A deep-dive into both the late-games of Elden Ring and Bloodborne to figure out why I don’t play Elden Ring past Leyndell.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
02:21 Early-Game Exploration
05:26 Late-Game Exploration
07:09 Plot Actions and Consequences
09:35 Copy-Pasting
12:02 Late-Game Exploration Contd.
17:12 Bloodborne’s Combat
20:10 Elden Ring’s Combat Intro
21:09 Animation Reading
22:14 Malenia
24:47 Good Bosses
26:12 Following the Rules
27:48 Hunter Fights
28:57 Bloated HP/Damage
29:50 Radahn
31:00 Elden Beast and Final Bosses
34:35 Bloodborne’s End-Game Bosses
36:01 Moon Presence and Elden Beast
38:04 Endings
43:32 Conclusion and Thanks
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#eldenring #review #videoessay
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All I did was get a headache watching this, next time I'll just press the "don't recommend channel" button
For me Sekiro has the best Combat Bloodborne is second place
Personally I love the addition of Elden beast lore wise. First of all it’s the Elden ring itself. But in the context of the journey I find it amazing. From the beginning of the game there is a big mystery: why did Marika leave? What’s up with the tree? So when we get in there we finally solve the question. One character is radagon/Marika. A character who is teased the entire game: good. Expectations fulfilled. But what is with the mystery aspect? What happened to them? Elden beast. Bloodborne literally did the exact same while having one of the best Finales of all games ever created.
Commenting at the very start of the video:
My issue with Elden Ring endgame is that the early and mid game can be made obsolete because you can speedrun a +10 weapon, and then you get to the endgame and you're at the exact same power level you were in Leyndell. And so the game scales up, yet you remain as strong as you were, making you feel like the game isn't balanced. Also, Mountaintop of the Giants just feels like DS2: empty.
@13:34 this is a perfect example of Bloodbornes superior layout and map design… the only thing close to this in Elden Ring is the small dungeons that open a shortcut to the boss from the entrance Grace.
Great video
In regards to the animation canceling and delays, i think one of the worst examples of this is margit. If he were a late game boss i think he'd be fine or at least better but because hes so early his delays and the animation canceling make him infuriating to fight. the worst attack he has his when he just takes out a dagger to extend a combo because it theres no real tell for when he will do it he just kinda, does. If you think hes gonna stop attacking, nope dagger and does 3 more attacks. If you think hes gonna do it and you roll, congrats he did nothing and you missed an opportunity to attack. This one dagger attack, not even the one where he throws it at you, made me use magic instead of being close up because this way im not being sufficated by his constant combos and delayed attacks.
Bloodborne is Best Game 👌
Eh at some point the open world had to end. Mountaintops and by extension the Consecrated Snowfields leads to the ending of several questlines, and leads to 2 large side areas with Miquellas haligtree and Mohg's palace. And these are closer to regular dark souls levels. The third area it leadds to is Farum Azula. And all of these areas are still large with many distractions and things to find. You should also not forget that the entire region you unlock from first entering the Altus plateau through the gelmir volcano and ending with leyndell is about as long as all of bloodborne.
I feel like that is the main reason why it's harder to replay Elden Ring, even when you know where everything is, completing the entire game still will take you over 100 hours. My second platinum om the PS4 version, since i got both on PS5, took me another 150+ hours. And with just how much Elden Ring reuses regular enemies as mini bosses for the side dungeons, that will get repetetive. That hurts replayability, Considering trying out a different build is another 100+ hours comitment. In that time you can probly complete Bloodborne 3 times, or beat the entire Dark Souls triology.
You're idea of having hte entire world change after the Erdtree was set aflame, (you can see it burning from everywhere so theres that) leading to new bosses and maybe even areas to explore you couldn't reach would only expodite this issue even more. By the time you finished Farum Azula, you will have spent over 100 hours, probly closer to 150 if its your first playthrough, and you want them to explore the entire world again for new bosses and more changes? Just how long do you want this game to be? 300 hours per playthrough? Aside from the fact the tree is still burning, you only started to fuck up the world, it would probably take a few days for a tree that massive size to fully burn down. You ain't spend that long in Farum Azula.
Also the final area is basically a massive straight line? You mean like how Dark Souls 3 is one straight line with a single branch that allows you to skip into the final area from the start? Bloodborne is probably my favorite Fromsoft game as well, but that game is just as linear.
And finally there is the same stupid argument i have read so many times. "i am deliberately ignoring one, if not the main mechanic of the new game and complain that the game punishes me for not using it" Elden Ring is designed around using the spirit ashes. That is the reason why about 80% of all rewards are linked to them, and there are like 80 different kind. You are supposed to experiment with which one suits your playstyle the best and supports your build. Spirit Ashes are not coop partners, the bosses don't get extra health for summoning them, they are designed with you summoning them in mind. Just like how Sekiro is designed around parrying everything and Bloodborne is designed around gun parries and the rally system.
Playing Elden Ring without Spirit Ashes is comparable to playing Bloodborne with the Shield, or Sekiro while turning off the block button. You are deliberately ignoring the games main mechanic. Thats on you bro.
