Elden Ring meh music but is one of the most difficult games I have ever played

[Old Man Gamer (OMG)]

The only games that I have had as much difficulty in was the old school platform games, or classic Pacman at insanely high levels. Even Iron Man mode in XCom games are a cake walk compared. Elden Ring is not especially punishing upon death, but is very punishing for mistakes while in combat.

The multiple variants of bosses make the progression continue to be mostly a new experience at every turn. The repeated bosses get beefed up, when coming up on them in a later progression of the game. Just when I think I can beat a crucible knight with ease, a new version comes and does two skills without wind up and without pause, which instant kills me. Making 60 vigor no better than 10. Granted, I went in to die, to see if there was something new, being I am used to the beefing up repeat foes. I just did not expect to die so quickly.

In all, it is a rewarding difficulty. There are moments, where I feel like progression is more a 'finally' than a 'woohoo', but rewarding overall. I am not finished with my first game play, but I am getting near. The story is fascinating to follow as well.

My only major complaint, is the sound track is mostly background ambiance, and does not stand out. The music is not bad, but it is not good either. It is just there. I find the music to be overall a disappointment. I think back to The Witcher, and all I was told of the Souls games, and how epic games usually have bold and epic music. In Elden Ring, the music is only background, lacking anything to fit the epic style of the game.

What do you think? Am I being too critical, or is the music as meh to you as it is to me? What is your take on the difficulty? I figure I am probably about average or lesser, so difficult to me might be easy for you. Cheers and Game On!

[[K]entucky Sperkle ♿]

da heck

[Old Man Gamer (OMG)]

Originally posted by Kentucky Sperkle:

da heck

To anything in particular?

[Blitz4]

I get what you're saying.
music is not well made. this is your first souls-like game. you enjoy difficult games. you are loving ER.

i'm with you when I notice the music, then THAT is when it's bad. I'm never "getting into the music" except on boss fights. it feels lazy and it repeats too. i'd like an ambient music slider in game to kill that and i'll just play my own playlist.

There are moments, where I feel like progression is more a 'finally' than a 'woohoo', but rewarding overall.

so that, before anybody freaks out, hints that ER is NOT a game about perseverance, but a game about exploration. and it's not about exploring yourself, but instead exploring the game world. ER is far different than DS.

to the OP. If what I say is right, I think I have a gift. witcher3 combat/difficulty is nothing compared to souls-like. ER is the best intro to souls-like I can name. in ER, if you take away the open world, shrink it down and remove the story, and many of the mechanics that make it ER, you'll get close to Dark Souls. Dark Souls is a game of perseverance, not exploration. here's my review

What is the story of Dark Souls?

The story is amazing, I'll tell you the real plot of the game:
It's one of a spoiled gamer - one stripped of all handicaps, landmarks, and familiarities - thrown into one of the most solitude and darkest of places, a place you don't want to be. To escape, it becomes a test of ones own abilities. It's gamer vs game, and it feels like the game wins the moment you give up or look up a guide on howto progress.
The ending feels fantastic! (Best review to date)

Curious about the game? If you don't have a controller, it's not worth playing with a keyboard. If you have one, there's tons of others who posted their struggles going in blind on youtube. You're not alone. Spoiler warning:
IGN
Lobro
Mr Odd (yes the xcom dude)

[Yo Homie]

You havent played Sekiro

[Old Man Gamer (OMG)]

Originally posted by Blitz4:

I get what you're saying.
music is not well made. this is your first souls-like game. you enjoy difficult games. you are loving ER.

i'm with you when I notice the music, then THAT is when it's bad. I'm never "getting into the music" except on boss fights. it feels lazy and it repeats too. i'd like an ambient music slider in game to kill that and i'll just play my own playlist.

There are moments, where I feel like progression is more a 'finally' than a 'woohoo', but rewarding overall.

so that, before anybody freaks out, hints that ER is NOT a game about perseverance, but a game about exploration. and it's not about exploring yourself, but instead exploring the game world. ER is far different than DS.

to the OP. If what I say is right, I think I have a gift. witcher3 combat/difficulty is nothing compared to souls-like. ER is the best intro to souls-like I can name. in ER, if you take away the open world, shrink it down and remove the story, and many of the mechanics that make it ER, you'll get close to Dark Souls. Dark Souls is a game of perseverance, not exploration. here's my review

What is the story of Dark Souls?

The story is amazing, I'll tell you the real plot of the game:
It's one of a spoiled gamer - one stripped of all handicaps, landmarks, and familiarities - thrown into one of the most solitude and darkest of places, a place you don't want to be. To escape, it becomes a test of ones own abilities. It's gamer vs game, and it feels like the game wins the moment you give up or look up a guide on howto progress.
The ending feels fantastic! (Best review to date)

Curious about the game? If you don't have a controller, it's not worth playing with a keyboard. If you have one, there's tons of others who posted their struggles going in blind on youtube. You're not alone. Spoiler warning:
IGN
Lobro
Mr Odd (yes the xcom dude)

Well said. I plan on getting the Souls games when they are on a good sale. I am not familiar with any game streamers. About the only one I watch is the YouTube videos of Let's Game it Out. Josh is a maniacal and diabolical gamer. I did a quick peak at the videos, but rather not spoil the fun for later. I could tell that they were having fun. I would much rather join them than watch though. Just my personality, I guess.

