The Video Game Thread

Some of the early reviews for Elden Ring are coming in, as usual the modus operandi is to take these with a grain of salt.
Game Informer 10
PCGamesN 10
Fextralife 10
IGN 10
Gamespot 10
The Guardian 5/5
Kinda Funny 5/5
VG247 5/5
Easy Allies 9.5
Press Start 9.5
RPG Site 9
PC Gamer 9
Metacritic has it at 97/100
Elden Ring for PlayStation 5 Reviews - Metacritic

JohnnyTheFox said:

Some of the early reviews for Elden Ring are coming in, as usual the modus operandi is to take these with a grain of salt.
Game Informer 10
PCGamesN 10
Fextralife 10
IGN 10
Gamespot 10
The Guardian 5/5
Kinda Funny 5/5
VG247 5/5
Easy Allies 9.5
Press Start 9.5
RPG Site 9
PC Gamer 9
Metacritic has it at 97/100
Elden Ring for PlayStation 5 Reviews - Metacritic

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I still think most if not all of those reviews were based on the playtest version which was supposedly different in many ways (easier, more loot drops, etc.) from the launch version that most gamers will play when released.

It should be a good game but I will not be surprised to see its scores drop once the launch version is released and people play it nor will I be surprised to hear people say the playtest version was different.

For example, there are several "60 hours review of Elden Ring" and "100 hours review of Elden Ring" released in the last few hours on Youtube that were all done using the playtest version.

Hopefully the launch version will not be much different than it.

Reality said:

I still think most if not all of those reviews were based on the playtest version which was supposedly different in many ways (easier, more loot drops, etc.) from the launch version that most gamers will play when released.

It should be a good game but I will not be surprised to see its scores drop once the launch version is released and people play it nor will I be surprised to hear people say the playtest version was different.

For example, there are several "60 hours review of Elden Ring" and "100 hours review of Elden Ring" released in the last few hours on Youtube that were all done using the playtest version.

Hopefully the launch version will not be much different than it.

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Supposed to be{?} a day one patch that addresses some performance issues on the PC, my specs are on par with the recommended specs but am playing at 4K so this is somewhat a concern of mine. Green Man Gaming is currently offering a 10$ discount for preordering which i more than likely will purchase after i post this.

Reality said:

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Having put some serious time into Horizon Forbidden West, its more than lived up to the hype. May have even surpassed it. Could be the title developers chase for the next 4 years like Skyrim, Witcher 3 and Red Dead 2.

What a time to game. Horizon is a masterpiece and Elden Ring, according to Metacritic, is the highest rated game of all time. Wow...im geeking out for sure.

The Ominous said:

What a time to game. Horizon is a masterpiece and Elden Ring, according to Metacritic, is the highest rated game of all time. Wow...im geeking out for sure.

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Not sure we have had such strong RPG releases since the 90s in such a short time frame. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, and Earthbound were all released within a year of each other.

This year we could possibly get all three Horizon Zero Dawn, Elden Ring, and Starfield

mattjames2010 said:

Not sure we have had such strong RPG releases since the 90s in such a short time frame. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, and Earthbound were all released within a year of each other.

This year we could possibly get all three Horizon Zero Dawn, Elden Ring, and Starfield

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Almost forgot about Starfield, maybe add another contender to Game of the Year.

I’m ready for some elden ring. Have stuff to do early Friday but may stay up late regardless.

The Ominous said:

Elden Ring, according to Metacritic, is the highest rated game of all time. Wow...im geeking out for sure.

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Reviews and scores on a playtest version of a game mean absolutely nothing. Wait until more people start playing and see if it actually earns the "highest rated game of all time".

A lot of people will be playing this on different hardware for example and they have to get the launch to go smoothly. There are a lot of things that can affect game ratings during the first week of launch.

It looks like a really good game and I have watched a lot of playtest videos but I also seem to remember comments that some things would change between playtest and release such as drop rates on some things, so it will be interesting to see if the high ratings persist through the first week or two after launch.

Reality said:

Reviews and scores on a playtest version of a game mean absolutely nothing. Wait until more people start playing and see if it actually earns the "highest rated game of all time".

A lot of people will be playing this on different hardware for example and they have to get the launch to go smoothly. There are a lot of things that can affect game ratings during the first week of launch.

It looks like a really good game and I have watched a lot of playtest videos but I also seem to remember comments that some things would change between playtest and release such as drop rates on some things, so it will be interesting to see if the high ratings persist through the first week or two after launch.

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The version the reviewers are playing now already has the patch that rebalanced things. The day 1 patch for consumers will have the memory leak/shadercache fix. Bandai Namco informed reviewers that the stuttering and freezing happening on PC has already been patched up.

The one side that really hasn't been reviewed yet is PVP. That's normally where souls games faulter the most, it can be a real crap show due to balancing.

mattjames2010 said:

The version the reviewers are playing now already has the patch that rebalanced things.

