An unbelievably good open-world RPG. One of the few games that has managed to make me lose sleep playing it into the night. Before I played this game, I was always resigned to open-world games being mostly flat empty expanses with dotted points of interest. This game is different. Every little portion of the world feels populated and alive. I can't believe how many times I was exploring a beautiful scenic area, only to stumble upon something completely new and unexpected: a hidden merchant, a secret weapon, an entire mini-dungeon, or maybe just a crowd of knights fighting some monsters in a valley.

Of course, this game is famous for being difficult, but truthfully most of that comes from a combination of marketing, and a steadfast refusal on the part of the community to engage with a lot of the game's mechanics. I am not some elite god gamer. Moderately skilled for a casual player is the best I can self-describe. But I've been able to progress through the game with reasonable speed while wearing only outfits I like the look of, using only weapons I think are cool, and leveling up as I see fit without worrying about whatever's "meta".

Everything in this game is so flexible. Even dealing with enemy resistances is easy. If I'm using a fire weapon and I meet a thing that looks like it's already on fire, I can switch my weapon infusion to do some other damage type instead: something that can be done at any grace (checkpoint) instantly for no cost. When I'm having trouble with a tough boss or group of enemies, I can summon an npc with my spirit ashes to help me out. If I'm REALLY having trouble, I can simply go exploring anyplace else and find more gear, more tools, more items, and more levels anywhere I look, coming back stronger when I return.

My only real complaint is that playing this game has raised my standards for how good an RPG (and any open-world game for that matter) could be. It will be so much harder to settle for less going forward.

An unbelievably good open-world RPG. One of the few games that has managed to make me lose sleep playing it into the night. Before I played this game, I was always resigned to open-world games being mostly flat empty expanses with dotted points of interest. This game is different. Every little portion of the world feels populated and alive. I can't believe how many times I was exploring a beautiful scenic area, only to stumble upon something completely new and unexpected: a hidden merchant, a secret weapon, an entire mini-dungeon, or maybe just a crowd of knights fighting some monsters in a valley. Of course, this game is famous for being difficult, but truthfully most of that comes from a combination of marketing, and a steadfast refusal on the part of the community to engage with a lot of the game's mechanics. I am not some elite god gamer. Moderately skilled for a casual player is the best I can self-describe. But I've been able to progress through the game with reasonable speed while wearing only outfits I like the look of, using only weapons I think are cool, and leveling up as I see fit without worrying about whatever's "meta". Everything in this game is so flexible. Even dealing with enemy resistances is easy. If I'm using a fire weapon and I meet a thing that looks like it's already on fire, I can switch my weapon infusion to do some other damage type instead: something that can be done at any grace (checkpoint) instantly for no cost. When I'm having trouble with a tough boss or group of enemies, I can summon an npc with my spirit ashes to help me out. If I'm REALLY having trouble, I can simply go exploring anyplace else and find more gear, more tools, more items, and more levels anywhere I look, coming back stronger when I return. My only real complaint is that playing this game has raised my standards for how good an RPG (and any open-world game for that matter) could be. It will be so much harder to settle for less going forward.