Easy allies are my most trusted reviewers, and it's not even close. You guys are so consistent with your reviews, and do a fantastic job. When I want to make sure a game is good before jumping in, this is where I come.
@@sillylittlesheepjax6009 it was the most wishlisted game on steam back in january and won e3s most anticipated award two years in a row I think... safe to say there's been a lot of hype :)
@@kathrena1213 personally I don't really care that much about sales. You have a returnal profile picture and that game sold poorly but as far as I'm concerned it's easily one of the best games of 2021. I imagine elden ring will sell great but even if it doesn't that won't affect my enjoyment one ounce.
Same this is the first fromsoft game I got into and man did I get hooked. Now having a blast playing another playthrough with my cousin using the seamless co-op mod.
100% agree. Way better than literally any other channel. Just fantastic. The writing and delivery are SO GOOD without being a chore of a 30m review like so many
""it constantly surprises and cements itself not only as the culmination of the Souls formula, but also as one of the best open-worlds ever made" Well that is quite emphatic.
@@Goukimane Respect for that actually. A lot of games could be described like that. There is a very very few games I'd give 10 to. I feel like the 100 score range is wide enough that that is no problem at all tho. Like, saying it's one of the best open worlds ever and giving it 95 is not at all that in conflict.
@@Goukimane Easy Allies are one of the most critical reviewers I've seen. The fact it got 9.5 in the first place, a difference of .5 from a perfect score, is really telling of its quality.
I know it's normal to wait for reviews to make your judgement - but from only seeing the trailers and preview footage this game just looks unreal. A true greatest hits of everything that From Software has become since the release of Dark Souls 1. Can't wait to sink my teeth into it.
Watching this review I felt maybe I would be spoiled. Not in this review. I felt I got a grasp of what the world is like and what to expect in some encounters. How the game works and what might feel familiar to players. All while showing off what seems to be everyone's general questions about the game. Looking forward to starting the game soon. Can't wait to jump into this world!
It does feel like they show a lot more than some of the things that were in trailers so for people trying to not see to many of the enemies and bosses, it is spoilery and I'd recommend just listening. Knowing them, it's probably the beginning and there's probably so much more that they thought even showing 20 enemies was a tiny portion of what the game offers.
@@Ayoul nah dude. I played the network test and they showed for the most part what you could encounter during the test. Trust me theres some BIG surprises and they are only showing you a snippet of the game
whos spoiling what anyway? all the embargos are the same for any reviewer. And these guys were the only ones that showed that part with the NPC hugging your head, so if anything EZA “spoiled” more than any other outlet lmao
I've been playing games for more than 35 years. With the Soulsborne games, FromSoftware became my favourite game developer. Now, with Elden Ring, I can say this is the best game I've ever played. I absolute love it! Before the release I was a bit worried about how the open world would turn out, but it's executed perfectly. Every game has at least some minor flaws and Elden Ring is no different in that regard, but they pale in comparison to what is being offered here. Man, what an awesome game! 💜
I’m truly happy for all the DS fans out there as this looks like it’ll a true classic for you. Not really my bag as I’ve always found the difficulty level on the From Soft titles to be a pain in the arse (Although I did complete Bloodbourne and found it incredibly enjoyable). I can see this on a lot of reviewers top game lists by the end of the year. Great review as always mate 👍
Don't stop my friend. If you beat Bloodborne, then you can beat them all. My first was Sekiro I died like 30 times each from Genichiro and Lady Butterfly. After beating the game the rest of fromsoftware games weren't bad and I beat them all.
@@TheWolfSharp I was obviously hearing what Brad said there in the review that this is hardest From Soft title to date?….I heard a lot of reviewers saying the same
@@SpikeRosered If you have a friend who likes the series you could try coop with them. I had a friend who didn't really like the series either because of the difficulty but was interested in Bloodborne due to the aesthetic so i offered to coop with him and now it's one of his two favorite games ever and it was honestly some of the most fun i had cooping a game in ages. He eventually ended up playing all of em because of it.
Man... this just looks phenomenal. This looks like a very very strong contender for GOTY already. Crazy to get such a huge game so early in the year. Can't wait to get started.
It's already goty imho. What can beat it? Mayber zelda botw 2 but I dont know if it will come out in 2022. God of war 2 could also have some chance, we'll see
I was already overly enthusiastic about this game but after this review the hype is real!! Almost wish I didn't watch the early review because the wait just got harder lol
It's rare when a game gets 100/100 or 10/10 almost across the board.. The only other game I can remember that had review scores like that was Bioshock way back in the day
skyrim was scored 10 out 10 it was on game cover even. funny thing dark souls 1 was around that time and not scored 10 out 10. probably bcouse hard fps drops and people not understand how to play this the game. ı know games scored 10 of 10 on 90s not any one heard of it. pc gamer score nocturne 1999 game 10 higher than resident evils and sleint hills 2 and its reaaly look way better even this day not many know this game bcuse not out on consoles. half lifle 2 and doom 3 portal 2 all scored 10. nintendo games many times scored 10. 100 score was pc gamer magazines thing back in day no console media socre like 100. oblivion and fallout 3 also scored 100 for may pc magazines.
I remember all the hype for Sekiro, and at the time I was really worried - Surely Fromsoft had been the golden goose for too long. They couldn't keep up this level of quality... Then Sekiro was great. All the hype behind Elden Ring had me thinking the same thing "Okay but THIS time, Fromsoft can't possibly live up to the hype. This project is just too ambitious and they can't just keep topping themselves" ... Lo and behold, they freaking did it again. They just keep doing it!
