The first portion of this review will be for the PS5 version, since currently the PC version is not running well. I personally recommend Elden Ring, but only for those who are already used to the combat of the Souls series. I see it being incredibly frustrating for someone new to the series hopping in and trying to figure out which areas they should (and shouldn't) be in. Since Elden Ring doesn't hold you hand like most open world games (or even From games in general with how linear they were previously), you're free to explore as you wish. While there are many benefits to this, one thing that could potentially happen is you'll find yourself in an area you *think* you'll do fine in, but it turns out that your character needs to be 10 or 20 levels higher than he/she should currently be. And it's like that throughout most of the game.

While I haven't gotten too far into the game as of yet though, enemy bosses are not like a conventional souls game either. Some bosses that would seem like a "starting boss" are actually mid-game bosses that should be dealt with later on, rather than focusing on them and dying repeatedly over and over again. I have no problem with this though and I feel most Souls veterans wouldn't either.

But I've said enough about the negatives regarding this game, what about the positives? To start off with, as always, the soundtrack in this game is amazing. But that comes to no surprise, every From Software game since Demon's Souls has had amazing soundtracks, and this one is no different. The gameplay for the most part feels extremely snappy and easy to understand. Combat has been a bit streamlined for this title due to just better controls in general. No more having to press buttons at the exact same time to do a jump attack for example, which is always welcome (by the way the jump attacks are the most useful attacks in the game, use them).

The overall world is beautiful. Think of it as having the detail of a Dark Souls 3 environment, and having that spread across several kilometers. It's vast, and it's beautiful. The dungeons are also another thing I need to talk about. While I haven't finished a single dungeon yet on PS5, it's truly amazing how unique each one of them are. And there are LOTS, even in the starting area. It elevates exploration to a whole new level for me and really should set the standard for how open world games are done.

Now on to the PC review.

Unfortunately the performance is not great on PC. I tested on two PCs, both with a Ryzen 9 5900, with one using a 3080 and another using a 6900XT. Both were below 50FPS with major stuttering during combat encounters.

I typically wouldn't mind stuttering in games, but this game requires precise timing to come out of a combat encounter alive. So with this in mind, Elden Ring is unplayable in its current state. I've refunded the game and got it on console instead, since that is a much smoother experience apparently, and I recommend the same for those who own a next generation system.

I will update this review when performance is fixed/have played more.

The first portion of this review will be for the PS5 version, since currently the PC version is not running well. I personally recommend Elden Ring, but only for those who are already used to the combat of the Souls series. I see it being incredibly frustrating for someone new to the series hopping in and trying to figure out which areas they should (and shouldn't) be in. Since Elden Ring doesn't hold you hand like most open world games (or even From games in general with how linear they were previously), you're free to explore as you wish. While there are many benefits to this, one thing that could potentially happen is you'll find yourself in an area you *think* you'll do fine in, but it turns out that your character needs to be 10 or 20 levels higher than he/she should currently be. And it's like that throughout most of the game. While I haven't gotten too far into the game as of yet though, enemy bosses are not like a conventional souls game either. Some bosses that would seem like a "starting boss" are actually mid-game bosses that should be dealt with later on, rather than focusing on them and dying repeatedly over and over again. I have no problem with this though and I feel most Souls veterans wouldn't either. But I've said enough about the negatives regarding this game, what about the positives? To start off with, as always, the soundtrack in this game is amazing. But that comes to no surprise, every From Software game since Demon's Souls has had amazing soundtracks, and this one is no different. The gameplay for the most part feels extremely snappy and easy to understand. Combat has been a bit streamlined for this title due to just better controls in general. No more having to press buttons at the exact same time to do a jump attack for example, which is always welcome (by the way the jump attacks are the most useful attacks in the game, use them). The overall world is beautiful. Think of it as having the detail of a Dark Souls 3 environment, and having that spread across several kilometers. It's vast, and it's beautiful. The dungeons are also another thing I need to talk about. While I haven't finished a single dungeon yet on PS5, it's truly amazing how unique each one of them are. And there are LOTS, even in the starting area. It elevates exploration to a whole new level for me and really should set the standard for how open world games are done. Now on to the PC review. Unfortunately the performance is not great on PC. I tested on two PCs, both with a Ryzen 9 5900, with one using a 3080 and another using a 6900XT. Both were below 50FPS with major stuttering during combat encounters. I typically wouldn't mind stuttering in games, but this game requires precise timing to come out of a combat encounter alive. So with this in mind, Elden Ring is unplayable in its current state. I've refunded the game and got it on console instead, since that is a much smoother experience apparently, and I recommend the same for those who own a next generation system. I will update this review when performance is fixed/have played more.