Ubisoft Dev, Sony Devs Throw Shade at Elden Ring UI, Performance, Quest Design

While Elden Ring seems to be the one of the most critically acclaimed games in recent memory (currently sitting at a very impressive 97 overall on Metacritic), it seems some video game developers aren’t impressed with FromSoftware’s latest action-RPG.

Over on Twitter, former Battlefield 2042 dev and now current UX Director at Ubisoft Ahmed Salama (Twitter profile is locked) pointed out that Elden Ring snagging a 97 average on Metacritic is “proof” that game critics don’t give a crap about game UX (user experience). In the same tweet, Nixxes Software (now a first-party Sony studio) dev Rebecca Fernandez O’Shea, and Senior Quest Designer of Horizon Forbidden West Blake Rebouche (Twitter profile locked) also threw shade by mentioning the faulting the game’s PC graphics, stability & performance, and even the quest design.

Not only that, but Salama also adds that the Elden Ring UX is so bad, he can only imagine FromSoftware devs are smoking in their desks and using CRT monitors, even.

Image

While MP1st is one of the websites that gave Elden Ring a 10/10 score, I can confirm that we do care about a game’s UX. I know it’s healthy competition and all, but seeing devs throw shade at a game that’s getting universal acclaim from both gamers and critics just seems salty at this point.

Let’s hope whatever Ubisoft shows us next in terms of an open-world sandbox experience blows us away.

Note: Image credit to Reddit user gamboozino (thread title is “If Ubisoft developed Elden Ring”

247 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Letters to words..
2 years ago

They seem salty 🤣 is it a game for everyone? No but the same way people scour the net for builds they can spend all 5 mins searching online for any info they need.

Lyricana
2 years ago

That isn’t actually a screenshot from Elden Ring. It’s a mock-up someone made making fun of Ubisoft games. Maybe it was a deliberate choice (it’s semi-relevant), but since it offers no credit to the creator or mention of the joke at all, it felt like a mistake.

Stephen
2 years ago

Tbh, the UX is terrible but not for the reasons they’re stating 🤣

Half the menus go back with escape, half with Q. Dodge with key release, run with key press, can’t separate them so key press dodges to limit the delay. Half the controls aren’t even in the config settings. Love the game but the UX definitely sucks in Elden Ring.

CJ Hadwin
Reply to  Stephen
2 years ago

My biggest issue with the menus is that exiting out doesn’t exit all the way out! You have to spam the exit button or you’ll be stuck trying to attack someone but the menu is still up and you get ganked. lol Other than that, this game is all but flawless for me.

Funny Dick
Reply to  Stephen
2 years ago

You can eliminate every problem your describing with a controller.

Do you drive a car without a steering wheel?

It's
Reply to  Stephen
2 years ago

The user experience is perfectly fine and better than alot of games.

c
c
2 years ago

The UI is unconventional but it works fine for me. I think the awkward retort to their argument is that if you have an amazing game in terms of setting, gameplay, and narrative, it’s not hard to look past UX issues.

That doesn’t mean those devs’ jobs are important or that we don’t value their work.

Besides, sorry for being that guy, but this is how the UI works on all the soulslike games I’ve played. You’ve had so much time to lodge this complaint, and those games were relatively critically acclaimed too 😉

Mario
Reply to  c
2 years ago

I agree with you. Unfortunately, however shallow the analysis, casting shade seems to be the coin of the realm these days. As the article exemplifies.

Shurtugal
2 years ago

seriously? Ur defending your 10/10 rating despite acknowledging the games bad performance and UX? So this outlet is a joke then since any respectable reviewer would have docked points for those issues.

Andrew
Reply to  Shurtugal
2 years ago

It’s an 11/10 that drops to 10/10 because of the stutters

It's
Reply to  Shurtugal
2 years ago

im on a 1650 super and ive literally experience 0 stuttering or lag. The game is a 10/10…get over it and maybe stop being so salty over a video game.

Sean
Reply to  Shurtugal
2 years ago

I can’t dock it for something I didn’t experience. Don’t know what else to tell you. I’m certainly not going to dock it for something other people might have experienced after reviewed the game.

Lead Foot
2 years ago

I never really liked any soulsborne games but I can’t stop playing this one. Good world and gameplay design can make up for a lot of technical problems. It certainly can be a stutter fest on pc even with a 12900k and 3090 but I’m still enjoying the game.

Andy
2 years ago

Well this isn’t the same kind of game at all, is a souls game, with a open world element. nothing needed a redesign, because it is a souls game, emphasize on souls game, it don’t need a quest line and a path that leads you to next quest.

ChilL eL Kill
2 years ago

PC problems not console problems. I’ve played every souls game besides demon souls. The good has always out weighed the bad for me.