So, serious question. I've played Bloodborne and the Demons Souls Remake and enjoyed both in the past. Elden Ring looks very interesting however at this point in my life I don't have nearly as much time to game as I used to. The one thing holding me back from playing Elden Ring is that it's not just open world, but also has that trademark From Software difficulty. That combination seems daunting and massive to be exploring a lot and constantly dying. Don't get me wrong, I love a challenge but like I said, with limited time I don't want to feel like I'm getting nowhere each play session. Is the game more accessible than I'm thinking? Would love some honest opinions on this!
After the little bits of footage of people stumbling into crazy events or areas, I have no doubt that fromsoft could make the single best elder scrolls game ever made. blind folded. and I want it.
Awesome review guys! The only thing I'm surprised wasn't really addressed and would have liked to have heard some thoughts on was the story/writing and whether George R. R. Martin's involvement was noticeable or not. But by the fact that it wasn't mentioned, I'm guessing his involvement wasn't so overbearing that it felt like a massive departure from From Software's usual formula?
It's more about unprofessionalism where any background info, interesting trivias and even criticism is tossed aside to give audience the response they are expecting. Hype for the sake of hype is sadness. I don't claim the game is not good, this comment is not about the quality of the game, I'm very interested to play it.
To point out G.R.R. Martin didn't actually write any of the story. He hepled create the lore and history for the game and then handed it off to From who adapted that history to fit the design of the game. It was also Miyazaki/From who wrote the story dialogue and all the in game text.
@@EbbFlowe I suspect you'll see more of his influence further towards the late game, as the roles and politics of each group within the story starts to have a greater effect and you have to make some hard choicea about how you'll resolve the game's core themes in the plot. George has always been very into that kind of thing, and it's the sort of thing where his world building will have very noticeable consequences.
One question: Can enemies drop things like useful weapons and gear? Or do regular enemies only give xp and crafting materials? Are bosses the only thing that will give you weapons and gear? And is all the gear SET? Meaning, can I find random generated things like in diablo?
I stayed so in the dark with this game it kinda just snuck up on me, I had no idea the open world was like this!!!! This looks like Breath of the Wild ++ Hero Mode lol, will be downloading for sure this week!
I never got into the previous souls games, so I didn't pay much attention to Elden Ring pre release. Then it came out and was a HUGE hit. So I decided to buy it on steam. So glad I did. Got hooked on the game. Started a second playthrough recently with my cousin using the seamless co-op mod, and god is it fun.
Every once in a while, I will pop in to UA-cam to watch this intro again as it is one of the best intros of all time. The voice acting is absolutely perfect, the imagery is astounding, fight me, never mind, I win. Bye 👋
Same this is the first fromsoft game I got into and man did I get hooked. Now having a blast playing another playthrough with my cousin using the seamless co-op mod.
The thing is.... It is really hard if you try to tackle everything you encounter. If you are methodic and go to another area when you face a difficult enemy, you get progressively better... and not just stats-wise. I have already destroyed two bosses that gave me problems in the beginning simply by finding new tools while exploring other areas. No grind at all, just pure learning from mistakes *and* successes (what people call "git gud" nowadays).
@@SystemBD I've played it for about 5 hours and so far I'm really enjoying it, mostly just running around exploring the map. Definitely a lot of deaths but nothing too frustrating.
You can basically make it as hard or easy as you want. Want to use summons/spirits? Go ahead. Don't want to then don't. Same with co-op. And same with overall difficulty. Come to a boss or area with enemies that are kicking your butt over and over and over? You can go elsewhere and level up, improve gear etc and come back, or not and tough it out etc. And of course there are always builds/weapons etc that are just crazy powerful, but again it's up to you if you want to use those kinds of things. Just my thoughts, and why I think this was the first souls game I got into. Started a second playthrough recently with my cousin using the seamless co-op mod and god it's so much fun, and amazing how great it works. We've played a few hours and he has had one crash, no other issues.
finally a dev who creates an open world that isn't filled with bullshit map markers everywhere and boring fetch quests or collectibles, all visible from the start. exploration is so important in open worlds. let me find interesting stuff myself and don't point me in every single fucking direction (just like Ubisoft's shit games)
Agreed. That's the number one reason I think this is the first souls game I got into. Tried the others but just weren't for me. But I had so much fun with ER. I got hooked. Every time I played I would start having a goal in mind and always spend hours just exploring. Started a second playthrough recently with my cousin using the seamless co-op mod and man that mod is SO much fun.
@@suddenimpulse030 I mean you can. The games aren't insurmountably hard, I myself am generally middle of the road at best at action games to the point where I was convinced for a long time that hard games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne were out of my league. Despite that I still managed to beat Bloodborne. It took some effort and I got my ass kicked a lot along the way but I still did it. Meanwhile Elden Ring while maintaining the challenge has far more flexibility to it. Improved stealth mechanics to help even the odds, open areas allowing more freedom in how you approach fights, the ability to freely leave and come back later when you are stronger if you are stuck on something rather than it fully gating forward progress. It won't go easy on you but it's also giving a lot of freedom to help people enjoy and eventually overcome the difficulty.
You can make it as easy or as hard as you want. Depending on what weapons, items (summons etc), build etc etc you use. Or by just taking your time and exploring all over. You can leave a area or boss if you want and go elsewhere, get stronger and comeback etc. And on PC there is the seamless co-op mod, which is SO much fun. Started playing it with my cousin a few days ago. And amazing how perfectly it works.
