Elden Ring is great but it's missing something that made Bloodborne better

Elden Ring lacks Bloodborne's sharp focus

[SullysCigar]

Bloodbourne was an astounding achievement, especially given the hardware available compared to today's.

[JEECE]

Well it was designed around the same 2013 CPU Elden Ring is based on.

[CrimsonWing69]

It kind of weirds me out that people don’t realize Elden Ring is a last-gen game.

[jznrpg]

While based on same tech many they had years of knowledge with PS4 . It gives a lot of benefits to devs knowing all of the tricks with the hardware compared to early PS4 days when Bloodborne came out .

[SyntheticForm]

I absolutely desire to see a remaster or a remake similar to Demon's Souls. I get that people are tired of retreading, but this is Bloodborne, dammit.

[Blastoise]

Bloodborne is just something special. Its art style, worldbuilding, and soundtrack are on another level. It could launch yesterday and still be a game of the year contender.

[KyRo]

It's the only From Software game that I loved to the point of completion. Elden Ring lost me with the open world. I'm so bored of them. So many franchises have been ruined by forcing the open world aspect. I'm not saying ER is ruined because of the open world, it's just not for me personally.

[Obelisk92]

Elden Ring's open world is nothing like those generic and abused open worlds that have been around in the last years. Exploration is the most meaningful thing, and it constantly rewards the player for his curiosity. It's an incredible achievement.

[CorndogBurglar]

I agree with you, to an extent, but also agree with Obekisk92. I'm pretty sick of the open formula also. It's basically the same in every game, with the only real difference being how meaningful side quests are. That has kind of become the defining aspect in open world games, is how meaningful and varied the quests are.

But Elden Ring is...different. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it just feels so different from your average open world game. It makes me want to uncover every little nook and cranny of the map. The enemy variation is astounding. The quest system is extremely different, sometimes to its own fault, but usually not.

I'm still playing Elden Ring and don't see myself getting tired of it any time soon.

[KyRo]

@Snarky it's got nothing to do with being a Sony fanboy. Bloodborne was my fave from software game and I don't like open world's meaning ER probably ain't for me.

Maybe, stop being a twat on comment sections

[-Foxtrot]

It just felt different from Dark/Demon Souls

It had a completely different theme and overall setting which separated it from what came before had it was fantastic

While I love Elden Ring the setting seems to go back to the fantasy themes of what we saw in Dark/Demon Souls…Knights, Dragons, Kings, Royalty, Medieval etc

[Aussiesummer]

The setting DOES go back to fantasy medieval.

[Crows90]

Nothing wrong with that I think. It's also their first foray into open world. So it's fine to play it safe.

[goldwyncq]

Elden Ring did what Bloodborne did with its Lovecraftian influence and applied it through a Medieval Fantasy lense.

[H9]

You sacrifice one thing to get another, the more linear you are the more focused you get, and the more open you are the less you get, if you ask me, what From software achieved with the world design and world building in a consistent fashion in Elden Ring is beyond incredible, it's not that far off their usual games

[CorndogBurglar]

It's really not. It's a little more forgiving, but the reason I say this is mostly because Sites of Grace are far more prevalent. There's a lot to be said about the difficulty of a game when you have more checkpoints. But when you enter into dungeons or castles it really does suddenly become a Dark Souls game. I look at it like the open world serves as an overworked that houses the different levels. Kind of like the church in Demon's Souls, where you went in and just warped to a level. Here, it's an open world, with all the bells and whistles and you have to find your quest next area.

Oh, and it's obviously much bigger that Dark/Demon's Souls. But at the end of the day, entering and playing through those areas (dungeons, castles, forts, etc) feels much like a normal Dark Souls game.

[leahcim]

difficulty level

[CorndogBurglar]

The only thing ls that are less difficult in Elden Ring is how many check points there are, and the fact that you can earn health potions back by defeating a group of enemies.

I know a lot of people say that you can always just go grind easier enemies and level yourself up before trying difficult enemies, which is true, but you could do that in Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodbourne also. All you had to do was go back to a level or area you already beat in those games and grind Souls. It's not like that was a new idea for Elden Ring.

[SyntheticForm]

Also, how you can literally gallop past certain bosses. With Dark Souls, you're not getting past an area until you defeat that boss. That's one thing.

