From Software 'n such

[Austin]

Got the game today, and since I have work to do I haven't had much time, but I played for about an hour, and at least to me it runs completely fine on PS4.

The framerate isn't stable, and I'm sure it doesn't look as cool as it would on PS5. But if you're fine with how Bloodborne, DS3, and Sekiro performed on PS4, this game doesn't do anything different. At least not from what I've seen so far.

Framerate not stable on PS5 in performance mode. the dips are really noticable. lot of ppl downloading the ps4 version, which runs at 60fps on ps5. hopefully they'll sort this out soon.

Framerate issues seem to be in play on the PC version too. I've got a pretty beefy system, and while 98% of the time it's solid, when it dips, it dips hard, like going from 60 to what feels like single digits. It doesn't make a lot of sense.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Inject it into my veins

[BIL]

punishing

so huge

no pausing

[guigui]

I like that tremendously positive review too.

[Stevens]

Downloading for Steam as I type this.

This is the first From title I am playing upon release, although when I bought Sekiro six months after it came out I knew almost nothing.

Really looking forward to this.

[CricketyJimit]

Played for a couple hours earlier (after probably an hour in the character creator), it's really really nice

I wasn't all that hyped looking at the trailer, only because it seemed too much like more of the same, but when you're actually playing the atmosphere is quite different - some of the music and the colourful, bright open areas are actually reminding me of Oblivion. Usually in Souls you feel somewhat trapped in these relatively claustrophic spaces until you're eventually rewarded when you finally get through to a new area, I was skeptical about how that style of gameplay would translate to being in an open world but it seems to work really well!

It doesn't feel too watered down either, the feeling of being in a sort of theme park where there's always something you spot on the horizon is still there

[BIL]

Chaps, THIS HOW I ROLL when I'm CRUISIN YHARNY 4 THA FUCC (■｀w´■)



Blimey that was refreshing. I wonder if Marv's in to take confession.

MAH LEEEEEEG OwO



Back to the ol' bonesaw n' shoota, 600hrs n' counting. Just too mahfuckin comfy tbh :O I'm a one-ship/car/character sort.

Just missing the final member of the trinity, me ol' KOKUJUUKEN aka BLACK BEAST FIST aka PARL FIST aka Best RAWR aka Beast Roar. Starting again from scratch, it's blindingly apparent how powerful that thing is. No player-sized enemy can withstand it, not even Crowy-kun (though he will still put one in your chest and another in your fuckin dome if you're not careful on approach ). If you're fighting somewhere high up, it's an instant kill button. Maybe a bit too powerful, but you can die so fuckin suddenly in this game, who cares. High yield/high risk baby.

Funny how there's just the one NPC Hunter who uses it, albeit nowhere to its full potential. You need some fries with them stairs homie?

Djura is an assclown. :[ Wish he'd put some guardrails on his sniper nest, god damn. Is there a trophy for actually killing the fucker? C'mon bro, how you gon leave me with my dick in my hand 3;



Haha. Speaking of no pausing, remembered to strap up me Beastpill and FIYA PAYPAH this time around, but *womp womp* forgot to Quick Menu the antidote. So Marv gave me a face fulla hot AIDS, the dirty get. :[ Also forgot to wear me Gazzer Gear, sheeeeit.

It's SO AMAZIN seeing all this stuff again for the first time. :O Previous first loop, Marv gave me AND Alfy the bug, and I had to bumble though my inventory like a jackass for the good stuff.

I'm getting a lot more mileage out of quickstep to back -> folded saw charge shot, this time around. Tres intuitive when you know the basic movesets. Real Panic Caught On Tape: thought I'd accidentally broke lock, or some shit, while Marv was winding up his Marv Lariat, was goin' "NAWW MARV PLS, DUN WHIP MEH BOI" but then he asplode, oh so that's why no lock, ty Marv ;3

Me helpin Marv work out after I whoop he ass (■｀w´■) See you in Loran good buddy (｀w´メ)

Spoiler

[Blinge]

It takes me so long to figure out what the hell you're talking about sometimes
starvin' marvin CMON

all your posts remind me of my quest to beat all teh loops of BB... and DS2 and DS3 and Sek.
a quest I keep forgetting about

[Stevens]

And surprising no one Stevens has put in almost nine hours so far.

Some short obvious non spoiler thoughts:

- First few hours were slow. Felt a bit under powered until I found some better gear. I picked the equivalent starting class of waste of skin, so I think that had to do with it.

- It seems you can ultimately tailor the combat to your liking via items and different weapons. This is massively welcome.

- You'll recognize tons of stuff

- The world is fucking huge. Like enormous. Was playing last night and felt that it's a bit like Skyrim, except the combat doesn't suck.

- Explore everything. The map (that I found) is also extremely welcome.

- And in importing Yharnam

Spoiler

The chalice dungeons are alive and well in the Lands Between. Here they're called catacombs and are quite small - three or four rooms - before a boss. I've gone through three of these so far.

