Elden Ring is a wake up call

[@LegendaryDrops]

I'm terrible at this game, but I love it. Catch me live: www.twitch.tv/legendary_drops

[@SenjenSamurai]

Man we all are at first 😂 but overtime the Tarnished ascend to Godhood

[@RamzaBehoulve]

Don't worry, I'm probably worse than you.

[@acephas3]

It’s pronounced “SHadutree”. That’s how it’s meant to be said.

[@Grumpypu]

@@acephas3 they are pronounced skibidi fragments actually

[@acephas3]

@@Grumpypu Skibidi paps, more accurately.

[@MysteriousStranger50]

Getting near 90% of its players back over a year later is incredibly difficult for others to do.

[@DarkepyonX]

Wrong , Erd only sold 5m copies less than half

[@Bustinmentorr]

@@DarkepyonX He was close, it sold 12 mil within 16 days and 7.8 mil within 1 week. The DLC has been out for a week as well. Not far off give it some time.

[@murray821]

There are many players who bought the original but never completed it. So to get even 10 million sales with the expansion would be an achievement

[@thisismyyoutubecommentacco6302]

@@ELpeaceonearth 25 million copies sold over the game's entire release time, it was around 10 million in the first two weeks, with 7.8 million DLC sold in the first week, which is around 80% of the original playerbase who bought the game on release. I'd wager SotE will probably get around 15 million purchases when it's all said and done, which is about 60% of the playerbase. Maybe not 90%, but getting over half a playerbase to come back and buy your expansion is no easy feat. Learn how stats work.

[@AstralLaVista]

​@ELpeaceonearth Player retention is being measured by all time active players on steam, not units sold

[@ConsiderbeBased]

Baldurs Gate3, Elden Ring, there is always another game that is a "Wake up Call". They just don't care. They don't want a good game make money, they just want a game that makes an absurd amount of money. This people make games as a job to earn money, there is no ambition or vision. And that's it.

[@recklessfiver8259]

This a million times over, nothing will ever change

[@merquise8137]

No, they have ambition. The ambition to earn truckloads of money.

[@darrylnewman292]

When gamer see talent passion in art in a video game it will sell doesn't matter what genre it is stop complaining about why your game isn't selling and make a f****** game that people want to play dei is the death of Gaming this is why gatekeeping exists

[@Braylenc123]

i think i might only buy from soft games from now on honestly. it just feels like they get it when you play their games

[@ChristmasLore]

Also makes for a nice click bait each time.... I sighed out loud when I saw this title, once again, this channel is abusing it ...just a little... (Also for Helldivers, Palworld, Balantro, etc..)

[@aestheticmirror9257]

The diablo guy telling us to not expect games of this size and quality was unnecessary, nobody is expecting quality from blizzard

[@POW3RSAUC3]

The only high quality thing Blizzard pushes out is cinematics

[@aestheticmirror9257]

@@POW3RSAUC3 that puts them equal to Ubisoft, not a great place to be

[@balloonb0y677]

@@aestheticmirror9257 to be fair, activision has only been greedy with their new modern warfare series that wasn’t made by treyarch, and with a new black ops game coming out that’s being made by Treyarch it should be a really good game since also the last installment was 4 years ago.

[@aestheticmirror9257]

@@balloonb0y677 overwatch 2, diablo immortal, sexual harassment. Do you need more?

[@xtremefps_]

​@@balloonb0y677 I wouldn't put much stock in cod these days. Bo6 gonna blow like the rest of of modern cod games. I'll stick with xdefiant for my arcade shooter needs

[@Fallkhar]

Where most AAA games are high-resolution photographs, Elden Ring is a painting.

[@Okamika44]

This comment is perfection.

[@shade0636]

Very good way to put it.

[@Figure-Out]

This is the best way to describe Elden Ring

[@guyschill2059]

Yessss

[@mrpotch]

i couldnt have said it better. this should be the top comment.

[@Meitti]

Theres a finnish saying "Jos kumarrat yhdelle, pyllistät toiselle.", translated as "if you bow to one, you moon someone else". So if you try to bow to everyone, you only end up mooning everyone and not pleasing anyone.

[@knavenformed9436]

Nevahööd tätä

[@amRaider95]

That’s such a European thing to say

[@miikael123able]

🇫🇮 mainittu

[@travisbickle3835]

Amazing lol

[@travisbickle3835]

I'm sorry i'm not a native English speaker what does mooning exactly mean? I searched google and found something like showing your butt but im not sure

[@quincykunz3481]

There's an under-appreciated reason both fromsoft and larian are able to create these kinds of unusual, passionate games: Neither of them are publicly traded companies. Neither of them have much pressure to min-max thier products for shareholder satisfaction each quarter. They have room to breathe and time to work.

[@gerald216]

Exactly and because of this there are not multiple people who have no idea what makes a great game coming in and switching everything up because "live service is so in right now" years after whatever that thing was actually new or ground breaking. Larian and Fromsoft are instead able to let a single person or small group build something they are extremely passionate about and make something incredible

[@Alienoiable]

Could it be because shareholders are fucking vultures and a literal plague upon the current world ? Naaah, couldn't be... Right ? ...Right ?

[@aneeshmenon5885]

And for both companies the President is a game dev. Not a suit.

[@agooglyminotaur169]

FromSoft is a subsidiary of Kadokawa, a giant Japanese media conglomerate and publicly traded company. But Kadokawa spans books, movies, music, anime, manga, etc., so their success across a range of creative arts is based in giving their individual studios the ability to realize their own artistic vision. They also can take on risk in certain aspects of their business because of the breadth of their holdings, whereas a company that only makes games like Activision-Blizzard is laser-focused on squeezing as much money out of their next game as possible because that game will have a disproportionate impact on their stock price. But it's certainly the case that the creators at FromSoft seem to enjoy artistic independence from their management in a way that publicly traded game companies in the U.S. do not.

[@zytha2890]

@@agooglyminotaur169 they dont have to listen to people saying "hey people say the game sucks because its too hard" despite the player retention, copies bought etc etc etc Acti-Bliz heard people say the game was too hard and just kept making it easier and easier every single expansion because they want brain dead masses saying "its fun" rather than the passionate community who say otherwise people are starting to leave acti-bliz games as well

[@Nonpain]

AAA Company will be like : "They over-delivered and undersold , don't expect this from us !", just like with BG 3 .

[@Viralvicky0666]

Its funny too because of just how much they over delivered xD. Like i went slow and explored every nook and crany, but elden ring took me like 120 hours to complete. That's absolutely insane lmao.

[@spectralassassin6030]

The interesting thing they don't understand is that Elden Ring and BG3 are going to continue bringing in money even years after release. Meanwhile, their bland cashgrab game has shriveled up and died within the month. All these companies care about is short term gain. They never think long term.

[@codyvandal2860]

@@spectralassassin6030 The reason for this (usually) is that the person running or managing that company has a short term contract, and it's board of directors have short term objectives and shareholders who just want immediate gains. Any of them can quickly leave and don't care about the "long term." Larian is started by and still run by Swen Vincke who loves gaming his whole life. It's a big difference.

[@98Dreadboy]

@@Viralvicky0666 Thing is exploring in elden ring is actually fun and rewarding you WANT to know what's inside that cave etc where in most games you don't really bother due to bad design or cheklist esque quests and map markers that is just a chore

[@pun15h3r.]

​@@98Dreadboy yeah man. That's why i absolutely loved ER open world but have never finished any open world of AC origins, odyssey and valhalla.. (i just "rushed" thru campain) Cause i just hate that damn question mark hunting.. is so freakin boring and useless.. it just feels like a chore. Elden Ring did this perfectly for me.

[@Boss_Fight_Index_muki]

Elden Ring reminds me of the 90s-2000s, a time when microtransactions had yet to exist. The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is what used to be known as an "expansion pack", a full sized campaign added on to the base game. A term long lost yet so apt/

[@ahabwolf7580]

I wouldn't necessarily say it's long lost considering the marketing write-up on the steam store page uses it. "Shadow of the Erdtree is an expansion to ELDEN RING, the 2022 Game of the Year" lol... I get what you're saying though, people often refer to that type of content as DLC these days. Both seem accurate in this case.

[@lowfade556]

monster hunter been doing it forever

[@SubiKinubi]

@@lowfade556monster hunter is full of micro’s not really a good point

[@lowfade556]

@@SubiKinubi yeah gestures and hairstyle that noone gives a fuck about. it'd rather have none but game is too good to ditch for a reason like this

[@SubiKinubi]

@@lowfade556 wasn’t my point but ok

[@thepainphantom]

I love how Miyazaki humbly said that he kinda suck at this game and is using all means available to beat the game. People can git gud, people can also cheesing. Whatever makes you happy, it's your game, you're the Lord!

[@losmidos8756]

Miyazaki is the Big Cheese after all

[@LuckyRaphi]

Yeah I played without summons until I met Rellana. Still didn't beat her 😂

[@thepainphantom]

@@LuckyRaphi You will get there bud! She has many combos, you just need to be patient waiting for her combo is complete (the opening to hit).

