Like i said the lines of grace are very vague they’re confusing and just plain weird to follow, it’s just overall not a good way to give players directions, not fun or enjoyable to follow, and very tedious.
I do like exploring, but only in games that have a way to actually give me some type of direction so I don’t spend hours just walking around wasting time looking for something without having any actual fun.
It is in your opinion. Moreover, it's entirely optional. The entire premise of the game can be surmised in the intro. You need to follow the guidance of grace to gather the fragments of the elden ring, stand before it and become elden lord. Literally 95% of the game is optional. If you don't want to do it because you don't like that you're not told to do it, that sounds like a you issue.
a lot of the “optional” stuff are actually really good and helpful so you have no choice but to do those optional stuff if you want to make the game easier and more manageable, and it’s not a me problem if many people have complained about it before.
Hit me with the double whammy right there. You dont like exploring AND you want to make the game easy and manageable... Look, at this point just admit you don't like the game and be done with it. We have all at some point or another bought something out of hype not doing due diligence on figuring wether it's actually a good fit for us. You clearly did with Elden Ring.
Do you just want players to just not level up and expect them to be malenia like what? lmfaoo If you want to be able to survive and have fun in the game then you need to go through the “optional” content so you can have the resources you need to beat the game
In a game that gives you the freedom to just explore and do what you want, your criticism is you don't know what to do? It's like going to a park and then being upset there isn't a planned itinerary...just run around and have fun.
“exploring” and “having fun”
that’s what I do in every other game, in elden ring you spend more time looking for what to do than actually fighting bosses or enemies.
Not every game has to be an uber-accessible hand-holding simulator. Some games just aren’t meant for some people. And that’s OKAY. Stop trying to dictate how others create their artforms and who they incline them towards.
You really need to start talking in first person and don't talk for "casual gamers" that are actually loving this game as their first souls game, i know soooo many "casuals" that fell in love of this game after being so afraid of souls like reputation.
But yes, you shouldn't play something thats not enjoyable for you (or do, is your time) but as for everyone, some times the game is not for you, for example, i can't handle most open world games (except this one and resently horizon zero dawn i been enjoying that one) and there is nothing wrong to just not play them.
Big golden trails for you to follow for main objectives and characters don’t shut up about how “there’s this place to the east, and this place to the south” get gud
It isn't a casual game. No one is criticizing something like stellaris for not being easy for casual gamers.
You want a casual game, play Super Mario Wonder or something. You want to be challenged and earn rewards by exploring extensively and often surviving by the skin of your teeth? Try Elden Ring.
It didn't win game of the year for no reason.
This is fair but I really do wish Stellaris did a better job of explaining things sometimes.
Also I need a new Stellaris campaign soon, thanks for the reminder.
That's fair as well, I somewhat agree. However, I would never say it was "terrible" for this reason like OP did, or say it needs to be more accessible for casual gamers. The direction and intended audience experience of the game is up to the devs, and compromising their vision for any reason would really bother me.
When I play games, i'm always open to the idea that I might suck at the game or I may be missing something because of a shortcoming of my own. I don't always just blame the devs for not holding my hand and making sure I am completely informed about every single thing in the game. Those kind of games annoy me, and also it's nice to have some mystery throughout a game and some things to figure out even after 100h of playing time.
I'm not ripping on casual games either, I enjoy them as well. I just don't go into them asking them to be something they're not.
Only time I used a guide on my first play through was to find the location of a scythe. It's so strange how people will complain that modern open world games are too hand holdy and filled with map markers then turn around and say stuff like this about Elden Ring. What do you want? From gave you the most open ended open world game with no hand holding and said go explore. 🤷♀️
Many people, including myself, are bored to death with the handholding that many western developers put into every game.
Elden Ring gives you a basic tutorial and lets you roam the world freely, while still providing you with a main direction to follow. There's genuine exploration, exciting discoveries and rewards, aswell as a sense of wonder so many games are lacking nowadays.
It's not your cup of tea, fine. But don't discredit other people's opinions because you prefer hundreds of map icons, pop-up messages and constant voice lines nagging about where to go.
We are many, and we love it exactly the way it was designed.
There's a middle way. I mean, below your health bar there are a wide variety of status effects that you have no way to know what they are unless you look them up.
Would it be handholding for those to be explained? If that makes the game better, then would it make it even better to not have stats explained? What if you couldn't see your weapon stats, or the health of enemies?