The music in The Witcher series was enough to make me want to play the game. That music is completely epic. I keep the soundtrack on my desktop, and will probably end up playing that while playing Elden Ring. I actually replayed areas in The Witcher 3, just because the music at that point. It made the experience feel that much more epic. I have not gotten that at all from Elden Ring. I do not think it is lazy, however. I think they were playing it safe. They went with something that would neither deflate nor inspire.

The music in Elden Ring is in such a state, that I wonder if much of the more punchy themes and impacting music was pulled. Then again, maybe they meant it to be docile.

[Old Man Gamer (OMG)]

Originally posted by Sup Bro:

You havent played Sekiro

I have not. Before Elden Ring released, I played Bright Memory: Infinite. That combat system was absolutely fantastic. It was a short game, but I played it through multiple times, because it was such a fun combat system. I would like to find more games that play that way.

[Old Man Gamer (OMG)]

Additionally, I am rather liking the game with the music turned down all of the way. Just tried that today, and it is still currently off.

[Adam]

From Software is usually heavy on incidental music with sparse overtures for boss fights and cutscenes. Elden Ring has more of a traditional underscore background music compared to their other games which utilise soundscapes more frequently.

The music structures are also really interesting. They aren't epic in the traditional sense, they structurally certainly aren't and are very noisy but they seem purposefully designed to induce stress and panic.

A good way to test this is when you find a boss you are struggling with turn off the music and see how it plays, then put something you find 'epic' on and see how that effects the experience. I bet you will find it significantly easier. Music affects our perception of things and From Software absolutely use this to their advantage.

'epic games usually have bold and epic music' not really. There is certainly a trend towards it but there are so many ways you can approach sound design and what you want to convey. Look at how the new Doom's use sound to pump you up and get you feeling hyped then contrast with how the Last of Us and Red Dead Redemption use sombre music to create a slower, sadder pace.

Try look at it from the perspective of what are the designers trying to elicit from the player. It might not be something you connect with but will give you a better understanding on what experience they are wanting you to have.

[Suey]

Noone of the previous games had soundtrack while exploring and I think it fits pretty well. The awesome soundtracks are only for bosses and the best ones doing that is DS3. ER bosses music are not bad but not even close to DS3.

[FDru]

It's weird cause I remember almost all the music from King's Field. Maybe they made music more ambient in the dark souls games because they expected the player to die so often, that the constantly resetting music would be jarring.

[BeardGuardian]

My trick to deal with the boring music was to have this playing in the background https://youtu.be/LUO5qhpD2pA I do wish I could get boss music in between though

[Blitz4]

these are the game soundtracks I remember that would work if i didn't play the game they're in. there's the thing. these are not ambient soundtracks like you hear in movies. they know their market and they go at 'em with all they got.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMbJxZWAzuA

hacknet

quake2


but in general for games that i remember the mustic , it anchors the experience. like SH3 or crono trigger, megaman, fallout, wotes, etc.

ambience is intentionally creating pointless music to not put off anybody. yet as I said above, when you notice ambient music, it's failed its purporse, sadly that happens quite a bit in ER. still a great game. i just would like a slider to mute just the ambient music

[Wasserstern]

I actually really like the music. Ok I'm not that far into the game. But the Limgrave background sound is pretty nice. It has these weird undertones that really fit these strange lands.

[Old Man Gamer (OMG)]

Originally posted by Adi:

From Software is usually heavy on incidental music with sparse overtures for boss fights and cutscenes. Elden Ring has more of a traditional underscore background music compared to their other games which utilise soundscapes more frequently.

The music structures are also really interesting. They aren't epic in the traditional sense, they structurally certainly aren't and are very noisy but they seem purposefully designed to induce stress and panic.

A good way to test this is when you find a boss you are struggling with turn off the music and see how it plays, then put something you find 'epic' on and see how that effects the experience. I bet you will find it significantly easier. Music affects our perception of things and From Software absolutely use this to their advantage.

'epic games usually have bold and epic music' not really. There is certainly a trend towards it but there are so many ways you can approach sound design and what you want to convey. Look at how the new Doom's use sound to pump you up and get you feeling hyped then contrast with how the Last of Us and Red Dead Redemption use sombre music to create a slower, sadder pace.

Try look at it from the perspective of what are the designers trying to elicit from the player. It might not be something you connect with but will give you a better understanding on what experience they are wanting you to have.

I did find the game more relaxing without the music. The other thing that bothers me, is the very high pitched constant sound on some of the tracks. It is kind of grating. I have the deluxe version of the game, so I took some time to listen to some of the soundtrack, and have not found one song that would be something I would listen to outside of the game. Or for prolonged in the game for that matter. Granted, I have over 240 hours in the game so far.

[Old Man Gamer (OMG)]

Originally posted by FDru:

It's weird cause I remember almost all the music from King's Field. Maybe they made music more ambient in the dark souls games because they expected the player to die so often, that the constantly resetting music would be jarring.

I would rather be jarred. The current soundtrack is docile and uninspiring. It is like having a bad voice actor in a video game. You are at a part of the game that is exciting, and your choices are playing out right before you eyes. Up comes the NPC that delivers the dialogue, and it is read off the script without emotion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQiLMCWX5CA