[@utubeaccount3666]

Ngl "git gud" means beating the game with every tool you have. Beating it with restrictions would be more like "get hard".

[@thepainphantom]

@@utubeaccount3666 Yeah, if that makes them happy, good for them. Personally I can't enjoy the game if I just run straight to the bosses and avoiding everything. Feels like I'm playing Mario Bross.

[@Celis.C]

I just wanted to share that I appreciate that you allow pauses in your speech. So many 'creators' out there edit them out, and their speeches just become a string of word vomit. Pauses allow the listener to process what you say. Your message sticks better. It allows the listener to maintain focus longer. Kudos to you for this!

[@aamu3]

agreed

[@tyler547]

Miyazaki is such a breath of fresh air for this industry. I don’t think he even realizes how important him saying things like “we will probably scale back a bit after a game this huge” really is.

[@danpersson9488]

I'd take it one step further and call Miyazaki the last bastion of real game developers.

[@BlackStrey]

​@@danpersson9488that's a bit demeaning. What about Larian? There is plenty of studios that do this as a passion and also so they can sustain themselves and their families. We just get overexposure from all the bad examples. Not everyone is trying to rip you off. But not everyone can make a game budget wise like elden ring either.

[@timsohn7057]

What is really interesting is that he has been a fresh air over several phases of gaming. When Demon's Souls an Dark Souls 1 came out, Japanese games in general had sort of a dark age phase (around the Xbox 360-ps3 era). Alot of games were being panned as outdated and archaic in design, the graphics sometimes did not even catch up to the generation, and overall anything 3D was pretty bad. DeS and DS1 was such a breath of fresh air during this time. Miyazaki is a breath of fresh air for a different reason decade+ later.

[@bombyo3634]

You mean the dlc with a brother who wants incest for another brother by forcefully Charming him? Yes this game is not what gaming needs. Miquella became a diety so he can become a woman and make his brother his consort by Charmin him to fall inlove with him. No we don't need any more of this type of stuff.

[@honeybun6677]

@@bombyo3634you’re focused on what exactly? Lore of the game? That has nothing to do with how just GOOD of a game it is, and also you’re extremely unlikeable and a POS

[@darkmega97]

Miyazaki is looking to make Fromsoft sustainable while the AAA industry is looking for infinite growth looking for that mythical game that will appeal to everyone and make infinite money for no investment

[@DarkepyonX]

Miyazaki is just a game director who has been shuffled around company, he also didn't create anything if you had a basic clue on what a game director actually does , the teams created souls and elden not the director. Dude has been kicked iff teams at FS a few times .

[@DarkepyonX]

Also Souls was started as a competitor to Monster Hunter series in japan , which has stomped souls every game in numbers.

[@DestroyDEI]

@@DarkepyonX Dude, you're literally talking out of your ass shitting on fromsoft on all of your posts. We get it, kid, tree sentinel mopped the floor with you and you can't let it go. Every comment of yours is being ratio'd ad infinitum so just gtfo with your cringe lmfao

[@haydenalcorn8754]

@@DarkepyonX OKAY!

[@asura_dharama]

​@DarkepyonX demon souls originally was meant to compete with skyrim but the company saw that it is gonna be a failure until miyazaki came in

[@jubei7259]

Don't let the discussion about difficulty distract you from the fact that SotE, even as just a dlc is still, along with the base game & maybe BG3 one of the best games made in the last half decade & it was only 40 bucks! Not 70, not 100 or 120 to play it 3 days early, 40 bucks & it's magnificent. None of best weapons or armour sets are hidden behind paywalls for real world cash & best of all, it's a complete, finished product. No 'road map', no broken promises, just a complete game. This is why we love Fromsoft.

[@I-ONLY-BUILD-MECHS-AND-DUSTERS]

Yes it is better than the usual slop, but it is still flawed in its own way, and I'm not talking about difficulty here. The open world is pretty, but it just straight up doesn't work that well in a souls kind of game. I can put up with the difficulty, as usual, and even some of the weird design decisions and balance issues, but mostly, I was just super bored wandering around areas like cerulean coast, abyssal woods, any fingerprint ruins, that whole area to the east with 500 wolves and nothing else, just to find fragments. Give me some battles or bosses or any activity to do other than finding another cookbook or smithing stone [4].

[@fogstorm5531]

It was $49.99 on Xbox

[@MovenClips]

​@@I-ONLY-BUILD-MECHS-AND-DUSTERSthank you, I love the DLC but the finger ruins are boring AF. I kept waiting for something to pop up and make me cry but nothing. Loved the finger boss sha.

[@KABLAMMATS]

@@MovenClips the dlc its feels like a theme park for me, a lot to see and then went wow, and then mushroom to collect

[@KABLAMMATS]

what do you mean "None of best weapons or armour sets are hidden behind paywalls"? theres a lot of cool sht and overpowered for the base game hidden behind 40$ paywalls 😂

[@Wierdcrap]

This may be the way we make games over here. Everything is spoon fed to us. Elden ring being my second game it was fun just figuring things out. Reading players messages helping you out. Dude it’s perfect. My brother and I talk so much about it and help each other with secrets we find. It’s letting us learn and think critically. The human brain is hungry. We feed our curiosity as we learn new things. We’ll all look back at elden ring fondly and I hope when enough times passes I’ll replay it and get to do it all again

[@subanesengulov740]

I think that one of the greatest sell points for Armored Core 6 was the presentation where one of the developers played the game live, not just showing the cinematic and talking for half an hour about new expansion (talking about you Blizzard). You can actually see a very engaged developer who is having fun playing the game, and you get excited to try this game for yourself.

[@abeeocta2599]

And they let audience to play to in Japan showcase, its create legend among player

[@jmartens759]

I want miyazaki to make a berserk game before he retires.

[@spaceperson613]

On my hands and knees begging...

[@darrylnewman292]

Journalists would not like the rape scene but you know what I'm on my hands and knees begging too man

[@gamer2101]

Me too! A proper berserk game. You are Guts and fight demons. Fromsoft is the only company that can pull it off.

[@darkmatter9643]

That would be so peak

[@SovietAssault69]

The scope of the game would definitely be easier, especially if they stop before the Fantasia Arc

[@loto7197]

This isn't a conundrum. Elden ring was influenced by game developers and fans of gaming while most modern games now are influenced by shareholders

[@albert2006xp]

Untrue. Most games are not. A handful of big companies making the same game once a year is not "most modern games". This reads like a casual gamer comments section that only pay attention to companies like Ubisoft, EA, Blizzard, Capcom, etc.

[@loto7197]

@@albert2006xp those companies are responsible for most games that are released. Which part do you struggle to understand? Do you somehow think that small studios make more games than AAA publishers?

[@albert2006xp]

@@loto7197 No they are not. There's literally tens of thousands of games coming out on steam each year. Sure, a lot of them aren't that good, but there's probably a good 1000 that are quality games. LIterally only casual gamers that are akin to reality tv watchers, normies, idiots think companies like EA or Ubisoft are even remotely a relevant percentage of the market.

[@loto7197]

@@albert2006xp a simple google search will tell you what percentage of the video game industry is comprised of games from those larger companies. Enlighten yourself, lest you make further fool of yourself.

[@albert2006xp]

@@loto7197 Are you purposefully dense? Percentage OF actual decent to good games. Not percentage of industry revenue or whatever you're trying to say. That's irrelevant. Fucking mobile games have the largest percentage of actual revenue. Because, and say with me, the average person is a complete and total idiot and just buys what gets marketed in their bubble of being a stupid cave person. We are not talking about that, we're talking about games, coming out, for actual gamers. And that, my friend, you can check steam for how many games do NOT come from these publishers/studios.

[@demiandevile2731]

As Hidetaka Miyazaki said, he uses everything the game gives him to play. Elden Ring have a difficulty Level, it is just not in the option menu it is in the game design itself. Are you willing to use what the game gives you? Are you able to adapt your playstyle? Do you use what the game gives you? Do you use ashes? and which ones? And he also said it is absolutely legit to use the Elden Ring Wiki to assists in the game, yes you can go in with different damage types to find out the weakness of a boss and some are doing this and than they write it in the wiki, so you can go to the Wiki take a look on the weaknesses and the resistances of a boss. Elden Ring is as difficult as you want and as easy as you need.

[@dawsonpate7385]

doesnt matter. the gatekeers will still say what they say about not using a,b,c game mechanics even if the man visited their houses to tell them personally . . . but u know . . . u can lead a horse to water but u cant force it to drink. idiots will be idiots and listening to a fool will only bring u down to that level

[@Keln02]

A wiki is just like a game manual we used to get when we would buy games in the past. I still have my AoE2 game guide with all the data of the game. Only difference is that now I can hit "search" easier.

[@shadixyt]

My dad will not move from his position of "if I have to leave the game to learn something about it that's a failure of the game" and it's frustrating because he essentially is forgetting what a manual was back in his day.

