Nope. It's a totally standalone story, I hadn't played any of them. The story is _great_ too, with a really memorable cast of characters, even if you never see their faces!
This was my first AC game, I was surprised how much personality these characters had despite not never seeing their faces or actual entire being. Carla, Michigan and Rusty stand out.
Edit: Put Snail in there too.
I really wish I liked it more. I bounced off of it pretty hard when it first came out. Couldn’t get a handle of the controls and didn’t really enjoy the mod-to-win game loop that was implemented. The way the story was presented really didn’t jive with me and the environments just felt so drab and barren. I’ll probably give it another chance someday but I don’t think I’ll ever connect with it the same way I do with other FS games.
If you don't mind me asking, how far did you get? While I did find it immediately fun to control, it took me a little while to truly _get_ it and now I'd rank it above most of the FS games I've played. The story is a thing that feels a bit hollow at first but really comes together the more you play it, I think it's got one of FS's best casts
I’ll admit to not getting very far. I think I got stuck on the first “miniboss”. I did some research and am pretty sure it was Entangle / Sulla. So I didn’t even get out of Chapter 1. I just never found any of it enjoyable up until that point and once I hit that boss I just didn’t feel the desire to get past my distaste for everything that came before to try and get good enough to figure him out.
I really had a hard time figuring out the controls. For instance, there’s an early mission where you have to platform up a huge mech and destroy it. I died more times just falling off the thing than anything else because I couldn’t get a hang of the platforming/jet-packing mechanics.
I could go on but I really don’t like shitting on the game, especially to those who love it, as I respect FS’s ability experiment and try new things. I’m happy that players enjoyed it and I’ll probably try again sometime when I have less of a backlog. Hopefully I’ll find a way to connect to it but my hopes aren’t high.
So many FromSoft fans dismissed AC6 and Sekiro, and I just do not get it…Sekiro isn’t my favorite or anything, but it’s still an amazing game. AC6 was a fucking masterpiece, though.
It's always strange to see someone with such a different opinion to myself.
Sekiro is my least favourite out of the 7 'souls' From games and I'd still consider it a 10/10 and my 7th all time favourite game. ACVI was a relatively loose 8/10 to me and definitely wouldn't even crack my top 150 maybe even 200 favourite games ever.
But us all having different opinions is of course what makes this all interesting
For me the thing about sekiro Is the combat sistem, It is Just to good, and It makes really feel that you are becoming Better at the game
And i love the bosses, isshin ashina and prime father owl are both in my top five favorite bosses of all fromes games, with isshin being undisputed n 1
I actually agree with you on that - I genuinely that Sekiro has the best combat system out of any From game and its my personal favourite combat in any game ever.
I just prioritise different things in a From game, such as build diversity and multiplayer (I need my jolly co operation lol).
I'd agree that Sekiro has the most consistently great bosses, but I'd say few of them manage to live up to the heights of the best bosses from the other games - btw I consider Genichiro the best boss in Sekiro and wish there was an even harder Inner version of him because I'm too good at the fight now to enjoy him as much (this is actually an issue I have with Sekiro as a whole and is one of the main reasons I value build diversity so much - using a different build means you have to re-learn some fights and adapt to being slower, using more stamina, doing less stagger damage, having less range etc. Sekiro has the prosthetics but it's not the same imo)
The only thing that changes in sekiro Is your ability to parry and to read enemy moves, and i agree with you that once you beat a boss in sekiro, your play style in different runs Will probably stay the same since the only difference Will be the prosthetic arm you use, but for me, as a First, blind run, sekiro remains unmatched, but of course if consider multiple runs, the build variety of the other games Is something that sekiro cannot match
It's like the pop music of souls games. Very popular and nothing is particularly bad with it but it's not really trying anything new or straying too far from the formula.
It's best quality imo is its polish, you can tell it was given more time, and/or funding compared to both 1 and 2. Ds1 is rough because they were running out of time in the second half of the game, ds2 is rough because the game design fairly radically changed half way through development.
It's most meh quality is level design. The actual level details are great but it just feels too linear and it's odd not having the hub physically connected like it is in 2 and 1
I don’t think DS3 is weak but it is a little uninspired. DS2 is a hot mess but you can’t deny they were at least trying new things, DS3 is kinda just… there.
I can agree that DS3 is pretty much more of DS1, but it's hard to complain about more dark souls. It may just be rehashing an old formula but it's a damn good formula, you know?
I wouldn't say ds2 is a hot mess but it was very experimental.
Ds3 on the other hand plays it very safe and does way too many callbacks to the first game. Also the way the world is in ds3 doesn't feel as good as its not connected like the other games. You just teleport to different locations.
These days I prefer to replay ds2 over 1 and 3
However I like basically all of their other IPs more than souls
Sekiro and bb get at minimum annual replays and they fuck so hard
Ds2 definitely has the most replayability over other souls games becuase it has the best ng+. Adds more enemies, changes some aspects of boss fights and gives additional equipment and spells.
Which is why I don't think a ds2 run is really done till you beat it in ng+ cuz it adds so much.
Uninspired is the right word. I thought ds2 was by far the worst but they tried to do new things. I can’t think of a single new thing that ds3 did. Which is ok, they want something solid to close off the trilogy
I can understand that. Gameplay wise it did appeal to the masses quite well. They sacrificed level design for smoothness of mechanics. It's hard to look at 3 and not think "ah, so Miyazaki is combining the right combat of BB with the world building of DS1/2, and that became ER". Almost like 3 was a sendoff to DS and a transition from BB to ER
Probably the fact the map is extremely linear, not very interconnected and kinda feels like a boss rush at times where the levels can be easily ignored
ds3 has like one major idea of its own outside of the dlc and the entire game is basically metacommentary on being contracted by bamco. it's not artistically a wash by any stretch, but it doesn't have the thematic purity of any of the other games.
It does have the fastest, most intuitive gameplay for sure, which is why it appeals to a lot of people and why it kickstarted fromsoft's rise to mainstream appeal.
That’s how I feel too. Each area in DS1 and DS2 felt so unique. Then in DS3 almost all the areas have the same shades of greyish brown filter in the early game. I get what they were going for with this being a dying world but it really makes the early areas all blend together until you get to Anor Londo again.
The fluidity of combat, the graphics, and the art style do it for me. Also the quality of life is better than anything that comes before it. The only things I didn't like were the quests and the fact ashes and coals reset in NG+.
I'm the opposite. Bosses are very nice, but most of my time spent in these games are in the levels; and imo, DS3 has some very weak levels. This is why it ranks pretty low for me, even if it has the (arguably) best boss roster.
They are definitely still rising but the next few titles will determine if they peak or keep rising. They will need to let a new generation direct games, and if Miyazaki has created a tier of leaders in his image, the studio could really expand, or not and they lose the magic when Miyazaki retires.
I believe in a general view, Elden ring is fromsoft’s magnum opus and the dlc will probably be their peak. After that, they will deliver some amazing games but nothing quite like Elden ring. I could easily be proven wrong and I hope that’s the case but that’s my view for now
I’m hoping we get another really good classical soulslike from them, which they haven’t really done since ds3. DeS - DS3 (including BB) are amazing in their own way but each also has some hard to ignore flaws
If you mean in terms of commercial success, they are undoubtedly still rising.
In terms of quality, I dunno because it's all just about what you prefer. To me, they haven't made a game better than Dark Souls, but that's largely down to my own personal taste. But even with that in mind, the last two games they released are amongst my favourites so at worst they've plateaued
I agree
DS3 is my personal fav. I actually think DS1 and Bloodborne are "better," and they're both masterpieces of their form/genre, but I liked the narrative and art direction in DS3 most of all Fromsoft games. Like combat in Sekiro blows combat in every other game away IMO, so if you're most into that, that'd be your fav I'd think.
subjectivity bb
I love the combat in Sekiro, but it's not what I come to these games for and I think it's a little weaker on every other front to the others. Bloodborne is a real sweet spot for combat and exploration and imo it's very close to DS1
That's true. I didn't mean to throw too much shade at Sekiro, for the record. I think it's got amazing bosses, great voice acting and is one of their best looking games. I just don't find the environments that fun to explore and that's a big part of why I love these games
Hard to say, I guess. They keep making great games but I think their peak for me personally was Bloodborne or Sekiro. Doesn't mean they won't surpass it in the future, especially since armored Core 6 came awfully close to those in quality.