TruthBeTold
2 years ago

Idk the user experience seems okay to me in my book. It sounds like all 3 of those dev got they’re feelings hurt when this game dropped and had positive reviews.

We all know that elden ring is on its way to becoming a greatest hit collection one day and maybe not so horizon forbidden west.

Last but not least this game wouldve been a 11/10 it had fully crossplay.

chris keys
2 years ago

Lol what terrible UX/UI? It’s perfectly functional. Bad quest design? Are they crazy? The quests are organic…led by questions and exploration, and paying attention…some stuff is missable, sure, but it’s not designed so that you conquer 100% of the game in one run. These complaints are so clearly coming from a place of salt.

Blayze
2 years ago

There so jealous its so funny

Mir Hossein
2 years ago

It’s deferent game, deferent UX.

The quest are so simple,there is no need UX for quest,you can write on some paper it’s kind of new. Anyone who Loves Soul’s like games will buy this game as well

Ash Benjamin
2 years ago

The dev that worked on the game battlefield 2042 shouldn’t say a single word about UI when his multiplayer shooter didn’t even have a working scoreboard, let alone rest of the game lol

Jonathan
2 years ago

Salty devs are salty because the crap they put out every year is exactly the same rehash.

Look, Souls games are not for me, but I can see a lot of good things in them that other devs need to take note. We don’t need 1/4 or more of the screen covered in UI elements, that’s not good UX. Less is more. There also needs to be less hand-holding, let players explore and think for themselves.

The main thing I don’t like about Souls games is the difficulty. I’m too old, and don’t have enough time to get good. I just want to play a few hours a week and feel like an overpowered God… I get my ass kicked at work enough, I don’t need that in my hobby as well.

Sean
Reply to  Jonathan
2 years ago

They have a UI feature that turns about 80% of it off, giving you little information and clutter. Played the entire game like that to experience the best, clean UI I’ve used in a game. Horizon Forbidden West is a solid choice. Challenging, engaging and makes you feel vested in the characters.

Jonathan
Reply to  Sean
2 years ago

I’ve already beaten Forbidden West. I’ve been doing the arena, catching up on side quests, and collecting legendary weapons.

I liked it enough, but I actually enjoyed the first game more.

It's
Reply to  Sean
2 years ago

bud, nobody cares about Horizon lol

Paul McPhillips
Reply to  Sean
2 years ago

Sean I’m sorry but this seems far more like console war politics than the reality of the two games. Souls games may not be for everyone (even with ER being the easiest to get into, progress on) but the way you describe your experience playing it is incredibly suspect. Anyone who’s put over “40 hours” in ER is usually quite invested. I think your preference isn’t genuinely down to the games themselves on their own merits, more like what consoles a particular game was made for…

Ryan
2 years ago

Actually hilarious that the dude who designed what almost everyone considers to be the worst HUD/UX in what is without debate the worst battlefield game ever produced, who now works at a company that has produced financial failure after failure games that aren’t even in service anymore…is criticizing UX in any game whatsoever. Hell with his resume he should be barred from ever working on a game again.

The woman talking about the PC graphics problems can have a leg to stand on when Horizon FW comes to PC years from now. And she better hope that game gets ported flawlessly otherwise that tweet WILL get her lit up on social media. This is also ignoring the fact that critics and consumers did complain about the graphics problems and it’s the biggest thing From Software is working on addressing.

The last dude doesn’t even care about questing. He’s solely big mad because HFW only got an 88 on metacritic. What do you want bud? First of all y’all released super close to Elden Ring. That was a dumb move. Second, your studio decided to make Aloy’s face look like Nicado Avocado for zero logical reason; arguing that she looked too attractive to be a strong female lead or whatever garbage the studio head said in the interview….meanwhile the rest of her body proportions are exactly the same…

Scattered
Reply to  Ryan
2 years ago

Oww, now this person seems to be able to read minds, since he apparently knows that ‘the last dude’ doesn’t even care about questing, even though it’s his job?

Dakota
Reply to  Scattered
2 years ago

If he cares soooo much maybe he should learn how to do his job properly. Repetitive fetch quests are the pinnacle of the mans career. Low effort, low quality.

DeezNutz
Reply to  Ryan
2 years ago

your studio decided to make Aloy’s face look like Nicado Avocado for zero logical reason; 

🤣😂🤣 OMG Dude! I’m friggin dying over here! 😂🤣😂

Gamerman
2 years ago

U know someone’s opinion is wrong when (formerly worked on bf 2042) is beside their name

Sean
2 years ago

Sorry HFW has graphics that feel like 2022, ER feels like it’s from 2007. Story was fantastic, Character development, diversity and just how each tribe felt different was awesome! Finished Horizon Forbidden West in a little over 40 hours at a meek 38% complete.