[@Inttallity]

@@shadixyt But there's nothing on the wiki you cant find in the game itself except for maybe enemy npc names

[@shadixyt]

@@Inttallity my dad's words, not mine. Like I said I don't really get it either.

[@sojinnn]

I love how Fromsoft is so intentional with their art direction and story telling. They never disappoint in their creative aspects.

[@Gailon1000]

There is no storytelling in Elden Ring

[@kasino007]

The director of the Dune movies could make a Banger Elden Ring movie.

[@mystery785]

I agree. Dune is lore riddled, so they could definitely pull it off

[@Real_MisterSir]

Denis Villeneuve is an amazing director, and he's especially good at handling the more mystical and mind-based themes too, which would be perfect for a movie based on Elden Ring that plays on a lot of Lovecraftian horror themes in its underlying storytelling and character behavior. Very good spot to point him out as the man for the job. I'd say even more than Peter Jackson, Villeneuve would probably be better at depicting that mind-horror and dread and decay, the corruption of the world and all things living in it.

[@bonoach2632]

We do not need a woke Elden Ring movie. What do you wish for? Bayle as a unicorn princess rainbow dragon?

[@Url_Idk]

@@bonoach2632what are you on about?

[@riioas5543]

@@bonoach2632dune is not “woke” LMAOO let me guess you’re one of the braindead bots that thinks everything trying to be woke😂😂 give your head a ring bud maybe itll snap back to normal

[@Beefercow]

A majority of the gaming industry leaders just wants to make as much money as possible for their shareholders. A majority of gamers just want good experiences made with actual passion and not just cash grabs. Fromsoft is a dev that after Elden Ring, I'll happily preorder from. I preordered Shadow, and Armored Core VI which is a recent underdog, but an amazing game as well.

[@TheGallantDrake]

I don't pre-order out of principle, but I feel that :)

[@Cold_Zero_The_Wise]

I pre-ordered Sekiro and from there, from soft has proven they can be trusted with my money, unlike other companies

[@dawsonpate7385]

shadow of the erdtree is the first and probably only game thing i have every preordered. I have played other dark souls games but none hit that sweet spot for me like elden ring, and after that i did not hesitate . . . i just wanted more of it no matter the cost. especially knowing fromsoft's dlcs did not disappoint in past titles . . . i was 100% confident i was gonna love it just as much as the base game

[@NerdHerdForLife]

There have only been two times in my life that I've pre ordered a game. The first time was for Elden Ring. The second time was for Shadow of The Erdtree. I probably would have for Baldur's Gate 3 but I didn't even know about it til like a week before it came out.

[@duvetboa]

I've trusted them with my pre-orders every single game since Bloodborne and have never once regretted it in the slightest.

[@LadyCorvia]

And then Microsoft closes studios like the makers of hi-fi rush and a day later says they need more games like hi-fi rush

[@1Fuss]

And hi fi rush 6,043 all-time peak on steam charts Elden ring 952,523 all-time peak No wonder they close studio game didnt make money and ppl didnt play it at all

[@gh0stwithskin]

Useless comparison with an entirely different meaning. This is bait ​@@1Fuss

[@chrissilver9302]

@@gh0stwithskin but that is sort of the point of this video. Hi-fi rush had a vision and treated its players appropriately. But it didn’t matter. Developers are wrestling with their CEOs and the CEOs are wrestling with the market. It is complicated.

[@ripvanwinkle3432]

​@@1Fusshow many games did fromsoft make before hitting that number.

[@1Fuss]

@@gh0stwithskin wchat kind of bait bro . That is a business and developers decide wchat kind of game they make and how they sell it . But dont decide about buying and playing that game, its customer thing. Put HiFi rush on game pass it was bad idea coz customer dont give a fuck about buying if he can Play almost for free. They lived under Microsoft and payed for years and they didnt decide but gamers did they saw play for a while and not buy 300000k copies sell its a flex in that case so tell me wchat a bait is that ?

[@RamzaBehoulve]

The real achievement of Elden Ring and BG33 was making people who disliked their genre (souls-like and turn-based tactical RPG) actually play them and enjoy them a lot. These are masterpieces and why other studio do not try to at least emulate/clone them and instead call them "irregulars" is just nuts.

[@itznukeey]

True, I'd never pick up turn-based RPG but then I tried BG3 and it's so good

[@71Chevelle1989]

That is me. Never played or been a fan of the genre. Have been watching videos about Elden Ring since it came out and just bought it last week finally. Absolutely hooked on the game and already have about 40 hours in my free time

[@mediumvillain]

I've been a tactical CRPG enjoyer forever so BG3 was an easy sell (finally got a PS5 to be able to play it), but I've been aggressively disinterested in FromSoft ARPGs since playing the original Demon's Souls. I especially disliked the way older Souls game actually punished you for dying by making the game harder, which is totally counterintuitive design. I tend to enjoy deep narratives combined with deep RPG systems the most, and FromSoft tends to bury its narrative in opaque worldbuilding between vast gulfs of challenging combat. The RPG mechanics are usually decent but their previous games all felt like NES style difficulty: a very linear path where its easy to run up against a progression brick wall and your only option is to keep throwing yourself against it. Elden Ring has even deeper RPG mechanics than usual and a lot of non-linear exploration options though, so it finally felt like one I was able to enjoy. I still take issue with some of FromSoft's particular ideas about difficulty, like purposely making some things feel cheap and unfair, and their refusal to add any kind of quest log or journal to track your progress in side quests. It's an absurd amount of things to memorize, enemy patterns & weaknesses, cheap enemy gank locations, characters & quest progress, item locations & secrets. I have no qualms with cheesing things and exploiting any advantages in their games (like Miyazaki himself apparently).

[@ggwp638BC]

@@mediumvillain On your last paragraph, don't worry, you are playing the game the way it was meant to. This is a sentiment the community had since the beginning: take every win you can. The whole "honor fights" thing came out from the recent boom of challenge runs and people thinking they are supposed to play a certain way. From constantly encourages you to brake their games, exploit it, and do everything you can to win.

[@KomradeKrusher]

ER literally got three of my friends into "Soulslikes" who could never be bothered to before. Declared it's just not for them, they're not skilled enough, it's not enjoyable for them... then they all went and played all the Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Demon's Souls after they got a taste with ER.

[@Psychonaut5555]

For me elden ring is one of the only gaming experiences I’ve had where it feels like I’m genuinely on an adventure. No idea what’s around the next corner, and the stakes feel high(ish). That sense of adventure grew as I pushed through too, whereas during other games it will diminish.

[@Piratewaffle43]

FromSoft notably retains the members of its team, letting them gain experience and get better at their craft, while other companies just like fire their teams every 5 years. Or they have other companies make their games for them. Looking at you, Bethesda.

[@smokinggnu6584]

Or what 343 did with Halo Infinite, hire a new contracted team every 6 months.

[@mooseot]

Watched a whole damn 30 second Elden Ring DLC ad to begin this video, because my stoned ass thought it was your intro.

[@RedWolfenstein]

Drop the weed

[@mischol]

😂😂😂

[@SleepyCities]

Sorry to tell you but it's time to give it up

[@bonkgameing]

turn off the weed now buddy

[@Phill-oso-pher]

Drop the weed? If you never smoked you wouldn't understand. But yeah, Drop the bottle and try looking at your own life 😋

[@DrRockso0]

I’m 42. I had never played a Souls game before Elden Ring. My very first character, rivers of blood dex, I spent 200 hrs on that one. Almost 100% the game my first run. Obviously went and played DS1,2,and 3. And not another Crabs treasure, waiting for Shadow of the Erdtree. I even played armor core 6. I think it’s the no hand holding that I like so much.

[@FurnaxIkki]

Play Lies of P. It came out with modest amounts of hype and assumptions it'd be the closest PC players would be able to get to Bloodborne, turns out it's an amazing game in its own right and often considered the best non-FROM Soulslike.

[@abeeocta2599]

Yeah, its trust us , to kill a God with a stick

[@gsrockr]

@@FurnaxIkki I second Lies of P, it's a strong game

[@theHerathrig]

Play sekiro.

[@drfabulous2804]

@@FurnaxIkki Lies of P is my second favourite Souls sub genre game after Bloodborne. It’s incredible.

[@gnollsuwu3861]

So Elden Ring is just one of those games where i always feel good helping newer/less experienced players out

[@Cold_Zero_The_Wise]

I did this in all the games and now I've rediscovered it in HellDivers 2 Tenfold

[@DLG49]

Yezzir, I've been summoned more times than invading. Especially with radagon and Elden beast.

[@gnollsuwu3861]

Recently I helped someone all the way through the fort at the bottom of the map, I ended up trading out with an invader after the site behind the fort and remembered there wasn't a summoning pool there so I decided to head back there myself and drop my sign there and sure enough he resummoned me and used a cheer emote when I spawned in

[@yimwee2401]

I've been tagging along with my roommate with tougher bossfights cuz this is his first souls game. It's great to see the frustration and subsequent euphoria when he finally beats the boss.