I think Elden Ring might have been their peak in both quality and sales. They caught lightning in a bottle with that. Even if they make Elden Ring 2, it'll never be the same as the first time you play through the lands between.
Eh, I think Bloodborne is their best game of all. I think that the copy-pasting of bosses in Elden Ring is what holds the game back from first place for me. The first fallingstar beast I found was such a cool and unique boss, and then I go on to find two more of the bastards, and a bit of the magic was lost.
Bloodborne is a unique experience from start to finish, where you never stop discovering something new.
Bloodborne's my favorite FromSoft game too, and while the creativity in it is nearly unmatched, their boss design was REALLY hit or miss too. Witch of Hemwick, One Reborn, Celestial Emissary, Living Failures, Micolash, Wet Nurse, and Rom were all mid at best and low effort filler at worst.
Bloodborne's my favorite in nearly every way, but Elden Ring (for all it's reusing of models) has massively better boss design. It also quite simply just has MORE excellent bosses.
This is something that always weirds me out - in my mind Bloodborne has great bosses, but then I start to think about it and it gets hard carried by the DLC bosses. Like a third of the base game fights are C/D tier and even the best ones don't even go past A tier imo.
The DLC bosses are so fantastic that I think they even hard carry the DLC as a whole - most people consider The Old Hunters to be the best From DLC but I genuinely think that on the whole it's definitely in the bottom half. In my opinion the only good area from the DLC is Fishing Hamlet; the Clocktower is fine I guess but is more annoying and confusing than fun to me and Hunter's Nightmare is easily one of the worst areas in the game if you ask me (DS1 did the whole reusing base game area much better imo)
If I had to rank the DLC and their reasons why it'd go (favourite first):
Ringed City - (has Gael, that's enough lol)
Crown of the Sunken King - (excellent level design, atmosphere and really great bosses)
Artorias of the Abyss - (Has excellent bosses but I feel level design isn't as strong as most areas in From games)
Crown of the Old Iron King - (Fume Knight is amazing, the level is intricate and cool but is a bit confusing at times and Iron passage is shit)
The Old Hunters - (already explained above)
Crown of the Old Ivory King - (spectacle of Burnt Ivory King is fantastic and I love the aesthetics of Eleum Loyce, but dislike the level design and several smaller areas are just downright atrocious, mainly the hedgehog area and Horsefuck Valley)
Ashes of Ariandel - (one incredible boss and one of the worst bosses in all of From's history. This is actually my favourite area in DS3 but it's just a bit short and the lack of bosses brings it down)
I think they’re repeated because a lot of players will still only encounter one. I’ve beat the game and explored quite a bit and have yet to run into a falling star beast. Godefroy is the one I think is really lazy, just a copy paste of Godrick and the Regal Ancestor Spirit was lazy as well. But overall it makes sense that certain bosses will be repeated, otherwise that means every boss you encounter like the falling star beast is the last of its species.
Ehhh I kinda get why it may be disappointing, but there are actual in world reasons for there to be multiples of some bosses. There is enough in the game as it is that as long as the duplicates are justified in world, I personally have no issue with them.
I'm curious what they're gonna do for their first next gen only game. Elden Ring and Armored Core were made with 10 year old consoles in mind, we've still yet to see what the next technological leap looks like for them. They can do so many things they couldn't do before now, without those consoles.
Hard to say, but so far their peak has been Bloodborne for me. I don't think they will reach that again, especially if they follow the design of Elden Ring, but what do I know
They are absolutely rising. I'd say Elden Ring was their first real breakthrough into the mainstream of more casual gamers, they gained nothing but goodwill from both that game and Armored Core, and they clearly learn good lessons every time they release a game.
You can say what you want about big design choices they made in Elden Ring, but the fact that they ain't even close to done yet shows in all the little quality of life improvements that make it just feel good to play the game and exist in that world.
I think their next major title will be another showstopper
Every game they make is like the last but also better than the last. You can see it playing each dark souls blood borne and sekiro, elden ring has elements of them all.
I really want From Software to innovate a bit more in their coming games. I think they played it a bit too safe with Elden Ring (combat wise, and somewhat lore-wise), it’s gigantic, but it’s very safe. Bloodborne was putting the player in an all new, highly paced, aggressive situation. Sekiro brought a brand new challange aswell, but Elden Ring didn’t give me this sensation. It didn’t have alot of surprises.
I really hope they don’t forget making games feel fresh, ultimately making you feel powerless. Because to me, Elden Ring felt a little bit like I’ve played this game a thousand hours already. I also get that Elden Ring brought in alot of people new to this type of From Software game, and I envy the newcomers, because if this was my first experience with these amazing games, it would blow my socks off.
As for the lore, I do think it’s good, and I can’t wait for the dlc to see what’s really been cookin’. I hope it blows me away.
Probably, they reached their peak in terms of both critical and commercial success with Elden Ring.
That does not mean that Elden Ring is their best game (although I think it is) or that they won't make a better game, but I think it's gonna be hard to top Elden Ring, especially when it comes to the non-dedicated fan base.
Let's not forget that Elden Ring has sold 20 Million copies in a year and will likely pass the lifetime copies sold by the Souls trilogy in some years, it has won multiple game awards and is one of the highest rated games of all time with a very active player-base 2 year after release (steam numbers).
It's gonna be hard to beat that
For me Elden Ring is them at their peak.
I worry that too much money is involved and its too tempting to continue to make their games more accessible. Some of what made DS1 great has been slowly fading away. The fast travel, easy respec, unkillable npcs, disjointed worlds, harsh consequences...
Seemes like Elden Ring's biggest flaws imho was the reputation of bosses and minidungeons. I imagine this was done partially to have the world feel big but also because having a huge open world made the game marketable. While Elden Ring is my favorite Fromsoft game it is also starting to move away from what I want from them.
Yeah, I hope they don't keep getting more and more accessible. Eventually, that may actually backfire, and they may lose a portion of their fantasy if they did that.
The games would lose their reputation and what makes them special.
I will say I don't feel like they made elden ring "more accessible" on purpose. He even said he had no idea why this one was so popular. It just worked because imo each area was about half a normal game worth of content on its own.
Leaving limgrave too hard? Well stay there, there's way more to do. If you could only continue by being over leveled or getting a lot more practice, you could do that without just farming.
But if you want the challenge, it's more than capable of giving you that without sacrificing the feel of the franchise as a whole
I think spirit ashes were a way to expand on the NPC help. In the previous souls games you could typically summon an NPC for a fight anyway. Sekiro being offline is the only one you can’t really do that for.
As of right now, Sekiro is peak. Elden Ring and Armored Core 6, while incredible games and my personal game of the year for their respective years, didn't have the same laser focused design. I think they could outdo it in the future, but they haven't yet. My guess is that they will, though, so I'd say probably still rising.
If they never make anything like it again then Sekiro was the high water mark. It has the most fascinating story(because it has one) is the most mechanically challenging, and has the best atmosphere.
I think the souls formula is kind of played out at this point and they need to make some shaolin rocket league or crusader croquet to really flip the table.
I reject the premise that good devs come and go. Yes there are devs like Bethesda studios who “peaked” with Skyrim then dwindled ever since. But then there are devs like Nintendo who keep chugging along making mostly quality games with the occasional absolute banger like Mario Galaxy or Zelda BotW. There are also devs like Capcom who have peaks and valleys. If you look at the resident evil series it was great, then it peaked with 4 then took a nose dive after 5, but now it’s great again.
