General Gaming Ok...the dust has settled. Which is better?

[best3444]

Some of you guys have now beaten TOTK and also have beaten Elden Ring. Even those that haven't beaten these games, which do you think is the better game overall?

[Xbob42]

TotK easily for me. If this was between Elden Ring and BotW, I might choose Elden Ring, but TotK takes things to another level.

Elden Ring had a beautiful world, but the limitations of what you could do in that world (i.e. the same shit as any other Dark Souls game, attack, jump, roll, uh... ride a horse is new I guess) are what easily clinches the difference for me. TotK gives you tons of non-combat, non-platforming ways to engage with the world at large, which to me is important because while we all use the label "open world" pretty commonly... I think people forget that the more open a world is, the more enjoyable it becomes with a very complementary feature: sandbox toys. Things to take advantage of that world, be it for use in combat, traversal, building things, minigames utilizing the sandbox elements help as well. (Y'all should find the ring-the-bell minigame in TotK if you haven't yet! Such a simple concept made infinitely more fun by the tools at your disposal.)

 

It makes me sad TotK doesn't have some sort of online co-op mode. Being able to collab on builds with friends or just goof around making battle bots fight each other and stuff like that could be dozens of hours of fun for me all on its own without even getting into the intended content loop. 

[cusideabelincoln]

They are so different that it's hard to compare them.

 

But if TotK had as many fighting stances\movesets and magic spells as ER it would easily be the greatest game of all time. 

[Mr.Vic20]

I love them both, but TOTK gets the nod. 

[stepee]

I got distracted and need to really dive into TOTK, but I will say it runs a lot better on pc at launch than Elder Ring did.

[TheLeon]

I still have a long way to go in TotK. I keep getting distracted by other games (which didn’t happen when I played ER for a month straight). At this point I would vote for ER pretty easily, and I don’t really see that changing. 

[Bacon]

Unless you are like me, you are picking TOTK for sure.

1 hour ago, Xbob42 said:

TotK gives you tons of non-combat, non-platforming ways to engage with the world at large, which to me is important because while we all use the label "open world" pretty commonly... I think people forget that the more open a world is, the more enjoyable it becomes with a very complementary feature: sandbox toys. Things to take advantage of that world, be it for use in combat, traversal, building things, minigames utilizing the sandbox elements help as well.

This is exactly what I don't want, but for most people, this seems to be exactly what they want. Well, they actually want an open world so of course they should want that lol.

[Xbob42]

1 hour ago, cusideabelincoln said:

But if TotK had as many fighting stances\movesets and magic spells as ER it would easily be the greatest game of all time. 

Counterpoint... my laser box trap!

 

 

[best3444]

I'm 35 hours in TOTK but as if right now I have to give the nod to Elden Ring. The world and combat are just too good. 

[Biggie]

TotK > every other video game ever made since Pong. 
 

[best3444]

7 minutes ago, Biggie said:

TotK > every other video game ever made since Pong. 
 

 

I honestly can't even put Zelda in my top 10. I enjoy story driven games. Don't get me wrong, I'm having an amazing time with totk.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

I'm gonna say TOtK since I have zero interest in ER.

[Biggie]

8 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

I honestly can't even put Zelda in my top 10. I enjoy story driven games. Don't get me wrong, I'm having an amazing time with totk.

Uh…..bruh…….there is a story. A hell of a good story. 

[best3444]

42 minutes ago, Biggie said:

Uh…..bruh…….there is a story. A hell of a good story. 

 

Maybe once I get to experience more of it this game will rank higher. I did see some story today while doing a dungeon. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

I'm  guessing it's because the story in Zelda doesn't hold your hand and have big, elaborate cutscenes frequently to lay it out.

[AbsolutSurgen]

17 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

Maybe once I get to experience more of it this game will rank higher. I did see some story today while doing a dungeon. 

The low production values and technical limitations on TOTK are what make me vote for Elden Ring.

[best3444]

27 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

The low production values and technical limitations on TOTK are what make me vote for Elden Ring.

 

I'll be honest I'm satisfied with the technical aspects of TOTK. Some of the scenery can be down right beautiful. Plus the physics and abilities in the game definitely make it more varied than Elden Ring.

 

I just prefer the combat and world in Elden Ring over TOTK. Again, I'm early in Zelda so maybe once I experience more of the story etc my opinion will change. 

[AbsolutSurgen]

37 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

I'll be honest I'm satisfied with the technical aspects of TOTK. Some of the scenery can be down right beautiful. Plus the physics and abilities in the game definitely make it more varied than Elden Ring.

 

I just prefer the combat and world in Elden Ring over TOTK. Again, I'm early in Zelda so maybe once I experience more of the story etc my opinion will change. 

The art style is beautiful.  I struggle with a game not being completely voice acted -- and the technical reality of it being a Switch game.  And the button choices by Nintendo.

 

Does that prevent it from being a great game?  No.  But, in my eyes, it does have an impact.

[best3444]

Just now, AbsolutSurgen said:

The art style is beautiful.  I struggle with a game not being completely voice acted -- and the technical reality of it being a Switch game.  And the button choices by Nintendo.

 

Does that prevent it from being a great game?  No.  But, in my eyes, it does have an impact.

 

Jesus do I have an issue with the button layout. I'm still stumbling with running and jumping. Although I didn't bother looking to see if you can change the layout...

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

I think a better comparison would be TotK vs MGSV as they're both largely player-directed sandbox experiences.

[best3444]

2 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

I think a better comparison would be TotK vs MGSV as they're both largely player-directed sandbox experiences.

 

I honestly think TotK and Elden Ring are good comparisons. Mgs5 is much different than these games imo.

[Mercury33]

2 hours ago, best3444 said:

 

Jesus do I have an issue with the button layout. I'm still stumbling with running and jumping. Although I didn't bother looking to see if you can change the layout...