[@gnollsuwu3861]

@@yimwee2401 oh yeah, it's great to see someone overcome a hurdle. Sounds games feel good to overcome

[@puma51921]

You can tell Elden Ring was a work of love and pride.

[@garrettwaters1726]

A key point is that both Fromsoft and Larian are not publicly traded companies and therefore have much less pressure from shareholders. The need to show growth quarter after quarter is wholly incompatible with the process of actually making good art.

[@0ptimuscrime]

Baldurs Gate 3 and Elden Ring setting a new standard. “Hey BioWare, how’s it going?” *the veil guard trailer* “fuck”

[@Ghost-Severage]

more like "yeah, as expected" after ME Andromeda and Anthem.

[@CreativeUsernameEh]

Im still in denial after the veilguard trailer. Holy shit my worst fears.

[@prakharchaurasiya8107]

@@Ghost-Severage Why do people hate Andromeda, I played it recently and enjoyed it very much

[@wayfa13]

@@prakharchaurasiya8107 it was an abomination on launch, and you didn't pay the full launch price.

[@Valskyr]

the reason why veilguard will suck so much ass is because the era of straight white dudes being the majority of game developers is over and thus all franchises suffer from the degeneracy ushered in by the new game leads

[@Kross415]

Exactly the opposite of Dragon Age, Elder Ring and From Soft keep improving and making good games for their fans while BioWare and EA keep trying to stray further from fans and chasing trends to get audiences that dont exist...

[@Linkwii64]

Chasing investors that's why their game doesn't sell.

[@hugefan3735]

Yeah the combat in that dragon age reveal really bummed me out. It looked like the most generic hack and slash slop

[@DemonEdge82]

Well said.

[@DemonEdge82]

@@hugefan3735the character design looked awful as well.

[@GingerDrums]

The real reason: ER and BG treat players as ADULTS woth perserverence and taste, not stupid children. There is an implicit respect of the audience.

[@balloonb0y677]

The only good things about those games is quantity, and yes, quantity is ideally really important, but it sacrifices quality and storytelling. Which is why casual people don’t like those games, and just because they are casual doesn’t make them dumb, they simply realize the lack of pleasure that these games offer is not appropriate for industry standards and their time. Also, not even gamers want to spend thousands of hours to figure out why Mr potato is segmented on the other side of the map, although it’s a fantastic concept, it’s simply lacks quality and reward.

[@user-og6hl6lv7p]

Er maybe but BG certainly not. The dialogue is proof that the game has much more maturing to do. Also the random sex jokes are very juvenile.

[@belldrop7365]

Wdym? Triple a games like ubisoft games treat their players as adults too, ie single dads with a broken family and no free time but have lots of disposable income and stress to relieve by using said income. lol

[@nicklasveva]

And yet the elden ring community is full of man children who literally can't take a single criticism. Oh wait, it's the game taking criticism, not them. Have you seen all the jesters people give to negative reviews on steam? There are reviews that complain about bad performance (I haven't had any issues myself) that get dozens of jesters. WHEN THEY ARE MAKING COMPLETELY LEGITIMATE CRITICISM. It's not even subjective, it's objective. They pretended to treat you as adults, but in reality you are still treated like children, and are children.

[@threestars2164]

The game (bg3) with marvelslop dialogue treats players as adults??

[@CrzYbaDmutha2245]

I completed the dlc, searched every area, completed every quest, found every sight of grace, and having victory after victory in +300 pvp. Love this game.

[@twatmere9726]

Pretty sure Fromsoft understands the trust the community gave them. Fromsoft could LITERALLY release a 100$ game and with their streak, quality and story telling. Fans have faith that what they'll see is going to be majestic and just like DS 1-3, demon souls, Bloodborne and Elden Ring+DLC. They're gonna witness something great and something that'll make them turn into detectives trying to solve what happened. Heck, Miyazaki could simply say "Good Luck and keep an eye out" and the fans are immedately dial in to find out the mystery.

[@NWolfsson]

The Stakes of Marika comment gave me great joy. It is one thing to change from path/dungeon-designed games to open world, it's another to keep the experience balanced. And it's masterful: It is still just a checkpoint. You're not able to level up, change your Ashes of War or your Great Rune right before the boss, so if you realize you have too much runes or that the boss is resistant to your build, you'll HAVE to get through the dungeon/field again. But once you're there and getting your tries on? You can just pop them. That allowed them to put as few Grace in the dungeons and fields as before, and build bigger dungeons (or with way less shortcuts than in previous games), since you have little to no run back. (I'm STILL frustrated by Ornstein and Smough's run back in Dark Souls!) And that keeps the Grace from losing its special status, to be a refuge after treading far and wide, heavy on runes and scared to lose it all, to finally sit down and think of the next step. (Also, thank LORD we have a more fluid fast travel system. DS2/3's and Bloodborne's were great but can you imagine with that much spots to warp to?)

[@minerman60101]

For the O&S runback, do you know the trick to jump over the railing on the spiral staircase? That saves a lot of time

[@Klongu_Da_Bongu]

Hmmm... Just strike down Gwynevere and then go invade that guy in gold armor...

[@juancarlosfernandezperez6843]

Remember: Demon's Souls was considered "doomed" before Miyazaki stepped up and remade it to his liking. Perhaps that relates to what was mentioned here about allowing for failure.

[@jsullivan2112]

Yep. The game was already considered a write-off so he knew he had nothing to lose. If that's not "room for failure" then I don't know what is. And he was given the chance to direct it because of that too, leadership basically said "fuck it, probably can't make it any worse".

[@spudmaphot]

I suck at games, used to play everything on easy mode and I'm trucking along the DLC just fine. People are obstinately ignoring how helpful spirit summons are. If you don't have the patience to memorize bosses perfectly, these guys will get you through the game. That said, I beat the first boss you encounter with no upgrades or summons and you know what, that's good enough for me because some of these other bosses are literally madness incarnate.

[@Xylia-lynn]

Exactly the same for me. Trough elden ring that did change but I think there is no shame to utalize what the devs give us if you are struggeling.

[@maxeisenach1771]

That's the beauty of Elden Ring - it recognizes games are just supposed to be *fun* , you're supposed to have a good time. It gives you so many ways to organically adjust the difficulty to a level *you* enjoy, and so many playstyles there will be something for everyone

[@JohnnyBeastYT]

And that's okay. If you get the fromsoft itch later, you can play the game and challenge yourself with no summons and stuff

[@tengr0057]

I was struggling in some bosses, even as a souls -veteran, I like to dual-wield weapons but little things like swapping a shield to some boss-fights made a world of difference. Don't be afraid to tweak your build and playstyle if you're stuck. Option is always there.

[@xviii5780]

I've noticed that with opinions on Elden Ring it usually goes: - Ultra casuals absolutely love it - Casuals love it, but still give some obvious criticism - Midcore players usually either give it like 6-7/10 or hate it - Ultra sweats absolutely love it The distribution seems completely reversed compared to other From games

[@TheAurgelmir]

One of the things Elden Ring did, that got all the devs up in arms was "not doing what everyone is doing" when it came to quest design. And yet, one of the things that made Elden Ring such an amazing experience for me was the "unknown" you explored because you wanted to see what was around the corner. In "go here for this quest" games, you don't explore - you simply aren't encouraged to. And yet, the whole quest marker thing was a quality of life mod that became popular as MMOs became popular. Partly because questing in MMOs was a means to an end, not the end itself. And thus a lot of games lost something. Heck Morrowind didn't have a damn quest log in the base game - you got that in an expansion - instead you had a log book, which you were supposed to read through to remember what you should be doing. It might "suck" - but it also ment you didn't constantly run after a quest log. You played the game and explored.

[@roguechief859]

Not two-handing that sword got me furious ngl

[@DamnSpiders666]

There's two types of devs/publishers: Those who are in it for the love of the game, and those who are in it for the love of money. You can always tell which is which, and if want the game dev culture to get better you avoid the money-lovers as much as you can. Indie games are bringing much more value to the industry than some of these AAA devs. And games like Elden Ring or Baldur's Gate 3 SHOULD be the standard every dev should strive to achieve, and players should expect. Companies like Bethesta or Blizzard have no excuse to release subpar games like they do with the resources they have available. Always refund games that don't live up to their promise, you can always buy it later if they bother improving it

[@threat645]

Stellar Blade = in it for the love. So many outfits that could have been paid DLC is free.

[@ggwp638BC]

I don't think it's fair to say that. Most devs are in for the love, they love making games. This is an industry that is hard to get in, pays little and kicks you out very easily. Sure there are some vocal idiots, but most devs just don't have the power to substantially change the product in meaningful ways. The problem is that some companies allow for des to express their vision of the game, and have the internal tools that allows devs to work properly in the game, while some are envisioned first and foremost by finances and marketing teams, and each decision needs to go through them and justify itself by either being monetizable, marketable or increase player retention.

