input reading waterfowl, Godfrey and Radagon being a good fight, Torrent missing in the final fight and Radagon coming back after beating him. I don’t mind the input reading and really enjoyed the difficulty of learning Malenia’s moveset and how to dodge them (same with the crucible knights). I had to essentially spend hours to learn all of it and it was a really amazing feeling that I got once I had beaten her. I think its really funny how you struggled with Malenia because of your build, but had a really good time with Mohg. If you run a low health build (full on mage) with Mohg, unless you know about the talisman that nerfs his nihil and you somehow dodge all the bloodflame that he sprays, he is a really annoying boss fight. But for the most part, I do agree Mohg is a good boss (I have a love hate relationship with nihil). The elden beast felt epic to me because I heard about the Greater Will this whole time so thought of this boss as having a connection to it (which it happened to be). Fighting Marika wouldn’t have made sense lore wise. I wish the endings you considered were bad would at least let us experience the world in that state (e.g. if we kill anything, it stays dead in the Age of Duskborn ending). I would like to note tho, that I wish the burning of the erdtree affected Godwyn’s corpse (burnt parts of his skin so his corpse decides to move and allows us to fight him as a boss. Also, hate the blood starved beast in Bloodborne.

[@meathir4921]

I think nihil works as a unique and iconic gimmick for Mogh. It’s a shame Elden Ring has some other unavoidable/unreactable attacks because it would help contribute to nihil feeling special. I think it does work though.

[@dracobutwhatever8611]

@@meathir4921 I agree it is so iconic of Mohg. Part of why I love it is the mini culture around nihil.

[@OscarSanchez-vo9dx]

I honestly don't mind the whole land not being covered in ash, we don't know how long it was burning for but eventually yes it would cover everything, but it didn't burn long enough to leave the capital

[@karmicbacklash]

Fully agree, considering how much content the game already gives you this part just comes off like unrealistic wishlist rather than any kind of serious critique. Not to mention that the altered world state splits the online player base (I assume to avoid spoilers) which can be a pain for jolly coop in Leyndell. Starting from Capital Rampart whenever I want to help out a friend is annoying, I'm glad it didn't impact a bunch of other places.

[@higaiwokeru]

Fighting Godwyn’s corpse wouldn’t have made sense lore-wise (since we care about lore so much) since its just a body trying to bring itself back to life without a soul to make it whole Its acting on instinct, not desire

[@masonpobst]

I disagree with most of what you said besides Elden Beast and the similar endings as Elden Lord (Ranni's ending was great) but it's nice to hear someone else's opinion. I thought Malenia was actually a really unique boss that was fun to fight as several different builds (dex, magic, strength, etc) but that's my opinion

[@HeavensBane53]

Absolutely agree that elden ring was designed around the idea that you would have a summon out for every fight, been saying it since the game's release. Honestly, I don't even think the bit about elden ring being designed to be "slower and more deliberate" is all that accurate. DS1 was designed to be that and basically everything in elden ring is much faster than ds1. This feels like they took ds3's combat as a base, put in summons to make it more accessible to new players, then adjusted the bosses around that, which often meant giving them big combo chains with a mix of speedy and unnaturally delayed attacks to throw players off. Really, it feels more like ds3's combat facing against bloodborne and sekiro bosses than anything.

[@heretic3629]

They make you kill genichiro over and over again in sekiro if you die to the sword saint it’s fun in my opinion and just adds to the challenges the game brings you. I love reading wet nurse’s attacks and quick step dodging trough them seamlessly.

[@sekiro_the_one-armed_wolf]

They build genichiro up so much only for you to be able to absolutely grind him into powder by the end of any normal playthrough, shit is hilarious

[@godfrey4461]

@@sekiro_the_one-armed_wolf Because he exist to test your skills

[@bbbbbbb51]

@beef business what's really hilarious is that eventually you get so good that you can start up a fresh save & beat Genichiro on the first encounter even without damage upgrades, a healing gourd, or mikiri counters.

[@crowquet56]

Agreed on all of it, ESPECIALLY map design. I was so disappointed with the insane amount of randomly placed portals, it really killed the immersion.

[@crowquet56]

Where are the secret passages and tunnels and caves connecting areas?

[@RelativelyBest]

Honestly, I didn't like Bloodborne all _that_ much. I get that the combat system is really well done, but it just wasn't quite to my taste: I _want_ to block with a shield, I _like_ being being patient and methodical during tense fights rather than relying entirely on quick reactions and timing, and I appreciate the option to go for a tanky build. Additionally, I thought Bloodborne went a bit _too_ hard with the cosmic gothic horror thing - it started to feel too relentless after a while. The Souls games at least don't trap me in a hellish nightmare city _all_ the time, and there are areas that are actually quite pretty and relaxing. In Elden Ring, this is pretty much half the map. In retrospect, Bloodborne kinda felt like being permanently stuck in Caelid. And finally, I just didn't feel like I understood what my character was actually trying to accomplish, because I didn't have a clear goal like "kindle the First Flame" or "become the new king." More like my character just shrugged, picked up a weaponized walking stick and started killing monsters hoping things would eventually start making sense. Don't get me wrong, Bloodborne _is_ a good game, I just wouldn't call it my favorite FromSoft title by any means.

