ChromaticDracula

@JoyconGang I want to say... if it makes you feel any better, I beat Demon's Souls twice now and am on NG++ and I have yet to be able to beat Tower Knight by myself. I was able to kill all other bosses myself somehow but that damn Tower Knight is just... ugh...
The closest I ever got on my own was actually killing him but then he fell on me when he died and took me out with him. It was the single most getting hit with trash moment of my life.

Anyway, best of luck! You'll get it, and believe me, the rest of the game is excellent!

Indeed, this does look SLICK... But I feel that FromSoftware is not the best at what they do; they're the only ones that do what they do.
I'll keep an eye on it though because this does look most impressive.

I think it looks great but the controls seem to really set it back which is really unfortunate.
Seems there’s a whole untapped light gun market out there, folks.

I got the 100 hour mark and I’m level 101 as of yesterday evening. I have yet to reveal the entire map and I’ve only downed 3 shard bearers. The game is MASSIVE and a real joy to explore. It’s the first game where I actually want to explore every square inch because I know there are things tucked away in every corner. It’s the best $70 I’ve spent in a lot time in terms of ROI.

@Luigia yeah for certain WRC 10 should be higher than 9. I played both and 10 is for sure more finely tuned and adjusted to perfection. Less visual glitches too!
Ima go rate WRC 10 now, something I should’ve done already!

@helbertpina a game in a game. I LOVE this idea!
Now I’m imagining a whole new Namco Museum type game where you can walk around in the arcade to play the games and not just pick them from a menu (although that would of course be an option too.)

How do you make a mistake like that? That’s not a “WOOPS” it’s more like a cover-up for something.
A proper WOOPS would’ve been if they made a typo in the dialogue or something.
Weird.

I wish we had an option to stick our already purchased PS1/PS2 discs in and play those. Even if we had to hook up a USB disc reader to read from and feed the data in. I'd like it equally if they allowed you to download the games you already bought on their storefront. (I bought countless PS1 classics on PS3 and now they're just not available I guess. Awesome.)

I'm about ready to just buy a PS2 and the discs I want and be done with it. I could slap myself Will Smith style for selling my PS2 and games years and years ago!!!

@KayOL77 not taking any offense… it’s a good question but remember there’s a giant difference between patching a game with an update once or even a few times and requiring a persistent connection to play single player:

What if you were busy all week working and all you wanted to do was come home, turn on your PS5 and bang out a few races and watch the replays, gawking at your car as is flies around the turns and kicks up rain. You just want to unwind and play your $70 game.
But you discover either your internet is down at your house, or god forbid, there’s another server maintenance and the game is unplayable for the night or for even a few hours. Your night is ruined.
Whatever gameplay you can muster without an internet connection is in vain because none of your progress is saved and you didn’t earn any credits and you only have access to a few tracks.

Meanwhile, you look around the room and see your other games that you can play. Practically all of them are playable because they don’t require an internet connection. They’re playable patched or unpatched. Hell… You can drive to the store and buy just about any other game off the shelf and come home and pop it in and play it regardless if you have internet or not. So you settle for something like Horizon Forbidden West. You might even pop in Elden Ring knowing you won’t see peoples messages around the world but at least you can go kick some tarnished butt. You can play all these games because it’s not dependent on an internet connection.
That’s where I have a problem. Don’t even get me started on what will happen in like 15 years when they shut the server down and your $70 game is just an empty faded memory.

I have a problem with these things. Patches are fine because they don’t prevent me from playing single player games. Needing to be connected to a server to have basic single player functionality is completely different than that.

Won't be buying until they segregate online and offline and remove the need for internet connection, or a connection to their server. I played GT3 in the past without a connection and enjoyed the crap out of it. I want that again but with the PS5 experience.

I’m in Portland, OR and my app has never worked yet. Sucks because there are some moments I captured In Elden Ring I’d really liked to have sent to my phone for easy access!

