I find this statement fascinating to me. I platinumed the game in under 50 hours, and it isn't like I rushed specifically for my first playthrough. Once I hit Volcano manor the exploration just started to feel redundant you know? Like why do another catacomb with another statue boss for another fucking pile of garbage that I wont use.
I'm glad that there are players like you who can find constant enjoyment out of exploring and fucking around with their builds and trying different shit. I've said many times that I can't handle that shit, I like what I like in terms of play style and im not interested in like a bow build or whatever the hell. ]
I've been watching other people play the game too and it's fun to watch people genuinely discover new shit in the game, but I feel like this is a game that people will "complete" only once and never again. Sure they might replay the game, but the number of people crawling through every single corner of the map on 2nd,3rd,4th, runs are going to be exceptionally small I feel.
How would you compare this to the other FromSoft games?
That last statement is very true, but at the same time I’ve already felt that way about the previous games as well. Hell, even with something like GoW 2018 I have no desire to touch it again if it meant redoing all my character progression and loot. NG+ exists mostly for this reason. I mean sure, the classic games had it too but progression was nearly as linear and scripted as the story, so you were never going much further than 10 seconds or so around a cliff for a chest or a right turn instead of left for a collectible.
What I like about ER is it enables experimentation more readily than last games, so there is no need to wait until NG+. Another thing is I personally only play a handful of games every year. The only other 2022 title I’ve even tried is Forbidden West. So really I have no problems with dropping a predominant amount of time into a few select games and milking them. To what extent depends on how much their various elements click with me. Besides FROM games, RDR2, MGSV, MKX/11 are other examples where the vast majority of playtime fell outside of the main story stuff.
I imagine if I go for the last few trophies in ER I’ll do a quick NG+ run, but I’ll have wanted to check out odd . You could say, “Well the wiki tells you where everything is so just go get what you want!” but the thing is, typically the more I do that the less enjoyable it feels to play. There’s a fine line between just enough useful information and getting spoiled by too much of it. Do I want to spend more of my time reading about something or watching someone else do something or going and finding things out for myself? Mostly the latter, and the element of saving time factors in if I’m at a loss for something specific like a delicate questline or maybe a PITA boss. I try to limit using these resources because to me it’s ultimately an inverse relationship to my enjoyment of a game.
In terms of where I’d rank ER next to earlier FROM games, I’ll reserve judgment until I’m at least to the end of the story. They’ve certainly learned a few things in terms of QoL improvements and iterating on past gameplay elements, some wonderful world design among the greater expanses, but the expanded size also stretches the limits of their ambition in some ways.
Pacing winds up almost non existent, but then again I’ve never really played their games to follow the main story line since the other peripheral aspects drew me in more.
Balance is pretty wack, and the game relies mostly on players using or even abusing spirit/weapon ashes vs fine tuning boss fights more like past games. But at the same time I kinda like that there are ways to just destroy bosses if you so choose, after my fair share of banging my head against a few of them for the six previous games.
The redundant bosses and location types aren’t a big deal for me as they are almost entirely optional for those who like looting. It goes with open world design, where each map puts its own spin on certain thematic or lore elements. Mileage varies of course.
For its size the game has run surprisingly well on a lowly PS4 Slim. My worst glitches so far have been a Putrid Tree Avatar just giving up half way through and the Ancestral Spirit falling through the ground to its death, so can’t complain much there. Oh, a handful of lost connections which has happened with other games.