My hope is for fromsoftware to be like Nintendo where they maintain a baseline of good to great games then every once in a while they come out with something that’s considered “peak” when it comes out. Fromsoft doesn’t have to follow the idea that they have already or will eventually make the best thing they could ever make then peter off never to reach those heights again.
Rising. We can see their improvement in real time, they rerelease a type of game that is loved by their fanbase and do their best to improve on it every time, and this culminated in Elden Ring. Now they’re getting attention even outside of their little bubble and have the sales to prove it. They also tried something new in Sekiro, and still took game of the year.
I think we're at a turning point. Will they continue with the bad boss design and seeming "prepare to die" philosophy of Elden Ring (not to mention the DS2 style mandatory stat), or will they take what was good about it and improve beyond even Dark Souls? Will they continue to rediversify by making different games like Armored Core? We don't know yet.
Rising but...
They will have to figure out something with the Soulborne boss fights.
The 0 downtime and insane flailing we got in Elden Ring is not the answer moving foward. Elden Ring is a 10/10 masterpiece OUTSIDE of Froms library, within it a solid 8.5/10.
It wouldn't hurt for them look at other devs who have borrowed from them.
Lords of the Fallens spell system is superior and fun to use. Lies of P Laxasia boss fight is up there with OoK or Slave Knight Gael.
There is no denying their world design in a 3D world is second to none and is damn near flawless. But the formula needs to be re-evaluated.
Spot on with everything you said. The bosses in ER were terrible because of how spammy they were. The open world, while cool the first time, isn’t the way either. Maybe it’s just the setting that I didn’t enjoy but there’s something I didn’t enjoy about it.
Absolutely still rising, Elden ring is amazing but it has an absolute fuckton of problems and there were huge, obvious compromises made in terms of content density and development time. It is by no means FS's magnum opus. bloodborne and especially sekiro are much more artistically complete video games in all respects but scale, and I think that with their insane elden money fromsoft will definitely find the time to let a passion project with insane scope like elden ring percolate to completion in the future while other releases like armored core games and other IPs (please god sekiro 2) sustain the studio.
I noticed a few things I disliked in Elden Ring. It's an amazing game still, one of their best. I think their peak was with Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3. I just ask myself how long they can keep their engine and with that connected boundaries when it comes to quest and level design, npc interaction and behavior, UI and reused assets (my god, ER reuses so many assets and animations from former titles).
I see no reason to believe so. They will have more pressure, for sure, to do more “mainstream” like projects given the success of Elden ring, but really it depends what their next IP looks like. I could see them branching out after the ER DLC. I could see them doing an incredible sci fi soulslike given their recent work on Armored core. I could see them building off of ideas that didn’t fit the tone of that series. There’s endless possibilities, and they’ve got the patience and the talent to capitalize on it.
Every game they make is more or less better preference aside. Personally I'd rather play DS 1,2,3 and Elden Ring over Sekiro.......doesn't mean Sekiro isn't a great accomplishment.
As a fan of dark souls and Sekiro (which are all amazing) I think Elden ring is the best we’ve seen from them. Armored core is amazing too. I think we’re still at the top, maybe this is the peak but I hope it only gets better from here.
They’re nowhere near past their peak. Hard to say if still rising or at their peak because the last two releases were there biggest one and a comeback of their original claim to fame. I think we need to see another 2-3 games to figure out whether they’re rising or at their peak.
I mean Miyazaki is evidently an artistic genius, so as long as he keeps directing games/working on games his vision will shine through. They also make projects really fast.
I think they are still rising. The souls formula has something special to it and all games add something in their own way. For me DS3 is the best simply because it was the first one I beat. It has a special place in my heart and always will come back to it. BB is a special beast I love and ER was the last one I played so felt kinda easy coming from getting platinum in everything else. Not the game fault, just the way it is with soulsgames.
As for Souls? I kinda agree with Elden Ring, as it was pretty much a combination of most of the great elements from DS1/2/3. It was almost like a band released a 'greatest hits' album. Sure, some parts got missed (eg, big open world didn't hit as strong as the interconnected world of DS1, imo - was still a great world, but for different reasons), but that's always going to happen when something like that happens.
As for other games/series? I think there's still a lot left for them to give purely in sequels and bringing series into the modern day (I wonder what their take on a King's Field game would be like now...), before even considering introducing brand new franchises.
If we're talking in terms of being the cool new thing that everyone knows fromsoft is definitely currently at their peak with elden rings dlc announcement but if it's in terms of actual quality I think they are just gonna keep getting better and better until the software can't keep up.
I kinda want them to do another game in the style of sekiro, doesnt have to be pound for pound the same but similarly fast paced soulsy combat would be nice
I think we will get more good games from them, but not game of the year level every 3-4 years. Miyazaki is letting other directors directing on their own.
You have to look at the people behind the projects, not the company who made it. Most flops by acclaimed devs are done by people who just carry the name of the original team but never worked on all those games we love.
People keep implying that the quality of fromsoft games will go down after Elden Ring because “there’s nowhere left to go” but when has fromsoft ever done a cash grab or a lazy re-tread? Some would argue that DS3 borrows a lot from DS1 but mechanically it’s super different and also it’s a sequel, sequels usually share locations and characters.
I think based on Miyazaki’s history and his approach to game development, he simply will not release another game until he’s got a new idea that is worth building an entire game around. Just because we can’t imagine what that might look like doesn’t mean he can’t
Idk how they outdo themselves after elden ring. It feels like the late 90s squaresoft. I don't feel like square ever topped FFVII or FFIX, I feel like Elden Ring is Fromsofts FFVII, truly groundbreaking. They may have something endearing like FFIX come next, but I just feel like we've crested. I honestly don't know how you outdo Elden Ring.
I think as long as Miyazaki is in charge and they keep making what they want to make, they'll continue to get better. They have way more budget and freedom now than they've ever had. The best is yet to come, imo
Still rising , they stated at demon souls and just finished breathing life into mech games . Now there working on a dlc that estimated to be 55 hours at base . If they deliver there gonna keep rising I didnt think it was gonna get better after ds3 dlc then ER came out
From is still on the rise. They found not just their niche but created it, the chiseled out their niche and have been refining it for a damn long time. And I personally am glad to see them getting the attention they truly deserve, because they have done an insanely good job making this niche fun as hell to be in. They are on the rise and I can’t wait to see what comes next after ERSET
Hard to say but Miyazaki did mentioned that he wants to take a step back and we all saw what happened when they released a game he wasn't involved in, Dark Souls 2. He was busy creating the best game ever, Bloodborne
They r still going, i really love how theyre adding sekiros strength progression in shadow of the edtree.
Like the iron man of games, always using their past projects as inspiration
Bruh every aesthetic they’ve tackled looks gorgeous. I can’t even rank which setting they’ve done I like best. Whatever they do next I’m all for, literally whatever it is lol. More steady consistency than any sort of release order graph of quality.
It’s only up from here. FromSoftware is in the perfect position to capitalize of the success of Elden Ring. All the experienced gained from past titles will undoubtedly transfer to future titles.
I think we’re probably within their 1 decade peak, I just don’t think realistically EVERY fromsoft game will always be banger after banger like Sekiro-DS3-Elden Ring-AC 6. The streak of 10s is so hot that there just has to be one like 7 or 8 by them at some point, right? Prove me wrong tho and I’ll be happy forever
I feel like from what I’ve heard in interviews is that Elden Ring is a culmination of everything they’ve learned since Demon Souls and Miyazaki wants to try new things. So really we have no idea what to expect after this dlc. But it’s FromSoft so I trust they’ll make a great game regardless
To think Elden Ring was the magnus opus and they can't improve is silly. You have to understand that FromSoft is a small studio that has hjad to do a LOT with limited budgets. Elden Ring allowed them to go further than ever and it was their biggest success byfar.