Amazing review as always but would've liked to hear about the performance on weaker hardware, since the specs have been a bit of a concern leading up to release. Just hope i can run it smooth.
I haven't been keeping up with this game at all. Only knew the name and some screen shots. I kept thinking it was going to be a game similar to something like Dragon Age or Kingdoms of Amalur, but now I see it's Dark Souls. I know people absolutely LOVE that series, but I can easily wait on this game.
Great review! No mention of BOTW and Skyrim on the review just focusing on what the game delivers. Unlike IGN :/. Never really got into a souls game and will have to give this a try!
ı palyed game like this 20 years ago. called rocket knight sparkster 2. it was harder than caslevania and you need to carefull all time. even many level and boses only available on hard diffcutly so you have to play hard game on even nomrla mode to hard diffuclty.
So basically its a mishmash of all the well-received mechanics used in the older games all put together to make one giant masterpiece, with modern open world mechanics? .............Bruh.
Howdy Allies. Nice Review Brad. Quick question, can you respec your character stats like strength, vitality, etc. and how accessible is it to respec? This is just me but I didn't have good experiences on previous souls games going in blind without a build. Having access to stat respec should be a must quality of life option more rpg games should have.
You can - it is done via an NPC at the hub location, and requires the use of consumable rare item each time. So you can't do it repeatedly, probably to avoid abuse (changing build to an optimal one for each boss for example), but it's nowhere near as obscure or pricey (in whatever useful consumable, be that souls, runes, or other items) as in previous Souls games.
@@reed1645 I meant bias towards awarding Nintendo games at the expense of other developers where they oftentimes deserve it more. I think its telling how FROM got a GotY for Sekiro, which is on the bottom of the list of their best games imo (managing to beat out only DSII). It seems these awards are given based on some sort of perceived dev popularity rather than the tiles in question quality.
I hadn't had a day-1 buy in more than a decade, but this game changed that. So far I'm really enjoying it but kinda disappointed about the stuttering,but hopefully, it will get patched soon.
Being in the minority I was super mixed with DS3 and Sekiro. What excites me most about Elden Ring is that world and it sounds like it's something to behold which has me excited.
Same. While DSII is without a doubt one of the biggest disappointments in gaming ever for me, DSIII and Sekiro while good were also minor disappointments in their own way. I doubt FROM can make another game on KFIV, DeS and DaS' level (I mean 3 masterpieces is plenty already), but I hope this is at least BB levels of quality.
Sekiro is my least favorite because there are multiple genuine roadblocks in the game that were too frustrating to overcome. Seems like this has even harder fights, but because of the open world and customization, you can overcome through other means rather than just throwing yourself at a wall over and over.
It's about impossible to stay focused. I had this since launch and my main. Character is just getting to radhan. Yes just getting to caelid lol..... He did leaveiut you can feed torrent to keep his health. But I get the point here. This is a great review
Yeah that was my thing when I first played. I constantly got distracted wanting to explore dif areas. Was a blast. Playing again recently with my cousin using the seamless co-op mod and good lord it's a blast. And amazing how perfectly it works.
@@sean8102 I play offline, bad Internet I bet it's fun co op, I wouldn't want the invaders tho lol. But I had this since launch and currently going through it again now and n ready for the he dlc in June. Are you getting it?
It looks like shields are viable again. Can anyone who has played confirm or deny? One of my biggest grievances with the Souls sequels is their dedication to shitting on shields, and catering to players who would rather rely on i-frames than get good.
Shields are definitely viable. Rolling to dodge is still the meta but I’ve been using the shield a lot. But I used the shield a lot in all the Dark Souls games without much issue so I’m not sure where the shitting on shields take comes from.
resero youtube channel do both base xbox and playstation. it works ok. the biggest drop is grass quality anf 30 fps other than that same game. grass draw distance like 0.5 something. its good choice for base console instead of drop texture quality low.
Will definitely get this on a sale. Enjoying Forbidden West right now. Was considering getting this, but the gameplay style of Dark Souls just never did it for me. It's not the difficulty, I like hard games. I just didn't find the combat fun. This looks like it fixes some of the issues I had with past souls-like games, but still unsure. Will definitely give it a try in the future.
Man I really want to play this but I’m so bad at soul games that it just makes me hate it. It’s not the games fault though haha. So I end up just watching a streamer beat it. But I feel like I totally miss the experience
Go into it KNOWING you’re gonna get your ass handed to you. Force yourself to pay attention and become a better souls player, guarantee you’ll come out at the end more satisfied man 👌🏽
@@suddenimpulse030 Nothing to fix about their masterful game design, theyve been killing it ever since Demons Souls for a reason. Nobody will ever feel sorry for butthurt stuck up complainers like u, so either have some patience and go trough the learning process like everybody else or admit defeat and go back to playing another empty, uninspired and hand holding tripple A title.
@@Wind_Falcon Indeed. I forgot it was actually the first fromsoftware game I played, so my memory right now was based off Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Demon Souls the recent ones I played lol
Been watching you all for a lot of years and I was waiting to see what you said. BUT if Easy Allies says buy… I buy. Thank you for all the work for us gamers!
