Micah

I don't agree that it's weak. It's just massive and can feel boring and unrewarding at times. Shadow Of The Erdtree condensed the size of the map and used verticality and shortcuts to make it feel bigger and more interconnected. Which, imo, makes it better than the base game map.

I love Elden Ring. In fact, I'm 50 hours through my fourth playthrough. However, I would argue that making Dark Souls open world is hardly an innovation. Neither is adding a dedicated jump button. To make Elden Ring as approachable as possible for a mainstream audience, while retaining their signature difficulty, FromSoft stripped away everything else that made Dark Souls difficult. Like boss runbacks, not so many bonfires, hollowing and being cursed (or some other obscure game mechanic that adds friction to a playthrough) and traded it in for streamlining. Yes, Elden Ring is the most mechanically polished Souls game, but it is also the most vanilla, player friendly game they've ever made. Since beating Elden Ring, and inbetween subsequent playthroughs, I've played every Dark Souls game multiple times, as well as Bloodborne and Sekiro, and it is a sinch to switch back and forth between the them. Sometimes it's even better. There are times that galloping through Elden Ring's (gorgeous) open world and dealing with trash mobs is admittedly boring. And the rewards for exploration and combat can be wildly disappointing. Like fighting a rune bear for a fricken arteria leaf... Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Sekiro never really had that problem. I think either style is perfectly valid, and they both can exist at the same time. My hope is that their next souls game goes back to basics while retaining some of the lessons they learned from Elden Ring in terms of combat and world/dungeon design. I imagine a map that is as intricate and interconnected as Dark Souls with the quality of Elden Ring's legacy dungeons. That, to me, sounds like a dream come true.

Keep Todd Howard far away from New Vegas 2. We have no reason to believe that he is capable of delivering the kind of deep RPG experience that fans of NV will expect from a potential sequel. Unless, of course, your idea of a good NV sequel is the classic "your character is the one" narrative arc that Todd Howard is seemingly obsessed with. Which, consequently, leaves no room whatsoever for a meaningful RPG experience. Because no matter what you say or do in game, your character has to be "the one."

The reason it's impossible for Starfield to redeem itself like Cyberpunk is because Starfield is a fundamentally boring game. The story itself is supremely boring and the gameplay is big standard. Side quests were totally unengaging and pointless. Bethesda went the safe route and tried to make a game that would appeal to as many people as possible. Todd Howard has this weird obsession with narratives that revolve around the player being "the one" and it's not resonating with players. IDC if they can get the game running at native 4k 60fps with rtx on a 3060, it cannot be saved. Honestly I think they need to let someone else direct their games from here on our.

I just started another playthrough of Cyberpunk without even realizing a significant patch was incoming. I believe this is playthrough 3 or 4, and it's the first time I'm actually reading all of the lore bits and pieces and watching the news and talk shows, and I'm so much more invested in the story. It really is one of the best games of all time. And kudos to CDPR for never giving up on it.

14 years old... Good lord. I feel like everything about Oblivion is better except the open world itself. Which is why I'm so excited for Skyblivion. Apparently they're expanding some of the dungeons to make exploration less monotonous.

I once described Starfield as unseasoned, boiled chicken breast - not good, not bad. Just kinda meh. I think Bethesda need to stop taking these games too seriously. By which I mean they need to just have fun with it again. Unfortunately you can only have so much fun when $200-300 million is on the line so idk. L

Performance isn't as atrocious on 4060 mobile as I thought it was. Turned out to be Nvidia 57x.xx drivers. Rolled back to 566.63, and it's not too bad. Still dealing with traversal stutters and degrading performance over time. So it's not all good. Apparently they won't patch the damn thing until everyone is done with it.

Look If they can't manage to fix the performance issues in Oblivion or not replicate them in any future remakes then they need to just leave Fallout alone. Either that or do it in creation engine 2 because oh my god unreal engine 5 is wildly frustrating in the performance department. We've been putting up with it for 2 console generations, and I'm pretty sure people are fed up. Starfield wasn't perfect when it came out, but the stuttering in UE5 games will actually drive you crazy because the stuttering is so consistent and repetitive.

This list deserves an enb or two. Skyrim is quite flat in the lighting department, but an enb adds an incredible amount of depth. Once you've gotten used to it it's impossible to go back.

Not necessarily. I believe it largely depends on how willing a studio is to take risks, and let developers express their creativity. Starfield obviously could have been special, but Bethesda tried so hard to make it appeal to everyone that it appealed to no one. Huge mistake. And the numbers don't lie. The most successful and critically acclaimed games aren't even close to having mass appeal. Like Baldurs Gate 3. By all accounts it should have been exceedingly niche. It's a turn based crpg based on Dungeons and Dragons of all things, and it sold over 15 million copies. The Witcher 3 sold 50 million. Rdr2 is a western that sold 70 million copies. Who tf under 60 years old even likes westerns? See what I'm saying? You can't be afraid to take risks or be controversial. It genuinely feels like every game that plays it safe flops.

I love Elden Ring. The map is beautiful and ripe for exploration. Having said that, the open world, to me, wasn't half as interesting as DS1-3. If FromSoft can take everything they learned while making Elden Ring, especially Shadow Of The Erdtree, and apply it to a traditional Dark Souls world design, I think it would be truly special. Less bonfires and more shortcuts, boss runs, no crafting, no hints on where to go, nada. Also, Elden Ring is missing a signature, obscure game mechanic that adds a little friction and tension. World tendency, dragons plague, humanity, etc. Let's bring that back, please.

The map of Shadow is pretty massive. If instead it was a more contained, linear dlc, something like Ringed City, Idk if it would have been necessary. But I could be wrong. If FromSoft is looking for a wider audience they have to make it more accessible somehow. I personally prefer the old way, but that's just me. Tbh I hope their next game is more in line with DS or Bloodborne in terms of world design.