While encounters are still difficult, being able to fight a boss, fresh, fully stocked with flasks, every time, without having to run the gauntlet to get back to it, is simply easier. Also, the Spirit Ash Summons.

Whether you want to call it a QoL improvement or whatever, the game is just downright easier to progress in than Dark Souls.

[Aussiesummer]

I really wish buepoint would get stuck into a bloodborne remake. Imagine what it would look like, and just as importantly play like in 60fps.
One can dream.

[anast]

This would be perfect.

[frostypants]

I actually agree with this. What Elden Ring has in exploration, it lacks in Bloodborne's level design and story. Both games are great. I still want a Bloodborne remaster for PS5.

[Syphos]

To me there's a few things that made Bloodborne super special, the setting, the lore, the fast dodge instead of rolling, the gun parry's and how everything was handled between the world-building and the lore and especially... the insight mechanic, the insight mechanic alone put it above the other fromsoft titles for me personally..

I just love how it impacts things throughout the game, revealing more and more etc. it's just such a unique and cool mechanic I hope they return it sometime even if it is in another vein..

[The-Matrix-has-you]

I am hoping that after PS5 gets the much needed VRR update Sony will unlock the frame rate in Bloodborne.

[philm87]

Why do they need the VRR update to unlock the framerate for Bloodborne?

[The-Matrix-has-you]

I’m just assuming that they can’t just unlock the frame rate because even at 30fps the game suffers from some severe frame pacing issues. Unlocking the frame rate could make it worse. VRR would help resolve some of these issues, it would probably be the easiest way to achieve a doubling in frame rate. Though there could still be issues with animations designed around 30fps.

[philm87]

Yeah that makes sense. Either that or they're doing a full remaster and don't want to take anything away from that.

[2moda5gamer]

The narrative/lore and how it played out in the game and for the character is still their strongest. Of course it's scale is much smaller to ER, but boy the punch it packed was stunning,

[Gianoni33]

People must leave bloodborne behind...all the time as the same thing , remaster, pc version...sorry, its exausting...

The game is great (atmosphere, lore...) but ER is a better game.

[UNCHARTED2FANATIC]

For me what Makes from software games is boss design. I'm still pretty early in ER I been exploring a lot and over 30 hours in and have beaten godrick and I can say that I'm more disappointed than anything else. It doesn't match the hype so far at least

[CorndogBurglar]

If boss design is what makes From Software's games, that's cool. But Godrick is like the 2nd boss. You haven't even begun to scratch the surface of whats out there. There are over 80 bosses in the game. Most of those are out in the world and optional, but the main quest line bosses are the big bads you would expect.

I just think it's way too early to say you're disappointed with the bosses after only fighting 2 of the main story bosses.

[SurgicalMenace]

So many recycled boss encounters in Elden Ring that shows how much copy and paste was used to make it. The only thing it borrowed from BB is the having to hit a button to remove item messages and the piss poor item management. Elements of Sekiro were neglected as well, which shows a trend of not implementing anything too complex in Elden. I'll finish it but there'll be no New Game+ for me. One and done.

[ChiefofLoliPolice]

Your in the minority pal. If a Bloodborne remaster were to drop I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

[enkiduxiv]

100 percent this. I like Elden Ring but I have to say that the formula loses a little something with the open world format.

Bloodborne and Sekiro also felt like more original takes on the formula.

[SurgicalMenace]

My 2 favorites, lightning fast combat, awesome parry systems, great lore, atmosphere, and characters. Elden is very by the numbers for a Fromsoftware game.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

Bloodborne is great but it doesn't hold a candle to Elden Rings. This is all opinion of course but for me Elden Ring is superior to Bloodborne in every way.

[UNCHARTED2FANATIC]

Elden rings design expects you to use every aspect including co op which I dont like.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

Well that's why it's just an opinion. I personally find Elden Rings almost perfect.