I think this will be my first FromSoftware game I have always being scared by the high difficulty and lack of story but because of the open world and lore I will give this one a chance.
not played yet but ı think this worst souls game to start bcouse of open world you can encounter much higher level cap enemyies. this game like dark souls 1 first skeleton area on level 1 for many starters ı guess. key of all souls game execpt bloodborne again not palyed instead of dodge esacpe to atack like mad dog you have to use shield. there is many shields on souls games but not all of them work like normal shield. you need to search 100 percent attack stoping shiled on stats and in first areas of many games atleast 1 or 2 can find. this the key for amateur gamer. and of course bcouse of shield use make your stammina drop on atack you need to good one handed weapon on start. like long sword to not drain your stammia hard but damage to enemy good and updgradable on leven 10 etc.
Old question I know but yes. I never got into any of the other souls games and LOVE elden ring. Also if you are on PC you should check out the seamless co-op mod. I started playing it with my cousin a few days ago and it is SO much fun. And it's amazing how perfectly it works.
Easy allies are my most trusted reviewers, and it's not even close. You guys are so consistent with your reviews, and do a fantastic job. When I want to make sure a game is good before jumping in, this is where I come.
Agree but what about SkillUp? He is a gamer’s gamer, if that makes sense
disagree.. easy allies super cringy can never make it thru half a review
@@jamesc178 why
Same
Agree with this
Really surprised to see that Elden Ring seemed to not only live up to the hype, but exceed it with flying colors. Definitely a Day 1 buy for me now.
Whay hype. Therre is small hardcore fanbase but most players wont even finish it like other soul games
@@sillylittlesheepjax6009 it was the most wishlisted game on steam back in january and won e3s most anticipated award two years in a row I think... safe to say there's been a lot of hype :)
@@reed1645 just wait for the result of sales chart next month to see if its the most anticipated game of the year
@@kathrena1213 personally I don't really care that much about sales. You have a returnal profile picture and that game sold poorly but as far as I'm concerned it's easily one of the best games of 2021.
I imagine elden ring will sell great but even if it doesn't that won't affect my enjoyment one ounce.
I am not surprised at all ;). Its FromSoftware
This is my first From game - and I haven't had a feeling playing a game like this since BotW. Elden Ring is *truly* a special game.
Same this is the first fromsoft game I got into and man did I get hooked. Now having a blast playing another playthrough with my cousin using the seamless co-op mod.
Another amazing review Brad, really appreciate the effort you put into making this so thorough. EZA leads the industry in reviews quality, period!
Totally agree
he didnt write it tho, only read it
@@at0micl0bster Brad wrote it. Brandon Jones read it.
100% agree. Way better than literally any other channel. Just fantastic. The writing and delivery are SO GOOD without being a chore of a 30m review like so many
@@pawe1721 right, got the names wrong
"One of the best Open worlds ever made" From you guys, i very much respect this statement
""it constantly surprises and cements itself not only as the culmination of the Souls formula, but also as one of the best open-worlds ever made"
Well that is quite emphatic.
"one of the best open worlds ever made, still not a 10 though" lol gotta love Brad
@@Goukimane Respect for that actually. A lot of games could be described like that. There is a very very few games I'd give 10 to. I feel like the 100 score range is wide enough that that is no problem at all tho. Like, saying it's one of the best open worlds ever and giving it 95 is not at all that in conflict.
@@Goukimane very very few games actually deserve a 10. GSM reviewers inflate scores enough as it is.
@@Goukimane Easy Allies are one of the most critical reviewers I've seen. The fact it got 9.5 in the first place, a difference of .5 from a perfect score, is really telling of its quality.
It would have to be considered the best open world game I’d all time to deserve a 10
I know it's normal to wait for reviews to make your judgement - but from only seeing the trailers and preview footage this game just looks unreal. A true greatest hits of everything that From Software has become since the release of Dark Souls 1. Can't wait to sink my teeth into it.
So true. It's been a crazy confident game ever since the gameplay footage reveal last year. The network test only confirmed it'll be an all-timer.
Watching this review I felt maybe I would be spoiled. Not in this review. I felt I got a grasp of what the world is like and what to expect in some encounters. How the game works and what might feel familiar to players. All while showing off what seems to be everyone's general questions about the game. Looking forward to starting the game soon. Can't wait to jump into this world!
They try to keep coverage to early hours where possible, so there's a lot more to see and experience.
It does feel like they show a lot more than some of the things that were in trailers so for people trying to not see to many of the enemies and bosses, it is spoilery and I'd recommend just listening.
Knowing them, it's probably the beginning and there's probably so much more that they thought even showing 20 enemies was a tiny portion of what the game offers.
@@Ayoul nah dude. I played the network test and they showed for the most part what you could encounter during the test. Trust me theres some BIG surprises and they are only showing you a snippet of the game
whos spoiling what anyway? all the embargos are the same for any reviewer. And these guys were the only ones that showed that part with the NPC hugging your head, so if anything EZA “spoiled” more than any other outlet lmao
Well the story is just ruined for me, if only they would have told me a npc could hug your head thanks alot guys!worst review ever
Looks legit amazing. Brad must've been so happy to review this.
Lets go!! Brad is still the only ally left on the "no 10s" train. I wanna see the game that breaks him.
I was certain this would be it? Maybe BotW2 but Damiani may take that one?
Hipster lol
if its not this then maybe FF7 Remake part 2 or 3?
I was guessing it's be a 9.5 but even as someone who finds souls games to hard I was hoping he's give it a 10 while watching the review.
I hope it's KH4!
So excited you guys had this one ready in time for the embargo! Always the best reviews on this channel!
Mostly depends if they get a review copy or not.