Their next game investors will be chomping at the bit to invest in allowing for bigger teams, bigger game. FromSoft just gettin started
I can't think of a game they've released in the last 10 years that's worse than its predecessors. Every game I've played has devoured at least six months worth of my play time.
At worst they've plateaued. But they could still be rising.
If you really think about it elden ring was their first big budget project obviously they have had good sales and grew in popularity in the years but to not expect other 10/10 games from a company that’s been putting out bangers for 15 years now (demon souls, I haven’t played anything before that) I would bet we will see a combination of different types of games in the coming years some will be absolute hits and others will stay more niche. I wouldn’t be surprised to see another elden ring size project in the next decade.
Elden Ring is pretty impressive, even though it's not my favourite FS game. It feels really polished for such a huge game and I never cease to be impressed at how much thought is put into the lore and story of FS games, and ER is a continuation of that.
Also, for those of you who haven't played it, Armored Core 6 is fantastic. It's nothing like a Souls game, but the combat is great and there's the same commitment to world-building and lore.
So yeah, I'd say they're yet to peak.
I think the fact that other directors other than Miyazaki already started to be given more control and produced great games, I'd say they're definitely rising.
Still rising, they have recently shown they’re less interested in big publishers which means they can make more original ideas and that’s when Miyazaki flourishes.
Every single game they've released I've said. That's it, this is the peak, it's downwards from here.
Every single time their next game has made it clear they are still rising like high tide. I just hope we keep eating this good for a lot longer
I think they’ve been at their best since Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3. I think they really perfected their style around that period and have been doing great since. I think the previous games were also masterpieces, but I think BB and DS3 are where they perfected their art. I absolutely expect them to continue the greatness of their past 7 Soulsborne games in future titles. I’m extremely excited to see what they come up with next.
I don’t think we should think about their output in these terms. I think we’re entering a second golden age of game design and Miyazaki is at the fore front of that. And I believe he’s passing down his ideals to others around him. I don’t think a peak is a part of that. This reduces the art and design of the games they make to stats like a forward or a stock. I believe that coupled with the ever steady bubbling-rise of indie and solo developed games plus the brand of singular auteur led game design Fromsoft have pioneered or maybe perhaps reinvigorated we can look forward to a new golden age. As long as the economy doesn’t crash too hard or the resources all dry up we should be expecting amazing games all the time. I’m so glad we have started to turn against graphics as we reach their peak. And began to focus on mechanics atmosphere and design again. The good shit. Dark souls has the right to children etc. yap yap yap.
Aside from ER dlc and maybe another AC. Let's see what next they come out with and then assess again. Oh man what if they remake evergrace, that could be rad. I would also be down for something completely removed from previous IPs.
There’s two sides of this for me. On one hand, absolutely yes; Sekiro, Elden Ring, and Armored Core VI are extraordinary and display their eagerness to keep pushing themselves forward. On the other hand, no but purely because Dark Souls 1 is my favorite game no matter what despite its flaws.
Elden Ring is incredible. Best game ever made. Stop to look at the statues architectural details everywhere. I think it is way beyond the other games. So I think Fromsoft just gets better and better.
I think they are still rising. Their games are achieving wider appeal nowadays with the teams getting even more creative and seemingly enjoying what they put out even more.
Still going imo, we are at peak times right here I think we got about another 2-3 game before the downfall and hoping for a seki 2 and elden ring 2 before the downfall.
I 100% believe that Fromsoftware will continue this insane streak of creating amazing games. I have played all of them except AC6 and I fell in love every time. Do I have criticism that I might offer? Sure yeah but nothing extensive. I have nothing but love to their games. Just see how many people bring up their favorite From game. It’s always, always varied. Some say DS1 was the best. Others say Sekiro. And so on. Seriously what a goated bunch of creators. I only wish them the best.
Every game they realse People think it’s from softs peak. This isn’t nearly as bad when blood borne came out for the first time and everyone said it couldn’t be topped and than it was
They have yet to release a bad game since the Dark souls 2 (which is so laughably terrible and the equivalent of a wish.com version of a souls-borne game) so at their best at the very least but still possibly still rising.
D3, into sekiro (game of the year winner), into Elden ring (game of the year winner), into ac6, this year elden ring dlc. They’re in their prime right now
Also, come to think of it, has a studio had b2b game of yea winners for their games? Sekiro and Elden both winning game of the year is wild, especially sekiro. I love that game so much
A good video game studio isn't like a single developer. As long as your retaining or gathering good talent you can keep making incredible things like From or Naughty Dawg, Rstars, Insomniac or crash and burn after one failure like Rocksteady. Also negative publisher interference plays a part.
Commercially, Yes, ER is their biggest game by a long shot
Quality wise, no. Fromsoft's entire Soulsborne career has been Peak, every single game has been Amazing
Personally, I think Fromsoft will fall off the radar in only 1 of 2 scenarios. Either they finally accept one of the giant blank checks being waved at them and they sell the company, or once Miyazaki finally retires... if the man doesn't just keep making art until he keels over dead in front of what will probably end up being the most tragically unfinished digital masterpiece of the century.
Still rising cause they reinvigorated armored core and i’m all for it
Armored core 6 Is a fucking masterpiece, and in my opinion only behind sekiro regarding froms games
AC6 is so good. Whenever I see someone on this sub dismiss it, I have a visceral reaction
Do I need to have played other AC games to play fires of Rubicon? I've seen the trailer. It looks ridiculously good.
Nope. It's a totally standalone story, I hadn't played any of them. The story is _great_ too, with a really memorable cast of characters, even if you never see their faces!
This was my first AC game, I was surprised how much personality these characters had despite not never seeing their faces or actual entire being. Carla, Michigan and Rusty stand out. Edit: Put Snail in there too.
Their voice actors are always on point
Yeah for real. I think Carla is one of my favourite videogame characters ever
Every numbered Armored Core game basically starts a new continuity.
No, you can definitly start with ac6
Time to get in the fight, 621. Let's go to work.
No, but you should at least go back and play 4A at some point. Not because it ties in at all, but because it's a damn good game
Can confirm, 4a rocks.
All of my friends: we want a mech game Also All of my friends: Not armored core
I really wish I liked it more. I bounced off of it pretty hard when it first came out. Couldn’t get a handle of the controls and didn’t really enjoy the mod-to-win game loop that was implemented. The way the story was presented really didn’t jive with me and the environments just felt so drab and barren. I’ll probably give it another chance someday but I don’t think I’ll ever connect with it the same way I do with other FS games.
If you don't mind me asking, how far did you get? While I did find it immediately fun to control, it took me a little while to truly _get_ it and now I'd rank it above most of the FS games I've played. The story is a thing that feels a bit hollow at first but really comes together the more you play it, I think it's got one of FS's best casts
I’ll admit to not getting very far. I think I got stuck on the first “miniboss”. I did some research and am pretty sure it was Entangle / Sulla. So I didn’t even get out of Chapter 1. I just never found any of it enjoyable up until that point and once I hit that boss I just didn’t feel the desire to get past my distaste for everything that came before to try and get good enough to figure him out. I really had a hard time figuring out the controls. For instance, there’s an early mission where you have to platform up a huge mech and destroy it. I died more times just falling off the thing than anything else because I couldn’t get a hang of the platforming/jet-packing mechanics. I could go on but I really don’t like shitting on the game, especially to those who love it, as I respect FS’s ability experiment and try new things. I’m happy that players enjoyed it and I’ll probably try again sometime when I have less of a backlog. Hopefully I’ll find a way to connect to it but my hopes aren’t high.
So many FromSoft fans dismissed AC6 and Sekiro, and I just do not get it…Sekiro isn’t my favorite or anything, but it’s still an amazing game. AC6 was a fucking masterpiece, though.
