Recent reviews by FakeSympathy

The biggest issue that I have with the gameplay is how the pace of the game collides with the map size. With ziplines, riding on mounts, and combat encounters that require quick reflexes, you’d think this is a fast-paced game. But the map is juuuusstt big enough to feel the encounters aren’t so close quarter. But then when you are on mounts and running across the map, it feels too small. Like, there were so many times that I overshot where I wanted to go because how fast the mounts were moving.

The wardens, or the heroes/operatives in this game, don’t feel special. They are so bland both in terms of gameplay and their personalities. You’ve seen their archetypes in plenty of other games.

The worst part, I feel, is the lack of lore or world-building.

You have NO IDEA on who these heroes are, where they come from, and what are their motives. You have no idea why these maps exist, or how and why the shieldbreaker sword flashes in and out of existence.

At least with Ovewatch or Concord, there were tons of world-building promo materials. At least with Destiny 1, there was the grimore that you need to access via browser (still sucked, but it was a collection of lore regardless).

Here, you have nothing other than the brief bio on the hero selection screen.

I think I expressed this plenty of times before, but I ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ HATE this trend. I mean if the game is blatantly trying to be a dumb fun game like Fall Guys or Fortnite, it doesn't really need a world-building. But here, the heroes and the maps tries to feel unique, but there is nothing for the players to be pulled in. Like, I genuinely don't know what destroying the enemy base achieves lore-wise.

The game was advertised to be from people who worked on Titanfall games and Apex Legend. Which is so weird, because if they have a solid foundation, why not take it to the next level? Instead, it feels like they are too scared to try something new.

IDK what Geoff was smoking when he was hyping up this game. Whatever he gets high off of I want some of that too, because it seems to nullify all the noises away.

This game is the very definition of "smokes and mirrirors"

It feels like a Battlefield game, but in reality the content is really shallow.

The campaign is the worst in the franchise; While campaign was never its strongest suit, BF3 and 4 campaigns were still written better than this. EA has made strange decision to make the game always-online even for campaign, and while that is stupid, I promise you won't be missing much.

The multiplayer.... oh my god, the multiplayer. After putting 62 hours into the game, I can say for certain that it's not that good. Yes, most of the game modes are objective-based and you earn points and progress faster by doing your job instead of having the highest KD ratio, however, the deeper level designs are not there.

None of the maps are that great, and there are no subway paths, elevators, or enough interactive environmental stuff that makes pathing really boring. Vehiciles may as well as be made of paper since a few missiles can take them down. Some challenges are desgined to be impossible, like winning 3 conquest matches by HOLDING ALL OBJECTIVES. The opposing team needs to absolutely suck. Your team needs a landslide victory to get all objectives. The opposing team is given 1 min to take back at least one, which is actually plenty of time even with a semi-decent team. I have won maybe two games this way, out of all the time I put into this game.

Any class can equip any main weapon, which kinda makes having class pointless in the first place. There is also a huge balance issue. Assault class' adrenaline injector, which is its unique ability, is useless. Recon unit, while their spotting equipment are nice, are kinda useless in close-quarter maps. Support is really OP, since they can heal, revive, supply ammo, throw smoke, and suppress enemies with LMGs. Engineers are also insane, since SMGs can somehow make a sniper shot and deadly in all range, plus they carry launchers.

NGL, biggest waste of $70 for me

A game that actually has amazing plotforming action gameplay, kick-ass soundtrack, and a really good story

This game is like being in an ab*sive relationship; It keeps beating me repeatedly to the point of self-pity, but I keep coming back for more and more because i get turned on when it makes out with me seductively on rare occasions.

10/10, go get protection if you can't take it

Haven't played TF2 in YEARs, but still participating in review bombing.

Stop letting hackers run rampant.

If you guys are gonna create a new IP, the least you guys can do is fix the issues

Those who are review-bombing this game because localizations are "woke/DEI/leftist activists"...... Really? One piece of innocent dialog and you think the whole game is bad? You must really have nothing better going on in your lives.

The game isn't perfect, but it is still a very good JRPG. The 3d world and 2d sprite of characters blend very well, creating amazing visuals. The hero system makes it fun to explore, especially considering low-level heroes get xp scaled to catch up to other heroes in levels. Some heroes aren't even for battling, but gives buffs to your party or the home base.

The hero combo attacks are really cool to look at, and makes you wanna mix with other heroes just to see what kind of moves they can pull off.

Soundtrack is very good too! You will be humming to the tune in no time.