[@DamnSpiders666]

@@ggwp638BC Just to clarify I mean dev studios, not devs individually. The industry is full of very talented people who end up having to make subpar games because of time constraints, budgets, and to appease shareholders. There will always be exceptions, but you can definitely see patterns based on studios. It can be simple things, like how big does your inventory need to be in game X. Any of the devs who know the game would be able to tell you that, lets say 64, is the right size based on how much loot the game hands you. But if the game ships with 64 inventory slots, or 32 with the option to purchase additional 32 tells you a lot about their motivations. I for one gave up on pretty much any game that does the latter

[@balloonb0y677]

@@DamnSpiders666 share holders are not the problem, they are simply there for what the company is promising them, which is money. But that could be managed in totally different ways than micro transactions. But just because a game has micro transactions doesn’t mean it’s unfair, fortnite has made 100% of their money off of micro transactions and they don’t oppose unfair advantages to other players.

[@CactousMan639]

@@DamnSpiders666 besides companies, tbh the DEI stuff have also introduced many mediocre individual developers to the industry

[@MerchGrows]

Other developers think making money is like farming Palace Approach Ledge-Road, when it’s really like the lake of rot

[@thetimehascome874]

The best comparison I've ever seen lmaooooo

[@ElevenDollarCheese]

Imagine farming the Lake of Rot.

[@Jojo-zn3bv]

​@@ElevenDollarCheese I used to farm lake of rot for armor..

[@ElevenDollarCheese]

@@Jojo-zn3bv the Lake of Rot? Or the Swamp of Aeonia?

[@nadream_nadr34m]

This video really gets Elden Ring. I mean this from the bottom of my heart, Dark Souls 1, 2, and 3, Sekiro, Elden Ring, Armored Core 6 and Bloodborne all gave me incredible experiences. Hell, even non-Fromsoftware games like Lies of P capture this wonderful idea. Doing something challenging is in itself rewarding.

[@ZarMationStudios18]

16:30 YES. A thousand times, yes. I’ve thought to myself at least that many times that Elden Ring’s lore has so much potential for a deep-dive character show, even with just the Shattering alone, and it already has the same-sized fan base (if not bigger) as LOTR and GoT. On one hand you could say that’s all best left in the player’s imagination, but I think we all know we would turn on the TV for the Shattering Show in a heartbeat.

[@BeeGeePi]

It's kind of wild just how insanely big the game is without really losing much direction/cohesion. So many different weapons/equipment/talisman. So much variety in enemies/environments. Such solid gameplay/combat. So many fun unique bosses. I don't understand how they keep coming up with new weird stuff after all of the previous soulsborn games.

[@ATC43]

TBH their artists and writers are really the unsung heroes at From Software. The amount of real-world history and myth they pull from and then SUCESSFULLY twist into something unique is SO rare in video games. In other games it's easy to see that they had one source of inspiration. Norse influence here, Asian influence there. But Fromsoftware melds so much stuff to the point that the Lore community thrives for years trying to decipher where it all comes from and what it all means. They're absolute masters at it. It also helps that the dude leading the ship studied Psychology/Sociology in College and is a huge fantasy nerd. My perfect devs.

[@Gailon1000]

Well the story telling really suffers and the side quest system is broken because of the open world.

[@Retribution8]

Harada, the director of Tekken also just came out with a post explaining what happened with Soul Caliber as a franchise and why we'll most likely need to wait another several years to see a sequel. Basically a lot of it came down to the fact that there's a huge divide between the "the suits" of management, marketing, and sales, and the actual developers/players. Without someone who knows how to develop games and understand it as a player, it's hard to deliver that specific experience to the player. Also with scope having grown so out of control that there's no room to fail, if Soul Caliber was to come back, it'd be because someone bet their career on the success of the game because there'd be no room to fail. That's what happened to the last director of Soul Caliber, and though the game sold decently, it didn't hit the numbers that the suits wanted, so he's no longer with Bamco.

[@DestroyDEI]

It sucks, i dislike tekken but soul calibur is my jam...

[@kmoe2813]

As a gamer I feel very fortunate to be alive and young enough to enjoy the FromSoft era of games now and for many years to come . You always know you are in for a hell of an adventure with any FromSoft game

[@mikerighi920]

Fromsoft was managed extremely well. When Miyazaki speaks about game development, he isn't just talking about the game - he's talking about the developers, too. He cares about his staff and how they curate their games/careers/visions, etc... He knows so much more than the leads at ANY OTHER game studio.

[@Klongu_Da_Bongu]

He just seems like a normal person... All these western game devs have delusions of grandeur...

[@inmamata]

Honestly, the lack of understanding of their players by big game companies is a magnification of the psychological phenomenon of projection. The big game companies Devs don't try to focus on UNDERSTANDING their fans, they try to push their own narrative of what the fans should be like/what they should enjoy and appreciate. Aka for them, it's more important what THEY THINK and FEEL as opposed to the Fan's perspective. The moment when you start doing that and refuse to understand the other side's perspective then communication and the relationship break down for good. This is why, I believe, so many fans no longer care about Blizz, Ubisoft, Bethesda, and other Big gaming companies that lost touch with their fans YEARS ago. Not only that but the Devs of those gaming companies project their own insecurities and secret criticism of themselves and their own faults onto the successful game Devs that DO understand the fans. Notice how the criticism of those Devs says more about them and their games than about Elden Ring and From Software?

[@Klongu_Da_Bongu]

Yeah, an agenda. Something that isn't necessarily focused on the truth, but what the people in charge want the underlings to focus on. Weather that be us or the proggramers, it's all the same. I can't imagine the amount of programmer ideas that were shut down by CEO's just because of fear of changing the agenda.

[@BoxySonic]

Something i want to mention is that with many large titles, they are the product of several massive developer groups often struggling to communicate and coordinate Miazaki talks about Elden Ring and his other games like his personal creations, he created the vision that turned into this game and the way he talks about is incredibly indicative of how artists talk about their art

[@joshuathomasverghese1341]

I saw a comment saying Elden Ring and From Software games is what you when you mix devoted Indie Devs with a AAA budget. How do you guys rate that reference?

[@nahuelkid]

Been saying this for a while. FS still has that "5 friends coding in their basement" energy.

[@Childofbhaal]

@@nahuelkidMiyazaki is the company president and he said he spends 95% of his time directing games lol

[@nahuelkid]

@@Childofbhaal The Iwata way. The right way. The people in charge should always have direct contact with the work thats being done

[@WorldsUnhealthiestFitPerson]

Not particularly well, since FromSoft has been making games for 25 years (arguably in many respects, just making the exact same game over and over), and thus they've spanned some of the biggest boom eras as well as the current enshittening of game UX. They're basically Nintendo with a differently-rabid fanbase.

[@Puddspanker]

​@Childofbhaal for the first and 3rd souls game, he literally went over every line of code. Every item description, everything. He is super hands on. That's why he chilled and let his team make DS2, because he trusted them. I love DS2, personally. But some don't. But yeah, with out Michael Zaki, I don't think these games would be as polished, cohesive and as good as they are. The guy is a madman.

[@noiseisgold3n42]

Great video. You misunderstood what 'being in the black' means financially. It means profitable. The contrast to this is not 'green', but 'red'. Being 'in the red' is being in debt.

[@AlbinoMutant]

'In the red' means generating losses instead of profits (black). It has nothing to do with debt.

[@noiseisgold3n42]

@@AlbinoMutant You could just, idk, double check that in 5 seconds? Instead of spewing your uninformed opinion.

[@AlbinoMutant]

@@noiseisgold3n42 Don't need to. I'm right.

[@noiseisgold3n42]

@@AlbinoMutant And how exactly do you think "losses" get generated? By spending money you don't have. Aka debt.

[@AlbinoMutant]

@@noiseisgold3n42 You really have no idea what you're talking about. If i have a million dollars in cash and no debt and in 2024 my business spends $50K to earn $25K in revenue, I have a loss of $25K (I am in the red by $25K) and I still have zero debt. I just have less cash. This is really easy to look up.

[@Yewrenegade]

Elden ring might be a wake up call, but it doesnt wake up one man that has a brain that is smaller than a quantum grain of dignity, now hes wallowing with his TV's in prison

[@jamalisujang2712]

His channel is focused on tv review content, not gaming. I believe he was hopping on the elden ring hype back then to grow his channel. 😂😂😂

[@austins.2495]

You sound like such a curmudgeon in every single comment that you leave. Congrats

[@properwaffles]

@@jamalisujang2712Nah man, that guy is unhinged. C’mon…

[@sk8ermGs]

Huh?

[@gunsevenwhillans420]

What exactly are you talking about?

