Thread by @adrianchm

Work on #Witchfire is so demanding I just don't have the time to play other games these days, let alone behemoths like #EldenRing. At the same time, as a designer I just couldn't afford not to play it. So I did. Yo boi just became the Elden Lord, 200 hours later. A 🧵: 1/x

From both player and designer perspectives, #EldenRing is a masterpiece. Is it my favorite From game? No, that's still #Bloodborne. Because that Gothic Cthulhu world felt more coherent and more interesting to me. Still, #EldenRing seems like an easy 2022 GOTY. 2/x

I took the unique -- for me -- approach to #EldenRing. For the very first time, I played this game pure. Avoided all spoilers. Never consulted the Wiki. Never summoned another player for help. Just 99,99% pure blind SP playthrough. Why 99,99 and not 100%? 3/x

B/c at the end I needed an item. Ghost Glovewort (5). I had all the (6)+ but spent all (5) earlier. After days of revisiting all Catacombs and other places with no luck, I had a choice: keep feeding the ego and keep searching, or kill the ego and Google. I chose the latter. 4/x

Still, except for that one Google search, I did everything else on my own. Highlights... Three days stuck on Godskin Duo, mostly due to atrocious camera work (come on now, From...) until I went for the steel skin Perfume art and then it felt like cheating. 5/x

Respeccing many times for Malenia and the final boss. Dropping my Moonveil for Gargoyle's Blackblade (Malenia) and Rivers of Blood (Elden Beast), using a Mimic. Both took me days of leveling, preparation and fighting, but it's done. Look at me, I am the Elden Lord now. 6/x

All my previous playthroughs of From games were me glued to Fextralife wikis and this one was precisely the opposite. Was it a great choice? Yes. Was is the right choice? Not necessarily. 7/x

Satisfaction of doing it all on your own is through the roof. And the exploration is insanely rewarding. You take a peek in a "nah, pretty sure nothing interesting in there" area and discover a new land worth three days of play. 8/x

#EldenRing might be the first game in history where optional and secret areas are, combined, bigger than the (already huge) core world. It's absolute madness and no other game comes close. 9/x

And all these areas are not filler. The design is out of this world. Subterranean Shunning-Grounds is a game in itself, and the best designed level in the history of gaming. Crumbling Farum Azula is 2nd but it was easier to design as it's all floating architecture. 10/x

Also, when playing with no help, struggling against From's cold, hermetic design (what the fuck does "altered" cloth do? Why is Vitality separate to HP? Etc. etc.) feels appropriate for the protagonist in a cruel, grim world. No, I'm not kidding. 11/x

But there are downsides, too. My biggest gripe is the story-telling. Look, that oneiric approach of people talking in cryptic garbage worked in the past but now you want me to make choices? For that I need to understand wtf is going on. And I had and have no clue. 12/x

Also... An NPC told me that if I started using draconic powers, I would get corrupted. Roger that. So I never used them in case this would affect my journey and the ending. Turns out, nah, bullshit, it was all for flavor, they're just incantations. Infuriating. 13/x

The other downside is getting stuck on stupid things. "Clear near its feet", said a Mausoleum hint. So I ran around killing ghosts surrounding Mausoleums but nope... Lost a day trying to figure it out. Turns out, after accidental discovery, should be "clean its feet"... Meh. 14/x

Finally, without a wiki you *will* miss tons of stuff. Quests, gear, even entire lands. Guaranteed, as some of it is so obscure it's bordering on impossible to solve on one's own. 15/x

Anyway, so Miyazaki seems to deeply believe (I do, too) in self-determination theory that wants you to feel Mastery, Autonomy and Relatedness. The first two are obvious in From games: Mastery is overcoming the challenge with skill or brains, Autonomy is your builds and path. 16/x

But what about Relatedness? Well, you can summon other player for help, and you can leave in-game hints or read them. To me, Wikis and Reddit and other forums are just extension of that, and a legit way to play a From game. 17/x

And people do seem to prefer it this way. 26.5% of players -- which btw is an insane accomplishment for From -- got the "best" ending which is harder and more elaborate than the regular ending. Logic says they had to be playing with help. And that's fine. 18/x

For me, I think for the next game or DLC I'll stay with the blind approach. It's just too good despite the issues. If you're still to play #EldenRing, I recommend it this way. Just one hint: if you think you have fully explored an area, you haven't. The end. 19/19 end of 🧵