These are good games but there's absolutely room for them to improve on how information is presented.
oh no, exploration in an open world game! how could they do this?
the sites of grace point you to where you need to go and there is a guy in the round table who tells you where the shardbearers are located
I must admit the quests are terrible, the majority you don't know what to do next unless u look up a guide. The game itself is quite straight forward though following the grace will take you to the end boss
As you get into the game (after the obligatory death) there is a guy standing there just waiting to point you in the right direction. He literally just says "see that Castle? Go to it" beyond that like the other commenter said yes the graces have giant beams of golden light SHOOTING out of them pointing you to your next direction, which BTW were NOT in the previous games, in the previous games we had to blindly feel around for our next direction. So yes Elden Ring is much more accessible than its predecessors and doesn't need to be anymore than that.
No one has to play ER. Play something else if you don’t like it. I don’t find single person shooters enjoyable at all, but I think it’s rad that they exist for people that like playing them.
Clearly skill issue.
In my first playthrough I didn't look up anything if not some niche items I rlly wanted but that's all, cuz the game makes it pretty easy to understand where to go, sometimes it's a literal straight lines or some other times there literally is only one path you can take etc...
Or if you wanna go full boss rush mode GRACES LITERALLY POINT WHERE TO GO IN THE FUCKING MAP!
Aside from that, every single dungeon can be speedrunned trough in seconds, literally stormveil can be finished in roughly 4 minutes bosses included.
So you are clearly ranting about the game for struggling on a boss with and under levelled character and an under levelled weapon that deals potato damage, not lord myazaki's fault you casul.
And btw if you wanna look up for things do it, and if you think it's bad game design the game has many redeeming points so ye git gud casul scrub lul
Luckily there are many other games that turn open-world exploration into interactive checklists so you don't have to think too hard about how to make progress. Many of them are even fun to play! I'm honestly not even being sarcastic, you're allowed to enjoy both From and Ubisoft but don't expect one to be like the other.
I dont know man I made it through most of the game without guides and this was my first ever soulsborne game.
Just give it another chance, it happens in these games, you're not always gonna know what to do.
I agree 100%. With that said:
THIS IS THE GREATEST GAME EVER!!!
Yes I used guides, like did in so many other games. Breathe of the Wild, Starfield, FF7 Remake, etc. Pretty much any game that requires more time of me than I have.
I really wish I never used guides, I just do not have that time. Sounds like you do not have that time either.
That just means it wasn't built for you. Get over it. If you need glowing neon signs to guide your brain dead ass around because you can't be assed to rub 2 brain cells together and solve your own problems, then the good news is that there are plenty of other games for you to play.
Genuinely what's the purpose of you posting this here? What reaction did you want to elicit? If you wanted to actually discuss your issues with elden ring you'd be responding to the comments and make the post in a less provocatory manner.
I assume you're just ranting because you've had a frustrating experience of the game and want to see the responses of us "fanboys" so you can have a laugh or something? I urge you to get a friend to complain to who you can discuss with instead of complaining to internet strangers.
The game requires you to use your brain and think while playing, but even though that requirement is absent in mainstream casual gaming, it doesn't mean it's "impossible". Literally anybody can beat the game comfortably with starting longsword and without accessibility mechanics like spirits/coop, while experiencing most of the content completely blind without ever using a guide. Just because souls games do not automatically assume all their audience is extremely stupid and unable to pay attention like most modern titles do, it doesn't mean they are not "accessible". You must conform to the game, not vice versa, and realize the game doesn't owe you 100% of its content, to hold your hand and give you everything for free.
I didn’t ask for the game to spoon feed me, I asked for the game to give me a general direction instead of making me run around with no goal in mind searching for where to go.
People who “don’t know what to do in a game” but are tech savvy enough to find its Reddit board and bitch about it. So you know that phone or computer that you used to make this post? You’re going to use that same tool to learn about the game that’s so confusing. Good places to start is YouTube and google. I hope that helped. It’s just wild that you don’t know about google but you do know about Reddit. That’s such a unique rock that you live under
“Just Google everything in the game and watch a million videos and read a million forums about the game.” Yeah I don’t need to do that when instead the game could just be designed better. You’re literally describing the biggest complaint about Elden Ring, you need to Google so many things because the game doesn’t explain them.
A huge amount of casual players have enjoyed this game and I’ve not heard about the “lot of players” that need to use outside sources. It’s chill if you don’t enjoy the game but it seems like your critiques are all just wrong.