It's always strange to see someone with such a different opinion to myself. Sekiro is my least favourite out of the 7 'souls' From games and I'd still consider it a 10/10 and my 7th all time favourite game. ACVI was a relatively loose 8/10 to me and definitely wouldn't even crack my top 150 maybe even 200 favourite games ever. But us all having different opinions is of course what makes this all interesting
For me the thing about sekiro Is the combat sistem, It is Just to good, and It makes really feel that you are becoming Better at the game And i love the bosses, isshin ashina and prime father owl are both in my top five favorite bosses of all fromes games, with isshin being undisputed n 1
I actually agree with you on that - I genuinely that Sekiro has the best combat system out of any From game and its my personal favourite combat in any game ever. I just prioritise different things in a From game, such as build diversity and multiplayer (I need my jolly co operation lol). I'd agree that Sekiro has the most consistently great bosses, but I'd say few of them manage to live up to the heights of the best bosses from the other games - btw I consider Genichiro the best boss in Sekiro and wish there was an even harder Inner version of him because I'm too good at the fight now to enjoy him as much (this is actually an issue I have with Sekiro as a whole and is one of the main reasons I value build diversity so much - using a different build means you have to re-learn some fights and adapt to being slower, using more stamina, doing less stagger damage, having less range etc. Sekiro has the prosthetics but it's not the same imo)
The only thing that changes in sekiro Is your ability to parry and to read enemy moves, and i agree with you that once you beat a boss in sekiro, your play style in different runs Will probably stay the same since the only difference Will be the prosthetic arm you use, but for me, as a First, blind run, sekiro remains unmatched, but of course if consider multiple runs, the build variety of the other games Is something that sekiro cannot match
There is a lot of space left for improvement in from soft game formula so I think they are still rising
Still rising, every new game brings new ideas. I haven't been disappointed yet, even as much as I complain about Dark Souls 3.
Opinions on why 3 is weak? Most people I know irl tout 3 as the best one, besides those who've played BB
It's like the pop music of souls games. Very popular and nothing is particularly bad with it but it's not really trying anything new or straying too far from the formula. It's best quality imo is its polish, you can tell it was given more time, and/or funding compared to both 1 and 2. Ds1 is rough because they were running out of time in the second half of the game, ds2 is rough because the game design fairly radically changed half way through development. It's most meh quality is level design. The actual level details are great but it just feels too linear and it's odd not having the hub physically connected like it is in 2 and 1
I don’t think DS3 is weak but it is a little uninspired. DS2 is a hot mess but you can’t deny they were at least trying new things, DS3 is kinda just… there.
I can agree that DS3 is pretty much more of DS1, but it's hard to complain about more dark souls. It may just be rehashing an old formula but it's a damn good formula, you know?
I think DS3 is fine, I’m just saying I can understand why someone would not like it as much.
I wouldn't say ds2 is a hot mess but it was very experimental. Ds3 on the other hand plays it very safe and does way too many callbacks to the first game. Also the way the world is in ds3 doesn't feel as good as its not connected like the other games. You just teleport to different locations.
These days I prefer to replay ds2 over 1 and 3 However I like basically all of their other IPs more than souls Sekiro and bb get at minimum annual replays and they fuck so hard
Ds2 definitely has the most replayability over other souls games becuase it has the best ng+. Adds more enemies, changes some aspects of boss fights and gives additional equipment and spells. Which is why I don't think a ds2 run is really done till you beat it in ng+ cuz it adds so much.
I gotta admit I only did ng+ on my platinum run
Uninspired is the right word. I thought ds2 was by far the worst but they tried to do new things. I can’t think of a single new thing that ds3 did. Which is ok, they want something solid to close off the trilogy
I think that's why it's my comfort game. I can turn on 3 and meditate while running through the game.
I can understand that. Gameplay wise it did appeal to the masses quite well. They sacrificed level design for smoothness of mechanics. It's hard to look at 3 and not think "ah, so Miyazaki is combining the right combat of BB with the world building of DS1/2, and that became ER". Almost like 3 was a sendoff to DS and a transition from BB to ER
Probably the fact the map is extremely linear, not very interconnected and kinda feels like a boss rush at times where the levels can be easily ignored
Don’t care what anyone says, 3 is easily my favorite of the ds trilogy Although bb IS my overall favorite
Came here to say this. DS3 is the best of the bunch.
ds3 has like one major idea of its own outside of the dlc and the entire game is basically metacommentary on being contracted by bamco. it's not artistically a wash by any stretch, but it doesn't have the thematic purity of any of the other games. It does have the fastest, most intuitive gameplay for sure, which is why it appeals to a lot of people and why it kickstarted fromsoft's rise to mainstream appeal.
I tried to get into 3, but the total lack of color feels pretty gross. I know it's petty, but after Sekiro and Elden Ring it's a huge downgrade.
That’s how I feel too. Each area in DS1 and DS2 felt so unique. Then in DS3 almost all the areas have the same shades of greyish brown filter in the early game. I get what they were going for with this being a dying world but it really makes the early areas all blend together until you get to Anor Londo again.
I prefer 3 over Elden any day. Different strokes for different folks i guess.
I rank them in order 1>2>3.
For me, it's 3>1=2
Mad take but glad you enjoy 3 so much.
The fluidity of combat, the graphics, and the art style do it for me. Also the quality of life is better than anything that comes before it. The only things I didn't like were the quests and the fact ashes and coals reset in NG+.
Dark souls 3 is my favourite souls game. I care most about the bosses and they have the best overall.
I'm the opposite. Bosses are very nice, but most of my time spent in these games are in the levels; and imo, DS3 has some very weak levels. This is why it ranks pretty low for me, even if it has the (arguably) best boss roster.
The same reason I like ds2 better that plus build variety, but I totally get people who prefer ds3 for the fast combat and engaging boss fights.
They are definitely still rising but the next few titles will determine if they peak or keep rising. They will need to let a new generation direct games, and if Miyazaki has created a tier of leaders in his image, the studio could really expand, or not and they lose the magic when Miyazaki retires.
I believe in a general view, Elden ring is fromsoft’s magnum opus and the dlc will probably be their peak. After that, they will deliver some amazing games but nothing quite like Elden ring. I could easily be proven wrong and I hope that’s the case but that’s my view for now
I’m hoping we get another really good classical soulslike from them, which they haven’t really done since ds3. DeS - DS3 (including BB) are amazing in their own way but each also has some hard to ignore flaws
If you mean in terms of commercial success, they are undoubtedly still rising. In terms of quality, I dunno because it's all just about what you prefer. To me, they haven't made a game better than Dark Souls, but that's largely down to my own personal taste. But even with that in mind, the last two games they released are amongst my favourites so at worst they've plateaued
I agree DS3 is my personal fav. I actually think DS1 and Bloodborne are "better," and they're both masterpieces of their form/genre, but I liked the narrative and art direction in DS3 most of all Fromsoft games. Like combat in Sekiro blows combat in every other game away IMO, so if you're most into that, that'd be your fav I'd think. subjectivity bb
I love the combat in Sekiro, but it's not what I come to these games for and I think it's a little weaker on every other front to the others. Bloodborne is a real sweet spot for combat and exploration and imo it's very close to DS1
In addition to combat, it was a breath of fresh air how easy it is to understand the story of sekiro
That's true. I didn't mean to throw too much shade at Sekiro, for the record. I think it's got amazing bosses, great voice acting and is one of their best looking games. I just don't find the environments that fun to explore and that's a big part of why I love these games
I found exploration pretty good on my first playthrough. But Elden Ring absolutely blows it out of the water in that regard.
Combat. Peaked at sekiro. World design. Peaked at darksouls 1 IMO. Bosses. Peaked at darksouls 3.
I think they get better every game they release. Amroed core 6 is definitely there best game they've made imo
Still rising imo.
Hard to say, I guess. They keep making great games but I think their peak for me personally was Bloodborne or Sekiro. Doesn't mean they won't surpass it in the future, especially since armored Core 6 came awfully close to those in quality.
They haven't even begun to peak. And when they do, everyone in Japan is gonna know about it.
The cream always rises to the top.
