Games Inbox: Elden Ring as game of the generation

The Friday letters page does not trust Peter Molyneux and his new game, as one reader hopes Capcom dares to make a new Ghosts ‘N Goblins.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Game of the year
Just saw that Elden Ring has a big discount for the Prime Day sale and I just wanted to say that for anyone that was on the fence, or waiting for it to go cheap, it is absolutely the real deal and you will not be disappointed.

In terms of value for money, variety, artwork, level design, and a whole host of other things it is, for me, almost perfect. Don’t let yourself get obsessed by the idea of fighting bosses and it being too difficult. If you level up sensibly and take in some co-op help none of the bosses are difficult. In fact, they’re technically the easiest part of the game, as they’re the only part where you can regularly get help – to the point where some people will basically beat the bosses for you if you want.

You won’t want to though. It only takes a couple of hours for the game to get its claws into you and then the whole thing clicks into place, and you can’t stop. That’s not only my experience but also everyone else I’ve ever talked to about the game.

For my money, and definitely for the amount of money being asked for it now, it is easily the best game of 2022 and probably of the whole two generations. And yes, that including Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom.
Green Knight

Goofy action
It seems to me that Capcom has been giving out vague hints of bringing back retro franchises for years now and they never seem to have the nerve to go through with it. I get it, games are expensive now, but are Exoprimal and Kunitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess really going to be sell better than a new Dino Crisis and Onimusha? I have my doubts.

I’d love to see them bring back some of their more cartoonish action games. Ideally Ghosts ‘N Goblins (or Maximo) but I’ll settle for a decent Mega Man game. Capcom games have been good lately but they all tend to be pretty serious and Resident Evil 4 and Street Fighter 6 have whet my appetite for something a bit more goofy.

I’m not holding my breath but I’d love to see it.
Ctacle

Once bitten
Peter Molyneux? I wouldn’t trust that guy to tell me his name. And you’re right, he doesn’t seem to have learned at all. ‘I don’t want to tell you about my new game because I don’t want to go back to my old ways, but just so you know it’s the most amazing game ever made that’s completely unlike anything you’ve ever seen and has ideas nobody buy me has ever thought of.

Yeah, I’m not falling for that again. You can say I’m sore for backing Godus but I’m not giving him any second chances. Not that I expect his game to amount to anything. I bet he’ll still be talking about it another five years, by which point it will be even more advance and original.
Bruman

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Take my money
It is now July and I’ve pre-ordered my first game of the year, it’s out 10th October. It is, of course, the one and only Spider-Man 2. I’ve paid for a downloaded one because me and my mate are sharing it, I’ve gone for the £80 one on PSN.

I’m also after the new Assassin’s Creed but I haven’t pre-ordered that just yet because it’s out two days after Spider-Man 2. Sony exclusives don’t really drop in price for a good few years, whereas Assassin’s Creed does drop in price pretty fast if it’s not a big hit.

It will take me a month to 100% Spider-Man 2 so I might save a few pounds by the time I want Assassin’s Creed. It’s just a shame most good games for both Sony and Xbox are coming out between 6 September and 10th October.
David

GC: What if it turns out it’s not very good or you don’t like it?

Needs more bloat
I will have to respectfully disagree with Wyrmwood’s opinion on The Calisto Protocol. In an era of bloat, padding, and contrived storytelling I found the game a breath of fresh air.

It’s brutal, beautiful, and compelling. The combat (once mastered) is uniquely satisfying and heavy. If anyone is feeling the need for a nice linear sci-fi romp, this is well worth a look.
James

GC: We can’t agree with that at all. Wyrmwood was right.

The doom that came to Sega
It’s sad but interesting to read all these documents from Sega during its last days as a hardware manufacturer. Everyone in America realised they were doomed and there was essentially nothing they could do about it. The rot had set in even in the Mega Drive era, with the pointless Mega-CD and 32X, wasting both their time and money and ours.

Even if they had managed to get a proper 3D Sonic game out in time for near or after launch I don’t think it would’ve mattered. Times were changing and it wasn’t games like that which were driving the industry anymore, as Nintendo found out with the N64.

It didn’t help that Sega saw their main competitor as PlayStation rather than Nintendo. They’d fought Nintendo to a standstill in the SNES/Mega Drive era and had the franchises to do it again but up against Sony and their new, more mature games they had nothing at all.

Maybe if they’d been able to hold on to Tomb Raider, and a few others, as exclusives they could’ve got somewhere but in the end they had nothing and Sega of Japan gave them nothing to work with either. As a fan I still wish Sega was making hardware, but they absolutely brought their failure on themselves.
Frosty

Celebrity reader
You asked whether this was Mark Strachan from Domark – and yes it is.

Many years later and still involved in games – this time singing the music. At gamechoir, we want gamers to record their own voice at home. We’ll combine all the submissions in the studio to create a huge choir. We’re already on our way to #theworldslargesthalo.
Mark Strachan
Gamechoir

Mildly excited
Will Starfield be a less boring No Man’s Sky? I’ve tried No Man’s Sky for a few hours and at the start it was intriguing, until it became a grind – which didn’t take long. The idea is better than the execution. Those sentinels are absolute misery, the never-ending assault when you go to the wrong planet.

Anyway, at least Starfield should have a story to push you through the main game, which involves more than finding upgrades to go further into space (I hope).

I’m not watching trailers or any other spoilers so I’m not up on the subject but I’m hopeful for it as I’m going through Fallout 4 again and loving it.

If Starfield can be half as good, I’d be happy with it. Unlike most people I’m not super excited or worried about it. It is just a game after all, and we choose whether to buy it or not. It’s not like it’s that U2 album that was forced on you by iTunes. Calm down people.
Bobwallett
PS: Question to the Underbox. Does Game Pass come with online like Gold Live or do I need Gold? I’ve almost enough points to get Game Pass for three months.

Inbox also-rans
Never mind EA Sports FC, I can’t wait to see what a rush job FIFA 25 is going to end up as. It’s going to make eFootball look like PES6.
Fink

Sad to hear about the death of the Beyond Good & Evil 2 director. Not because I care about that game but because Rayman Legends was so good and this means we’ll probably never get one as good again.
Wolf359

This week’s Hot Topic
Since we’re now over the halfway point of the year this weekend’s Inbox asks what is your favourite new game so far?

You can name any game on any system, but it has to be something that was released new in the UK this year. 2023 has already seen many greats, including Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom, Street Fighter 6, Humanity, Resident Evil 4, Amnesia: The Bunker, Diablo 4, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Hi-Fi Rush, and many more.

How does your pick compare to some of your existing favourites and what do you think of the year as a whole so far, and its potential for the rest of the year?

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
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