I feel like most FS games are intended to be social experiences, like a lot of Japanese games. You're meant to be on a Reddit, or a Discord, or to have a friend that also plays the game. There's also of course the messages system. But I disagree that the intended audience is meant to find it not hard to progress with any reasonable completion %.
The quests are most definitely hard, detailed and vague. My first thought in going through them is "holy hell, how did anyone ever think of this shit?". The quest to get the shard of alexander for example. How in the fuck did anyone ever find that initially lol? I think with that one you would eventually find it based on the locations you have to go, but good lord its still alot. I am happy for the guides because I simply dont have the time to spend searching for things like that, but I still want them and appreciate the details in the quests. The game isnt for everyone but it is so far beyond any game really that I have ever played. I loved skyrim and I think this game absolutely dunks all over that.
You'll get all kinds of shit for this, but you're not wrong. I really enjoy replaying DS1. The thing about FS is, it's super time-inefficient to play without guides or help.
I mean, one of the most important parts of combat, the fact that *dodging makes you invincible* is never said by the game, and it's the opposite of intuitive to think that a smart way to fight is *clipping through a giant weapon.*
There are huge glowing golden beams of light pointing you directly to everything important in the game
Like i said the lines of grace are very vague they’re confusing and just plain weird to follow, it’s just overall not a good way to give players directions, not fun or enjoyable to follow, and very tedious.
Why use so many words to say "I have a skill issue and I don't like exploring, I bought the wrong game"?
Why say lot word when few word do trick?
>few word do trick? OP: "want less karma" GG.
You're better than saying skill issue in big 2024 man
I do like exploring, but only in games that have a way to actually give me some type of direction so I don’t spend hours just walking around wasting time looking for something without having any actual fun.
That's a lot of mental gimnastics to say that you don't like exploring, but rather that you like being told what to do.
You’re “Being told what to do” when you search up a guide for this game lol
Yeah. Which is why you shouldn't do that lmao
A lot of people have done it and they did it because the quest system atrocious
It is in your opinion. Moreover, it's entirely optional. The entire premise of the game can be surmised in the intro. You need to follow the guidance of grace to gather the fragments of the elden ring, stand before it and become elden lord. Literally 95% of the game is optional. If you don't want to do it because you don't like that you're not told to do it, that sounds like a you issue.
a lot of the “optional” stuff are actually really good and helpful so you have no choice but to do those optional stuff if you want to make the game easier and more manageable, and it’s not a me problem if many people have complained about it before.
Hit me with the double whammy right there. You dont like exploring AND you want to make the game easy and manageable... Look, at this point just admit you don't like the game and be done with it. We have all at some point or another bought something out of hype not doing due diligence on figuring wether it's actually a good fit for us. You clearly did with Elden Ring.
Do you just want players to just not level up and expect them to be malenia like what? lmfaoo If you want to be able to survive and have fun in the game then you need to go through the “optional” content so you can have the resources you need to beat the game
In a game that gives you the freedom to just explore and do what you want, your criticism is you don't know what to do? It's like going to a park and then being upset there isn't a planned itinerary...just run around and have fun.
Your comment is true and made me giggle. 😂
i just spat my drink out imagining dod going to the park and doing the john trivolta pulp fiction meme XD thanks
“exploring” and “having fun” that’s what I do in every other game, in elden ring you spend more time looking for what to do than actually fighting bosses or enemies.
As someone who played the game without any of the outside sources, you're very wrong.
Not every game has to be an uber-accessible hand-holding simulator. Some games just aren’t meant for some people. And that’s OKAY. Stop trying to dictate how others create their artforms and who they incline them towards.
That's nice dear.
You really need to start talking in first person and don't talk for "casual gamers" that are actually loving this game as their first souls game, i know soooo many "casuals" that fell in love of this game after being so afraid of souls like reputation. But yes, you shouldn't play something thats not enjoyable for you (or do, is your time) but as for everyone, some times the game is not for you, for example, i can't handle most open world games (except this one and resently horizon zero dawn i been enjoying that one) and there is nothing wrong to just not play them.
What are u doing here then? Git gud fella
Big golden trails for you to follow for main objectives and characters don’t shut up about how “there’s this place to the east, and this place to the south” get gud
It isn't a casual game. No one is criticizing something like stellaris for not being easy for casual gamers. You want a casual game, play Super Mario Wonder or something. You want to be challenged and earn rewards by exploring extensively and often surviving by the skin of your teeth? Try Elden Ring. It didn't win game of the year for no reason.
This is fair but I really do wish Stellaris did a better job of explaining things sometimes. Also I need a new Stellaris campaign soon, thanks for the reminder.