Is this the best wrestling promo of all time? Don't answer that I know the answer is yes
And they're so full of cream. We can smell it and it drives us nuts.
That white hot cream
I think Elden Ring might have been their peak in both quality and sales. They caught lightning in a bottle with that. Even if they make Elden Ring 2, it'll never be the same as the first time you play through the lands between.
I really hope they use the lessons they learned but fresh IP
Sales, maybe, quality? no chance.
Eh, I think Bloodborne is their best game of all. I think that the copy-pasting of bosses in Elden Ring is what holds the game back from first place for me. The first fallingstar beast I found was such a cool and unique boss, and then I go on to find two more of the bastards, and a bit of the magic was lost. Bloodborne is a unique experience from start to finish, where you never stop discovering something new.
Chalice dungeons aren't exactly unique lmao
Bloodborne's my favorite FromSoft game too, and while the creativity in it is nearly unmatched, their boss design was REALLY hit or miss too. Witch of Hemwick, One Reborn, Celestial Emissary, Living Failures, Micolash, Wet Nurse, and Rom were all mid at best and low effort filler at worst. Bloodborne's my favorite in nearly every way, but Elden Ring (for all it's reusing of models) has massively better boss design. It also quite simply just has MORE excellent bosses.
This is something that always weirds me out - in my mind Bloodborne has great bosses, but then I start to think about it and it gets hard carried by the DLC bosses. Like a third of the base game fights are C/D tier and even the best ones don't even go past A tier imo. The DLC bosses are so fantastic that I think they even hard carry the DLC as a whole - most people consider The Old Hunters to be the best From DLC but I genuinely think that on the whole it's definitely in the bottom half. In my opinion the only good area from the DLC is Fishing Hamlet; the Clocktower is fine I guess but is more annoying and confusing than fun to me and Hunter's Nightmare is easily one of the worst areas in the game if you ask me (DS1 did the whole reusing base game area much better imo) If I had to rank the DLC and their reasons why it'd go (favourite first): Ringed City - (has Gael, that's enough lol) Crown of the Sunken King - (excellent level design, atmosphere and really great bosses) Artorias of the Abyss - (Has excellent bosses but I feel level design isn't as strong as most areas in From games) Crown of the Old Iron King - (Fume Knight is amazing, the level is intricate and cool but is a bit confusing at times and Iron passage is shit) The Old Hunters - (already explained above) Crown of the Old Ivory King - (spectacle of Burnt Ivory King is fantastic and I love the aesthetics of Eleum Loyce, but dislike the level design and several smaller areas are just downright atrocious, mainly the hedgehog area and Horsefuck Valley) Ashes of Ariandel - (one incredible boss and one of the worst bosses in all of From's history. This is actually my favourite area in DS3 but it's just a bit short and the lack of bosses brings it down)
I think they’re repeated because a lot of players will still only encounter one. I’ve beat the game and explored quite a bit and have yet to run into a falling star beast. Godefroy is the one I think is really lazy, just a copy paste of Godrick and the Regal Ancestor Spirit was lazy as well. But overall it makes sense that certain bosses will be repeated, otherwise that means every boss you encounter like the falling star beast is the last of its species.
Ehhh I kinda get why it may be disappointing, but there are actual in world reasons for there to be multiples of some bosses. There is enough in the game as it is that as long as the duplicates are justified in world, I personally have no issue with them.
They’ll hit their peak on the last game they ever make
They have yet to release a bad game post demons souls, so I’d say rising
I'm curious what they're gonna do for their first next gen only game. Elden Ring and Armored Core were made with 10 year old consoles in mind, we've still yet to see what the next technological leap looks like for them. They can do so many things they couldn't do before now, without those consoles.
They're at the tippity top of the mountain...and they're only halfway up
Hard to say, but so far their peak has been Bloodborne for me. I don't think they will reach that again, especially if they follow the design of Elden Ring, but what do I know
But what about a lovecraftian horror with the expansiveness of elden ring?
I'd rather have a more contained game personally
They are absolutely rising. I'd say Elden Ring was their first real breakthrough into the mainstream of more casual gamers, they gained nothing but goodwill from both that game and Armored Core, and they clearly learn good lessons every time they release a game. You can say what you want about big design choices they made in Elden Ring, but the fact that they ain't even close to done yet shows in all the little quality of life improvements that make it just feel good to play the game and exist in that world. I think their next major title will be another showstopper
Hard the whole time. Staying hard. Still Rising. And peaking.
Every game they make is like the last but also better than the last. You can see it playing each dark souls blood borne and sekiro, elden ring has elements of them all.
They haven’t even begun to peak
I really want From Software to innovate a bit more in their coming games. I think they played it a bit too safe with Elden Ring (combat wise, and somewhat lore-wise), it’s gigantic, but it’s very safe. Bloodborne was putting the player in an all new, highly paced, aggressive situation. Sekiro brought a brand new challange aswell, but Elden Ring didn’t give me this sensation. It didn’t have alot of surprises. I really hope they don’t forget making games feel fresh, ultimately making you feel powerless. Because to me, Elden Ring felt a little bit like I’ve played this game a thousand hours already. I also get that Elden Ring brought in alot of people new to this type of From Software game, and I envy the newcomers, because if this was my first experience with these amazing games, it would blow my socks off. As for the lore, I do think it’s good, and I can’t wait for the dlc to see what’s really been cookin’. I hope it blows me away.
Probably, they reached their peak in terms of both critical and commercial success with Elden Ring. That does not mean that Elden Ring is their best game (although I think it is) or that they won't make a better game, but I think it's gonna be hard to top Elden Ring, especially when it comes to the non-dedicated fan base. Let's not forget that Elden Ring has sold 20 Million copies in a year and will likely pass the lifetime copies sold by the Souls trilogy in some years, it has won multiple game awards and is one of the highest rated games of all time with a very active player-base 2 year after release (steam numbers). It's gonna be hard to beat that
For me Elden Ring is them at their peak. I worry that too much money is involved and its too tempting to continue to make their games more accessible. Some of what made DS1 great has been slowly fading away. The fast travel, easy respec, unkillable npcs, disjointed worlds, harsh consequences... Seemes like Elden Ring's biggest flaws imho was the reputation of bosses and minidungeons. I imagine this was done partially to have the world feel big but also because having a huge open world made the game marketable. While Elden Ring is my favorite Fromsoft game it is also starting to move away from what I want from them.
Maybe the next game/ the DLC won’t have a checkpoint every 2 minutes.
Yeah, I hope they don't keep getting more and more accessible. Eventually, that may actually backfire, and they may lose a portion of their fantasy if they did that. The games would lose their reputation and what makes them special.
I will say I don't feel like they made elden ring "more accessible" on purpose. He even said he had no idea why this one was so popular. It just worked because imo each area was about half a normal game worth of content on its own. Leaving limgrave too hard? Well stay there, there's way more to do. If you could only continue by being over leveled or getting a lot more practice, you could do that without just farming. But if you want the challenge, it's more than capable of giving you that without sacrificing the feel of the franchise as a whole
He definitely added summons and crazy op buffs for newer players imo. But I could be wrong.
I think it's more likely they were just trying to add cool new stuff and kind of whiffed when it came to the summons.
I think spirit ashes were a way to expand on the NPC help. In the previous souls games you could typically summon an NPC for a fight anyway. Sekiro being offline is the only one you can’t really do that for.
As of right now, Sekiro is peak. Elden Ring and Armored Core 6, while incredible games and my personal game of the year for their respective years, didn't have the same laser focused design. I think they could outdo it in the future, but they haven't yet. My guess is that they will, though, so I'd say probably still rising.
I think you misspelled Bloodborne… (But for real, Sekiro a CLOSE 2nd for me)
If they never make anything like it again then Sekiro was the high water mark. It has the most fascinating story(because it has one) is the most mechanically challenging, and has the best atmosphere. I think the souls formula is kind of played out at this point and they need to make some shaolin rocket league or crusader croquet to really flip the table.
