Im going to lose many hours of sleep to this game I can feel it.
3 Likes
15 Likes
I want to see sea of Thieves ported to UE5
Man⌠Epic is really hitting it out of the park with diversity in its leadership 
???
1 Like
My honest experience with the first few hours of the game was that I just wasnât having that much fun with it, even as someone who has played plenty of Soulsborne games. I was wandering blind without direction, I was hesitant to go too far in any direction for fear that I was going to miss something important since I couldnât level up or even look at my map yet. I didnât really start to enjoy the game until I found my way to the Weeping Peninsula. The Weeping Peninsula is a GREAT place to go early in the game, itâs not too tough when youâre just starting out and itâs small enough you can reasonably explore everything while including a nice variety of the sort of content youâll be seeing in the game. Thereâs an NPC at the start guiding you in the direction of a storyline for this area and thereâs a big castle to serve as the final dungeon for the region that both the game world and the storyline naturally pushes you towards. Beat that area and you feel like youâve actually made some solid progression in the world. Elden Ring has a good open world, but I think the opening hours are pretty rough and I disagree with the idea that just because something doesnât hold the players hand that itâs free from criticism in how well designed it is. Bethesda games donât hold the players hand in how they experience the world, youâre free to run off in any direction you choose - but if you look at the opening of each game thereâs a hundred little game design tricks and tactics to ensure that the player knows what they are supposed to be doing and where they are supposed to be going.
Elden Ring does a little of this, it introduces your major goal for the game and naturally guides you towards the first step of this - but also immediately punishes the player if they try and follow that path. Letâs look at how Dark Souls 1 handles exploration - once you reach Firelink Shrine thereâs 3 main paths you can follow each taking you in the direction of something important. This works though, because even dipping your toe in these paths is enough for a first time player to know only one is actually a viable option and that is the path the main story wants you to follow. But with Elden Ring? Youâre punished inconsistently whatever direction you go. You might run into the dragon that just swoops down from nowhere, or a teleporting chest that dumps you in a higher level zone, or a bear that just appears from thin air to kill you. And none of these serve to teach the player anything, the lake isnât a difficult zone nor are the ruins around the bear or the ruins with the chest in them. None of these are to warn you off exploring these areas further, if you just run past the dragon you find a fairly manageable dungeon for a first time player. Youâre not being rewarded by something cool to reward your curiosity, youâre not being taught any important lessons by the game - I donât know how to better describe it than just saying the game is intentionally trolling you.
Now letâs talk more about that teleporting chest. Me? Iâve played enough Dark Souls - I loved the whole teleporting chest trick. I love getting a glimpse into a weird fucked up zone Iâm gonna reach later. But itâs also a pretty bullshit zone to drop the player and for someone still finding their feet in the franchise? Youâre surrounded by enemies that can one shot you with tracking ranged attacks and enemies that resist your normal attacks if you use the wrong weapon. If you die youâre still stuck there, you have no real chance of progressing or fighting your way out - the only real way to escape is to run and hope you can find the exit so you can make use of the fast travel system that also isnât that well explained by the game. Iâve watched multiple people stream this section of the game, NONE of them have known yet that they couldnât fast travel from the site of grace and had to go stand outside to do it.
Your only reward if you choose to explore further is upgrade materials youâre not going to be able to use for a long time, and crafting materials that youâre also not going to be able to use for a while. Again letâs look at a previous game, Dark Souls 2 - once you reach the hub area thereâs two major paths you can follow. The game naturally guides you towards an easy path in the Forest of Fallen Giants but for someone who wants to push themselves they can go to Heideâs Tower of Flame. Itâs tougher, but itâs not beyond what a new player could handle if they can grasp the mechanics and the game rewards you with plenty of EXP from the enemies here. Elden Ring is doing nothing of this, itâs not providing you with a fun challenge or something you can work through for ample rewards. Itâs really just messing with you.
Crystal Dynamics announced new Tomb Raider game using Unreal Engine 5!
Donât screw them over, Square!
12 Likes
Oh boy that could be insanely good looking
Reminds me of Order 1886
It was also leaked a day or two earlier
Nice
I guess UE5 from Rare is Everwild?
1 Like
To be fair the last TR game looks amazing. Might be an indication that the next one might move to more open world.
I seriously hope Square doesnât get any hands on. Only check how they are HR wise.
Is there no Bethesda game studio using UE5 ?
Or a new project? 
Watch Tomb Raider release before Perfect Dark.
3 Likes
It seems like the games are announced randomly right nowâŚ
But yeah, Microsft, save Crystal Dynamics!
I donât care if itâs Gears 6 or new title, just give me the next game!