[@takeyourheart3030]

Agreed. Bloodborne is not anywhere near my favorite From Soft game. It’s fine but I don’t understand why so many people are such diehards for it. Maybe I need to play it again but I have no desire to. 😂

[@MILDMONSTER1234]

I don’t know why people are complaining…. This is the future all these dark souls 3 and BB fanboys chose you guys dug this hole now lie in it. Matthew Matosis was right the series bosses peaked in demons souls

[@egg0920]

great rage bait comment

[@The_Roosta]

The lore, the open world, and the build variety of Elden Ring is amazing. I got hooked on it. The combat is some of the best, but man. Bloodborne is a masterpiece. The combat is the best out of any game I've ever played. That fight with Gehrman felt epic, and amazing. I think Bloodborne might be my favorite game. I can't wait to do the DLC and fight the orphan of Kos and Lady Maria.

[@thelegendofxander]

Oh man you GOTTA play Old Hunters. Best content From has ever done tbh

[@MILDMONSTER1234]

If you like BB combat please play Nioh

[@The_Roosta]

@@thelegendofxander I ordered the disc copy with the DLC. I can't wait to play it.

[@The_Roosta]

@Mild Monster I just got it! I'm waiting for Bloodborne so I can do the DLC and playing through Dark Souls 3. Then I'm going to do Sekiro or Nioh next.

[@takeyourheart3030]

I don’t understand the hype around Bloodborne’s combat, can you explain? To me it’s just hack and slash for the most part and the frame rate makes it feel awful. I cannot understand how people call it a masterpiece over Elden Ring.

[@ImarBenIsrael]

Interesting comparing what failed with elden ring when what's the sales of Bloodborne and elden ring . What's considered a failure ? . I like both games personally, both do something different. . I get it , the og hardcore like the older games more than elden ring and that's great but does one have to down the other to make Bloodborne great tho ? Also we need a remake of bloodborne

[@flamingmanure]

the more i visit bb fan circles the more i notice this smug superiority and objectivity in their subjective and bordnerline delusional opinions towards which souls game should be ranked the best, especially towards games that completely overshadow bb like dark souls or ER, lol just look at how many " BB vs other FRMsoft game" there are XD especially compared to ER, almost like the fanbase has an inferiority complex or something, which frankly makes sense considering that the only thing keeping it relevant are the few fanboy vids like this one that come out on the successful tails of the newer fromsoft games, which imo are much better anyway. i think im staying away from bbs fanbase for a while, it easily has the most delusional and obnoxious fanbase between the fromsoft games.

[@ImarBenIsrael]

@@flamingmanure I get you . Fanbases for the games tend to cannibalize themselves whether they know better or not to uphold a game . Don't have to tear one down for the other .

[@UndeadMerchant]

​​​​@@flamingmanuredog, do you not realize you're doing the same thing as them rn? It's a problem with every fan of any of these games, not just a bb one. I see plenty of ER and DS3 fans act just as bad.

[@ThePalebloodHunter]

​@@UndeadMerchant In fact, this guy does EXACTLY the same thing in all the KZbin videos that talk about Bloodborne, putting the game so far below until it is the black sheep of Formsoftware, which yes, man, ER is the best game, so stop that shit already.

[@aallen3311]

Elden Beast should have been like Aldia, we’re it doesn’t effect too much but a reward fight for you doing stuff throughout the game

[@Antonio.S]

Bloodborne base game was alright but if there was no dlc for bloodborne nobody would be calling it the best fromsoft game, so I suggest we wait for the ER dlc and see if they manage to surpass the old hunter dlc

[@Squiddyize]

Agreed, BB base game wasn't that much worth talking about. You just explore through the nightmares and all of a sudden it's over and the house is on fire lol. The DLC makes this game, just like DS2.

[@Squiddyize]

@beef business yeah, of course I'm just straight up excluding Horsefuck Valley and its two cats. Blocking that from my memory entirely. Other than that, stuff like Frozen Eleum Loyce, Shulva and Aldia are the highlights of the game imho.

[@brandonchandler2556]

@@beefbusiness52Its crazing looking at how the original level design for DS2 was originally going to be

[@cheerlessmarshes2768]

let's not forget the absolute awful chalice dungeons they introduced. this is my biggest criticism of bloodborne fanboys criticizing every other fromsoft game, they treat bloodborne as the absolute pinnacle of gaming experience when its not, the absolute mediocre roster of base game bosses, having to farm for blood vials, 30 fps the list goes on but bloodborne fans never even dare to acknowledge this

[@Hyperslayer_X]

@@cheerlessmarshes2768 It’s pretty irritating tbh.

[@jaysor]

I agree that copy-pasting godrick was a horrible decision but im pretty sure theres a lore reason why there are two astels

[@brandonchandler2556]

For the two astels, I think it’s because of another full-grown falling star beast having spent enough time going through the cocoon process to reach that stage.

