Recent reviews by [LoR] Welkin

Fix the economy, Snail. Community can't be ignored.

O Elden Ring

Feels a bit easier than MHW but at the same time I really like the chill pace and quick hunts. Moves feel like they connect better and the intensity of some frustrating gaming mechanics has been toned down.
Wirebugs and palamutes are definitely something I'd like to see in future games aswell. Wirebug mechanics fit into the natural flow of the game much better than the claw mechanics of MHW and open a whole new aspect to the gameplay that feels fulfilling rather than simply tacked on. Palamutes give nice mobility options and maps feel more open.

Soda is nice.

Not sure where the "Pay 2 win" comments come from, you can earn all unlocks through gameplay and the starter weapons are pretty solid for most engagements.

I enjoy the tank patch, however the expensive maintenance/ammo cost for anti-tank equipment often means you'll be losing money instead of gaining even when succeeding at destroying a tank.

Hopefully they'll work on the planes next, however the greatest issue with the game right now really is the amount of time it takes to find games through matchmaking. Perhaps this could be remedied by making the match setup work in a different manner? I'm not sure how it works currently but it feels weird to see 300 people in a queue for matches that consist of 30 people. I feel like they should try to encourage people to play War mode more, but I also understand that a lot of people don't enjoy the tilted matchups presented in War mode.

I'll admit the game isn't that beginner friendly; starting out as a new player the progression feels slow. I earned most of the things I wanted in roughly 200 hours for one faction, but it could've been faster in one of the XP boosted factions. I've played each faction some but most of my time is spent playing germans.

multiplayer has some issues and theway UI handles at times feels a bit weird, I wish they had given options for more PC oriented menus. Finding out what materials you have acquired is a little bit unwieldy. Joining a friend's quest involves a bunch of unnecessary presses of a button, however I can understand why they've done things the way they have somewhat- not everyone is communicating over a separate channel and might need to adjust gear before heading out for the hunt.

Gathering stuff and preparing for a hunt is done well, the maps are decently sized but a little bit more room for variation in encounter would be welcome- it feels a little bit lame that a monster always ends up limping back to the exact same nest each time. Having multiple nests of which one would be chosen at random for the hunt, with perhaps some signs near the nest that could give you a hint which one is active on that specific hunt would've been nice.

So far I've managed to put 40 hours into the game, I finished the "main quest" and have spent a lot of time helping friends or progressing together. Multiplayer is definitely a feature that should be focused on in this kind of game, as the party loadout makes up for a great management gameplay aspect. Monsters getting stronger but rewards instead becoming smaller feels a bit strange- perhaps group play oriented, more difficult missions with increased rewards would fix this.

Weapons are varied and depending on your choice, may require quite a bit of practie to get the hang of. Learning the best way to utilize your weapon is a fun and rewarding learning experience. Positioning yourself to bring the beatdown with a massive weapon at the right time to the right part of your target or flying around like a helicopter with your glaive is something you can feel you've worked towards.

I love the way they've approached character development- instead of having to grind out some weapon skill, you can just switch over to another weapon if you have the materials. Only limitation is your skill as a player, your ability to adapt and learn.

Having to maintain several different sets of armor that are meant for different jobs is something you rarely see. Not all of the enemies deal that heavy elemental damage however, so you do not need to swap your kit on every single hunt.

Feels a bit funny to say I'd recommend a game where I feel I can mostly point out things that I'd do different, but despite these flaws I'm enjoying the game- MH games have never been too easy on the newcomers, but I'd say this one is fairly accessible. Some veterans might say that it is even too accessible perhaps.

PRAISE THE SUN!

Finally the wait is over and after a week of running around Drangleic whacking hollows, beasts and otherworldly monstrosities I can say that this sequel delivers on a whole new level.
From Software really put the effort into this PC-port this time, the game runs smoothly even on older rigs and performance issues are nearly nonexistent. Only issue that we've been running into has been the occasional input lag for mouse & keyboard users which is possible to fix with autohotkey programs, and the occasional disconnection for the gameserver which may be fixed quite shortly.
Combat is much more fluid than in the first Dark Souls, and a lot of mechanics adjustments have improved the experience considerably. The feel of the game remains the same, but the improvements balance and fix issues- just like a perfect sequel should do.
I could recommend this game nearly to anyone- sure it's difficult, but once you manage to claw yourself past the barrier of clueless and sorta-knows-what-to-do, it's an experience that you can't quite find in many modern games.