[@Wolfy1012]

Elden Ring is one of the most beautiful games I've ever played. I play it to relax at this point. I might know where every enemy is and every move set, but each run or fight just gives me the thrill I first felt playing Mario as a kid in 1984. The wonder of such a thing. It's subtle in its story telling, epic in it's sweeping music and themes, and emersive in its mechanics. When I'm fighting a boss or literally any enemy, all I see is them and me. Their health and my health. It's the simply and elegant UI that allows that depth of connection and narrowing of view. No quest markers, no flashing lights or alarm sounds. Just raw and frequently emotive gaming. I don't care if this is a boss I've faced 100 times, who's moves I've long memorized, there is an electric thrill in the fight and that same elation on defeating them. That, "go next" on a loss that keeps me pulling for the next round. Did I die? Maybe, but I did 5% more damage so go again. The Elden Ring community is also world class and make the experience great. Seeing a ghost of another player running through your area makes you feel never alone (try finger but hole). When Armored Core 6 came out I bought it right away and got just as hooked. It's totally different in the ER's mechanics, but even then it's got that subtle draw of story and that tease of just getting better at the game that pulls you on. I just bought Sekiro as I want to keep experiencing FromSoft's artistry and vision. I will continue to but what they make as in an industry that bankrupt of care and creativity, they hold that spark that reminds me of the wonder I felt when I first held a controller and I pray I never lose.

[@Cobalt360Degrees]

The thing I like about focusing the discussion on QoL design is that it's a _balancing act._ The stake of Marika being lifesavers from a long, arduous runback to where you died is nice, convenient, and appreciated. Compare that to the now infamous Ubisoft maps with fifteen billion quest, npc, and item markers that make you struggle to parse anything meaningful at all from it. Like yeah, on paper, the map having all the information one could ever possibly need sounds like amazing quality of life design, but in practice, all it usually does is make said map unreadable under all the icons and, more importantly, drain the player of any sense of wonder and excitement they may have had in exploring the world you've given them. I guess to have a more direct comparison: not only is Elden Ring's map gorgeously illustrated, it bakes in information about different points of interest like dark castles and lakes and cave entrances and of course the road steles that have the map fragments, all without overwhelming the player and feeling so at home in the world with its aesthetic and the amount of detail it has. I think the best decision they made was to give us the personalizing map markers that we can add, remove, and choose the pattern of. I usually play FromSoft games with a notebook beside me, and part of the fun of playing was drawing out the little symbols I'd used to mark my map and noting down what each symbol meant; 'this is an evergaol I need to get back to,' 'this npc is currently here,' 'investigate this teleporter later!' FromSoft trusts that, if you're playing their game, it's because you *want* to engage with the world they've created and want to explore every cave and crevice it has to offer. I think that trust is a lot more important than a lot of those salty devs are giving it credit.

[@Klongu_Da_Bongu]

Everytime I play ubisoft or new Bioware game it feels like work.

[@Shady272]

Finished the DLC (even took a week off for it) and it was great as always. took me 50+ hours and enjoyed every minute of it.

[@Reallymoistsap]

I love the fact that it has 50+ hours of game play for a DLC. That's usually the length of like 3 mediocre games

[@BolshoyZloyDed]

​@@Reallymoistsap, no, it's not. Mediocre games tend to make 100hr+ open-world-grind

[@RxRonin]

​@@BolshoyZloyDed Mediocre games are both. Either too much or too less.

[@Klongu_Da_Bongu]

@@RxRonin And usually much repetition of things you don't really want to do. Where as in souls game, you WANT that New game +.

[@caesurabreak3528]

Its amazing how we all go through different phases of our life all with different interests, yet some people dont realize that if you make a good experience in the form of a game, you will have an endless supply of people going through their lives and discovering your work. This is why a pc port is important. It will always be available to new audiences looking for a specific type of game

[@arturo9610]

I still remember my first DS playthrough on the 360. Few games leave that kind of impression. I told my best friend about it and at first he scoffed at it saying it's for 'nerds' and went back to his COD. After a while he caved and tried it and now he's a bigger DS fan than me. Funny how things turn out

[@bijnov84]

Elden Ring is a game that you can play through a million times and still have the option to play through again a different way

[@Hinazaric]

Thank you for explaining your entire video in the first 30 seconds, I really respect you for getting to the point immediately and not baiting us with random stuff. Goated video, made me watch until the end.

[@beewyka819]

10:55 This reminds me the the latest Factorio Friday Facts Wube released where they mentioned periodically doing company-wide LAN parties where they tried to play through the entire upcoming expansion in a week, and how they gleaned very valuable insights from them (such as completely reworking the gameplay loop for some of the new planets to reduce repetitiveness)

[@RoarinShots]

Vampire Survivors was a wake up call Elden Ring was a wake up call Helldivers 2 was a wake up call Elden Ring is a wake up call again Boys its been 3 years they ain't wakin up...

[@pieru]

also parodies fascism and authoritarian propaganda, in case you needed more examples.

[@TheJustproxy]

@@Lt.Shrimp "No politics" lol. The game is full on satire, how much braindead can you be to think it's only a shoot shoot bang bang game.

[@Rietto]

You know those scenes in movies where someone keeps shaking somebody saying "wake up!" but turns out the person is dead? Yeah....

[@StudioInvisible]

Of course, devs “accepting” to work under highly standardized and overbearing requirements will be frustrated to see success through different approaches.

[@Papa_Spade]

You did an incredible job of putting to words how I've felt about From Soft for years now. Great video, couldn't agree more! Also love the shoutout to Terraria magic storage. That's a staple every time I go back to that game.

[@flu_nog_777]

I bought the game on the 4th's weekend and let me tell you after the fire works i have already had 15 hours into this game, Its art, story, characters, weapons, views, monsters, music, its so rich and packed full of details the whole game works as a horse riding simulator if you love to look at dark age architecture with a map that is so SO HUGE just exploring is so much fun! To think wow i wonder what wants to kill me over here... is so much fun. Great video man glad to see your channel catching on

[@thomaswilson8022]

I wish more CEOs made these videos required for their quarterly board meetings.....

[@sarcasm-83]

I think Elden Ring having things that can make it easier, that you can find in the world, doubles up as making the exploration all the more rewarding. While I liked Stellar Blade very much as a solid action game, one major flaw the game has is that it's exploration is not rewarding. The only chests you find that make you excited are the outfit chests. Everything else is.. pointless fodder. Yet, Stellar Blade just like Elden Ring felt like a good old videogame, made for fun, in a time where so many games are just products made to... cater to everyone, offend no one, try to sell for everyone... But in Elden Ring, you being able to find an item like Mohg's Shackle that allows you to deny the most dangerous attack of the boss... now that is a find.. and for the game to have finds like that makes the exploration all the more exciting. This coming from someone whose first FromSoft game was Elden Ring and it made me see "what the fuzz is about". Before that, I was thinking there's no way I'd enjoy frustration. Until I got the adrenaline rush of beating something that felt impossible on the first try and with practice I danced around the attacks and overcame it. I thought it should have a difficulty level before. Now I'm glad it doesn't. Not because I wanna be elitist and say I beat it, but because it will give so many players that same feeling of overcoming their own limit with perseverance and putting their minds to it. (Elden Ring also has many things you can think through in a way where, if you struggle with one particular thing of a boss, there are items to take the edge off that side, like increase elemental resistance etc.)

[@rickhernandez7631]

It sucks to think that once Miyazaki is done making games, we might never get to experience anything as unique as the souls games, when it comes to the depth, storytelling and passion that has been put into all the souls games. Im so glad to be alive at the same time these games were released, and I hope we get to experience many more of Miyazaky's stories, and for others in a distant future, to do so as well, even after he's long gone.This man will forever be remembered as a leyend.

[@Khrist75]

There was only one Leonard DaVinci, so fully enjoy the fact you're sharing the same era than Miyazaki san...;-).

[@ggwp638BC]

It will be sad, but do remember that this man inspired hundreds if not thousands of devs who one day put that into practice. It takes years, but it happens, similar to how Larian devs were inspired by BG1, 2 and Ultima, and from that they made the Divinity series, and that eventually lead to BG3. And there are a lot of cool games spawning from FromSoft's influence, like Lies of P and Another Crab's Tresure.

[@minerman60101]

He's been making sure there are others at From Soft who are able to direct games, and Armored Core 6 was only directed by Miyazaki in the beginning of development. Hopefully this means that From Soft can blossom into a company with a number of directors who have the solid backing of institutional knowledge and who can be in it for the art, not merely for money.

[@luketfer]

AC6 felt like one of those smaller project gambles he mentioned. It was a franchise that hadn't had a game in a long time in a genre that isn't super popular but they wanted to try something with a much smaller budget than Elden ring and it paid off.

[@balloonb0y677]

The story telling is the worst part about those games, which is why it doesn’t appeal to the casual gamer

[@SpruceUp612]

For graphics, when Elden Ring first came out I was playing it on a small gaming laptop. I remember thinking the graphics weren't that special. But prepping a character for the DLC I plugged a giga desktop into a big tv and played in native 4k and I kept finding myself just panning the camera around and admiring every little detail in the armor, bricks, plants, etc. It's so beautiful and crisp. As far as gameplay, a huge reason this game feels so good is the mix of physics and weight that they implement. When you play a Souls game for the first time you immediately notice the walking movement. It just moves without a hefty character weight to lug around. But the big weight feel of a giant weapon and its move set feels great. It's a perfect mix of realistic and non-realistic that makes the game fun. And for UI design, it is just plain snappy and instant, the menu pops up immediately and you can even continue walking as you swap weapons. This is so important because you'll be opening these menus thousands of times in a play through. Starting Dragon's Dogma 2 was absolutely jarring as soon as I felt the character weight, climbing things and maneuvering in tight spaces is such a challenge.