[@tonystarrk4859]

Strange that you would use Bloodborne as a counter example when Sekiro and DS3 are the two Fromsoft games with the best late content and endings. Bloodborne is just as guilty of reusing enemies in both of the required end-game areas (even Yahar'gul is a bit of a reused area in itself while Mensis reuses Nightmare Frontier enemies, Shadows of Yharnam, and remixed Pigs, Crows, and Dogs, even Upper Cathedral Ward re-uses Brainsuckers and Wolves). Both Ephael and especially Farum Azula are fantastic areas with S-tier atmosphere (the Beasts in Farum Azula are a great fun regular enemy with cool variations, the Rot Knights as well). Also the comparison of endgame bosses is easily in Elden Ring's favor, imo. Loretta, Malenia, Commander Niall, Placidusax, Mohg, Maliketh, Godfrey, and Radagon/Elden Beast is a much better boss line-up than Rom, One Reborn, Micolash, Wet Nurse, Gehrman, Ebrietas, and Moon Prescence. At least with Elden Beast you actually have to learn his moves and engage with his mechanics, Moon Prescence melts at late-game with just 8k hp. I agree that Mountaintops of the Giants is the weakest of the five main areas to explore, but Castle Sol and the remaining Catacombs in late-game are some of the best side-dungeons (also there are some unique enemies that I think are cool like the Wolf-riding Albinauric Archers). I also like that Ephael is a secret area within a secret area. Finding so much stuff like this is what made Elden Ring so fun to explore. Tldr: I disagree (late game Elden Ring has my four favorite bosses in the game, Melania, Maliketh, Mohg, and Godfrey). Also I love the difficulty spike after Leyndell, if anything I think they need to make bosses like Morgott and Renalla have more health and damage. Btw, I fucking love Bloodborne, I think it's a masterpiece, but the strength of the game is clearly in the beginning and DLC, Central Yharnam is probably the best starting area in any video game). If you wanted a great endgame then Sekiro is the much better example with Fountainhead Palace, True Corrupted Monk, Divine Dragon, Father Owl, the invasion of the interior ministry which leads to one of the coolest area changes that Fromsoft has done, Demon of Hatred and Sword Saint Isshin which is their best final boss.

[@erikhendrickson59]

The fact that FromSoft haven't given us a 60FPS PS5 update for Bloodborne is borderline criminal.

[@mbiwe3ep_on_futanari617]

Early & Mid-Game is flawless in ER... Dude lemme hug you! It seems I'm not the only one who think this game makes an extremely fake first impression that stabbs right into your face right at the arrival to the mountaintops of giants and dragon barrow

[@flamingmanure]

bb copy pastes enemies, ER and sekiro has alot of actually reskinned enemies with new moves, also most of ERs low quality content is optional, and BBs chalices are optional, and ERs side dungeons are laughably better designed and higher quality than that and most off bbs side content actually, and its peaks are SUBSTANTIALLY higher than bb, so pound for pound in quality, ER beats BB. other than gherman, most if not all bosses post vicar are either mediocre like amygdala, or bad like rom, or garbage like mico or one reborn, on top of that elden rings mini bosses like crucible knight or lionel match if not surpass alot of bbs main bosses lol, so i find it chuckle worthy and confusing to think bbs "quality" measures up to ER in anyway but combat and music, bbs combat is also not as good as its fanboys say imo, its weapon animation balance is LAUGHABLE. the saw cleaver just objectively shits on way too many weapons, which explains why 99% of the fanbase, including the speedrunners, stick to spamming R1 and the occasional L1 here and there. trading 500% of your build variety for that much "quality" in combat doesnt seem like a good trade off. ERs atmosphere is leagues ahead of bb, and thats coming from a dude with over 10 books from gothic masters like poe and lovecraft, ER just has far more art complexity, creativity and variety in its open world, underground and dungeons, sooo much that its kinda hard to admit its not purely preference and bias towards bb otherwise, still love bbs atmosphere the most between the games though, although i have a bone to pick with the horrid overuse and copy pasting of grey castles, churches, corridors and cobbled roads, coffins, gravestones and caskets jeezuz, they basically copy pasted the same assets all the way up until forbidden woods. the more i visit bb circles the more i notice this smug superiority and objectivity in their subjective opinions towards which souls game should be ranked the best, which this alot in this comment section demonstrate, that attitude is especially strong towards games that completely overshadow bb like dark souls or ER, lol just look at how many " BB vs other FRMsoft game:" there are XD especially compared to ER, almost like the fanbase has an inferiority complex or something, i think im staying away from bbs fanbase for a while, you guys have fun with your favorite souls game though, just dont try to convince and others ite the best souls game, it isnt, you beasts should get over that fact and move on.

[@ThePalebloodHunter]

And what are you doing? just denigrating the game and doing the same thing, just don't watch them, idiot.

[@JackStigma]

The Godefroy case was unforgiveable but Astel makes a bit of sense lore-wise What if while holding the stars Radahn was holding 50 of those beasts from coming to the Land Between? What if there are a bunch of them and we'll see a couple more in the DLC? Also, stars of darkness has a slightly different moveset

[@billj.8690]

Yeah Open World games replay value is meh at best. But that first playthrough is so amazing. Zelda BotW and Ghost of Tsushima will continue to collect dust of my shelf, but the first play-through of those games (and Elden Ring) are some of my favorite experiences I've ever had gaming.

[@sweeeeeeeeeeeeee]

To answer your question nothing went wrong both games are fantastic.