I've been playing games for more than 35 years. With the Soulsborne games, FromSoftware became my favourite game developer. Now, with Elden Ring, I can say this is the best game I've ever played. I absolute love it!
Before the release I was a bit worried about how the open world would turn out, but it's executed perfectly.
Every game has at least some minor flaws and Elden Ring is no different in that regard, but they pale in comparison to what is being offered here.
Man, what an awesome game! 💜
I had the same Thomas, but I love it!!!!!
‘Never resting on its laurels ‘
YESSSSSS, that right there is my favourite thing about From Software and what they did with Elden Ring !
I’m truly happy for all the DS fans out there as this looks like it’ll a true classic for you. Not really my bag as I’ve always found the difficulty level on the From Soft titles to be a pain in the arse (Although I did complete Bloodbourne and found it incredibly enjoyable). I can see this on a lot of reviewers top game lists by the end of the year. Great review as always mate 👍
They say this is the most "accessible" from title yet, just saying, You know?
Don't stop my friend. If you beat Bloodborne, then you can beat them all. My first was Sekiro I died like 30 times each from Genichiro and Lady Butterfly. After beating the game the rest of fromsoftware games weren't bad and I beat them all.
wht are you talking about? you can just summon
@@TheWolfSharp I was obviously hearing what Brad said there in the review that this is hardest From Soft title to date?….I heard a lot of reviewers saying the same
@@TheWolfSharp nah, the network test was easier than the real thing
I'm not into Souls games but it's nice to see a game justify all the hype it's received.
What about them do you dislike? Just outta curiosity
@@Acarinn Too hard. I don't have the patience to "get gud"
@@SpikeRosered If you have a friend who likes the series you could try coop with them.
I had a friend who didn't really like the series either because of the difficulty but was interested in Bloodborne due to the aesthetic so i offered to coop with him and now it's one of his two favorite games ever and it was honestly some of the most fun i had cooping a game in ages.
He eventually ended up playing all of em because of it.
Brandon… loved your voiceovers since your Zelda Retrospective many years ago with GameTrailers!
Have to admit, it's been a while since I've been this excited to play a new game. Years actually.
Man... this just looks phenomenal. This looks like a very very strong contender for GOTY already. Crazy to get such a huge game so early in the year. Can't wait to get started.
can't wait to take a big sloppy first bite out of it tomorrow evening
It's already goty imho. What can beat it? Mayber zelda botw 2 but I dont know if it will come out in 2022. God of war 2 could also have some chance, we'll see
@@aqsw57 stop it
@@aqsw57 yea I think it depends on what releases before the cutoff date but I'd say botw 2 and gow2 would have a strong chance too.
@@RubMySweatyThighs are you ok man? We're just calmly speculating, what's the issue?
I was already overly enthusiastic about this game but after this review the hype is real!! Almost wish I didn't watch the early review because the wait just got harder lol
I can't believe this game is only a couple days away. I feel like I've been waiting on it for a decade, haha. So damn pumped!
It's rare when a game gets 100/100 or 10/10 almost across the board.. The only other game I can remember that had review scores like that was Bioshock way back in the day
skyrim was scored 10 out 10 it was on game cover even. funny thing dark souls 1 was around that time and not scored 10 out 10. probably bcouse hard fps drops and people not understand how to play this the game. ı know games scored 10 of 10 on 90s not any one heard of it. pc gamer score nocturne 1999 game 10 higher than resident evils and sleint hills 2 and its reaaly look way better even this day not many know this game bcuse not out on consoles. half lifle 2 and doom 3 portal 2 all scored 10. nintendo games many times scored 10. 100 score was pc gamer magazines thing back in day no console media socre like 100. oblivion and fallout 3 also scored 100 for may pc magazines.
this game has to have the best open world ever created in a video game. Its vastness is matched by it's complexity and density.
I remember all the hype for Sekiro, and at the time I was really worried - Surely Fromsoft had been the golden goose for too long. They couldn't keep up this level of quality... Then Sekiro was great. All the hype behind Elden Ring had me thinking the same thing "Okay but THIS time, Fromsoft can't possibly live up to the hype. This project is just too ambitious and they can't just keep topping themselves" ... Lo and behold, they freaking did it again. They just keep doing it!
Yep, the hype was spot on. Unlike Cyberpunk, this is one of the best games for sure.
So, serious question.
I've played Bloodborne and the Demons Souls Remake and enjoyed both in the past. Elden Ring looks very interesting however at this point in my life I don't have nearly as much time to game as I used to.
The one thing holding me back from playing Elden Ring is that it's not just open world, but also has that trademark From Software difficulty. That combination seems daunting and massive to be exploring a lot and constantly dying.
Don't get me wrong, I love a challenge but like I said, with limited time I don't want to feel like I'm getting nowhere each play session.
Is the game more accessible than I'm thinking? Would love some honest opinions on this!
Great review! Super hyped to play this weekend!
After the little bits of footage of people stumbling into crazy events or areas, I have no doubt that fromsoft could make the single best elder scrolls game ever made. blind folded. and I want it.
Was waiting for the review to decide whether to pre order or not (doing it mostly for the pre load) and now I am doing that as soon as I get off work.
I hope I can make enough money this week to get this game. I'm so hyped for it!
Awesome review guys! The only thing I'm surprised wasn't really addressed and would have liked to have heard some thoughts on was the story/writing and whether George R. R. Martin's involvement was noticeable or not. But by the fact that it wasn't mentioned, I'm guessing his involvement wasn't so overbearing that it felt like a massive departure from From Software's usual formula?