From someone who bought it and played only the 3 music rally things before deciding to return it, If I could rate each thing separately, I’d give it:
9/10 on graphics
Not enough experience to rate sound
9/10 presentation
3/10 execution
10/10 control

I’m largely OKAY with everything. The general consensus is that nobody is MAKING you succumb to micro transactions. It’s extremely unfortunate that they’re in there but its on you if you “bite,” even if it is tempting.

What I do have a problem with — and always have — is the online requirement for single player. You should be able to start it in OFFLINE mode just like you can with Souls games. Want to go online? Go back to the main menu and sign in online to continue online.

I think the right way to have gone about this whole thing would be to have a single player side and an online side but they’re completely disconnected from each other. Maybe even each on their own disc. This way, you can’t cheat in single player and bring those earnings/benefits over to online mode and corrupt the community.
It’s just stupid and I wont be buying the game because of it. (For the record, I bought the game and returned it because I got a real sour taste in my mouth with the whole PS5 download/install and then additional download that was taking upwards of 3 hours. I really questioned and second-guessed this purchase.)

Know what I did instead? I bought myself a nice copy of WRC 10 and I absolutely love it (so far.)
I prefer technical rally over technical road racing anyway.

@Kidfunkadelic83 nice! Yeah I think I played 1 or 2 on PS2 I forget which one it was but the physics have come A LOOONNNNGGG way since then. 10 is amazing so far. Glad you like it too!

@TitnTin very well said!

As a statement, I bought WRC 10 today and I absolutely love it.

This is a great time to make an example out of this situation and vote with your wallet next time a game that costs $70 with MTX requires online only.
This right here is what the game will be like when PS6/7/8 or whatever is out and they shut the server down. Yeah I know … by then GT9 will be out but even now I personally would like to play GT3 and I’d be able to. GT7 I would not.

@ApostateMage Is that what's happening!? Like you can't even access the core content of the game because of maintenance and the servers being down? That's dumb AF.

I bought the game but promptly returned it the same day for numerous reasons and now I'm happy I did. At least when you get kicked off on Elden Ring it kicks you back to the title screen and you can just play the game offline from there and start exactly right where you left off. In fact, you don't need to be online at all so it's no big deal. GT7 seems to just prevent you outright.

I went from "I returned the game but I'll buy it in the future" to "Not buying at all." I'm springing for WRC 10 tomorrow-- on sale for 23.99 I think with a PS+ subscription discount. I'll get much more enjoyment out of that I think (I love Rally)

Death Stranding is nothing short of a masterpiece. I know it's probably not for everyone but I could safely say it was a science fiction opera of fantastic ideas executed beautifully. It really took the open world formula and turned it on its head. Really gets you thinking about humanity and seeing things from a different perspective. It wasn't a mindless fetch quest crap at its core. Sure there are fetch (side) quests but every one of the main missions was engaging in some way. Anyway thats my spiel. I cannot wait to see what else Kojima does. ✌️👍

EDIT: For as monotonous as some things were at times — maybe only 3 missions, it was one of the only games to ever reel me in on the story alone so that I actually felt compelled to walk all the way back to a location just so I could see what happens. The story really is a strong point and is motivating enough. The visuals are insane too!

@Korgon I sort of have to agree here myself. I remember reading about Artorias and Sif for hours and the whole Abyss thing.. Even now I get so enamored by it all. I guess Elden Ring might take a few playthroughs 'til it "clicks' just like Dark Souls. Still... the lore and world is still breathtaking. I can't really complain but you make a good point so I had to chime in

I’ll bite on the single player upgrade. For $10 I might as well because I’ll NEVER pay the full price after it goes up.
I had a hard time getting into GTA5 because of how big the game is and not remembering where things are and what the controls are and even really being attached to anything to stick with it.
However, if the loads times are improved and it’s $10 for that alone I’ll bite.
I’ll never spend more than that though! It’s not worth it to me given that I might lose interest again at any given moment.