[@josef574]

Hey, did anyone hate having to go to the mountaintops of the giants after getting to the elden throne?

[@yoshigba2749]

Yep! Screw the Moutain Tops AND FXXK Consecrated Snowfields and HALIGTREE!!!

[@ihx7]

what was the music at 21:00?

[@m0xsy57]

I don't agree with the NEED to grind in Elden Ring, if you just play the game naturally and explore you'll be RL150+ before you finish the game. People who farm runes are either players on a subsequent playthrough and don't want to "explore" everywhere because they know what they need and where it is or they are more casual players who want to make the game easier for themselves or they don't understand the player is meant to be disadvantaged against bosses unlike in your typical open world RPG where bosses aren't much worse than regular enemies.

[@karmenion]

I agree with many points, but also disagree with many as well. Biggest disagreement is that about Elden Beast. I don't thing that Radagon should stay dead. I understand it would make sense since EB did turn him into sword and stuff, but then fight itself is so easy that it being a single fight would make final boss a joke(then again moon present was a joke compared to Gherman as well, so idk). Also Elden Beast is like avatar of Greater Will, so saying that there was no build up to it is incorect. We didn't know what form greater will would take, but that it is final boss I think makes complete sense. Deffinitelly more then if it was Marika, who started the whhole mess in a first place and wanted to end the rule of greater will, which is why she ended up impaled(presumably by what kinda looks like spike made out of Maliketh's power). second thing I will disagree with is fact that you called Bloodborne best combat when Sekiro exists. Sekiro is also super agressive like BB, but feels so much more sattisfying because it fells like reasl swordplay, not two dudes hitting each other waiting for their turs while other is rolling like stupuid(btw this reminds me of cool mechanic that Malenia has and I saw iut on my 7th playthrough where she will deflect your sword if you spam fast attacks and then hit you in return) What I agree on is deffinitelly Astel and Godfroy(wyrms I tolerate because there being multiple makes sense since they are a species that inhabits the world of Elden RIng even if there are too many of them). Malenia is the hardest thing to talk about for me, since there is a lot of things I love about that fight(absolutely dissagre with what you said about her not giving you windows to attack (she is so much more lenient then Morgott), but damn waterfowl is a stain on almost perfect fight(same with her agression in 2nd phase, but you still get windows to attack if you stay close to her and await your turn. In conclussion great video. I hope you keep up the good work.

[@someguythatdoesstuff7658]

In my opinion, the early-game has the best exploration and atmosphere, but I think that the late-game is where Elden Ring's combat and bosses peak. The early areas Limgrave, Liurnia, and Caelid are amazing just from how much variety and density of content there is. However, I think that most of the main bosses here aren't amazing when it comes to combat and game mechanics. Godrick has some of the most aggregiously slow and simple attacks in the game; Rennala's spells you can just simply run from while she spams spirits. The bosses in the early game can be a bit too simple and over-reliant on delayed attacks to roll-catch hit you. The late game areas, aside from the legacy dungeons, suck-ass. It's so flat, full of reused content, enemy scaling spikes, and the snow-y aesthetic can get a bit too same-y and monotonous. Fortunately, by the time you are already in this stage of the game, your build is now a fully realized character that nolonger needs changes. Also, by this point in the game, you are now familiar enough with Elden Ring's combat that it's now intuitve and second nature, making combat encounters feel a bit more fluid. The best part: the bosses. The bosses in the late-game are, in my opinion, not just the best in the game, but some of the best in FromSoft's catalogue. The bosses in this stage of the game ramp up in speed; thus, making their attack animations feel much faster, more natural, and reactible than a lot of the delayed attack spammers in the early game. Maliketh and Godfrey are perfect examples of this. These bosses rely less on delayed attacks to hit the player and more on combo branches and mixups. I also like how it's much more evident that bosses in this stage of the game are more sensitive of your positioning and distance from them so they'll adjust their combos to keep up with where you are. This is a cool change because they won't just wail their weapons in air right after you outspace their combos with a few backwards dodges (I'm looking at you Abyss Watchers) They also have attacks that can be simultaneously dodged and punished with advanced mechanics like how Godfrey's stomps and Beast Clergymen's double swipe can be better avoided with jump attacking over them instead of dodging them. This makes combat encounters feel a bit more fun, kind of like jumping over Perilous Sweeps in Sekiro. What really helps is that Elden Ring is the most generous with stamina among all the FromSoftware games, meaning that your character will most likely not get exhausted even if you dodge, I don't know, maybe an 8-hit combo. Not only do you consume less stamina per action in this game, but there's also no hard-caps and harsh soft-caps. Another thing that I also think is cool and immersive is that some combo's openings aren't just after the last hit, but some of them are not even at the end but actually somewhere within the combo. An example of this has to be Radagon as he is one of the most aggressive bosses in ER. He will sometimes immediately attack right after a combo ends so it is much wiser to go for opportunities and openings. It's a good way to make these bosses less boring when you have to wait for them to finish their long-ass combo just to hit them. Another thing I also liked were the "unreactable" attacks and followups, the complete opposite of delayed attacks as these attacks have next to no wind-ups at all. These may seem like bullshit at first until you realize that the previous attacks were their windups, or these attacks are activated if you're a certain distance from the boss while they're in neutral. Once you get these attacks down, it's extremely satisfying. Don't get me wrong, I still think that some of them have bullshit mechanics (Elden Stars and Waterfowl), but I think that the late-game bosses offer some of the most satisfying and fun combat encounters in the game. Maliketh, Radagon, Godfrey, and Malenia are possibly some of my favorite bosses of all time. EDIT: Your video is pretty well-edited and put together despite being long and huge (like Elden Ring). You get a like and a sub from me.