Bonfires are admittedly generous for a From title, but I understand why. I was playing late last night and something happened in a place I had already been but it was like an aha moment. I think I am in for a brilliant time.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Loving it. And yeah it's playable on base PS4 but obviously there are some issues.

[BIL]

It takes me so long to figure out what the hell you're talking about sometimes
starvin' marvin CMON

Marvin, Teh Starvin, First of His Name （＾w´ ） (and cousin to HUNGREH HARV, currently serving as an excellent bait for the Big Church Raffle Bonfire Disaster of 188X 3;)

all your posts remind me of my quest to beat all teh loops of BB... and DS2 and DS3 and Sek.
a quest I keep forgetting about

I suspect (from revisitor standpoint) BB's first loop is actually the toughest. It's made me realise how much I was relying on stuff carried into NG+ (BeastRAWR to dominate duels, Blood Reverie for aggressively head-clashing CHEESEH parries, nice gems to leave dat beastly boipucci SMOKIN OwO, gamechanging DLC kit like Bowblade & Loch Shield, etc). Plus ofc, the Chalices are at their most dangerous.

(also, you'll probably have a nice fatteh-fat-fat stockpile of vials and bullets - been a long, long time since I ran out of either. I'd forgotten how JUICEH Hemwick Woods aka VIETYHAM is for quicksilver! so many snipers, and so much cover)

BACK II THA 1969 (◎w◎;)


I think Loop 2 might be the game's peak. You'll have the full set of weapons, outfits and equipment, and enough bloodstones to +10 a couple weapons of choice. IIRC the enemy stat buff is the steepest of any loop, and the Chalices are still lethal, so there's no sense of a free ride. Not that higher loops get easy - they seemed to stabilise, with Kozmo and Larry posing mortal threats to the end - but you definitely start smashing up enemies in ways you can't at L1/L2. I think I'll copy a NG+ (Loop 2) save to USB for future use.

Had a wonderful time today getting reacquainted with Sacky-kuns. What a killer enemy design, eccentric and imposing. That high snapkick to the head is a pleasure to die to, hits like a laser-guided bomb. I'm experienced enough to attack them directly now, rather than waiting for their high right palmstrike. I can't believe I never noticed how massively vulnerable their RAEG MOED powerup is to a chain backstabbing/V-ATKing! (I was reminded of the secret technique you mentioned but very considerately spoilered, back when I first picked up BB last summer) If you time it right, they'll get suckered out of the powerup itself. Some rad shit taking on the pair guarding mah Yargheh boi DEFECTOR ANTAL's cell, making tactical use of that handy table.

Imma bend you over, make you humble!

Still rovin my homie PUNISHED PARL: A Cat Deprived Of His Hair （＾w´ ） Champion cheeky twat, possibly MUH FAVE :O They way he scampers about angling for sneaky claws is uncannily convincing.



Oh feck off, you! (O｀W´O)



I needed a couple and some deaths to reacquire my bugzapper slip, burnt black to the bone by my formerly furry friend (˘w˘) Killer tactical audio design, as always with BB - the furious electrical buildup has a subtle coil whine that cuts off at the last instant, letting you know when you're too early (as I was with the one I ate there). A game worthy of the most bussin audio hardware. I notice a lot of people seem to miss Mergo's snoring, one of my favourite minor details in this tale of cataclysmically indifferent cosmic woe. 3;

(another, all the Drowned Victims in Central Yharny carrying Blood Vials. Some sad shit, city fulla junkies )

I had no idea even after all this time that the Trick Cleaver has a friggin double charge shot, ala the Church Pick. WTF! I wonder how many others I've missed. Drop em like a sack o shite me laddie



God damn, the centrifuge! The footwork, and weight transfer! Bitches don't know bout mah WIZARD FORCE. This game's animation is simply virtuosic. Utility and ornament in abundance. Whether they meant it to be or not, this is one of the most ninja-as-fuck Hard 3D Actions ever.

Imma learn 2 code to make my ultimate DEFECTOR'S CUT (ANTAL'S SELECTION) on PC one a these far-flung days tho

[evil_ash_xero]

I've been playing the PS4 Pro version on the PS5 to avoid frame rate drops. I do miss the bells and whistles, though. Maybe when they sort out the PC version, or when the PS6 drops.

The game is ENORMOUS. I will say, where everything is so big, the first legacy dungeon didn't have the tight/claustrophobic vibe of older titles. I'll see how that goes, as the game progresses. This is going to take forever to beat.
When Sekiro dropped, I was sad that it was so short, and felt that it was because they were all working on this game. I think that was definitely the case.

I was able to snag an uchigatana, and have been upgrading it. I've been ripping enemies to shreds with it. That being said, I'm still in Limgrave.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Is Endurance broken for anyone else? It's supposed to increase equip load but it isn't for me..

[Stevens]

I've only put a point or two in it but it works here. I'm on Steam.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Patching seems to have resolved it.

[Stevens]

Still playing Elden Ring. Duh.