It's more about unprofessionalism where any background info, interesting trivias and even criticism is tossed aside to give audience the response they are expecting. Hype for the sake of hype is sadness. I don't claim the game is not good, this comment is not about the quality of the game, I'm very interested to play it.
To point out G.R.R. Martin didn't actually write any of the story. He hepled create the lore and history for the game and then handed it off to From who adapted that history to fit the design of the game. It was also Miyazaki/From who wrote the story dialogue and all the in game text.
@@CeliriaRose that's what I sort of figured from the lack of mention, thanks for the confirmation!
@@EbbFlowe I suspect you'll see more of his influence further towards the late game, as the roles and politics of each group within the story starts to have a greater effect and you have to make some hard choicea about how you'll resolve the game's core themes in the plot.
George has always been very into that kind of thing, and it's the sort of thing where his world building will have very noticeable consequences.
Game audio sounds like a speaker recorded with a microphone. Accidental bandpass filter?
One question:
Can enemies drop things like useful weapons and gear? Or do regular enemies only give xp and crafting materials?
Are bosses the only thing that will give you weapons and gear? And is all the gear SET? Meaning, can I find random generated things like in diablo?
@Don Lobo ok thanks 🙂
We are about to play one of the best games ever. I'm so hyped
I stayed so in the dark with this game it kinda just snuck up on me, I had no idea the open world was like this!!!! This looks like Breath of the Wild ++ Hero Mode lol, will be downloading for sure this week!
I never got into the previous souls games, so I didn't pay much attention to Elden Ring pre release. Then it came out and was a HUGE hit. So I decided to buy it on steam. So glad I did. Got hooked on the game. Started a second playthrough recently with my cousin using the seamless co-op mod, and god is it fun.
Can always trust you guys to do an informative but spoiler free review. Thank you
Every once in a while, I will pop in to UA-cam to watch this intro again as it is one of the best intros of all time. The voice acting is absolutely perfect, the imagery is astounding, fight me, never mind, I win. Bye 👋
Not a fan of the souls genre, but I might give this a try towards the end of the year.
Same this is the first fromsoft game I got into and man did I get hooked. Now having a blast playing another playthrough with my cousin using the seamless co-op mod.
Chadley Ellis strikes again - never in doubt! L&R
"This is one of FromSoft's toughest games so far" ok idk how to feel about that.
Darks souls isn't hard.
@@nullpha Yes it is. People that say it's not is being arrogant.
The thing is.... It is really hard if you try to tackle everything you encounter. If you are methodic and go to another area when you face a difficult enemy, you get progressively better... and not just stats-wise. I have already destroyed two bosses that gave me problems in the beginning simply by finding new tools while exploring other areas. No grind at all, just pure learning from mistakes *and* successes (what people call "git gud" nowadays).
@@SystemBD I've played it for about 5 hours and so far I'm really enjoying it, mostly just running around exploring the map. Definitely a lot of deaths but nothing too frustrating.
You can basically make it as hard or easy as you want. Want to use summons/spirits? Go ahead. Don't want to then don't. Same with co-op. And same with overall difficulty. Come to a boss or area with enemies that are kicking your butt over and over and over? You can go elsewhere and level up, improve gear etc and come back, or not and tough it out etc. And of course there are always builds/weapons etc that are just crazy powerful, but again it's up to you if you want to use those kinds of things. Just my thoughts, and why I think this was the first souls game I got into. Started a second playthrough recently with my cousin using the seamless co-op mod and god it's so much fun, and amazing how great it works. We've played a few hours and he has had one crash, no other issues.
finally a dev who creates an open world that isn't filled with bullshit map markers everywhere and boring fetch quests or collectibles, all visible from the start. exploration is so important in open worlds. let me find interesting stuff myself and don't point me in every single fucking direction (just like Ubisoft's shit games)
Agreed. That's the number one reason I think this is the first souls game I got into. Tried the others but just weren't for me. But I had so much fun with ER. I got hooked. Every time I played I would start having a goal in mind and always spend hours just exploring. Started a second playthrough recently with my cousin using the seamless co-op mod and man that mod is SO much fun.
A final score of 9.5 and a score of 10 when (god forbid) easy allies ends.
How does the PS4 version play?
Love how you added the Bosom Babe™️ that was mentioned in your preview video haha
Takes me back to the gt days...
Good review.
Happy to hear they kept the difficulty
What'd they say?
Yep one more souls game I'll never get to enjoy.
@@suddenimpulse030 I mean you can. The games aren't insurmountably hard, I myself am generally middle of the road at best at action games to the point where I was convinced for a long time that hard games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne were out of my league. Despite that I still managed to beat Bloodborne. It took some effort and I got my ass kicked a lot along the way but I still did it. Meanwhile Elden Ring while maintaining the challenge has far more flexibility to it. Improved stealth mechanics to help even the odds, open areas allowing more freedom in how you approach fights, the ability to freely leave and come back later when you are stronger if you are stuck on something rather than it fully gating forward progress. It won't go easy on you but it's also giving a lot of freedom to help people enjoy and eventually overcome the difficulty.
@@suddenimpulse030 there are many ways to make this game easy for you. I promise ya
You can make it as easy or as hard as you want. Depending on what weapons, items (summons etc), build etc etc you use. Or by just taking your time and exploring all over. You can leave a area or boss if you want and go elsewhere, get stronger and comeback etc. And on PC there is the seamless co-op mod, which is SO much fun. Started playing it with my cousin a few days ago. And amazing how perfectly it works.