[@I-Suck-T1tties]

I'm not reading all that ..................................................... nerd

[@meathir4921]

I don’t know how you can defend unreactable or unavoidable attacks at all. Radagon’s lightning spit, Godskin Noble’s belly echo or Godrick’s tornado (the last one saddens me since he’s otherwise an excellent fight) are so fucking stupid and force you to play around their existence in the exact same way a move like Waterfowl Dance does.

[@Rosegold_sky]

yeah yeab, i know boss is some what okay, just give us a faster roll or dodge for players please, that the speed to match with those boss. We should not be stuck with roll from ds1,2

[@ramen3643]

@@meathir4921 godricks tornado has an insanely long tell, it's just pretty subtle, I not hit godrick pretty easily since I was always able to tell when he was about to do the tornado, he goes out of neutral and starts standing upright for 2 seconds qnd then does the tornado, it's really easy to react to it in my eyes

[@ramen3643]

I completely agree, I felt like late game was my favorite part of the game purely because of the bosses, and areas like elphael and farum azula were cool, sure mountaintops isn't as good as limgrave or altus, but the bosses are the best in the game and probably the souls series as a whole as well, with 2 good legacy dungeons (the most visually pleasing in the game might I add) to cap it all off, I loved the endgame in elden ring so much and I always get so annoyed when I hear people say elden ring has a bad endgame, heck, I even enjoyed the mountaintops, I thought the visuals were pretty cool and I liked how it was q bit more empty since it made it more atmospheric

[@NateJones10]

I agree with you on late game issues, but the differences between Bloodborne and Elden Ring is a huge difference in resources for the world change. Bloodborne does it skyboxes, some repurposed bosses being made visible and some bot scripts. Elden ring had to construct two versions of the capitol, the erdtree, its sky and the partical effects. Its alot more expensive to make 2 limgraves, 2 caelid, etc. I agree it would have been awesome though.

[@facundovera3227]

Also not all areas in BB go all crazy during endgame, only the main ones.

[@asdergold1]

Actually in Bloodborne you seem to be stuck in a collective dreamscape, you don't see the actual city until he frees you. The city we're in after the messengers appear for the first time in that cutscene is part of the collective dreamscape of all Nightmare Realms and the Hunter's Dream. It's likely also why it looks so damn empty when you're freed. That is likely the only actual good ending for the Player character. You never wanted the Pale Blood, you just got cured of a disease and had to sign the Contract for that. That is why it's suddenly day and the city looks normal. If you take the Blood again however, you end up like Eileen. Back in the Dream. Forever. Or, it's just that you end up in another Dream Layer, never truly free either way. Bloodborne is pretty dark.

[@kirbo1248]

I like the end game in elden ring, infact I think it's great it just takes a long time to reach the really fun late game bosses but, and most of the exploration and legacy dungeons are fun, but Despite its blood gem farming, blood borne if we include the dlc its very very fun and it's the metroid vania, like with ds1, ds2, and Blood borne, vs the oneness of elden ring with interconnectedness but not the same kind and the linearity of ds3

[@geordiejones5618]

This is nostalgia goggles at its finest. The Mountaintops does the exact same shit that The Old Hunters does: mostly linear and damage spongey with very tough and awesome bosses. Doesn't change how much fun I had. People takes these games way too serious. I laughed my ass off during the endgame bc its ridiculous. This whole video is nitpicky for the sake of being nitpicky bc the Nightmare of Mensis is EASILY the worst part of Bloodborne. BBs 4th to last and 3rd to last bosses, The One Reborn and Micolash are hands down the worst of the mandatory bosses. Oh and the Nightmare and DLC introduce what, 1 or 2 new enemies while the rest are spongey reskins. KEEP THE SAME ENERGY.

[@Betterthanyoustudios]

Ok let's not pretend that nightmare frontier and nightmare of mensis are amazing.

[@derpasaurus155]

It is fun how different taste can be. I love the almost eratic bosses of Elden Ring as they force me to think on my feet and change tactics mid fight.

[@existentialcrisis31]

When I first played elden Ring I loved it. But after my second playthrough I began seeing the cracks and for a while I had a very similar opinion about the game as you. But I kept playing to get better and I noticed something, elden Ring is only good if you are good at elden ring. At least this is how it is for me. I've done 2 rl2 playthroughs now and I've gotten 10x better at the game because of it, and because of how much better I am now I absolutely love elden Ring again. Every boss is like a puzzle that needs to be solved and when you begin to solve it the fight gets better. The most obvious example of this is malenia. I hated her my first few playthroughs, but as I started to prefect that fight I fell in love with it. Malenia started as one of my least favorite bosses and now she is by far my favorite boss

[@thetoyodacar2264]

Though im not as good as you, I had the same feeling after figthing malenia for the second time. Became one of my favorite bosses, second only to mohg. Both feel like elaborate dances with more strategy than most bosses, such as positioning in mohgs second phase and predicting the waterfoul dance for malenia

[@enman009]

That is an interesting sentiment. My first playthrough was like a 9/10, but after multiple playthroughs, pure melee and some self imposed challenges, not only I understood the purpose and the overall design better, I felt the game's rulesets and what it expected from me. As DJ Cobbler said: the endgame is not this impossible unfair challenge, the game rewarded you with many tools and expects you to use them as you see fit. The mindset of this being DS3 Part 2 died and instantly became, alongside Bloodborne, my favorite Fromsoft game and a true Masterpiece.