I popped the game in, installed it and got to the music rally while the game slowly “downloads.”
I beat each one and while it was fun, I decided I wasn’t going to keep the game. I watched that “Downloading” progress bar crawl slowly to about the 70% mark before I questioned why I spent $70 on this game. Not that it’s not worth it— it looks and plays great and is a hallmark in quality— but I just decided that I can’t deal with this download and price and … ugh.. I’m going to return the game and wait until a price drop. I’m also heavily invested in Elden Ring and really am not interested in anything else at the moment (even though I thought I would be.)
The micro-transactions are just stupid. I truly believe you don’t need to “honor” them and can just grind instead of spending extra money but still… the principle of it.
I’ll always be a GT fan but I just can’t right now.

Sorry folks, see you at a later date on the tracks.

@Marios-love-child I’m in the same boat. I came here to read up on some PS news while I wait. This is insane.
Graphics are great and so is the gameplay but only 3 tracks and the same stupid music (that I can’t even turn off yet!) is burning me out.

Can’t wait to jump in properly when this finishes.

I actually wonder if this is a PS2 Classic or something.... Imagine that!

I feel bad for those who haven’t played Elden Ring. By the time y’all truly realize what this game is and that you missed it, you’re going to be very upset with yourself. Get on this bus!!!

I acquired a PS5 specifically for this game so you can imagine how happy I am that this is finally hours away and reviewed well!
The last one I played was GT3. I remember buying that and Silent Hill 2 when I got my PS2. It’s the only 2 games I wanted and I was stoked.

I have extremely fond memories of playing GT3 and SH2 around this exact time of year around that time and til this day I still want to play Gran Turismo around this time of year. Well, folks, it’s about to happen and I’m so excited.
I also have Friday off from work!
Going to be fun swapping between GT7 and Elden Ring!

I really like this logo. The old one as cool too but this one looks more… how do you say, more elegant/refined perhaps?
You can tell this one wasn’t just made from stock Adobe assets. THERE I SAID IT.

…hey even if it was, it’s still not blatant.

@twitchtvpat oh interesting! That’s precisely what I was mentioning.

With the game requiring an internet connection, you’d think they’d deny connections or something so you can’t play it even if you receive it beforehand.
Anyway I’m glad that’s not a thing.. it’s not like people intentionally received the mail early. Clearly it’s not the customer’s fault so why should they get penalized by not being able to play it. See y’all on the tracks and in The Lands Between!

This is the most amount of brand new games I’ve bought, and will buy, in this short of a timespan in years. It’s only 4 (Horizon, Elden Ring, Gran Turismo, and Kirby on Switch) but dang… great set of games to spend a lot of time in! I haven’t had a PlayStation library/set of games this big since PS2!

NOOOOOOO I was hoping my wife would have it beaten and done soon so we don’t have to fight over the PS5 anymore! We’ve been trading between her with Horizon FW and me with Elden Ring. They’re two absolute banger games and … and …. sharing is hard haha

Ray tracing, shmray tracing … the game looks phenomenal!
But, this will merely be icing on the cake… or gold line resin on the sword 😂

All I really care about is the online play (for Souls/FromSoftware games — I'm not a big online gamer). I don't really ever look forward to the free games that come with plus because I know once my sub lapses, the games are gone. And I'm not one to horde games just for the sake of them being free. I'd much rather wait for any game I want to go on sale and pay for it to play whenever I want, regardless of some subscription. And if the game is that good, I'll just pay for it full price.
If the basic tier just allows for basic online play, I'll be happy as long as it's cheaper than what I'm paying now for Plus.
If I have to pay the same price for the same online play but they take away the free games... well... that's going to suck. (More money less value)

I’m not worried about the graphics… I think DS3 was flipping amazing-looking. True, Demons Souls is in another class but I’ve had equal fun with both games. I watched only 2 trailers and Elden Ring looks phenomenal.

The frame dips are a bit crappy but I’m sure it’ll get fixed. I may play in the graphics mode just to avoid it but it’ll be hard to do given that all the other DS games I’ve played are running 60fps (except on Switch.)

I’ll be busy with Elden Ring and GT7 well into probably April/May to care anyway.

…I’ll claim the Sonic racing game if true but that’s it.