Sounds like what a true AAA open world should be.
Amazing review as always but would've liked to hear about the performance on weaker hardware, since the specs have been a bit of a concern leading up to release. Just hope i can run it smooth.
Review framerate looked odd at times. What kind of specs does Brad have on his pc? I'm a bit worried about this being wobbly with performance.
Next time Brad appears on the EZA podcast/Frametrap I now expect the host to introduce him as "Elden Lord Brad"
Oh boy…I was gonna hold off on this until next month, but I don’t think I can.
Thanks for addressing the skepticism when you started started the video.
If it's really more than just Souls + Open World, I'm interested.
Where do you find the Knight Armor at 2:06? Can you get it fairly early in the game?
A vendor at the hub sells the full set.
Amazing review Brad! Sorry Isla I won't be able to appreciate your editing until I've played the game myself.
Glad it looks like it’s going to live up to the hype. Happy for all From fans out there
I haven't been keeping up with this game at all. Only knew the name and some screen shots. I kept thinking it was going to be a game similar to something like Dragon Age or Kingdoms of Amalur, but now I see it's Dark Souls. I know people absolutely LOVE that series, but I can easily wait on this game.
5:22 Hugs confirmed. GOTY.
Great review! No mention of BOTW and Skyrim on the review just focusing on what the game delivers. Unlike IGN :/. Never really got into a souls game and will have to give this a try!
This is the massive, difficult, dark fantasy rpg we all dreamed of 20 years ago.
ı palyed game like this 20 years ago. called rocket knight sparkster 2. it was harder than caslevania and you need to carefull all time. even many level and boses only available on hard diffcutly so you have to play hard game on even nomrla mode to hard diffuclty.
Honestly I'd say this is the easiest souls game to get into. You can make the game as easy or as hard for yourself as you want.
Everyone is giving elden ring 10/10 I had to make sure what the dudes from gametrailers had to say about it
So basically its a mishmash of all the well-received mechanics used in the older games all put together to make one giant masterpiece, with modern open world mechanics?
.............Bruh.
...and by modern open world mechanics they mean boring open worlds.
Could you do me a huge favor and tell me where to get the armor at 1:56? I love and need it!
The animations of those large creatures are amazing.
As soon as i heard "Culmination" I envisioned Brad summing Huber in game lol
Howdy Allies. Nice Review Brad. Quick question, can you respec your character stats like strength, vitality, etc. and how accessible is it to respec? This is just me but I didn't have good experiences on previous souls games going in blind without a build. Having access to stat respec should be a must quality of life option more rpg games should have.
You can - it is done via an NPC at the hub location, and requires the use of consumable rare item each time.
So you can't do it repeatedly, probably to avoid abuse (changing build to an optimal one for each boss for example), but it's nowhere near as obscure or pricey (in whatever useful consumable, be that souls, runes, or other items) as in previous Souls games.
takenin it back to the gametrailers days
Another well written review by Brad.
Hyped for this on Friday
In any other year this is a clear GotY. But we’re getting GoW Ragnarok and BotW2 this year. We’re so spoiled. Lol
The only question is will Nintendo bias win out. I don't think GoW has a popsicle's chance in Hell.
@@Wind_Falcon what nintendo bias? They won goty in 2017 and that's it. If they win again it'll be on merit not bias.
@@reed1645 I meant bias towards awarding Nintendo games at the expense of other developers where they oftentimes deserve it more.
I think its telling how FROM got a GotY for Sekiro, which is on the bottom of the list of their best games imo (managing to beat out only DSII). It seems these awards are given based on some sort of perceived dev popularity rather than the tiles in question quality.
Idk. EA gave GoW a 10/10 and GotY in 2018. I’d bet it has a way better chance then you’re giving it.
@@Blackbear22 That's what I mean. GoW is an aggressively mediocre game. But there is hype (and millions of marketing money) for Sony.
Nice review! Hoping the PC version has the stuttering fixed at launch! Also looking forward to Raytracing!
Is it me or did the game recording sounded muffled at a lot of the points of the review? Still nice review!
Wait.., 50hrs to the end. I’m 75 hours in and haven’t even made it halfway in the story. But I’m being extremely thorough.
Pre-ordered and ready to go! Let’s get it boys and girls!
I hadn't had a day-1 buy in more than a decade, but this game changed that. So far I'm really enjoying it but kinda disappointed about the stuttering,but hopefully, it will get patched soon.
This game just looks perfect. My only gripe is that ashes of war are tied to weapon scaling, but i'm sure I''ll get over it.
That's optional actually. You can choose to use the skill, the scaling, or both.
3:07 dammit Miyazaki can't help but make a poison swamp.
I can't wait to be back in the lands between! Thanks for a great review Brad and for the awesome cuts Isla
Being in the minority I was super mixed with DS3 and Sekiro. What excites me most about Elden Ring is that world and it sounds like it's something to behold which has me excited.
Same. While DSII is without a doubt one of the biggest disappointments in gaming ever for me, DSIII and Sekiro while good were also minor disappointments in their own way. I doubt FROM can make another game on KFIV, DeS and DaS' level (I mean 3 masterpieces is plenty already), but I hope this is at least BB levels of quality.
