[azeth]

Just finished the platinum trophy for Elden ring on PS5. 148 hours of a non-stop thrill ride. An open world where exploring nooks and crannies is rewarding, where you have to use your brain to conquer the environment, your enemies, even determine where to go and what to do there. Itemization is on par with the best MMOs like EQ and world of Warcraft. The spells and gear you accumulate are unique and individually worthwhile, and their quality inspires you to dig further in the game to find more and more. There's always a carrot at the end of the stick. You get crushed repeatedly, but you never feel like you're slamming your head against the wall, there's always a way and again you just need to actually use your brain to make it happen.

This may have ruined video games for me. I don't know what to do or think about the future of gaming unless developers see the light and release games of this quality. Get away from graphics, get away from fetch quests, just do better. This is now the template for what gaming is.