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The reason I am not giving much weight to those reviews is they all published them at the same time likely due to a review embargo placed on them by the publisher (which is common).

The problem is that means they wrote those reviews long before the last 24 hours which means they may be playing a version now that is close to the release version, but they likely based most (or all) of their reviews on the playtest version.

Again, I am not saying anything bad against the game and I will likely buy it as well at some point, but "highest rated ever" games based on reviews of pre-launch versions is very premature.

Lost Ark had very high reviews as well when it launched for the 3-day Founder's Pack head start, but its ratings dropped some after it fully released. It is still a good game but queues are still a huge problem in Europe even with the new servers added and there is a growing segment complaining about pay-to-win in the end game. It still has "Mostly Positive" status on Steam though and it is a good game, just not as great as it was being promoted for the 3-day head start.

From everything I have seen, Elden Ring looks like it will be a GOTY candidate, but it is still too early to hand out awards or ratings until more people get a chance to play the released/patched version across the various gaming platforms.

The Ominous said:

What a time to game. Horizon is a masterpiece and Elden Ring, according to Metacritic, is the highest rated game of all time. Wow...im geeking out for sure.

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mattjames2010 said:

Not sure we have had such strong RPG releases since the 90s in such a short time frame. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, and Earthbound were all released within a year of each other.

This year we could possibly get all three Horizon Zero Dawn, Elden Ring, and Starfield

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This is going to be one of the more contested GOTY awards in a very long time. Halo Infinite is already an afterthought and its only February.

There still may even be Breath of the Wild 2 this year too.

However I dont know if Starfield qualifies for the 2022 GOTY being released in Nov. I think given Bethesda's history of buggy launchs, and the bad taste in people's mouths from Cyberpunk, Starfield could have a hard beating out HFW.

It’s easier than ever to tell if a game is going to be good before it comes out. YouTube gameplay and streamers with early access deal mean there is more gameplay than ever to watch. Even more than reviews, the best way to determine if a game is good or at least worth your interest is to watch a streamer play it on real time.

If a game is hiding itself as launch approaches, that is a huge red flag. The two most recent examples for me were Cyberpunk and Battlefield 2042. They just kept getting hyped and hyped, and I was asking myself where the gameplay was. Especially Battlefield. It was supposed to launch in about three weeks and I realized they had shown nothing on that Hazard Zone mode. Zero.

Elden Ring has not been hiding. For those not neurotic about spoilers, gameplay previews and even hands on time with network tests have been readily available. It passes every smell and eye test, and now reviews are reflecting the same thing.

I am completely convinced we are living through a moment in gaming history that will be looked back on as one of the greatest titles of the past, present, or future. FromSoft has completely innovated within their genre, and I predict open world games will be trying emulate this style for the next decade as opposed to copy and paste trash style of Ubisoft open world games.

Lutonio said:

Elden Ring has not been hiding. For those not neurotic about spoilers, gameplay previews and even hands on time with network tests have been readily available. It passes every smell and eye test, and now reviews are reflecting the same thing.

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As I have posted several times on this, most of those videos were of the playtest version, not the launch version, and the reviews were written well before yesterday as they were likely waiting for the review embargo to drop since most of them published around the same time.

As I have also said, I am not bashing the game. I have watched a lot of those videos and it seems like a really good game I will likely buy at some point, but do not assume just because it looked good in pre-release playtest game play videos that it will not change (doubtful) or have any launch issues (possible).

Hopefully it will launch as good or better than those videos, but at this moment, all we really know about it is that the playtest looked good and the reviews of the playtest (which they all are at this point) were really good as well.

I've never heard of Starfield.

Help me here gamers - I played Bloodborne and it was hard as heck. I ended up giving up because I would constantly die and got so frustrated with it.
Should I expect the same with Elden Ring?

Be careful with Elden Ring if you're playing the game on PC. There is a freezing issue after about an hour and a half in. I'm watching a guy on YouTube where this has happened.

numnuts23 said:

Help me here gamers - I played Bloodborne and it was hard as heck. I ended up giving up because I would constantly die and got so frustrated with it.
Should I expect the same with Elden Ring?

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Some reviews say it is the easiest and more accessible of the Fromsoftware titles, others say it is absolutely brutal and the hardest. Being experienced with these games, I'd expect it to be very difficult and frustrating. Miyazaki (the mad genius behind all of this) is relentless with making you earn it and "git gud" haha.

I smashed my PS4 controller playing Sekiro but I keep coming back to these games. I'm a glutton for punishment lol.

numnuts23 said:

Help me here gamers - I played Bloodborne and it was hard as heck. I ended up giving up because I would constantly die and got so frustrated with it.
Should I expect the same with Elden Ring?

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It just takes practice. Understanding builds and how upgrades/infusions work will take you a long way. Also Bloodborne is a far more offensive and aggressive game due to the rallying mechanic.

Souls games, for the most part, are slower. Elden Ring is following Dark Souls 3.