@@Wind_Falcon I would say BB is probably top 3 out of all games from From Software, So "at least BB levels of quality" is a fucking high standard lol
@@MasDouc I give you props for living up to your username lol
Sekiro is my least favorite because there are multiple genuine roadblocks in the game that were too frustrating to overcome. Seems like this has even harder fights, but because of the open world and customization, you can overcome through other means rather than just throwing yourself at a wall over and over.
Hey Easyalliies !! Why no segment on the story ( without spoiler ) ?????
Question : like the soul games, can you turn off the gore and blood?
my question is there horse on game like normal horse for player.
Does this have a story which can be followed?
It's about impossible to stay focused. I had this since launch and my main. Character is just getting to radhan. Yes just getting to caelid lol..... He did leaveiut you can feed torrent to keep his health. But I get the point here. This is a great review
Yeah that was my thing when I first played. I constantly got distracted wanting to explore dif areas. Was a blast. Playing again recently with my cousin using the seamless co-op mod and good lord it's a blast. And amazing how perfectly it works.
@@sean8102 I play offline, bad Internet I bet it's fun co op, I wouldn't want the invaders tho lol. But I had this since launch and currently going through it again now and n ready for the he dlc in June. Are you getting it?
Been watching since the gametrailer days, keep up the good work boys!
What I hearing so far this already Game of the Year contender so yea be excited
Never had a doubt. Your endorsement is just the cherry on top.
It looks like shields are viable again. Can anyone who has played confirm or deny? One of my biggest grievances with the Souls sequels is their dedication to shitting on shields, and catering to players who would rather rely on i-frames than get good.
Shields are definitely viable. Rolling to dodge is still the meta but I’ve been using the shield a lot. But I used the shield a lot in all the Dark Souls games without much issue so I’m not sure where the shitting on shields take comes from.
Do any reviews talk about the base ps4 version?
resero youtube channel do both base xbox and playstation. it works ok. the biggest drop is grass quality anf 30 fps other than that same game. grass draw distance like 0.5 something. its good choice for base console instead of drop texture quality low.
Would you recommend this to gamer like me who can barely hold his own on god of war ps4 (normal difficulty)?
Will definitely get this on a sale. Enjoying Forbidden West right now. Was considering getting this, but the gameplay style of Dark Souls just never did it for me. It's not the difficulty, I like hard games. I just didn't find the combat fun. This looks like it fixes some of the issues I had with past souls-like games, but still unsure. Will definitely give it a try in the future.
I'm disappointed to see the shield. Bloodborne was the only From game I could get behind.
I don't have a PlayStation 5 does it play well on the PlayStation 4?
Man I really want to play this but I’m so bad at soul games that it just makes me hate it. It’s not the games fault though haha. So I end up just watching a streamer beat it. But I feel like I totally miss the experience
@GG305 summons and magic builds lol there is no shame in cheesing souls games 😂😂
@GG305
I don’t necessarily think that summons equates to “easy mode”. The struggles people had with Fume comes to mind.
Go into it KNOWING you’re gonna get your ass handed to you. Force yourself to pay attention and become a better souls player, guarantee you’ll come out at the end more satisfied man 👌🏽
@@chrisguzman9724 or they should fix their game design and stop blaming tons of experienced gamers.
@@suddenimpulse030 Nothing to fix about their masterful game design, theyve been killing it ever since Demons Souls for a reason. Nobody will ever feel sorry for butthurt stuck up complainers like u, so either have some patience and go trough the learning process like everybody else or admit defeat and go back to playing another empty, uninspired and hand holding tripple A title.
I’m 2hrs out before mine unlocks on PS5….my body is ready!
How's the difficulty?
I'm about as hyped as I've ever been for a game.
I'm soo happy they add a proper jump mechanic lol
They did back in Sekiro. Not new.
@@Wind_Falcon Indeed. I forgot it was actually the first fromsoftware game I played, so my memory right now was based off Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Demon Souls the recent ones I played lol
Been watching you all for a lot of years and I was waiting to see what you said. BUT if Easy Allies says buy… I buy.
Thank you for all the work for us gamers!
it's crazy that this review is on the low end haha.
I think this will be my first FromSoftware game I have always being scared by the high difficulty and lack of story but because of the open world and lore I will give this one a chance.
not played yet but ı think this worst souls game to start bcouse of open world you can encounter much higher level cap enemyies. this game like dark souls 1 first skeleton area on level 1 for many starters ı guess. key of all souls game execpt bloodborne again not palyed instead of dodge esacpe to atack like mad dog you have to use shield. there is many shields on souls games but not all of them work like normal shield. you need to search 100 percent attack stoping shiled on stats and in first areas of many games atleast 1 or 2 can find. this the key for amateur gamer. and of course bcouse of shield use make your stammina drop on atack you need to good one handed weapon on start. like long sword to not drain your stammia hard but damage to enemy good and updgradable on leven 10 etc.
Been holding off on watching reviews till I finish the game but I can't resist!
Never played a dark souls or that type of genre before. Is it a good time to jump in and would I enjoy it?
Old question I know but yes. I never got into any of the other souls games and LOVE elden ring. Also if you are on PC you should check out the seamless co-op mod. I started playing it with my cousin a few days ago and it is SO much fun. And it's amazing how perfectly it works.
This is game is definitely From Software's best work yet and that's saying A LOT.
What did you review this on? Fighting cowboy reviewed and the PC version has a memory leak as well as massive frame drops even on a 3080
From what I understand there will be a day 1 patch to address this, and all reviewed version till now aren't with that patch obviously.
Oh wow, you actually had some criticisms towards the game. I thought that was illegal.