[@TheGinGear]

I love this discussion, great video. Side note, I think you are using stereo audio processing on your Mono m ic or something, because there are a bunch of moments when a noise gate or something is opening as you start talking where we can only hear your voice in the left ear. Should be a pretty easy fix if you just make the mic all mono, even in post/editing

[@AbhijeetSingh-xr2ex]

Found you through asmongold, subbed after watching one video itself based on how professional your videos look and having good takes in general. I actually didn't notice your subs initially but was shocked at how low they were when I joined, based on your videos I thought you'd be at 500k or a million or something. Looking forward to future videos, keep up the good work.

[@JKurayami]

Guts will use absolutely anything to win against an opponent. Any dirty, ruthless, cheesy trick to survive (So long as it's not at the expense of those he cares about / Friends / Honor once he finds himself again.) So beating a Boss in anyway possible is always acceptable. People not playing their own games is like a Director not watching their own movie.

[@amannamedsquid313]

I think that a lot of people forget that Guts doesn't just use his sword. He has an automatic crossbow and a cannon built into his prosthetic arm, he uses throwing knives and a dagger on occasion, he uses bombs, ambushes, takes hostages and uses his environment to his advantage.

[@tomhuitema2068]

This boy loves his Metalcore

[@Northwind82]

He needs to break out the guitar and play some metal on a stream

[@xspartan346x]

INK isnt metalcore. Theres nothing metal nor hardcore about them.

[@tomhuitema2068]

@@xspartan346x Whatever you say pal

[@pedronalesso1464]

I've discovered Spiritbox cuz of his shirt, thanks :)

[@edwardsilver4012]

Great Video and on point. Fromsoftware is a legendary studio. Their work will serve as base for many many upcoming games. In fact - just as you said - it should be studied by everyone that wants to work in this field. Fromsoft and Larian studios are the only studios I would EVER trust and pre-order from. In fact ive bought Elden Ring and the DLCs 3 times , for 2 different friends. Same goes with Baldurs Gate and Divinity Original Sin 1/2. There used to be a time when CDPR (CD project RED) was also one of them. But after Cyberpunks botched release, missing promised features and the lies they spouted ("its coming when its ready") I've lost all hope in them too.

[@meteorheartofficial]

Although i have alot of criticisms of the open world, and the holes in the lore. There isnt many games that feel as good as Elden Ring or the soulsborne Genre. i remember a less masochistic me playing for the first time, i remember saying to my friend, when i died the first time and realized i had to go back and get my Blood echoes, i was like, " this is a dumb design, you lose your progress? What a terrible game" It changed the way i thought about games, and years later i have platinumed both bloodborne and elden ring, almost DS3 but those covenant trophies are just something i didnt want to do. My eyes are FULLY OPENED. I'll be helping at the final boss door on elden ring, or helping people beat Mohg to get in the DLC, maybe if your lucky you'll summon me. I also make music and just ventured into the gothic orchestral genre for the first time, if your a fan you should have a listen its on my channel.

[@user-uk9rj4rx5y]

It is all about gameplay. Elden Ring didn't amaze me with its storytelling (even if the story itself is really good), but the way it plays is something on another level. I'm not playing fantasy games, so I went into it without any great expectations, but the way it looks, how it fights... all of it is amazing to the point I'm doing my first run and I intentionally make a bad build, because I want to play with all of these cool weapons. AAA industry simply forgot about the fact that games have to be fun in the first place, or they assumed, they can skip that step.

[@miguelnascimento2847]

Souls' storytelling is a major point of what makes them great. Instead of having it spoon fed to you they immerse you in a world where you find things out just like you would in a real life scenario, by analysing the little information you are given into all the different contexts that are not so apparent unless you try to make the connections. The story is great and so is the delivery tho I understand it might not be for everyone. The delivery of the story is the most genious move FS ever made imo, it showed the potential videogames have that books and movies simply lack

[@Cold_Zero_The_Wise]

Simply put Gameplay is 👑

[@Fear_the_Nog]

Fromsoft understands gamers. Because it is headed and directed by real artists and gamers, like Miyazaki himself. Many others in the AAA industry are run by marketing or MBA graduates who are only interested in applying business school jargon on the job so they can show they've exceeded their quarterly KPIs on a spreadsheet by Q3, or something

[@thecanadakid7622]

@@miguelnascimento2847 I am more then welcome for more games that don't try to be movies with endless dialogue and cut scenes, it's so boring now, sure it may have been cool when new and fresh, but I want play games not watch them. If not I would just watch a movie which is 100x beter in that aspect anyway. Who the hellplays a game for the story, it's just a plus, not a part that matters much.

[@PatGunn]

I like how many lore videos there are out there for DS and ER, disagreeing with each other and having cool comparisons to real world history

[@CygnusX-11]

After 250 hours, i can safely say that Elden Ring is not a masterpiece by any stretch, it has so many issues. It's still better than most other AAA games and that's the real reason why it got so popular. Honestly, there's nothing really groundbreaking about Elden Ring. What i like about the game: + enemy variety + gorgeous art style + fun legacy dungeons + amazing fashion + amazing sense of exploration + cool weapons and spells + typical Fromsoft robust combat What i dislike about the game: - The open World is too big for no reason and too tiring to go through, like your typical Ubisoft world just without markers on the map. - content is copy pasted to oblivion - Bad boss fights ( not all of them but the majority) - frustrating Artificial difficulty that wasn't present in the previous games. - loads of technical problems like inaccurate hitboxes and freezing - extremely bad camera design which can be game breaking in certain fights ( at least for me ) - the game is bloated with so much useless items and loot that makes your head hurt everytime you open your inventory ( and don't get me started on that UI ) - Quests are literally impossible to complete without a guide and most of them straight up boring chores. - the story is a shell of Fromsoft's former self, i really don't care about anything or anyone in the lands between as my character has absolutely no purpose and no reason to go through all of that shit.

[@bluedistortions]

fair criticism, and you're right, it's not that it's the best game ever, it's that the AAA industry is pathetic now.

[@jsullivan2112]

I think it also cannot be overstated how smart it was for From to go with Activision to publish Sekiro. Or at least a new publisher for them. And Activision in their rare wisdom said they were gonna stay completely hands-off, and did. It basically told Bandai Namco "see? We don't need you. You need us." Bandai tended to interfere more when it was Dark Souls because of the contract they signed for three games prior to Miyazaki becoming president. This illustrates what Miyazaki is talking about with partners. I would call that a very subtle but obvious power move.

[@ulrichschroeder2173]

Back when LAN-ing came into it's own, I was the kid sitting next to my friends, watching them play ever newer and better titles on their PCs and consoles, largely because I didn't have my own setup. That being said, I did eventually get my own decent PC, which was able to run titles such as Crysis and Mirror's Edge and while I've always loved games and am an enthusiast, I never really considered myself a "gamer". Fast forward to about a month ago when I was watching some of my favourite KZbinrs play Shadow of The Erdtree, and something about those play-throughs and just the game itself really stood out to me. This past December (2023), I was finally able to buy a PS5, thinking that I''ll game on it casually every so often, which I did. That is, until I reached a point watching other people play Elden Ring/the DLC and thought to myself, "man, I also want to play this game!", and purchased it. A week and a half into it, I can safely say that Elden Ring has brought me back to gaming in a way I never thought any game besides Thief II (my all-time favourite) from back in the day would. I have a feeling that other titles such as The Witcher and Assassin's Creed are going to feel like Crash Bandicoot after finishing ER. I agree wholeheartedly with what is said in the video. Somehow, FromSoftware have managed to do exactly what other studios just can't seem to get right; make a good game that people enjoy playing (even if you get killed over, and over, and over... :D). Exploring the HUGE world (which works and has very few glitches, if any), opening up map areas, finding hidden items and even defeating mini bosses is so rewarding and the sense of achievement you experience as you progress through the game's mainline is on point. I'm not so sure other studios will look at ER and do away with their greedy, profit-driven ways in order to make good games, though at least we have FromSoftware to help us plebs out with that. For now, at least.

[@Espx82]

Waiting for "Banana is a wake up call"

[@jerome6032]

Call me pesimistic, but I don't think other gaming companies see elden ring as a wake up call. I have the impression that they are way to stubborn to admit that elden ring is just a better game for the gameplay. It feels like most of the modern gaming industrie does not have their priorities straight. While the majority of players aren't even able to tell exactly why a game is great and what they want out of it, what could have been done better, most developers don't even bother to listen to the players. At least that is my impression.