[@victorprati7908]

What a very polite way to say to him git gud 😂 I share a similar experience and totally agreed my dude

[@jankogo]

I am doing a RL1 right now and have done about 60 % and I agree that the game is really enjoyable when you are forced to learn the bosses moves in detail, explore the different buffs and learn many ashes of war, but I will still say that many of the above points stand. I think Malenia is a cool boss, but the combination of waterfowl and healing on attacks is a bit too much IMHO, just as I think that Midir has 20 % too much health. I really dislike the reused assets and think the game would be a lot better if it was a little smaller with fewer quality bosses. Lastly I think the delayed attacks as well as the input reading in the game are a downgrade compared to earlier entries. With that said ER is a fantastic and enjoyable game that I have completed five times. It just could have been even better.

[@existentialcrisis31]

@@jankogo I agree with most of this. Malenia is bit much, but a fun challenge to overcome anyways, the input reading is garbage. But I have to disagree about midir. He is a Gaint dragon him having a ton of health makes sense and makes him feel like a monster of a boss. Besides if you get the critical attack on his head it does a ton of damage so it's not even that bad

[@drbornawesomeness3263]

I can agree about replaying the other games in the souls series beat eldin ring one time and never looked back

[@valrond]

Elden Ring just reached 20 million copies sold. The game is so much bigger than any other Souls game, including the 30 fps capped Bloodborne (yes, it matters. 30 fps doesn't cut it). So it's kind of ridiculous that Elden Ring failed. Yes, the scaling after the capital got out of hand, but it is still a better game than Bloodbourn, and much more succesful.

[@papajuicy880]

To be fair, when FromSoft did Bloodborne they had Sony behind them. Fromsoft as a standalone studio just doesn't work.

[@R.Eres-Queen]

I completely agree with you about the reuse of Godfrey and Astel, it really pulled my out of the game when I found another Astel just laying at the end of a random dungeon. And I never even though, that burning the, Erd Tree should cover the whole map in ash, but now that you mentioned it, that would've been great. And in my opinion removing the Mountaintop of The Giants, area, would've made the game way better. P.S. Sorry for my english.

[@Bumbum_Inspector]

I don't know, I think something like Elden Beast makes perfect sense for Elden Ring's lore and makes far more sense than the "great ones" of Bloodborne. Elden Beast being a simple envoy that means absolutely nothing to the unfathomable cosmic great one that created it lends to the incomprehensible scale of Elden Ring's great ones, while Bloodborne's "great ones" feel far from great and just feel like easily killable mindless cosmic beasts just trying to survive, similar to the creatures of something like the A Quiet Place movie. I also think not knowing literally anything about the Elden Beast makes more sense in comparison to knowing tons about the Moon Presence. Creatures like this would do everything within their power to exist without being known to exist and those that find out of their existence end up being corrupted by its superior power and turned into tools of the creature and abominations of their former selves like with Marika and Radagon. Elden Beast accomplishes this "envoy of a great and unimaginable being" secret existence perfectly while Moon Presence fails miserably in this department in my opinion, which to me makes Moon Presence feel infinitely weaker and less threatening in scale compared to the Elden Beast.

[@MaidenlessScrub]

Same for me. Like Elden Beast is supposed to be a secret being behind the curtain that use Marika and Radagon like a puppet. It's not supposed to be known by anyone, and the most we could know about it is from a very vague source that hints at its existence.

[@questionablezoomer764]

15:19 I also wanna mention Cathedral of the Deep and Grand Archives + Lothric Castle level design in DS3. They have many shortcuts that leads back to the first bonfire in the level, and it’s really impressive.

[@crestfallenhussar895]

I feel almost the exact same way. You pretty much sum up in under an hour and a half exactly how I feel about this game and maybe even helped me to understand why it kinda makes me feel a bit burned out like no other souls game has before.

[@3lithepunk]

Sekiro got the best combat system I love bloodborne but sekiro delivers, but bloodborne lore is my fave of all

[@spookysioux1224]

Malenia really do just be a sekiro boss

[@lorenzo8208]

Except it's balanced for elden ring, and is more like the orphan of Kos, uh

[@koreuscallidus]

My main problem is seeing this video and you don't jump once in the ER footage when the enemy casts a ground AOE.

[@drayden1x]

I agree with some things you say but majority of what you did in the video was bash elden ring and compliment bloodborne to make it look better in comparison

[@jerodfarmer165]

I bet a million dollars all of you complaining in the comments would say Elden ring was your favorite if that was your first game before dark souls. They designed a masterpiece. If you suck or can’t figure it out that’s on you. I’ve put 400 more hours in it in the last 6 weeks and am already thinking of my next character. Maybe open worlds aren’t for you or maybe you don’t like long games. If it were up to me games would take a 1000 hours just to beat the story. I guess I’m different but I prefer good games to last as long as possible and actually hate when the game ends.

