Recent reviews by ExplodingCat333

game's just a banger. the first game feels more oppressive and hateful in atmosphere, the second is just a much more polished gameplay experience. both are amazing standalone games or to play together

Probably the best game I've ever played. Amazing story, amazing soundtrack, just cannot recommend it enough. The gameplay is passable but that doesn't matter when the story is SO DAMN GOOD. Just play this damn game please please please.

vergil hires vergil's brother and vergil's son to defeat vergil so vergil can become vergil
awesome game you should play it, incredibly in depth combat system, and something for everyone, there's Nero, pretty easy to grasp moveset but capable of getting SSS rank without too much effort, the pokemon catcher, V, Dante is the most in-depth and complex character easily, but also really rewarding, then theres vergil. so fun, so broken and so anime (you can get SSS rank on him with literally one move, such as judgement cut end). Overall amazing game, good memes (insert V reading MLP), excellent gameplay and looks great too :)

Good spoopy game with alien fish in blood moon go blub blub, scary. good game you should play :) Sub-hour experience worth the price

Note: This review contains names of mid to late game bosses/areas. I do not detail anything about them other than the names, but if this is not something you like, come back at a later point if you wish.

Excellent game that is the culmination of Miyazaki's and FromSoftware's/Bandai Namco's experience

First - regarding stability, the game runs fine for me on steam, and I just about have the recommended specs. I play with keyboard and mouse, and I had to remap a couple of keybinds on keyboard, other than that though it feels pretty good to use to be honest.

Now, as for graphics, FromSoft games have never been known for top tier graphical fidelity, but they don't have to be. The graphics in the game are probably a 7/10 or so, but the art direction is 10/10, and graphics are temporary, there will always be new graphics coming out over the years, but art direction is forever, this is why we still fondly remember games such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Elden Ring has art direction of a similar proportion, I will never forget walking into Lyndell Royal Capital and seeing the Erdtree up close.

As for combat, everything is viable in this game. Magic is broken as ever, faith is still good but not as broken as magic, dex still strong (especially bleed or bleed/frost builds), and strength is strong too because of the strength of poise over 100, as well as strength damage. I suspect the level meta for PvP will be 150 due to increased level caps. Regarding PvE, I have a few criticisms.
Most bosses feel much too easy, however, most are optional, so this is not an issue. However, from Mountaintops of the Giants onward there is a significant difficulty spike. Most of the bosses are mostly fair, aside from some bosses that have one or two gimmicks that make them rather difficult. As a whole, this is not Miyazaki's best boss design, as there are a large number of forgettable or easy bosses, however there are several excellent fights, such as Margit, Radahn, or Malenia, and for those fights, the bosses are excellent. As a whole I'd give boss design 7/10 due to the amazing feeling from fights such as the three mentioned before, however there are still numerous enough forgettable, albeit optional bosses, that dilute the pool of excellent bosses.

Regarding the open world, it's excellent. You don't have to walk very far to see a village, or a cave, or some enemies, or something. There is something throughout the entire world, and you barely have to walk anywhere, this is an open world truly filled with stuff to do. Speaking of, there are also numerous NPC questlines, however some are a little convoluted and may require some googling on the wiki, but overall they are excellently designed too.

Further adding onto art direction, and the open world, in many open world games you often come to start to expect what to see, and a sense of familiarity, but in Elden Ring I keep getting surprised by what I see (Except the poison swamp, it isn't a FromSoft game without one...or multiple). The world is packed with shocking and amazing things, which will disgust you or leave you in awe.

This game is the culmination of all FromSoft games, you have a combination of all combat mechanics. Wanna play slow and with a shield like Demon's Souls/Dark Souls 1? You can. Want to spam roll and use melee like Dark Souls 3? You can. Want to play fast and aggro like Bloodborne? You can. Want to parry and posture break like Sekiro? You can.
The game's art direction also shares aspects of all the games, bosses such as Godrick would fit right in with Bloodborne, Margit is typical of a Dark Souls game, and bosses such as Malenia (end game boss, do not google if you want to avoid spoilers) would fit right in with Sekiro.

Regarding builds/PvP, as I already alluded to, I suspect the meta level will be 150. Now, summoning/invasions are skewed towards the host/summoner favour more than ever for a FromSoft game, imo this is deserved, and I love PvP duelling, invasions are awful, invaders are usually twinks looking to bully new players. ♥♥♥♥ them. Regarding respecs, they are easier than ever, simply defeat Renalla, who you probably will, and then come with a Larval Tear item, which aren't too difficult to come across as you play the game organically. As usual with FromSoft games, starting class only determines stats and equipment and is not set in stone for your playstyle.

Overall, this game is truly amazing, and as someone who is clouded with nostalgia and love for Dark Souls 1: ♥♥♥♥ Dark Souls 1. It doesn't compare to Elden Ring. Amazing game, and truly worth the money.

Overall score: 8.5/10, the game has its flaws, but they are easy enough to overlook and be able to enjoy the game. Buy it if you can, it is worth every part of it. Cannot recommend this enough.

Absolutely beautiful, amazing, game, with a deep, rich story, clearly pre-established lore. However, NieR AutomatA works very well as a standalone game as I knew nothing of this universe before playing N:A, so don't let that worry you. This game makes you care about the characters, it's very profound and deep, and has left an impact on me. I can't say too much about the story without spoiling it, but just know it's amazing.

The music is absolutely amazing and it won game soundtrack of the year in the same year as Persona 5.

As for gameplay, you'd think the mix of Devil May Cry x Bayonetta combo based hack n slash meets bullet hell sequences would be awkward, but they work really well (except for one boss fight which I really quite dislike), and despite combat being hack n slash-esque it stays fresh due to many different combinations of weapons, combos and being rewarded for skilful gameplay.

If you're even thinking about playing this game, I implore you, please please please play it it's so amazing.

yeah it's good