I'm just about out of the first area. Took me 20 hours or so but mind you there are still things for me to do in said area. I am trying to decide which direction to go next..

[guigui]

Keep'em Elden impressions coming shmup folks, I love reading your (spoiler-free) thoughts on the game before I get my copy.

Must also thank shmups.system11.org for being one of the only community I know where the discussion around this game is not entirely centered on how well it performs on PS4-5-PC-X1-perfomance-quality-radeon-retrocomp-GPU-45FPS-omgitdropsto30whenImrunningabovethisbiggapFromyoureshit.
Hell, stop it people ! I really enjoyed diving down Blighttown on PS3 Dark Souls Vanilla, and you should have too.

[Stevens]

Since I haven't mentioned it yet - stats.

I loved Bloodborne's streamlined six stats. There is a little more going on here, but truth is you'll probably never use them all in a given play. Keeping it simple for now:

Vigor - HP and immunity
Mind - Focus stat. Lets you use items skills tied to it. In my case its a weapons special ability.
End - You know this
Str - And this
Dex - And this

Currently at level 30. I'm going for a dex major (bleed) with a minor in strength as there are some dex weapons you need a few points of strength in. Not touching int, arc, or faith this run.

There are a ton of possibilities but I like my combat fast and bloody.

Mind is the new kid here. It has its own meter and you can replenish it via estus. That said you have to split that with your health. I think I've only put one point into mind so far and I tend to use it a lot. I may have one flask for mind and the rest for health. Sometimes I just roll with health.

[Sumez]

Played Elden Ring for 70 hours now, and I feel like I've probably seen half the game at best. Been too busy to playing it to do anything else. The thing is huge. And there are so many expansive areas with epic boss fights, and tons of impressions that seem to be locked behind very easy-to-miss hints or obscure quest lines. Before finishing off the game I'm gonna have to consult a guide for some things, because so much of this stuff is just too easy to miss.

Know how Dark Souls 1 did that thing where you thought you've seen everything, but then there's just more, and more, and even more? This game just has that in spades.
I don't prefer the open world to the classic interconnected (DS1 in particular) level design, because it definitely takes away a lot of the claustrophobic and threatening feeling when you can just ride past everything on your horse with no care in the world. But on the other hand, this is just aiming to do something different in that regard, and what it does is also great.

And the further you get into the game I think, the more less open areas start to reveal themselves, feeling more and more like a Souls game again. In fact, one particular "dungeon" of the game sports probably what I would consider the absolute finest instance of classic FromSoft Souls-like level design I have ever seen. My heart was just racing as I was trying to sort out every yet unexplored corner in my brain while, frantically holding out for the next "bonfire" as I was running totally out of "estus", and for every new corner I turned I was just blown away with how much identity the place had.

I don't think Eldo Rang is gotta topple DS1 for me, but it's still a 10/10 game, and one of a few that we must be truly blessed to experience in our lifetime.

It doesn't feel too watered down either, the feeling of being in a sort of theme park where there's always something you spot on the horizon is still there

Watered down is the last thing it is, just you wait. I know now why this game took three times as long to make as any other Souls game, because they clearly decided to just make three Souls games and release it as a single game.

[drauch]

Played Elden Ring for 70 hours now

In this short amount of time since it's been out, damn. That's really impressive!

[Sumez]

Haha yes, but had an extended weekend for myself at the house. I also got the game early
It's a really really hard game to put down.

[Blinge]

Damn, Sumez is a hard man to please, too. maybe I should get it soon after all!

[Stevens]

Just got home from work. Off to the lands between!

[drauch]

Damn, Sumez is a hard man to please, too. maybe I should get it soon after all!

I know, I'm constantly fighting the urge now. Watched like just a few minutes with a no spoiler tag and got a massive rod.

[Austin]

I’ve got about 20 hours in and am loving it so far, but am hating the fact it is as big as it is because I know I will never play it again when I am done. I don’t have time for these ridiculously sized open world games, haha.

[Rastan78]

I’ve got about 20 hours in and am loving it so far, but am hating the fact it is as big as it is because I know I will never play it again when I am done. I don’t have time for these ridiculously sized open world games, haha.

I feel you man. I really miss the days when I had time for lazy weekends to get totally sucked into this type of game for endless hours. Maybe a six pack (and then some) to go with it. At the same time I'm sure someone has already speedrun the thing in 12 minutes flat lol.

[Sumez]

I know, I'm constantly fighting the urge now. Watched like just a few minutes with a no spoiler tag and got a massive rod.

If Dark Souls 4, I mean Elden Ring, doesn't give you a massive rod, regardless of gender, there's something wrong with you.

[Necronopticous]

It's good, folks.

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

“Wha happen?”

https://youtu.be/04D43UqTtGA

[Steamflogger Boss]

Damn, Sumez is a hard man to please, too. maybe I should get it soon after all!

I know, I'm constantly fighting the urge now. Watched like just a few minutes with a no spoiler tag and got a massive rod.

Both of you know what must be done.