[ChubbyBlade]

I haven’t used co op once in ER

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

I think the complete opposite for many of the reasons people have commented on here.
Why don't you discuss why you think Elden is better than Bloodborne? I'm interested to hear what you think is better. Just to add both games are great games but Bloodborne absolutely stamps on elden for bosses and atmosphere, even music.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

Why do I think Elden Rings is better? Let's start with the combat, it's more fluid, better attacks with all the ashes of wars more weapon variety better spells and more build options. Then the world design suits my play style better with huge open areas with far more secrets and places to explore than Bloodborne. Me being a veteran souls player and someone who likes Shields I wasn't to much of a fan of the gun mechanic on Bloodborne but after a while it did grow on me however, I still prefer shields and a sword to a gun and a sword. These are just a few of the things that make Elden Ring better than Bloodborne imo. Elden Ring will no doubt be game of the year if not the decade and it will change the way open world games are made. It is now the new Crysis of open world design.

[_Decadent_Descent]

@SPEAKxTHETRUTH This. If there's a staple Fromsoft is renown for, aside from boss fights and level design, it's character build variety and customization and Elden Ring has this in droves. I love Bloodborne and still hold it as one of my favorite 'Souls' games, but it lacks considerably in this area.

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

@SPEAKxTHExTRUTH

Yeah I can see why someone would enjoy the more defensive shield combat than the aggro Bloodborne combat. I think the magic attacks and all that stuff is really fleshed out in Elden as well, there's a lot to choose from. I'm into the weird creepy shit though and Bloodborne has that in spades, I think the Scarlet rot areas are pretty freaky though especially with all of the giant dead bodies (or gods or whatever not looked up the lore yet). Either way while I'm a little disappointed with Elden personally, it's still way better than most stuff out there and I think we can agree that both games are really good for different reasons. Elden has definitely turned open world design upside down (an for the better imo).

@Snarkycat
@Sarkdolys
Is this the same person?
you sound really young and probably not old enough to even be playing these games.
For the record I love everything that From Software release so makes no difference to me *shrug*

[ChiefofLoliPolice]

While respect your opinion I'm going to respect my opinion more when I say your opinion is not viewed as favorably as the opinion by Bloodborne fans.

[Deathdeliverer]

I think it’s focus. I’ve been saying this for a while. Elden Ring is a good game. No doubt about it. It loses a LOT of character with the open world however. It’s deeper than that though. I beat Demon souls maybe 3 or 4 times on PS3. Bloodborne 2 times and much time spent in chalice dungeons. Dark souls and dark souls 2 beat once each.
I have spent plenty time in the series. That being said, Elden Ring severely lacks atmosphere. I have seen some pretty areas for sure, but the atmosphere is gone. I feel nothing going through the lake of whatever it’s called to the upper left of the map. It’s foggy, has Marlboros (that’s what I call em, blame final fantasy) but I feel nothing. The swamp in Demon Souls felt drury. Felt depressing. The giant lake in Dark souls 1 or 2, forgot which, felt mysterious as hell. The whole area had a feel. That Hydra in it felt epic. Elden ring… the only area I’ve found that has a FEEL in my opinion so far is the underground city. They have spread themselves so thin that almost nothing feels special.

The main story bosses feel good in Elden ring. They have cool moments for sure. NONE felt like Flamelurker, Storm Ruler, or that cool blind boss. None felt like the giant wolf at the grave in one of the Dark Souls games, though admittedly dark souls wasn’t as epic as demon souls on the boss level. Bloodborne however had awesome bosses from beginning to end. The FIRST boss in Bloodborne was cooler than any boss in Elden ring so far. On top of that though, those games didn’t feel like they were simply cheap as hell instead of hard. Many Elden Ring bosses simply feel ridiculously cheap and you winning depends on how much the computer decides to spam the super cheap move on its list. Feels more like luck. Not all, but definitely most. Feels more like a war of attrition than a battle of skill.

Lastly the side dungeons are simply badly designed chalice dungeons. You just have to ride to them instead of them being randomly generated and you dropped in. Even the look in most of them are the exact same. It’s either a cave or the crypt. Even THOSE bosses took skill and mastery of the game rather than luck in Bloodborne. You see those speed runners beat the main story bosses in Elden ring? Yeah, those are the easiest bosses. I’d like to see them fight some of those optional bosses. Ridiculous.

Cool game. No doubt. But the engine isn’t ready for open world and the pointless leveling softcaps stand out even more. Throws the balancing wayyy off. If they do remake Bloodborne it’s going to blow people away….again.