Elden Beast coming out of nowhere is the whole point. It's the secret of the erdtree and the entire Church of Marika as a whole. It's why everyone is trying to stop you from actually becoming Elden Lord. Cause you aren't supposed to find out how in reality it's just another alien at the center of everything. Which is EXACTLY the same thing Bloodborne does. Gehrman isn't the final boss, the moon presence is. Demon's Souls the final boss also isn't False King, but rather the pathetic real king, showing off how he's just another pawn of the Old One. Exactly whats going to happen to you if you decide to follow Allants footsteps. Same with Gwyn, after how much he was build up as this legendary Warrior, he's just a husk of a person, burned out after keeping the flame alive for decades.
Gael is pretty similar in that concern, having gone mad after milenia trying to fulful his wish of creating a new world and finally breaking the cicle.
Also why isn't the final boss Marika? Guess you really didn't understand the story. Marika IS Ragadon. They are literally the same being.
Bloodborne is ass with an ass story
I agree. I've been stuck on elden beast for the past few weeks and I decided I don't have enough skill and levels. How do I fix that? Farm in mohgwin palace for hours. All the side bosses give me 15k ish runes with is a tenth of what i need.
lmao
I love elden ring I really do but yeah the game picks when it follows it's own rules can tell you how many times you will hit a boss and see with your own eyes theres no health but it dos not die and gets that last hit on you any ways
Nostalgia is one hell of a drug.
I have a level 501 character in Elden Ring as my main. I got almost all weapons, all armor and special items and talismans and all my gear is either maxed out or almost maxed out and I just started Journey 3. So with that said, I feel your pain. Consecrated Snowfields, Haligtree and Moutaintop suck hard at worst and are alright at best. To me, they are just where I need to go to collect Ancient Somber and Ancient Smithing stones for the stuff that I actually use among my massive collection of shit.
On my other characters that I limit to LV150, I don't even bother fighting Malenia or doing any of the side content after Leyndell unless I feel like picking a fight. Ranni's quest is still the highlight of the game for me. I just wish Radahn's fight was harder.
Absolutely agree on the recycled Godrick and Astel. The ONE part of this amazing game that I truly HATE.
the reason why end game are lacking is because it the less important part of the game creation processe since most player wont see it
GRR Martin of course the story is shit he is good at world building but trash at character consitency
Really well put
I love this game. But honestly nothing you said was wrong. In my first playthrough I remember being disappointed at how little I was enjoying the late game. What helped is when I got myself the strongest spirit summon I could find and stacked myself with killer spells (I was an Int caster, which was new for me, because up until this game I've primarily played a melee character in fromsoft games). I thought, if you're going to cheese me, I'm gunna cheese you right back! And then I started having fun again. On subsequent playthroughs, I've noticed this game is overflowing with super-powered weapons and strategies that make most bosses a lot easier. I've since dropped the spirit summons. But for a first time playthrough, using an average weapon and no summons, the road to "getting good" on late game bosses has never been longer. In my first playthrough of darksouls 1 I beat Kalameet with a fully upgraded scimitar. Could you imagine trying that in elden ring?
They make you kill genichiro over and over again in sekiro if you die to the sword saint it’s fun in my opinion and just adds to the challenges the game brings you. I love reading wet nurse’s attacks and quick step dodging trough them seamlessly.
The bosses may be unbalanced but I will say, Elden Rings open world gave me a feeling of wonder and exploration that I haven’t felt since playing Skyrim. It made me realize just how empty most open world feel.
Great points.
I think a major problem with a lot of Fromsofts games, as you have pointed out here, is the final stretch. Elden Ring certainly suffers from this but its not alone. I have many playthroughs of DS1 that are sitting at Anor Londo because OnS feels like the peak of DS1 and I can't be bothered with gathering the lord souls afterwards. But Elden Ring has another issue for replayability that is unique imo and that is how long it takes to get a build started just because of how much exploring is required. The exploration is truly amazing the first time and even the second time through. But after a couple times, the thought of making a new character and spending an hour gathering things just gives me dread especially when I know ill just stop at Morgott a few hours after that. Elden Ring is an amazing game, no doubt, and I have spent almost 200 hours enjoying it. But for now, its had its time in the sun for me until the DLC drops. Right now, I'm running back through DS3 (one day ill own something that can play bloodborne again) and its reminding me of what bosses designed for dark souls combat should feel like (maybe a bit faster than true ds1 combat). Having to learn timing on boss attacks, their openings, and fair punishments for bad play just feels more rewarding. It makes it hard to go back.
If the tools of Bloodborne are parries and quickstep, then the tools of Elden Ring are Ashes of War (and magic). While you can grab a big weapon and R1 your way to victory, I don't think that's what the devs intended. I think you're expected to figure out the weakness of each boss and exploit it. Malenia is a humanoid, you can flatten her or knock her back. And several AoW for just about any build does this. You can block her Waterfowl with a buffed greatshield and out dps her healing afterwards. Endure will let you just take it and have the poise to heal. She won't dodge Night spells, and can't dodge Thunderbolt.