In an attempt to sharpen my skills, I just took on Ornstein and Smough on NG+ over the weekend and wow did it whoop my buttocks. I overcame the challenge though! Super Ornstein was a tough cookie but he fell just like I remember.... ahhh the sweet sweet taste of victory,

I’m a huge fan of the souls series so I know I’d really enjoy this. Unfortunately, at this point in my life, I really need to pick and choose what I pay for and play due to time constraints and what have you. I hate starting a game and then not being able to pick it up again for awhile. I don’t like when there’s a big potential for distraction or getting side-tracked by another game. If I’m not going to give it 100% and beat it I’d rather not even play it at all.
I did it with The Medium and I did it with Ghost of Tsushima and I’ll probably never go back to them now because I forget the controls and everything I was doing. 😩
Right now I have Elden Ring coming and well… I plan to get fully invested in that. I’ve been playing DS1 trying to prepare myself for the incoming punishment.

My wife is going to be playing this while I play Elden Ring betwixt.
Something tells me there’s going to be some arguments over who gets the PS5 at any given time…. 😂
…oh, marriage.

I’ll be going Prisoner or Vagabond. I like tanking through things with the ability to supplement my short range with light magic.

I’m really happy to have this article available because I’m one of those people who sits there for like 4 hours creating my character in the beginning. Now I can maybe reduce it down to an hour 😂

I’m pinning all my FromSoftware games to the Home Screen. I don’t want to see anything else but Dark Souls, Demon Souls, and Elden Ring from now on.
(I’m not joking, I’m obsessed)

Although it’s not my favorite boss fight per-say, I absolutely love and am enamoured by the whole Artorias/Sif/Abyss lore.
That boss fight and artorias’ arm just hanging and rescuing Sif from the ghosts in the abyss chasm and Sif wielding the sword… ugh… it’s just so cool to me. That whole abysswalker/knight/corruption thing is just the coolest thing ever and makes me feel like they didn’t even need to hire George Martin to help with Elden Ring. I’m glad he did but seriously that whole story and lore from DS 1 is TOP NOTCH.

someone better buy Konami. I hope it’s PS but for the love of god someone buy it and bring them back out of the dark.

I don’t know what they have to be worried about with graphics. I think this looks phenomenal.
Remember that article a few weeks ago when they said they had a lot to go against with Demon Souls? Psshhhh, this is looking snazzy, FromSoft… cannot WAIT for this!!

I think the service and experience is splintered and that is never a good look. Consistency and standardization will go a long way if and when things get cooking properly. No more asterisks.

@LordOfTurnips 😂😂😂

I’m hoping this open-world concept works! Like, the other games were “open-world” too I guess but tightly wound. And I loved seeing landmarks off in the distance and actually being able to go to them. So if this works like that, I’m set.
It’s going to be great, I know it… I have it preordered.
I just finally beat DS3 over the weekend after a long hiatus due to Darkeater Midir pounding me into dust over and over. But I did it… I freaking did it.
Anyway, I’m so ready for this..

I’ve gone back to try and tackle Darkeater Midir because I’ve done just about every other “impossible” fight in Dark Souls. I just beat the Guardian Dragon in DS2 and thought I was tough sh*t. Midir put me in my place REAL QUICK this morning. Anyway, this reminds me of that fight… a towering beast of a giant with claws and massive amounts of defense. Able to OSK in one swipe.

….oh how excited this makes me!!

TALK ABOUT A SPOILER ALERT.. I didn't know Kratos was a god! ...oh wait

I love all these colors. I’d have a hard time picking between blue, pink, and that darker red that’s available

@eagletrippin BELIEVE ME, I know … I probably sound like a pretentious dousche, and rightfully so I would deserve that… it’s just the little details I noticed in previous generations and the benchmarks I set for my own improvements I’d like to see. That was perhaps my ONLY complaint with previous entries, graphics-wise, maybe even my only complaint period. I guess I was just saying I expected it to be non-existent. It’s probably improved though so that’s great.
When it comes down to it, I’m 100% buying the game and I’m still really excited for it. I’m a bit upset about the online requirement but whatever…
And I will say, as long as the replays look gorgeous, and they will, I’ll be happy.

See you on the tracks!