Dark Souls: Breath of the Wild makes me rethink how I measure the quality of an open world game. Every discovery is either exciting or rewarding (often both) and character designs are as creative as ever while retaining distinct dark fantasy flavour.

The community is equal parts hilarious and fascinating, and this surprisingly does not jar tonally with the rest of the experience; in fact, you expect it and embrace it as part of the world. Only a Souls game out of From Software's crypt would allow its users to establish "You don't have the right" to mean "A door you cannot open" in a manner that is understood and assimilated by its community, and I love that. I also love that traditions and codes of honour are practiced here; an invader may bow before battle, or make sure the fight is even. Some, on the other hand, will royally screw you over. It's honestly a fantastic way to weave multiplayer into a single player experience. I just wish the barriers to enjoying this were easier to surmount; From has historically not been able to nail seamless multiplayer experiences, and that's no less true here.

If you're a Souls player generally, you know what to expect from combat here, with jumping adding a mild extra layer of depth. Weapons are fun and builds are enticing, and this was my first time using a dex-based build over strength, so it felt fresh to me; not once did my hand touch a shield and I actually quite liked that as the sword-shield combo was my go-to in most Souls games.

I am not sure where I stand on being able to respec your build; it removes the weight of your choices, which in my eyes is not definitively a plus. However, I say this while also having used the feature, so I know there's appeal in having this option.

The game isn't without its issues: balancing this many elements is not easy, and this shows as you play. Bugs are also well documented, but I've managed a fairly stable playthrough with little to no deal-breaking issue.

This is the first game in a long time that I've played obsessively to completion (minus a week where I moved house). In fact, if you check back to my last review on a game I spent this long playing... in 2020... you'll see that my late arrival to The Witcher 3 made me feel similarly. And while I've loved many a game in between these reviews, there are few I can recall that made me feel this compelled to speak about them. Few games do this for me anymore and that speaks volumes about the game, if you are in the market for what's on offer (and you know what you're in for when you see what it is and who made it).

I can't rightly decide what my favourite Soulsborne experience is yet; This, Sekiro, Demons' Souls, or Bloodborne. But Elden Ring keeps very strong, prestigious company.

Dark Souls: Breath of the Wild makes me rethink how I measure the quality of an open world game. Every discovery is either exciting or rewarding (often both) and character designs are as creative as ever while retaining distinct dark fantasy flavour. The community is equal parts hilarious and fascinating, and this surprisingly does not jar tonally with the rest of the experience; in fact, you expect it and embrace it as part of the world. Only a Souls game out of From Software's crypt would allow its users to establish "You don't have the right" to mean "A door you cannot open" in a manner that is understood and assimilated by its community, and I love that. I also love that traditions and codes of honour are practiced here; an invader may bow before battle, or make sure the fight is even. Some, on the other hand, will royally screw you over. It's honestly a fantastic way to weave multiplayer into a single player experience. I just wish the barriers to enjoying this were easier to surmount; From has historically not been able to nail seamless multiplayer experiences, and that's no less true here. If you're a Souls player generally, you know what to expect from combat here, with jumping adding a mild extra layer of depth. Weapons are fun and builds are enticing, and this was my first time using a dex-based build over strength, so it felt fresh to me; not once did my hand touch a shield and I actually quite liked that as the sword-shield combo was my go-to in most Souls games. I am not sure where I stand on being able to respec your build; it removes the weight of your choices, which in my eyes is not definitively a plus. However, I say this while also having used the feature, so I know there's appeal in having this option. The game isn't without its issues: balancing this many elements is not easy, and this shows as you play. Bugs are also well documented, but I've managed a fairly stable playthrough with little to no deal-breaking issue. This is the first game in a long time that I've played obsessively to completion (minus a week where I moved house). In fact, if you check back to my last review on a game I spent this long playing... in 2020... you'll see that my late arrival to The Witcher 3 made me feel similarly. And while I've loved many a game in between these reviews, there are few I can recall that made me feel this compelled to speak about them. Few games do this for me anymore and that speaks volumes about the game, if you are in the market for what's on offer (and you know what you're in for when you see what it is and who made it). I can't rightly decide what my favourite Soulsborne experience is yet; This, Sekiro, Demons' Souls, or Bloodborne. But Elden Ring keeps very strong, prestigious company.