Does this excuse the design choice? Eh, I don't know. I agree that the late game is the worst part, and I don't find the super bosses that fun. It does feel like they play with a different ruleset, and they do encourage you to find their Achilles Heel, rather than have an epic dance of skill. But, I think that's intentional. For the top 2% who dedicate their lives to mastering each boss fight, and are blessed with uncanny reflexes and timing, the absurd arms race of difficulty spikes is there. For everyone else, use Lion's Claw or throw the Bolt of Gransaxx.
Perfectly articulated! Thank you for giving me the video to send to people when they ask me about this.
Ds3 was the first one I played. I am an indecisive person, I wanted to use soul magic, a giant axe, healing spells, and obviously LIGHTNING. I ended up with a sickening quality build, and by the time I had got to soul of cinder, I was still ass. After the 5th-6th try I started to realize, he started using a curved sword when I did, and he would use the same soulmass spell. I thought I was literally fighting some kind of ai doppelgänger that could mimic my play style, which was kinda terrifying. Still pretty cool how it’s every player and lord of fire condensed into one tho
I loved Elden Ring. My biggest problem with Elden Ring is that every time I want to reinstall and make a new toon I have to ask myself if I really feel like doing all that shit all over again and the answer is no. In DS1/3 I can chew throught the entire storyline in no time. But Elden Ring almost feels like gearing for mythic in WoW.
Im not against the Open worlds. but that interconectivity that Bloodborne and Dark Souls 1 has it's for me the best things that FromSoftware makes. And Elden Ring lost completelly this Label. At least put open world, but keeping that interconectivity on main dungeons and Castles.
We can’t say Elden Ring failed. What we have to remember it’s a different game than Dark Souls or Bloodborne, which was my favorite souls game too. I love BB because it’s basically DS but with a Lovecraftian. Elden Ring isn’t Dark Souls in a Tolkien or george rr martin setting. Look at Sekiro, I actually played it after Elden Ring because I was going through souls withdrawal, I was hoping for a souls game but in a feudal Japan setting. At first it has very little in common with a souls game, I was very upset at this. By the time I finished it, I was happy that it wasn’t just a souls pallet swap. The exploration is probably the best in a from software game. I think we have to appreciate for how they are different instead of just being just another souls game with a pallet swap. I guarantee the DLC will make Elden Ring the best souls game. Look what DLC did for Dark Souls 2?
I dont know, maybe unpopular opinion but i feel that the whole Elden Beast boss fight should've been designed like the Divine Dragon boss fight in sekiro. Gameplay wise obviously.
@7:33 I honestly think that most of these complaints/suggestions just indicate that From ran out of time and needed the game to ship. They were already in crunch mode for what, 2 years at that point?
No elden ring is hard to replay, because it's too long and too big. Apart from DS2 the rest of the Soulsborne games are beaten in 12-15 hours.
I like the endgame being more focused and concentrated.
Great vid! I'm not sure if you're on the YouTube grind, but this is a perfect example of a good video. I completely agree with (most of ) the stuff you said. Keep it up, you got my sub.
This is exactly what was so frustrating about everyone calling ER a 10 out of 10. The bosses are kind of a mess. It's artificial difficulty that is frustrating, not fun and skill based. The bosses can just break the rules whenever they want so instead of reading their attacks and knowing you can attack, heal, whatever, it becomes more about luck and trying to bait the AI. And aside from that, the long 40 hit combos, with like 3 seconds to attack in between before they go into another 40 hit combo is obnoxious, especially for bosses like Maliketh that also love to end combos with massive AoEs forcing you away making it even more difficult to actually get a hit in without trading once every 45 minutes, it feels like some fights are these long games of chicken because you never actually have a way to get in safely, not enough time when they constantly force you out and they can just suddenly decide to cancel their openings. Some also have telegraphs for attacks that come out too fast so if you're in and see the telegraph, you don't actually have time to react and escape, it's already too late. The game should be designed to keep you in combat, like so much of this would be less of an issue if you could parry or react in some way but you can't because you have to commit and lock into animations while the bosses don't.
Malenia could have been one of the best bosses in the souls series, if they just nerved her combo. Why does every attacl of the waterfall dance have a (nearly) 360 degree aoe, this is so stupid.
Elden ring was at the end of the day, just not fun. Especially after the first 60 hours,
"The One Reborn is just Tower Knight but gross" 😂😂 Yes!! That's exactly what I was thinking the first time I fought… it? Them? Once I worked out what was going on I was like – Ohhh. It's Tower Knight but I don't really want to look directly at it and OMG why am I standing in a pool of vomit??!
Dogs, Knights, Giants, Assassins, Mages, Dragons And Dont Fight These
Elden Ring is an amazing game, but it's got very poor 'game feel' compared to BB or DS1. It's less fair, but also easier. A generic mook like a bird can invalidate 90% of melee builds but you can mimic up and spam Shield Crash at every single boss and just win without even using 75% of the core mechanics.