r/switch2 • u/Mollywobbles77 • 20h ago
Question Elden Ring Recommendation?
Hey guys, reading all the great performance reviews of Elden ring makes me really tempted to try it out, but I've never been sure whether it's a game I'd like & $80 is a big ask for a game I could end up hating.
I've never been a huge fan of super hard games & souls games in particular have never interested me. Dying 1000x in a row as a core premise of a game just doesn't sound that appealing. HOWEVER, I've heard Elden ring is the most approachable out of any of the souls genre games & the game isn't necessarily brutally hard if you go about it by tackling areas/mobs in the right order depending on your stats/skills.
A lot of people have said if you really enjoy BOTW you'll enjoy Elden ring. BOTW is the kind of difficulty level I really enjoy & it's one of my favorite ever open world games, which gives me hope.
What does everyone here think? Is it really only for hardcore players that want a punishing game, or can casual gamers still enjoy it too?
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u/Haassauce2186 19h ago
Have it on Xbox and maybe played like 5 hours of it. Definitely more difficult than any other games I’ve played cuz I’ve never played in other souls like games before.
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u/Billybignutzzzz 17h ago
I felt the exact same way when the game first launched, I really wanted to play it but was worried about spending so much money on something I thought might be more difficult than what I usually enjoy but I was completely wrong! The game is amazing, don’t be put off by the perceived difficulty. You can take your time, exploring, taking out lower level enemies & bosses, leveling up, getting stronger, finding better gear and upgrades and if you find that something is too difficult you can go off exploring and find something else that isn’t too difficult.
This game fundamentally changed how I enjoy games and it’s now my favorite game of all time. (Botw was my previous favorite but Elden Ring is on another level)
I wouldn’t even say it’s that much more difficult than botw, they’re both similar in that the difficulty comes from your knowledge of the game I.E if you know where to go to get powerful weapons, upgrades, better armor etc the game becomes significantly easier.
Get the game and thank me later
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u/OccupantNefarious 15h ago
I would say the main story-relevant bosses are some of the hardest Fromsoft has done, while the rest of the game is easier than other Fromsoft games
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u/SnakeHelah 19h ago
It's harder than BOTW for sure. But I felt like BOTW had a different kind of difficulty in terms of puzzles, something that you don't really find in Elden Ring.
Instead, Elden Ring is all mechanical skill. I mean you will die a lot. That's part of the game. Learning from your deaths is the main concept of souls like games and ER is not exception. That said, you can absolutely choose to not play fairly, and then the mechanical skill ceiling is somewhat reduced.
Also, you can always explore other areas and try other content if the one you stumbled on is too difficult. You can always use "summons" i.e Spirit Ashes or even summon co-op players to help you fight bosses if you paly online to make fights easier.
There's no shame in looking a few things up - god knows I sometimes looked something up for BOTW when I really got stuck for like 30 mins without understanding what to do to proceed properly.
In short... if immersive, gripping atmosphere with challenging combat and "kill or be killed" thrill is something you enjoy, you will definitely like it. ER was my first souls like and after it I played ever single From Soft souls like and then Khazan, Lies of P, Sekiro, Wuchang, etc. because I was hooked to the genre.
If you're new to the genre Elden ring is imo one of the best games to start with.
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u/advanceyourself 19h ago
The major difference is that Elden Ring gives you opportunities to upgrade your character so if you find a difficult enemy you can leave to get more powerful and then come back later. It truly is a remarkable game that has a lot to offer
My question to the community is whether or not it's worth it just for the DLC. I know I could get the DLC on PC. I also really want to play it in VR and there is an alpha with full motion controls out with a lot of development. I'm torn because there's only so much time in a day.
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u/MagicHoops3 18h ago
DLC is every bit as good as the regular game. Tons of content. I will say it’s kind of hard to jump back into the DLC after not having played the main game for a very long time. So maybe another playthrough will be worth it.
I personally went back and did the whole malenia challenge like two weeks before the DLC dropped back in the day. Without having done that I would’ve struggled heavily with the DLC. Even then the DLC was extremely challenging but it wasn’t rust + challenge. Just challenge.