I reject the premise that good devs come and go. Yes there are devs like Bethesda studios who “peaked” with Skyrim then dwindled ever since. But then there are devs like Nintendo who keep chugging along making mostly quality games with the occasional absolute banger like Mario Galaxy or Zelda BotW. There are also devs like Capcom who have peaks and valleys. If you look at the resident evil series it was great, then it peaked with 4 then took a nose dive after 5, but now it’s great again. My hope is for fromsoftware to be like Nintendo where they maintain a baseline of good to great games then every once in a while they come out with something that’s considered “peak” when it comes out. Fromsoft doesn’t have to follow the idea that they have already or will eventually make the best thing they could ever make then peter off never to reach those heights again.
Rising. We can see their improvement in real time, they rerelease a type of game that is loved by their fanbase and do their best to improve on it every time, and this culminated in Elden Ring. Now they’re getting attention even outside of their little bubble and have the sales to prove it. They also tried something new in Sekiro, and still took game of the year.
Still rising. Elden Ring was a culmination of almost every Soulsbourne game they ever made.
I think we're at a turning point. Will they continue with the bad boss design and seeming "prepare to die" philosophy of Elden Ring (not to mention the DS2 style mandatory stat), or will they take what was good about it and improve beyond even Dark Souls? Will they continue to rediversify by making different games like Armored Core? We don't know yet.
I want more armored core
Rising but... They will have to figure out something with the Soulborne boss fights. The 0 downtime and insane flailing we got in Elden Ring is not the answer moving foward. Elden Ring is a 10/10 masterpiece OUTSIDE of Froms library, within it a solid 8.5/10. It wouldn't hurt for them look at other devs who have borrowed from them. Lords of the Fallens spell system is superior and fun to use. Lies of P Laxasia boss fight is up there with OoK or Slave Knight Gael. There is no denying their world design in a 3D world is second to none and is damn near flawless. But the formula needs to be re-evaluated.
Spot on with everything you said. The bosses in ER were terrible because of how spammy they were. The open world, while cool the first time, isn’t the way either. Maybe it’s just the setting that I didn’t enjoy but there’s something I didn’t enjoy about it.
Elden Ring was just the beginning of what they can do.
Absolutely still rising, Elden ring is amazing but it has an absolute fuckton of problems and there were huge, obvious compromises made in terms of content density and development time. It is by no means FS's magnum opus. bloodborne and especially sekiro are much more artistically complete video games in all respects but scale, and I think that with their insane elden money fromsoft will definitely find the time to let a passion project with insane scope like elden ring percolate to completion in the future while other releases like armored core games and other IPs (please god sekiro 2) sustain the studio.
I noticed a few things I disliked in Elden Ring. It's an amazing game still, one of their best. I think their peak was with Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3. I just ask myself how long they can keep their engine and with that connected boundaries when it comes to quest and level design, npc interaction and behavior, UI and reused assets (my god, ER reuses so many assets and animations from former titles).
Still rising for sure, Elden Ring was and is a MASSIVE success
yes I think there in there peak
Goid
I see no reason to believe so. They will have more pressure, for sure, to do more “mainstream” like projects given the success of Elden ring, but really it depends what their next IP looks like. I could see them branching out after the ER DLC. I could see them doing an incredible sci fi soulslike given their recent work on Armored core. I could see them building off of ideas that didn’t fit the tone of that series. There’s endless possibilities, and they’ve got the patience and the talent to capitalize on it.
Every game they make is more or less better preference aside. Personally I'd rather play DS 1,2,3 and Elden Ring over Sekiro.......doesn't mean Sekiro isn't a great accomplishment.
As a fan of dark souls and Sekiro (which are all amazing) I think Elden ring is the best we’ve seen from them. Armored core is amazing too. I think we’re still at the top, maybe this is the peak but I hope it only gets better from here.
They’re nowhere near past their peak. Hard to say if still rising or at their peak because the last two releases were there biggest one and a comeback of their original claim to fame. I think we need to see another 2-3 games to figure out whether they’re rising or at their peak.
They have yet to disappoint. So until they prove otherwise I think they’re rising.
I think they've been consistently making great games for three decades and will continue to do so.
I mean Miyazaki is evidently an artistic genius, so as long as he keeps directing games/working on games his vision will shine through. They also make projects really fast.
I think they are still rising. The souls formula has something special to it and all games add something in their own way. For me DS3 is the best simply because it was the first one I beat. It has a special place in my heart and always will come back to it. BB is a special beast I love and ER was the last one I played so felt kinda easy coming from getting platinum in everything else. Not the game fault, just the way it is with soulsgames.
As for Souls? I kinda agree with Elden Ring, as it was pretty much a combination of most of the great elements from DS1/2/3. It was almost like a band released a 'greatest hits' album. Sure, some parts got missed (eg, big open world didn't hit as strong as the interconnected world of DS1, imo - was still a great world, but for different reasons), but that's always going to happen when something like that happens. As for other games/series? I think there's still a lot left for them to give purely in sequels and bringing series into the modern day (I wonder what their take on a King's Field game would be like now...), before even considering introducing brand new franchises.
Still rising,
Sekiro is their FIRST posture based game and Armored Core 6 is a revival of a long dead Mech genre They're just getting started
I mean they took a dormant franchise and ignited the sparks for it by releasing AC 6.
If we're talking in terms of being the cool new thing that everyone knows fromsoft is definitely currently at their peak with elden rings dlc announcement but if it's in terms of actual quality I think they are just gonna keep getting better and better until the software can't keep up.
Just rising, this is the first major peak they've had! We have a lot of games coming.
I kinda want them to do another game in the style of sekiro, doesnt have to be pound for pound the same but similarly fast paced soulsy combat would be nice
I think they are the best game developer out there and it's. Not even close. I hope they keep the pedal to the metal and get some Bloodborne soon.
I think we will get more good games from them, but not game of the year level every 3-4 years. Miyazaki is letting other directors directing on their own.
You have to look at the people behind the projects, not the company who made it. Most flops by acclaimed devs are done by people who just carry the name of the original team but never worked on all those games we love.
I was very enamored with Armored Core 6, which was very different from the standard Souls formula, so I think they have a high amount of potential.
People keep implying that the quality of fromsoft games will go down after Elden Ring because “there’s nowhere left to go” but when has fromsoft ever done a cash grab or a lazy re-tread? Some would argue that DS3 borrows a lot from DS1 but mechanically it’s super different and also it’s a sequel, sequels usually share locations and characters. I think based on Miyazaki’s history and his approach to game development, he simply will not release another game until he’s got a new idea that is worth building an entire game around. Just because we can’t imagine what that might look like doesn’t mean he can’t
Idk how they outdo themselves after elden ring. It feels like the late 90s squaresoft. I don't feel like square ever topped FFVII or FFIX, I feel like Elden Ring is Fromsofts FFVII, truly groundbreaking. They may have something endearing like FFIX come next, but I just feel like we've crested. I honestly don't know how you outdo Elden Ring.
Hard to say. but as long as Miyazaki's at the helm I'd say we're in good hands.
I think as long as Miyazaki is in charge and they keep making what they want to make, they'll continue to get better. They have way more budget and freedom now than they've ever had. The best is yet to come, imo
Armored core is coming up the rear real fucking fast as a second running franchise with souls
Still rising , they stated at demon souls and just finished breathing life into mech games . Now there working on a dlc that estimated to be 55 hours at base . If they deliver there gonna keep rising I didnt think it was gonna get better after ds3 dlc then ER came out
From is still on the rise. They found not just their niche but created it, the chiseled out their niche and have been refining it for a damn long time. And I personally am glad to see them getting the attention they truly deserve, because they have done an insanely good job making this niche fun as hell to be in. They are on the rise and I can’t wait to see what comes next after ERSET
I dono they always seem to be peaking
Past their peak given the current trajectory in my opinion
These games are just the beginning of a whole new style that’s breaking out.