There are some drawbacks; the tactical battle games aren't too interesting, there are lots of backtracking when traveling the in-game world, combat can be hard, and because there are more than 100 heroes not everyone has their characters fleshed out. Still, I am used to JRPG elements by this point, and none of these truly deters be from enjoying the game.

It's not a perfect game. But it's one of the best attempts at trying to capture what made soulsborne games great, while adding it's own identity.

The weapon modification is a neat idea and some combinations will definitely work well, but not all will be great.

The boss designs are great for the most part, but around second-half them and the mob designs starts to get stale.

The story is more fleshed out and easy to follow compared to soulsborne games, but it can be very flat sometimes.

The combat is hit or miss, as the timing for perfect guard (aka parry) is strange and every enemy feels the need to have a delayed attacks

I am thoroughly impressed with this game.

Not only did Fromsoftware broke from what looked like a permanent signature game design of soulsborne, not only did they revived a series that looked dead, but they brought it to near perfection.

Designing your own mech is such a fun experience. You don't have to follow the popular songbird + zimmerman combo everyone is talking about; While they do get things done fast, they aren't the only viable weapons to use. There are missile launchers, shotguns, rifles, full-auto, cannons, whatever you think looks cool will definitely work.

Story is really great. Sort of like soulsborne, not much is explained on the surface level. But you really gotta pay attention to character dialogs to appreciate how cool the world of rubicon is. I love the social commentary on corperate greed and deranged environmental activism

One of the rare cases when a kickstarter game turns out not only great, but better than expected.

This game rekindled my love for 16-bit turn-based RPGs. The combat was really fun, and the overdrive mechanic kept it fresh. The world had so many things to discover. The music and soundtracks was amazing.

But the story. Holy crap, the story. It made me laugh, cry, shout "WTF", and many other emotions that I haven't felt since a game a long time ago. The characters, even the antagonists, were very enjoyable to interact with. Honestly, the last time an RPG has gave me such sense was with FF6, and I thought no other games in the genre can top FF6.

I actually shed a tear when I saw my name featured as one of the backers in the credits. I helped to bring something so amazing to existence.

For $25, I promise you WILL get a crap load of hours of the game.

Just beaten the game after 76 hours:

That was, without a doubt, the best soulsborne game I've ever played. Sort of what BOTW did with Zelda series, Elden Ring has completely re-written on how souls games should be like from now on. Lands Between is one of the greatest world FS has ever made. Different biomes just magically blends together, and I was always tempted to explore more. My favorite area was Leyndell, The Royal Capital as it recaptured that wonder I felt when I first reached Anor Londor back in Dark Souls 1. No other game in the series has given me the same goosebumps and feels.

The versatility of builds has never been crazy, thanks to many different weapons and skills requiring different skill stats. There is literally something for everyone here. I myself was trying to stick with the classic str/fth paladin, but after discovering blasphemous blade I switched from lightning to flames and scarlet rot. I personally only played in pvp three times, but from all the clips I'm seeing on youtube it's crazy how creative players are getting with their builds.

The best part for me was there was little to no hand-holding. Contrast to something like Ubisoft open-world games, there were no obvious navigation marker other than general direction for me to head out. There were no boundaries for me to hit, and I felt the freedom of going wherever I wanted to go. There were also no quest markers, trackers, radar, and other UI stuff that cluttered up the screen. FS kept the simple UI of the past games, and I appreciate them for that.

I feel ER is probably the most accessible souls game in the series for newcomers due to the sheer number of possibilities in builds and the option to go explore somewhere else and being able to always come back to that difficult area later.

There were some things that I didn't like, however. While I enjoyed the rewards of the mini-dungeons, I feel they were bit too copypasted. There were some stand out ones, but most of them were caves or catacombs filled with deadly traps and annoying enemies, with recycled bosses in the end. I lost count on how many times I fought some giant knight dudes at the bottom.

Speaking of bosses, for the most part FS did amazing jobs for the designs. Margit, Godrick, Rennala, Malenia, Godfrey, Morgott, Rykar, Radahn, and Radagon. The designs and the fights were phenomenal. Malenia fight was crazy, Rykar fight was cinematic, Rennala second phase was beautiful. And Radahn's crash made me laugh due to the ridiculousness. As I mentioned above there were some recycled minor bosses both in mini-dungeons or out on the field, some being more annoying than challenging. All those horseback bosses drove me crazy.

Is Elden Ring a perfect game? No, as a "perfect" game doesn't exist. Is it fun? Hell Yes, I am getting ready for NG+ right now. This time, I'm definitely doing more side quest and pay attention to any potential rewards I might come across.

10/10, please ♥♥♥♥ me up more Elden Ring