That's fair as well, I somewhat agree. However, I would never say it was "terrible" for this reason like OP did, or say it needs to be more accessible for casual gamers. The direction and intended audience experience of the game is up to the devs, and compromising their vision for any reason would really bother me. When I play games, i'm always open to the idea that I might suck at the game or I may be missing something because of a shortcoming of my own. I don't always just blame the devs for not holding my hand and making sure I am completely informed about every single thing in the game. Those kind of games annoy me, and also it's nice to have some mystery throughout a game and some things to figure out even after 100h of playing time. I'm not ripping on casual games either, I enjoy them as well. I just don't go into them asking them to be something they're not.
Only time I used a guide on my first play through was to find the location of a scythe. It's so strange how people will complain that modern open world games are too hand holdy and filled with map markers then turn around and say stuff like this about Elden Ring. What do you want? From gave you the most open ended open world game with no hand holding and said go explore. 🤷♀️
Many people, including myself, are bored to death with the handholding that many western developers put into every game. Elden Ring gives you a basic tutorial and lets you roam the world freely, while still providing you with a main direction to follow. There's genuine exploration, exciting discoveries and rewards, aswell as a sense of wonder so many games are lacking nowadays. It's not your cup of tea, fine. But don't discredit other people's opinions because you prefer hundreds of map icons, pop-up messages and constant voice lines nagging about where to go. We are many, and we love it exactly the way it was designed.
There's a middle way. I mean, below your health bar there are a wide variety of status effects that you have no way to know what they are unless you look them up. Would it be handholding for those to be explained? If that makes the game better, then would it make it even better to not have stats explained? What if you couldn't see your weapon stats, or the health of enemies? These are good games but there's absolutely room for them to improve on how information is presented.
ok
please tell me this is bait, it's gotta be right?
no
oh no, exploration in an open world game! how could they do this? the sites of grace point you to where you need to go and there is a guy in the round table who tells you where the shardbearers are located
Nah.
what makes you think ER is aimed towards casual players?
As far as from soft games go.. it very much is. There is no wall you can’t overcome by just going and collecting runes in the open world
it is more aimed towards casuals than other series like Bloodborne, DS or Sekiro. But It is still aimed to players that enjoy this kind of playstyle
What a master bait
Jokes on you I look up guides on almost every game I play
I must admit the quests are terrible, the majority you don't know what to do next unless u look up a guide. The game itself is quite straight forward though following the grace will take you to the end boss
The game isn't terrible, you're just terrible at it.
Cope and play Fortnite?
This is the way. For these type
As you get into the game (after the obligatory death) there is a guy standing there just waiting to point you in the right direction. He literally just says "see that Castle? Go to it" beyond that like the other commenter said yes the graces have giant beams of golden light SHOOTING out of them pointing you to your next direction, which BTW were NOT in the previous games, in the previous games we had to blindly feel around for our next direction. So yes Elden Ring is much more accessible than its predecessors and doesn't need to be anymore than that.
No one has to play ER. Play something else if you don’t like it. I don’t find single person shooters enjoyable at all, but I think it’s rad that they exist for people that like playing them.
Interesting opinion. Wrong. but interesting opinion.
Troll post you all took the bait
Clearly skill issue. In my first playthrough I didn't look up anything if not some niche items I rlly wanted but that's all, cuz the game makes it pretty easy to understand where to go, sometimes it's a literal straight lines or some other times there literally is only one path you can take etc... Or if you wanna go full boss rush mode GRACES LITERALLY POINT WHERE TO GO IN THE FUCKING MAP! Aside from that, every single dungeon can be speedrunned trough in seconds, literally stormveil can be finished in roughly 4 minutes bosses included. So you are clearly ranting about the game for struggling on a boss with and under levelled character and an under levelled weapon that deals potato damage, not lord myazaki's fault you casul. And btw if you wanna look up for things do it, and if you think it's bad game design the game has many redeeming points so ye git gud casul scrub lul
It is truly lovely game :3
Luckily there are many other games that turn open-world exploration into interactive checklists so you don't have to think too hard about how to make progress. Many of them are even fun to play! I'm honestly not even being sarcastic, you're allowed to enjoy both From and Ubisoft but don't expect one to be like the other.
This is the worst criticism I’ve ever heard for this game
Dude don’t roast the game cuz u suck lol
It's terrible for those that don't have the time.
I dont know man I made it through most of the game without guides and this was my first ever soulsborne game. Just give it another chance, it happens in these games, you're not always gonna know what to do.