[@bluedistortions]

You are correct. They cover up their incompetence, laziness, and greed with DEI and blame their failure on racists/sexists. But the fact is, their products suck.

[@bluedistortions]

Also, they have to fight, disparage, or buy out and close down these smaller, passionate game developers, because the larger, DEI based companies literally can not do what they do. They fired their old talent, and hired/promoted young, inexperienced liberal arts graduates based on their race, gender, and sexuality, in order to get a higher DEI/ESG score and qualify for financing from Blackrock/Vanguard. Just look at the stark difference between Mass Effect 1-3 and Adromeda. Just watch some cutscenes and dialogue. It's one of the strongest and most blatant examples of what firing the old crew does (we're seeing something similar with the new Dragon Age game). They are not capable of making a game that competes even with their own history, so they have to figure out a way to blame gamers for their own failures.

[@jerome6032]

@@bluedistortions Yeah absolutely, I am glad we have eastern developers who are still passionate about what they do and create amazing products. It's sad to think our indie devs have no chance to show what they can make.

[@NightDocs]

I hope the games industry takes the same turn as the music industry. Most musical acts have no label or corporate overlord and are self funded by their own growth and success

[@emilydegroot6436]

That is not even close to true, what the fuck? It's the other way around in the music industry, indie acts are super rare comparatively

[@lightechoes]

As nice as this would be, it's simply not true in the Music Industry.

[@Klongu_Da_Bongu]

That was true waaaay back in the day with rock bands, not now.

[@obliverated9672]

Your essay directly translates to cinema, too. Used to be most people got excited by a director's/writer's new film, now it's just MARVEL MOVIE 17

[@beyondblue9485]

Off topic I like your shirt. Second i feel like the twitch streamer Kai Cenat’s playing the base game live on his stream from start to finish (a person who never played a souls/borne game (after the announcement of the dlc)) really brought additional attention to the game as a whole. 0:36 He not only sparked curiosity in the game to his own viewers, but also alot of other content creators as well. IM NOT saying by any means he is the sole reason the dlc sold as well as it did. IM NOT DISCREDITING ANYTHING ABOUT ELDIN RING. I’m saying on top of the CORE following, he has ADDED to the attention of the dlc. I loved everything you talked about in this video. I think the gaming industry is tanking as a whole. 13:19 to 14:25 15:25 theses timestamps particularly are chefs kiss

[@uninhibition31]

There needs to be a Fromsoft boss called “modern audience” 😂

[@LogicallyKnot]

Yeah, just a big ass dude in heavy armor with 99 vitality and 99 strength whining about difficulty while spawning mimic tears. That's a fog door I'd hit way more than once 😂

[@funguy398]

Nah, it's other way around, you go in, "modern audience" health bar shows up empty already, because there is no one there.

[@joshuatealeaves]

We already have Ceaseless Discharge

[@cloudalsina2450]

FF 7 Rebirth, Elden Ring, BG3, Lies of P, Res 4 Remake, and Hell Divers should be shining examples of what devs should study to improve games.

[@Pepe-dq2ib]

I did not enjoy lies of p, the boss system needs a complete revamp.

[@balloonb0y677]

@@Pepe-dq2ibwhat was so bad about it?

[@balloonb0y677]

What exactly are they studying?

[@dirtsquids9854]

Lies of P is near perfection You need to revamp your system against bosses Also I got to new game + 6 on it so it’s really just you.

[@Pepe-dq2ib]

@@dirtsquids9854 nope, even asmon said the bosses were bad.

[@madmaxmel]

And it's funny that some say the game is difficult, Elden Ring has Easy mode, summons and NPCs that can be used in almost all situations. That is, the game has "traditional" Dark Souls and difficulty level selection when choosing help from those mentioned tools. I like the challenge, I always play everything solo. But it's great that the game also finds a way to a more relaxed style of play. The game is never a Sunday walk, of course, but it is suitable for almost everyone with summons. That's why it sells well, many types of players can immerse themselves in it.

[@PurpurealRose]

Love the video, just one request, equip that Moonlight greatsword with 2H (moar dmg) instead of 1H when u not use any casts, my ocd really kicks in xD

[@Kolket1389]

Every From Software game feels like a true journey. Starting humble and weak, being scared by everything in a confusing world. But gradually becoming the God of the said world, literally. And that satisfaction curve is only something I find in From Soft games.

[@Hentirion]

One quality of life feature missing for me is infinite Respec stats at a cost of one level. The larval tear do the same and not lose the hard earned level sure, but there are so many cool weapons with different scaling that you found at different points. Also, Even if two weapons uses the same scaling , a slight ajustment in stats can create a different build/playstyle for a specific boss. It encourage low level players to easily test other play styles ( melee , int or faith), and high level players to think more times out of the box to beat a dificult boss.

[@Hentirion]

On the base elden ring, I played around 10 to 20 hours with 3 or 4 characters to test some initial playstyles. Most of the time doing similar things just to level up. I would be better to just need to farm 1 level over 30 levels 3 times. I ended using a faith caster/str, because it have the most variety arsenal of playstyles to approach differently each boss.

[@Okamika44]

@@Hentirion I landed on the same thing, best option for those who like variety. Now I over level but place stats evenly so im not op. at level 198 my highest stat is faith at 50

[@maxinea.sakaki4151]

5:48 Excuse me you said 2009 dark souls instead of 2009 demon souls.

[@awiseauthor3456]

It will never matter, because 100 "Elden Ring" tier games wouldn't come close to the income of FIFA, Madden, or Genshin Impact

[@edgeceooffujin3074]

this is the most absurd statement I've heard this year.

[@marloncebo242]

Knock on them if you want, but genshin impact is or was a solid game. Fifa sells for a reason as well.

[@Micromation]

​@@edgeceooffujin3074Yet it is true. Certain games are not being made because you can spend that time making something that sells more. It's an opportunity cost. This is why companies operating on massive budgets are fundamentally incapable of making anything but slop...

[@DestroyDEI]

@@marloncebo242 fifa sells because normies love recycled slop lmfao. Genshin is gacha trash so....

[@DarkepyonX]

​@@edgeceooffujin3074elden sold only 12m copies with crap revenues compared to games listed and industry prizes numbers first . This why the company moved on to make other games instead of dlc right away

[@trevorhansen4590]

Really resonated with the wanting to play a game from a dev. Never played an armored core game but when the most recent one dropped I got it on release. My PC couldn’t even run the title screen but I still have it, and I been saving for a new PC build to be able to play it bc I just know it’s gonna bang. At least it’s been fairly easy to avoid spoilers for it compared to elden ring and the DLC

[@chrisheartman9263]

Also, knowing that Miyazaki believes in me as a player (and to a certain extent me as a person) almost makes me cry. It reminds me that there are people out there that do believe in me, and can do better.

[@RelativelyBest]

I feel vindicated knowing that Miyazaki apparently plays these games the same way I do.

[@DelasVC]

Wtf are you talking about? Elden Ring isn't a wakeup call - it's an anomaly that shouldn't exist but for some reason does! Elden Ring is actually a good deal for the customer so don't expect something like this to happen again any time soon..

[@Beezer1742]

It SHOULD be a wake up call. It won’t be, but it should.

[@DelasVC]

@@Beezer1742 Not sure about that. Wakeup call for who? The publishers of the business? I don't think so. As far as I understand they are pretty aware of the fact that people are willing to pay for whatever sh*t they try to shove down their soft, spineless throats - which is the very reason why we don't see games that make an effort to actually be decent products that often. In fact: those poor-*ss piles of data they call "games" should be a ringing wakeup call for the customers to finally move away and get a proper life - yet they clearly aren't! So that raises the question _who_ is actually losing here..

[@Mattriix]

​@@DelasVC Eh to be fair the industry is going through its fatigue phase for that type of slop The industry is still gambling in the hopes of getting their golden goose but how many of those recent attempts have actually worked?

[@DelasVC]

@@Mattriix Not sure what you‘re trying to tell me with that, bro..

[@n8caro]

Homie is just now regurgitating the same things you hear every time Elden ring is mentioned yet here we are again with another original take.

[@peacefusion]

complete hype video. this didnt age well either as more are noticing the combo bs like Radahn.

[@noctisebboy]

@@peacefusionelden ring in a nutshell. Dodge for a long period of time and hit enemy once. Made a mistake once? Well you’re dead.

[@pablosamuelestradaochoa4127]

I'm standing up in front of my computer and applauding to you, sir. Completely agree with everything, and I'm so glad to be alive in an era where From Software makes these games (DS was my first!). Another developer that i personaly LOVE is Remedy Entertaiment. What they did with Alan Wake 2 is ART. That is not a game, it's pure ART. Hope this message is a wake up call for publishers and developers all around thge world. Make the games YOU like, not games for the masses.

[@pi-or-die]

Your point here about playing the game as a gamer rather than a tester is so spot on, and this same mindset is present at most software companies. If you don't use the product you work on *as a regular user*, how will you ever really know what it is like for them? It is such a neglected part of the craft