There’s an option in the settings that allows you to specifically swap the Jump button with the Sprint button. Funny enough that’s literally the only layout change you can make. 

[best3444]

Just now, Mercury33 said:

There’s an option in the settings that allows you to specifically swap the Jump button with the Sprint button. Funny enough that’s literally the only layout change you can make. 

 

I don't know. 35 hours in I think I'll just keep it how it is. Thanks though.

[legend]

Elden Ring has early 2000s levels action controls. I cannot fathom how anyone puts up with it. So yeah, TOTK, but it wasn't even a fight.

[Biggie]

Those of you who voted for Elden Ring over Tears of the Kingdom…

[best3444]

32 minutes ago, legend said:

Elden Ring has early 2000s levels action controls. I cannot fathom how anyone puts up with it. So yeah, TOTK, but it wasn't even a fight.

 

You really didn't like Elden Rings controls I remember that. But in all honesty it controls really well imo with the best horse controls in a game. You are definitely in the minority with your opinion. 

[Paperclyp]

59 minutes ago, Mercury33 said:

There’s an option in the settings that allows you to specifically swap the Jump button with the Sprint button. Funny enough that’s literally the only layout change you can make. 

The switch has system level button remapping so you can make it whatever you want. 
 

I think the number of options you have for verbs in the game limit the diversity of button layouts. It’s not that Nintendo did a poor job, there’s just only so much you can do. 

[crispy4000]

6 hours ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

The low production values and technical limitations on TOTK are what make me vote for Elden Ring.

Isn’t Elden ring super poorly optimized unless you’re playing the PS4 version on PS5?  No real frame rate caps below 60fps, and large fluctuations whether you play in performance or quality mode.

 

I haven’t touched my Elden Ring disc yet in fairness.  But I know I’d rather play a game with a 30fps cap, with sometimes dips, than one that wildly and frequently swerves below 60fps.

[Xbob42]

Elden Ring had a ton of weird tech issues, yeah. It also barely had a story, same as any other Souls game. Hell, I barely remember the story because I spent most of my time in the open world. 

 

2 hours ago, best3444 said:

 

You really didn't like Elden Rings controls I remember that. But in all honesty it controls really well imo with the best horse controls in a game. You are definitely in the minority with your opinion. 

 

Horse controls? Once you figure things out in TotK, the idea of using a fucking lame ass horse becomes completely laughable! There are much more... spectacular ways to travel!

[thedarkstark]

Why not both?

 

They're 2 of the best games ever made and very clearly labors of love. So rarely are we blessed with games that aren't rushed out copy/paste jobs littered with horrible microtransactions and bugs so bad even the Orkin Man would run away weeping. 

 

No sense in debating which is better, just enjoy these prosperous times because I feel like it's going to be a very very long time before we see another title that matches the quality of these epics. I'm hopeful FFXVI will be in the same ballpark but the bar is now set incredibly high.

[AbsolutSurgen]

7 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

Isn’t Elden ring super poorly optimized unless you’re playing the PS4 version on PS5?  No real frame rate caps below 60fps, and large fluctuations whether you play in performance or quality mode.

 

I haven’t touched my Elden Ring disc yet in fairness.  But I know I’d rather play a game with a 30fps cap, with sometimes dips, than one that wildly and frequently swerves below 60fps.

I don't know, I wasn't playing it on console.

[crispy4000]

49 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

I don't know, I wasn't playing it on console.

So #StutterStruggle

[Paperclyp]

*A week into a 60 hour game that most people will have barely scratched the surface of…

 

Well folks the dust has settled…

[cusideabelincoln]

8 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

Elden Ring had a ton of weird tech issues, yeah. It also barely had a story, same as any other Souls game. Hell, I barely remember the story because I spent most of my time in the open world. 

 

 

Horse controls? Once you figure things out in TotK, the idea of using a fucking lame ass horse becomes completely laughable! There are much more... spectacular ways to travel!

 

A lot of the history of the Lands Between is told in the item descriptions and the design of world. The obscure sidequests tell the rest of the story, which you're probably not going to piece together on your first playthrough because of how random they are to finish. The story is actually good though, when you get the shortcut version on Youtube and you're not dying 100x between cutscenes and dialogue.

[legend]

11 hours ago, best3444 said:

 

You really didn't like Elden Rings controls I remember that. But in all honesty it controls really well imo with the best horse controls in a game. You are definitely in the minority with your opinion. 

 

There are are objective observations I can make about the controls that are sub par and were largely "resolved" after the first wave of 3d games. Not everyone has to feel like they're deal breakers (even though I won't understand that!) but they remain true all the same!

 

For example, the targeting is wildly inconsistent. The game practically makes the lock a requirement to use because if your character is even a slight amount off of looking directly at the enemy you're attacking, they will not adapt and will clean miss to the side of them. This lack of any adaptation is compounded by the fact that attacks in Elden Ring are pretty slow, so even if you were "on" before, you might not be when it's done.

 

The "fix" to that is to use the target lock. Which I would have been okay with doing, except it sucks too! You can be fighting a giant enemy and click the target lock only to find the target locks on to a very distant non-hostile enemy instead because the game decided they were more "centered" even though you may not have even noticed they existed because there is a giant enemy in your face.

 

I might have even put up with that if you could just lock on once reliably and stay locked on until you turn it off. Sorry! Enemy attacks (and I think other movements) will automatically break your target lock so you have to do it again! There are other similar things about the controls that bugged me, but that one I remember best. It's mind blowing how bad it is to me.

 

And to be fair, TOTK has some menu clumsiness and I dislike that there is no action queuing in certain situations, but that's sooooo much more tolerable than failing the basics like Elden Ring.