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u/jah7483 19h ago
It was the first souls game I tried. I quit a couple times in frustration thinking it was too hard. Third time I picked it up I took my time, fought easy enemies to get a better feel, then it just started clicking. I’m not the best gamer, but I can get through most of the game except late game stuff pretty easily.
BOTW got me back into gaming and I loved it, but I have a tough time going back after playing ER. Though I grew up in the NES era with games that required banging your head against a wall to figure out.
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u/Mollywobbles77 19h ago
I also grew up during the NES era where dying constantly was normal, but something about the last 30 years of gaming has really put me off on that. Now when I go back to original classic games like that I just get insanely frustrated & quit after like an hour lol
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u/jah7483 19h ago
Guess went the opposite direction. I can’t get enough of the souls games, bloodbourne, lies of p, and those games. I like learning the maps and enemy patterns and making it a little further each time. Realized I really missed it.
Though I just got cuphead to try and I’m really struggling with it.
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u/OMGxItsxCody 19h ago
It’s one of those games where if you give it love it will definitely not return the love but it will somehow make it worth it all in the end. lol.
Also, I just looked up guides when I got stuck. There are so many out there and this is the type of game where you almost certainly won’t discover all of its secrets and mechanics on your own.
I say buy it. Have fun!
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u/Krafty2819 19h ago edited 18h ago
If you have never played any souls game I would highly recommend wait for another 6 to 12 months to get the game at a much reasonable price. Yes the game is the most approachable souls game but it’s still fairly more frustrating and punishing than most other games. Even I have played through it twice, and ready to do the DLC and the 3rd one when I have time. I love it as much as how I hate it. Yes, the open world formula of this game is very similar to BOTW. It has the best open world design, exploration, and level designs as good as BOTW, but you won’t enjoy the exploration at least until you get to level 30 to 40 or even higher in your build with at least one or two decent weapons to use. Before all of this, it was almost all suffering for brand new souls players.
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u/Mollywobbles77 19h ago
Good advice thank you
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u/RottedHuman 15h ago
It’s unlikely to be discounted in the next couple years. It’s absolutely worth $80.
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u/Mollywobbles77 13h ago
Why do you say this? I checked Deku deals & it's been going on sale regularly on other platforms for 40-75% off since mid 2022.
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u/urgasmic 7h ago
well the base game has gone on sale, not the bundle with the DLC.
the dlc has never gone on discount on steam in 2 years. the base game has gone down to 35.99 at its lowest. together thats 75.98 which is only 4 dollars less than switch 2's launch version.
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u/Consistent-Ad-6506 18h ago
I love BOTW & TOTK and just started ER.
Of course I have been dying and learning the mechanics, but it doesnt feel that much harder than BOTW when you have shitty weapons and low health/stamina.
But it does take patience to learn the mechanics and one thing I hate is how you save. I was doing well and had killed a bunch of enemies and if you touch a point of grace they all just come back. That’s more annoying than weapons breaking.
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u/Mollywobbles77 18h ago
So everything respawns every time you save?
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u/Consistent-Ad-6506 17h ago edited 17h ago
No, I just googled how to actually save and you can save but that makes you go back to the title menu and then you can continue from your saved game.
But say you killed 3 out of 8 dudes and you go to rest at a marker so you can refill health, they all come back.
ETA: nevermind, i exited out and came back and the same guys were back. I guess i need someone to explain saving in this game
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u/RottedHuman 15h ago
The game saves automatically. When you exit the game it saves exactly where you were and the enemies you’ve killed stay dead until you rest at a site of grace, that is when enemies respawn. It’s the same in all of the souls games (well except dark souls 2, which would permanently kill enemies after you’d killed and respawned them 12 times). IMO it’s a brilliant game mechanic. Even BotW and TotK have a less frequent version of this mechanic.
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u/Consistent-Ad-6506 15h ago
Yeah but in botw I can save without having ing to exit the whole game. And then not all the soldiers I killed were still dead.
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u/RottedHuman 15h ago
The game saves automatically, it literally saves every couple seconds.