[SurgicalMenace]

Well thought out and I agree on every level. I was literally just talking about how cheap the combat is in Elden Ring. Enemies can interrupt your combos, while nothing short of a miracle can produce the same result for the player. Enemies attack through walls, hitting for near death damage. The balancing of the enemies is laughable and let's not talk about their ability to attack relentlessly. I would appreciate more souls games implementation of a stamina bar for enemies, much like Nioh. We are very limited in out move lists, also something that Nioh remedied. Elden is only okay for me, admittedly I only like farming and creating new builds as there are better souls games to play for me.

[PS-Gamer-1986]

Bloodborne imho is one of the greatest games ever made. It was my first fromsoft game and i remember struggling in the first area for like 3 days because i didn't have a clue how to play the game properly. Once i figured it out, I became so hooked that i had to play ng+ after ng+ and even at max ng i repeated it time after time. i love the setting and weapons so much while i just like the settings of the demon/ dark soul games, in which i only completed the the story once ( if at all) and didn't feel the need to keep on sinking my time into them any further.

I have alot of fun with elden ring, but i don't know if i will do ng+ after i finish the story.

[Deathdeliverer]

Yeah I thought about that same thing. Definitely not playing this again. Might walk out and fight the Tree sentinel just to see how strong I am compared to when I first beat him. Other than that I’m definitely good with a once and done on this one.

[Obelisk92]

Bloodborne was thematically original and this brought it success. Elden Ring has a less emphasis on thematics, it's pretty much just Dark Souls, but gameplay -wise... it's just on another level, I've never seen an open world done this right.

[Tyrant 8 RDFL]

I also loved Bloodbourne, and would prefer it over Elden ring. I'm not saying Elden ring is a bad game not even close. It's just bloodbourne connected with me in a different way, and I just couldn't stop playing it lol.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

ER is too big

[ChubbyBlade]

No it isn’t

[Cacolaco]

Elden Ring is more accessible for players who aren't masochistic enough to enjoy Bloodborne to its fullest. I think what it lost in focus, it made up in mainstream appeal. I think it is a great balance to the Ubisoft games that turn a game into a checklist, and is the peak of open world design to date. I'm not saying it's perfect by any means, but its depth and scope is beyond what we've experienced so far. It stands to reason that it would need those a little of the focus of earlier games to accomplish that.

[lucian229]

big difference with bloodborne is there are only like 8 weapons; it's a lot easier to focus boss fights on those weapons rather than make a game like elden ring as focused. Elden ring has so many builds and options it's impossible to make 1v1 fights as good as say sekiro which had just one weapon and tactic.

[Mr_Luke]

Astrologer + meteorite staff + the one with the crystals inside i don't remember the name + Comet Azur and the 3 boulders gravity magic + the elixir where you mix the tears that gives extra magic power and doesn't consume magic points for some seconds = Elden Ring very easy mode. And the many points of grace scattered everywhere that refill bottles, reset enemies that are following you etc.

I couldn't find a very easy mode for example in Demon's Souls, i'm having a lot more troubles. Sadly never tried Dark Souls trilogy but i'm going to get them too. Bloodborne is ready to be used, after Demon's Souls :P

[ChubbyBlade]

Demons souls has very easily exploitable AI. Most bosses you can just circle strafe their butt and win. It’s the easiest game in the soulsborne games

[FernDiggidy]

Bloodboorne is just TOP TIER!

[GoodGuy09]

Bloodbornes dodging I wish was back in a new game. Sekiros boss finishers were also amazing and hope itll be back. Id want a sequel but miyazaki dislikes em.

[whitbyfox]

Metacritic disagrees.

[Harryvok]

While i'm not a huge 'souls' fan, i did really enjoy Dark Souls 3 and the Demon's Souls remake. Bloodborne though just didn't gel for me. I prefer the slower, more methodical combat of the Dark Souls games (which feels very similar in Elden Ring). I also wasn't actually a big fan of the sort of Victorian aesthetic of Bloodborne. I prefer something a bit more medieval.

While I'm enjoying Elden Ring as a game to keep me going for a while, the more contained parts like castles/dungeons feels so much like a Dark Souls game. It's a little too familiar. Also the game very much looks/feels like a last gen game (which it is). There's models and animations that have that PS3 vibe to them. Textures are just 'ok'. The art style though is very good.