[@fanghur]

I mean, I hate to be 'that guy', but I feel the need to point out that your point about the bosses not playing by the rules of the game is a bit hypocritical of you given what you said about refusing to use spirit summons. That's a clear advantage has that the bosses simply do not, and presumably that's meant to level the playing field against these new boss mechanics. We can certainly argue about whether that was the right decision on From's part, which I have very mixed feelings about. But I don't think it's fair to refuse to abide by the 'rules' that the dev's put forth yourself and then complain about the bosses not following the rules you would prefer the game had. Like I said, I'm not saying your points aren't valid, but the fact of the matter is that these new summon mechanics were put in the game for a reason, and refusing to use them largely opens you up to these vastly increased boss difficulties, does it not? Please don't take this as any sort of personal attack or anything like that, because it absolutely is not intended to be such.

[@lanceelopezz223]

bleh bleh

[@Ciopekwah]

7:51 comparatively not much effort? it sounds like an absolutley massive amount of effort to make a whole alternate open world map with ash dunes everywhere o-O

[@humblekek-fearingman7238]

For what it's worth to this discussion, I am currently listening to this video while grinding FRCs to kit out my Kos parasite to complete a micolash cosplay build I had the inexplicable desire to make two years after I last touched the game. Shadow of the Erd Tree may or may not be the Old Hunters of elden ring, but something tells me I won't have a sudden inexplicable desire to larp as Gideon two weeks, months, years or even decades from now.

[@Solaires_Little_POG_Champ]

10:24 THANK YOU I've felt this way since release and when my friends ask me why I don't want to replay Elden Ring, this is one of the first things I mention, there's so much to do, it gets to the point of feeling overwhelming and they look at me like I just said something that's absolutely inconceivable.

[@MrVbgames]

I think ds 3 is more divisive, a lot of people complain about excess fanservice little content, too many variative bosses(ex: sister friede wich copies code from maria BB) also the lackluster linear level design, with very large empty open spaces, lack of interconected lvl/segments, lack of enviroment interaction like pharos stones, smelter wedge, making enemies visible, unfreezing the lvl, finding the loyce knights, bosses hunting you outside the fogwall and all these cool ideas from previuos games, lore freaks complain about weak non interconected lore, also repetitiveness of the games the segment where you have to evade giant arrows like 7 times, no true dual weild, ashes of war were kinda meh in that game too.

[@bubbajoe117]

People seem to forget the story of Dark Souls was never supposed to be told through sequels, Miyazaki was firmly adament the game story was supposed to end with Dark Souls 1, the fanservice was a bit much sometimes but the course correction was very much a welcome necessity to get us back on track and away from whatever stink Dark souls 2 brought, sister friede shares one single attack with Maria and is in all honesty a superior bossfight to her inspiration, I prefer the more metroidvania world design of Dark souls 1 and BB but the linear level design of Dark Souls 3 also has merit, it streamlines character and weapon level progression and ensures no one winds up wandering into an area they're arbitrarily unequipped for because the games invisible enemy stats say they're not (I know this can always be circumvented through twink characters or SL1 runs by vets but i'm talking about the normal experience) and has allowed some rather unique roleplay/cosplay opportunities for my characters that don't really feel as satisfying in DS1/BB, linear allows for a more organic power creep of your character rather than a short cut to one hit kill godhood, the entire game is interconnected from start to finish once you leave firelink shrine, it just rarely loops back into itself, you could make the journey from the high wall all the way to Gaels boss arena without having to even return to the shrine if you so choose, (maybe it's because i'm just tired but I don't even understand what you're talking about for the rest of it so i'll jump to the final two segments) as cool as it is to have the option for surface level varieties sake, reimplementing DS2 style powerstancing was a mistake that ultimately ELIMINATES variety instead of adding to it, (gee I wonder why ER's pvp meta is shaping up to be the same duel wielding great lance running attack that DS2 degenerated into, but now with extra m a d n e s s) why specialize in single/twohanded weapon usage when you can just slap on two of the same class and gain a infinitely superior moveset in health/poise damage, and spam the L1/LB jump attack over and over with absolutely no downside whatsoever? Same goes for how weapon-arts were designed to be supplements to your weapons moveset in DS3, not your main form of attack, why would you ever attack a single target normally when a quarter of the AoW in the game allow for some variant of massive wave clearing AoE, or a inescapable bleed/frost blender, it's borderline neuron activation.

[@takeyourheart3030]

DS1’s world is annoying as shit because they don’t give you fast travel right away and just make you run everywhere. Fuck that, I’d rather a bunch of disconnected places with fast travel to one interconnected world without it.

[@witchkid66]

i personally love the end game, i’m on ng+35 right now 😂

[@DemonicRobots]

Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Dark Souls are perfect examples that the less they do and more focused development and ideas they have, the better. Elden Ring could've lost 25% of it, with all that being mainly repeat content, and it would be a better game.