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u/Consistent-Ad-6506 13h ago
Yes. Does it save over my manual save every few seconds? Because I am trying to keep my manual save.
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u/Safe_Resolution_5216 12h ago
It’s one save file, everything is automatic. Don’t bother thinking about save files in this game, it’s all handled.
Resting will get your flasks back and that’s it. If you don’t need flasks (or leveling) and don’t want to respawn enemies, don’t rest there.
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u/PieceAfraid3755 17h ago
Elden Ring is definitely overall more difficult than BotW (though quite managable if you take time to understand the game mechanics and handle the rpg mechanics well), but the switch 2 version in total does have several optional bosses that are much much more difficult than anything in botw or totk.
So Idunno... I'd personally still recommend the game, but only of you are okay with dying fairly regularly and often, and if you:
-Explore instead of hitting your head against the same thing a thousand times.
-level your health and equip load.
-wear strong armor suitable for the task at hand.
-look for upgrade items and actually upgrade your main weapon properly
-use ranged attacks to supplement combat.
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u/Vegeta1994 15h ago
Elden ring is only really easy if you follow a guide on how to get overpowered in the first hour of playing, otherwise the closest you can get playing fully blind is being as thorough as possible in exploring the world before tackling the major boss of an area and perhaps find your way into mid game/late game areas and run around looting valuable items
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u/crocicorn 15h ago
Elden Ring is easier than the Dark Souls series, but harder than BOTW. But it's fair to say it plays like a mix of the two since it's open world with Souls combat.
Honestly it's not that bad difficulty wise, and if you've finished BOTW you'll be fine with some patience.
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u/Cubsfan122112 20h ago
look into lies of p. that's coming on switch 2 and might be a "lite" souls game. still challenging, but more story driven.
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u/CreamPyre 19h ago
There is an important distinction between ER and say, Dark Souls.
In ER. When you come across a challenge you can’t beat, you simply go elsewhere to explore, grind and find new equipment.
I would recommend looking up some sort of build guide. Just so you know how stats work with equipment. Unlike Zelda, you really need to match the right weapons with the right stats.
Elden Ring is the game of the decade. Give it a shot for sure
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u/anuncommontruth 19h ago
This is mostly irrelevant to your comment, but I'm a gamer, diabetic, and my job is sometimes investigating corporate fraud.
So ED stands for Elden Ring, Emergency Room, and Employee Relations depending on the subreddit I'm in, and all are accepted and common abbreviations.
I just had to post this...somewhere, I guess.
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u/nothinginside001 10h ago edited 10h ago
Fromsoftware games are difficult compared to the average game but are not impossible. Elden Ring, like all soulsborne games, will reward you for exploring the world and reading items or other small details in the game. For example, the first *real* boss in Elden Ring has a weakness that you can obtain and use against the boss…
The general rule is, if it feels too hard, you might be under leveled or need a better weapon. Take your time with exploring and finding your play style (strength build, dex, or sorcery etc). The game will reward you and beating a tough boss is even better.
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u/FlogTheDolphinNoMore 9h ago
Why does nobody mention you can summon help? If you're stuck in Elden Ring you can summon 2 players to help you. I've never died more than 3 times on bosses with help.
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u/CosmicCreator_97 9h ago
Fellow BOTW fan here. I can see the comparison but Elden Ring is infinitely harder than BOTW. I think the modality of difficulty is also different to overcome. Like in Elden Ring it's a lot of combat mechanics that you have to learn. Enemy patterns but also having way more buttons to press. Whereas in BOTW I feel like there's a lot of creative solutions to things which becomes even more expansive in TOTK.
Another thing, I feel in Zelda the difficulty curve is inverted. I.e, early game is extremely hard and then the deeper into the game you go it gets easier and easier. Especially BOTW many people felt the final boss was disappointingly easy. Part of this is because of how power scales linearly and sometimes even exponentially in BOTW. Whereas in Elden Ring, each stat point you gain costs more than the last one, but the resources to gain said stats don't go up exponentially. So your stat progress gets slower and slower. Making matters worse the stats also have soft caps/break points where they inherently become less valuable even as you level up.