ER is fun, but lacks a lot of what makes me want to dump a 100+ hours into it. I’m lvl 42, beat the first Story boss and feel it’s just ok. Guerilla should be proud of what they made, it’s a far superior product!

Taylor
Reply to  Sean
2 years ago

Oh Shawn, you’re seriously going to give a low-effort one liner on Forbidden West, then complain about how Elden Ring doesn’t deserve your time to progress past Castle Stormveil? I mean really, Imagine a game not holding your hand, actually challenging the player, all while ratcheting their brand to the next level. If you challenge yourself to determine which studio is doing this, it’s clearly FromSoft – no contest.

If we want to discuss how much ‘fun’ these games are going up against one another, again, I think Elden Ring beats out Forbidden West considerably. Guerilla should not be proud, they should take some notes and try harder next time.

Space
Reply to  Taylor
2 years ago

Lets be nice. I’m sure Shawn likes forbidden West more. But I’m also sure he’s probably mad it took him all the way to level 40 fuckin’ 2 to best Margit lmao

Scattered
Reply to  Taylor
2 years ago

Oh, they shouldn’t be proud about a perfectly fine, well liked game that lived up to it’s expectations after spending years making it from a small studio like Guerilla, without overworking their staff? Why not exactly?

Dakota
Reply to  Scattered
2 years ago

Because its an uninspired AC clone.

Feet
Reply to  Sean
2 years ago

Level 42? For the first boss 😂😂🤦🏾

It's
Reply to  Sean
2 years ago

lol Forbidden West is ugly what are you talking about? The characters look like sweaty clay. Elder Ring is beautiful. Stay mad Elden Ring is and will always be better than Horizon x’D

Scattered
Reply to  It's
2 years ago

Jesus, the game has only recently been released and i already dislike ER’s community/fandom, imagine saying ER is better than another game and assuming it’s the truth just because you said so, you didn’t even mention a positive about ER except it’s ‘beautiful’ and that’s purely objective.

It's
Reply to  Scattered
2 years ago

Thats a “you” problem, buddy. Its not our problem you get upset over a video game and its community because of differing taste. The fact you “hate” over some meaningless garbage online is bad for your mental health. Take care of yourself buckaroo.

Dakota
Reply to  Scattered
2 years ago

Game sales say otherwise child… Ironically you only call out the person that prefers ER, rather than both him and OP. The OP is guilty of the same thing. Your bias is showing.

CJ Hadwin
Reply to  Sean
2 years ago

Completely opposite for me. HFW felt like a boring repeat of the previous game. ER, to me, is the most perfect open world RPG to date. Endless discovery, loads and loads of content, challenges, figuring things out for yourself, the sheer astonishment as you unveil the map and its scale. HFW didn’t do anything over the first one to keep me interested.

Jess
2 years ago

Imagine the toxic ego required to do the worst job possible as a developer on Battlefield and then think you have any credibility to tweet about UX. Protected tweets from some of the least credible carbon copy dung shovelers in the industry, hilarious. I don’t even like FromSoftware games, but the audacity here is narcissistic at best.

Justin Baard
2 years ago

I literally can’t get twenty minutes into an Assassin’s Creed game without quitting due to the sheer amount of quest markers. I want an adventure, not a guided tour. ER has quests where you actually have to pay attention to where the NPC tells you to go, and make your own way there. I’d much prefer that to “FOLLOW THE LIGHT LOL”

Rayne
Reply to  Justin Baard
2 years ago

There is actually a setting starting with AC:Odyssey in 2018 for “Exploration Mode” that does exactly this.

Ray Ashworth
Reply to  Rayne
2 years ago

Horizon has this same thing too.

Chris
Reply to  Rayne
2 years ago

Wasn’t exploration mode literally the zero difficulty, no conflict, no quest mode journos begged for because they are bad at games?

Ikophi
Reply to  Justin Baard
2 years ago

morrowind back in the days be like:

Raymond Ereno
Reply to  Justin Baard
2 years ago

I agree. I do not want my hand to be held when playing a game. I want to feel a sense of accomplishment when I figure out something cool about it.

DeezNutz
Reply to  Raymond Ereno
2 years ago

It feels SO MUCH better when you stumble on to discoveries on your own. I even think the following of the golden ghost trails is almost too much hand holding although I give it a pass for how fkn cool it looks. 😁

Theshadow XJ
2 years ago

All three games have defects, the ubisoft and guerilla games developed need to work on their own game’s deficiencies before talking….

Steven
2 years ago

I’m a Senior UX Designer. User experience isn’t just about icons (UI). UX includes how combat feels, writing, game balancing, literally ANYTHING having to do with the h experience. This Director doesn’t seem to understand his own profession. At minimum, a good UX’er should take feedback from customers to make their own products better. He clearly does not.