[@whatwhat98]

There is zero reason for spoiler warnings. If someone cannot come to the logical conclusion that this video will contain spoilers, based on the title alone, then that's their problem. A problem they should be concerned about.

[@julesbellet1449]

The meatriding is crazy

[@acebathound7572]

I don't know how controversial of an opinion this is since I'm not very deep into the fandom focused around From's games...but I think I'll just say it anyway. It feels like it's (most of the time) the second half of their games that kind of gets a little meh. The beginnings are usually very strong most of the time, and there is always one area or a particular moment that starts a small or massive downward spiral.

[@kostazarikos3383]

Agreed with ds1 and elden ring for sure. I think bb and ds3 later in are still great

[@enman009]

Bloodborne's nightmare sections and Chalice Dungeons are weak. And the 1st third of Dark Souls 3 suffers from a lot of ganks, shallow corridor design, similar looking areas and some of the worst swamps in the series. ER's second half has some weak moments, but it is consistent, specially when it comes to level design, questlines and bosses.

[@dvdivine1962]

@@enman009 questlines are rubbish, always end in death or betrayal. Nothing you haven't seen before in a souls game, far too predictable.

[@enman009]

@@dvdivine1962 Boc doesn't die and ends up thanking you for finding his mother's voice, Serpent Lady accepts herself and calls you her champion, and the Jar Boy also thanks you and Hoslow for helping him and his village. Patches also lives and so does Sellen, Ranni, Melina if you choose the Frenzy Flame and Dung Eater. And that isn't counting how some deaths are portrayed as honorable or emotionally cathartic (Hewg, Alexander, the Hoslow Knight, etc). So... It seems that reductive point is not true.

[@dvdivine1962]

@@enman009 still most end up dying, not reductive when it's true, honorable or not death is death. and sellen turns into a ball of faces not being able to utter a sentence. Also why didn't you include Nepheli? It's the most happiest quest line ending in a fromsoft game.

[@runamerone5492]

Man, I tried watching this but barely made it 10 minutes in. So much whining about nothing... I love Bloodborne and it's also my favourite FromSoft game and one of my all-time Favourites, but some of the complaints about Elden Ring, even the late-game, just seem so silly to me.

[@DingleberryJones123]

I pretty much agree completely with this vid, in my first playthrough once I got to the endgame it felt like something was missing. The rest of the game felt empty but I couldn't put my finger on it as to why and the literal lack of exploration or incentive to, the horrifical hard hitting bosses with tanker trucks of health pretty much summed it up. It also doesn't help that majority of NPCs die for seemingly no reason, they serve their purpose and explode. Literally in the case of Jar Boy. But having pretty much every questline end in death resulting in the world feeling emptier just made me not like the Endgame. What I usually do now is stop right before Fire Giant and just do whatever else because afterward everyone DIES.

[@unknwnn7673]

There’s actually tons of NPCs that will still be alive and some can be saved if you do quest lines right Rodreika and Hewg ain’t going anywhere Boc can be saved Diallos has a pretty wholesome ending to his quest line Patches is still alive Turtle Pope is the goat Nepheli Loux and Kenneth Haight can also live and end up rulers of Stormveil I’m sure there’s a few more as well. I mean, ya most quests end in death per Fromsoft standard lol, but to say EVERYONE dies? We still have light at the end of the tunnel

[@DingleberryJones123]

@@unknwnn7673 Rodreika and Hewg die when you become Elden Lord. It's implied but for after-ending gameplay reasons they are still there but they state they're going to burn and die with the Roundtable Hold. Diallos' isn't exactly wholesome, he dies after most of the jars of destroyed. I should've said "most" questlines just result in the NPC's death.

[@Whiterun_Guard69]

Yes but Bloodborne jump with circle... Literally unplayable

[@itsaboy213]

I dont have an issue with most of the regular bosses being copied and pasted but the story bosses... ones mentioned in this video aside, I've never been convinced as to why there is a less-powerful Mogh at the end of the sewers/before FoF.

[@thelegendofxander]

I actually completely forgot to include sewer!Mohg in the video! But you're so right. I've tried thinking of in-lore reasons for it and drawn a complete blank.

[@Sercroc]

maybe is just some projection like margit, the proble is i think it stays even afte rmogh is dead

[@alyseleem2692]

@@Sercroc It is a projection. Specifically, created by his brother Morgott,most likely,as he also seals the way after you kill fake Mohg unless you kill him.

[@jackreacher7495]

@@thelegendofxander Jeez, you can't draw any conclusion?

[@itsaboy213]

@@alyseleem2692 the problem with this is that the Margit fight will not happen if you skip Stormveil and come back after you've already beaten Morgott. As far as I know sewer Mogh will always be there whether you've already beaten Lord of Blood Mogh and/or Morgott or not.

[@zestyleek]

I agree with your point about the ash not being spread across the entire world after burning the Erdtree; It would have been sick to see that much altered in the late game. It seems like it may have been one of those things the developers wished that they could have done, but weren't able to allocate the dev time to do so for whatever reason. Something similar happened in Bloodborne; while the time of day and the world do change as the game progresses, the blood moon is seemingly absent from various areas. This also seems to have been due to a lack of allocated dev time, according to AesirAesthetics's analysis of Bloodborne.