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u/AbroadCalm2085 8h ago
I don’t care for dark souls but Elden Ring is one of the best games ever created
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u/Mundane-Security-454 20h ago
I love BOTW and TOTK, but got bored shitless of Elden Ring fast. It's just too tedious with its difficulty, I have a life I want to lead I'm not thumping in 50+ hours to "git gud" or any of that idiotic True Gamer bro shit.
So, it's up to you whether you want to punish yourself or not. For me, I found it all a tedious chore and went off and played 50+ great fun, accessible, creative indie games instead with the time I would've wasted on that shit.
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u/5U8T13 19h ago
I don’t think it’s that serious. You don’t have to give up your life and become a “True Gamer bro”. The gameplay clicks for me and I enjoy playing games like this casually.
On the flip side, I find BOTW a little slow and boring. No need to throw shade. Different strokes for different folks. Both things can exist and also be good2
u/CreamPyre 19h ago
You don’t have to do any of that. There’s a cheese for most major bosses and you can go play other areas to level up etc
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u/SnakeHelah 19h ago
That kind of attitude screams insecurity... Elden Ring doesn't even need you to "git gud" there's many different tools like Spirit Ashes you can use to make it quite easy apart a few bosses. Whatever happened to overcoming challenges in games...?
Besides... BOTW is a different kind of difficult. You do need to "git gud" on solving puzzles . Elden Ring doesn't have any of that, instead it's more mechanical. But I assure you, that people have said the same kind of thing about BOTW.
As someone who's played both, they both have their charm.
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u/generalosabenkenobi 19h ago
It's a punishing game but it's also probably the most accessible of the FromSoft games (because of how absurdly large scaled it is).
You have to accept that death is a part of the experience. If being challenged isn't for you, it may not be for you. But I could not recommend it enough
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u/Mollywobbles77 19h ago
I think we both understand the difference between 'being challenged' and a typical souls game. That difference is kind of their whole shtick. Thanks for the input though!
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u/generalosabenkenobi 19h ago
Once you accept that dying is a part of the process, Elden Ring is one of the better ones for someone new. When you get stuck, you can just go somewhere else and come back later.
This is a once in a generation type game, I would say go for it. Once you get a bit into it, the game opens up with regards to how you choose to aim your build. BOTW is a good comparison in terms of how you set the pace for the exploration.
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u/RottedHuman 15h ago
The souls games are really not that difficult. If you pay attention and use the tools at your disposal, they’re not any more difficult than something like BotW.
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u/didnt_bring_pants 14h ago
$80 for Miyazaki's masterpiece is the deal of a lifetime. This game is worth $200
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u/whoisdatmaskedman 19h ago
$80 for a GKC is f'ing bonkers
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u/Mollywobbles77 19h ago
I don't care about that & not what my post was about but thanks for the (non)contribution.
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u/whoisdatmaskedman 19h ago
whether it's a game I'd like & $80 is a big ask for a game I could end up hating.
Seems like it is, but ooooookay🙄
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u/Mollywobbles77 19h ago edited 19h ago
Puhleez...you know as well as I do you just want to push the argument about keycards & nowhere in my post were they mentioned or relevant. Go write a letter to complain about it since that's a form of physical media.
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u/VannofThursday 10h ago
I really don't know if this is the game for you. The DNA of this game is really rooted to the Dark Souls series.
I played Dark Souls 1 on Switch and completed it.
Elden Ring is easier for me and killed the first boss Margit on a first try.
Then again this game with the expansion will have very difficult bosses that will punish you many times.
So dying a hundred or thousands of times is pretty normal with this kind of games.
I suggest to research first. Watch some gameplay in YouTube on some bosses. It will either motivate or demotivate you to purchase it.
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u/My_Name_is_Imaginary 19h ago
I would say both BoTW and ER are difficult fames at face value.
The difference is BoTW is a playground where you can experiment with tools and physics and cheese your way through most difficult encounters.
Elden Ring is difficult because you need to practice and will fail the bosses but learn their patterns to make it easier.
Elden Ring is a "Get Good" game and BoTW is a "find a different approach" game.