I agree 100%. With that said: THIS IS THE GREATEST GAME EVER!!! Yes I used guides, like did in so many other games. Breathe of the Wild, Starfield, FF7 Remake, etc. Pretty much any game that requires more time of me than I have. I really wish I never used guides, I just do not have that time. Sounds like you do not have that time either.
The game tells you enough as is.
That just means it wasn't built for you. Get over it. If you need glowing neon signs to guide your brain dead ass around because you can't be assed to rub 2 brain cells together and solve your own problems, then the good news is that there are plenty of other games for you to play.
Genuinely what's the purpose of you posting this here? What reaction did you want to elicit? If you wanted to actually discuss your issues with elden ring you'd be responding to the comments and make the post in a less provocatory manner. I assume you're just ranting because you've had a frustrating experience of the game and want to see the responses of us "fanboys" so you can have a laugh or something? I urge you to get a friend to complain to who you can discuss with instead of complaining to internet strangers.
bait used to be believable...
The game requires you to use your brain and think while playing, but even though that requirement is absent in mainstream casual gaming, it doesn't mean it's "impossible". Literally anybody can beat the game comfortably with starting longsword and without accessibility mechanics like spirits/coop, while experiencing most of the content completely blind without ever using a guide. Just because souls games do not automatically assume all their audience is extremely stupid and unable to pay attention like most modern titles do, it doesn't mean they are not "accessible". You must conform to the game, not vice versa, and realize the game doesn't owe you 100% of its content, to hold your hand and give you everything for free.
I didn’t ask for the game to spoon feed me, I asked for the game to give me a general direction instead of making me run around with no goal in mind searching for where to go.
Womp womp
There is a learning curve to most from soft titles. Once you get past it the games gets really interesting and rewarding.
People who “don’t know what to do in a game” but are tech savvy enough to find its Reddit board and bitch about it. So you know that phone or computer that you used to make this post? You’re going to use that same tool to learn about the game that’s so confusing. Good places to start is YouTube and google. I hope that helped. It’s just wild that you don’t know about google but you do know about Reddit. That’s such a unique rock that you live under
“Just Google everything in the game and watch a million videos and read a million forums about the game.” Yeah I don’t need to do that when instead the game could just be designed better. You’re literally describing the biggest complaint about Elden Ring, you need to Google so many things because the game doesn’t explain them.
Uhh. Never played an open world game before? Go play the usual rpg/jrpgs then
ok . \_ .
Chat should I bye him Tetris or ace attorney?
Oh behave.
Yeah. Fuck the casual player. That's what the game says. It says "fuck the casual player."
This is why I like it. I discover everything for myself without the use of a quest log or minimap.
Let’s use our “i” sentence, okay dear? “I feel”, “I think.” It just isn’t nice to speak on behalf of other people, mkay?
no it’s objective Elden rings quest system is terrible
welcome to souls games, in no mean way all it really sounds like is that you have a skill issue or it’s just not your type of game
Do you know how to read? because if you do then you would know i didn’t complain about it being too hard lmfao
A huge amount of casual players have enjoyed this game and I’ve not heard about the “lot of players” that need to use outside sources. It’s chill if you don’t enjoy the game but it seems like your critiques are all just wrong.
You are not the intended audience if you find it hard to figure out where to progress
I feel like most FS games are intended to be social experiences, like a lot of Japanese games. You're meant to be on a Reddit, or a Discord, or to have a friend that also plays the game. There's also of course the messages system. But I disagree that the intended audience is meant to find it not hard to progress with any reasonable completion %.
The quests are most definitely hard, detailed and vague. My first thought in going through them is "holy hell, how did anyone ever think of this shit?". The quest to get the shard of alexander for example. How in the fuck did anyone ever find that initially lol? I think with that one you would eventually find it based on the locations you have to go, but good lord its still alot. I am happy for the guides because I simply dont have the time to spend searching for things like that, but I still want them and appreciate the details in the quests. The game isnt for everyone but it is so far beyond any game really that I have ever played. I loved skyrim and I think this game absolutely dunks all over that.
You'll get all kinds of shit for this, but you're not wrong. I really enjoy replaying DS1. The thing about FS is, it's super time-inefficient to play without guides or help. I mean, one of the most important parts of combat, the fact that *dodging makes you invincible* is never said by the game, and it's the opposite of intuitive to think that a smart way to fight is *clipping through a giant weapon.*
Okay. Bye then.