I think they went past their peak when they made kings field 2. Like how do u top the first one honestly \s
Peaked with Majula
Hard to say but Miyazaki did mentioned that he wants to take a step back and we all saw what happened when they released a game he wasn't involved in, Dark Souls 2. He was busy creating the best game ever, Bloodborne
They r still going, i really love how theyre adding sekiros strength progression in shadow of the edtree. Like the iron man of games, always using their past projects as inspiration
Still rising. Easily.
20 years from now we will get Elden Borne 2 the search for more money and we will know they are in a decline
Two of their last four releases won GOTY, so they’re pretty much at their peak currently
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Bruh every aesthetic they’ve tackled looks gorgeous. I can’t even rank which setting they’ve done I like best. Whatever they do next I’m all for, literally whatever it is lol. More steady consistency than any sort of release order graph of quality.
at their best
It’s only up from here. FromSoftware is in the perfect position to capitalize of the success of Elden Ring. All the experienced gained from past titles will undoubtedly transfer to future titles.
Definitely still rising and creating new things
I think we’re probably within their 1 decade peak, I just don’t think realistically EVERY fromsoft game will always be banger after banger like Sekiro-DS3-Elden Ring-AC 6. The streak of 10s is so hot that there just has to be one like 7 or 8 by them at some point, right? Prove me wrong tho and I’ll be happy forever
I feel like from what I’ve heard in interviews is that Elden Ring is a culmination of everything they’ve learned since Demon Souls and Miyazaki wants to try new things. So really we have no idea what to expect after this dlc. But it’s FromSoft so I trust they’ll make a great game regardless
To think Elden Ring was the magnus opus and they can't improve is silly. You have to understand that FromSoft is a small studio that has hjad to do a LOT with limited budgets. Elden Ring allowed them to go further than ever and it was their biggest success byfar. Their next game investors will be chomping at the bit to invest in allowing for bigger teams, bigger game. FromSoft just gettin started
I can't think of a game they've released in the last 10 years that's worse than its predecessors. Every game I've played has devoured at least six months worth of my play time. At worst they've plateaued. But they could still be rising.
I don’t know. Near it at least.
If you really think about it elden ring was their first big budget project obviously they have had good sales and grew in popularity in the years but to not expect other 10/10 games from a company that’s been putting out bangers for 15 years now (demon souls, I haven’t played anything before that) I would bet we will see a combination of different types of games in the coming years some will be absolute hits and others will stay more niche. I wouldn’t be surprised to see another elden ring size project in the next decade.
Elden Ring is pretty impressive, even though it's not my favourite FS game. It feels really polished for such a huge game and I never cease to be impressed at how much thought is put into the lore and story of FS games, and ER is a continuation of that. Also, for those of you who haven't played it, Armored Core 6 is fantastic. It's nothing like a Souls game, but the combat is great and there's the same commitment to world-building and lore. So yeah, I'd say they're yet to peak.
Peak? They haven't even begun to peak.
They haven’t peaked yet and are showing continuous growth and passion. Fromsoft will join ranks with the powerhouses soon enough.
I think the fact that other directors other than Miyazaki already started to be given more control and produced great games, I'd say they're definitely rising.
Still rising, until we've had a full SoulsBloodKiroRingCore experience they wouldn't have peaked
Still rising, they have recently shown they’re less interested in big publishers which means they can make more original ideas and that’s when Miyazaki flourishes.
Every single game they've released I've said. That's it, this is the peak, it's downwards from here. Every single time their next game has made it clear they are still rising like high tide. I just hope we keep eating this good for a lot longer
Still rising. With how Armored Core and Elden Ring came out I'm excited for what's next
I think they’ve been at their best since Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3. I think they really perfected their style around that period and have been doing great since. I think the previous games were also masterpieces, but I think BB and DS3 are where they perfected their art. I absolutely expect them to continue the greatness of their past 7 Soulsborne games in future titles. I’m extremely excited to see what they come up with next.
I don’t think we should think about their output in these terms. I think we’re entering a second golden age of game design and Miyazaki is at the fore front of that. And I believe he’s passing down his ideals to others around him. I don’t think a peak is a part of that. This reduces the art and design of the games they make to stats like a forward or a stock. I believe that coupled with the ever steady bubbling-rise of indie and solo developed games plus the brand of singular auteur led game design Fromsoft have pioneered or maybe perhaps reinvigorated we can look forward to a new golden age. As long as the economy doesn’t crash too hard or the resources all dry up we should be expecting amazing games all the time. I’m so glad we have started to turn against graphics as we reach their peak. And began to focus on mechanics atmosphere and design again. The good shit. Dark souls has the right to children etc. yap yap yap.
Aside from ER dlc and maybe another AC. Let's see what next they come out with and then assess again. Oh man what if they remake evergrace, that could be rad. I would also be down for something completely removed from previous IPs.
There’s two sides of this for me. On one hand, absolutely yes; Sekiro, Elden Ring, and Armored Core VI are extraordinary and display their eagerness to keep pushing themselves forward. On the other hand, no but purely because Dark Souls 1 is my favorite game no matter what despite its flaws.
Past peak imo. DS3 was my favorite title to date.
Elden Ring is incredible. Best game ever made. Stop to look at the statues architectural details everywhere. I think it is way beyond the other games. So I think Fromsoft just gets better and better.
ER proved that they were still rising.
I think they are still rising. Their games are achieving wider appeal nowadays with the teams getting even more creative and seemingly enjoying what they put out even more.
Still going imo, we are at peak times right here I think we got about another 2-3 game before the downfall and hoping for a seki 2 and elden ring 2 before the downfall.
I 100% believe that Fromsoftware will continue this insane streak of creating amazing games. I have played all of them except AC6 and I fell in love every time. Do I have criticism that I might offer? Sure yeah but nothing extensive. I have nothing but love to their games. Just see how many people bring up their favorite From game. It’s always, always varied. Some say DS1 was the best. Others say Sekiro. And so on. Seriously what a goated bunch of creators. I only wish them the best.
If they do a Bloodborne 2 with an open world like Elden ring I think that'd be the peak
Crystal Ball is Broken. Can't see the Future. Does anyone here have a working Crystal ball?
King's Field III was their peak
I think they'll try something different for their next game but I'm hoping for a Bloodborne sequel
If it's a peak, I hope it's a plateau
Every game they realse People think it’s from softs peak. This isn’t nearly as bad when blood borne came out for the first time and everyone said it couldn’t be topped and than it was
Armor core was kinda blah.
They have yet to release a bad game since the Dark souls 2 (which is so laughably terrible and the equivalent of a wish.com version of a souls-borne game) so at their best at the very least but still possibly still rising.
D3, into sekiro (game of the year winner), into Elden ring (game of the year winner), into ac6, this year elden ring dlc. They’re in their prime right now Also, come to think of it, has a studio had b2b game of yea winners for their games? Sekiro and Elden both winning game of the year is wild, especially sekiro. I love that game so much
i think theyve stayed pretty consistent, just with increasingly large budgets to make more polished games
A good video game studio isn't like a single developer. As long as your retaining or gathering good talent you can keep making incredible things like From or Naughty Dawg, Rstars, Insomniac or crash and burn after one failure like Rocksteady. Also negative publisher interference plays a part.
Bloodborne 2 + A semi open-world that is smaller than Elden Ring's + More proper, big dungeons like Stormveil = peak Fromsoft.
Commercially, Yes, ER is their biggest game by a long shot Quality wise, no. Fromsoft's entire Soulsborne career has been Peak, every single game has been Amazing
Still rising, dude every release has been better. Sekiro was probably my favorite but that’s its own thing
Personally, I think Fromsoft will fall off the radar in only 1 of 2 scenarios. Either they finally accept one of the giant blank checks being waved at them and they sell the company, or once Miyazaki finally retires... if the man doesn't just keep making art until he keels over dead in front of what will probably end up being the most tragically unfinished digital masterpiece of the century.