ThisWay1701
2 years ago

What makes this all the more hilarious, is Mr Ahmed Salama (who previously was a UX designer for Battlefield 2042), is one of the guys critiquing Elden Ring’s UX. Battlefield 2042 has possibly one of the worst UIs overall for a Battlefield game since… ever.

And why the protected Twitter accounts? Afraid people might criticize your own work? Don’t throw rocks in glass houses…

Dakota
Reply to  ThisWay1701
2 years ago

UX is not the same as UI. UI is part of the UX. UX means User eXperience; gameplay, story, setting, UI, ect are all part of the UX. Funny enough the fact that he is the UX designer and not the UI designer makes it even worse, as he had a MUCH larger hand in producing such a poor quality game.

James W
2 years ago

Fromsoft is actually hard at work making fun games that people want to play while all of these other developers are only worried about what gender and sexuality their characters identify with.

Allen
Reply to  James W
2 years ago

Let us know when they actually release one of those fun games that they’re allegedly working on.

Rune
Reply to  Allen
2 years ago

This article is about one of them. They cater to their market. You probably think the picture they used as a joke is an improvement

Gustav
Reply to  Allen
2 years ago

They have. More than a decade ago. You’re a little late to the party.

Nigel Taylor Bartlomé
Reply to  Allen
2 years ago

“guys I don’t like this popular thing thats widely regarded as good. Aren’t I edgy and cool? You heard me say the popular thing is bad right guys?”

Dakota
Reply to  Allen
2 years ago

Ratio’d

Jacob
2 years ago

Like we care about the makers of bfcrap2042 or a quest designer for horizon zero dawn who made stale repetitive side quest throughout the game. Elden rings PC graphics look better than forbidden west on ps5 I have both..

Scattered
Reply to  Jacob
2 years ago

Although i can agree with the bf2042 critique, i cannot agree with your second point, horizon forbidden west has amazing quest design and the fact you don’t acknowledge this means you’re just salty that people with actual knowledge in the field are shading a game you like. You’re literally doing the same thing as the ones you’re so pissed about.

Ikophi
Reply to  Scattered
2 years ago

mf legit said HZD not HFW, but oh well

5RingCanes
Reply to  Ikophi
2 years ago

MF legit worked on HFW though, but oh well

Ikophi
Reply to  5RingCanes
2 years ago

it’s irrelevant, first comment is talking about HZD, so we do not care about the state of HFZ since he’s talking by the first game’s POV, you people are something else i swear

Brian Brown
Reply to  Scattered
2 years ago

I think you are confusing story with quest design. The tedious “go here”, “deliver this”, “talk to ‘x'” all to progress the story is overplayed and relied on too much. The side quests in ER take thought and utilize game mechanics to complete while also providing additional backstory but they are definitely not forced upon you.

DeezNutz
Reply to  Jacob
2 years ago

The only thing they have a point on is that ER graphics do look dated although still perfectly fine. They definitely do not look “next gen” .

Tonya
2 years ago

A developer essentially complaining the UI is too sparse and hurting the player experience? And here I was just having a conversation with a buddy of mine about how much I appreciate the clean UI that doesn’t distract from the gorgeous vistas.

I’ve been playing on PC. This is my first real stab at a FromSoftware game (as I can’t really count the few hours I played Bloodborne on PS+ a few days before that subscription ran out and I didn’t renew it. Only beat the first two bosses in that time). My only complaint thus far is having the open map be one button and close map be another. I’m enjoying myself thoroughly otherwise, getting lost in the hills, slaying dragons, and wearing a beetle for a helmet.

Cody
2 years ago

As someone who remembers what playing GTA is like, it’s refreshing to actually be focusing on the environment instead of looking at a minimap in the corner of the screen 90% of the time. I love the minimalist HUD, especially because it implores me to explore the map when I’m traveling to the next area. Focus is on the game rather than the HUD.

Mario
Reply to  Cody
2 years ago

I have no disagreement with you here.

Kalebe
2 years ago

The post image broke me. Hahaha

Toxic
2 years ago

Wow coming from someone who worked on the worst battlefield and now works at a studio that makes 12 open world games a year, none of them fun or remotely playable, the dunning Kruger is unreal with this one.

Conner Green
Reply to  Toxic
2 years ago

Lol right on the dot

Ray Ashworth
2 years ago

Elden Ring is extremely overrated.

Gaemer
Reply to  Ray Ashworth
2 years ago

Elden Ring is great imo but maybe it just isn’t your type of game, I’d like to know what game you’d prefer over Elden Ring.

Ray Ashworth
Reply to  Gaemer
2 years ago

KOTOR, Mass Effect, The Witcher, Kingdom Hearts, Elder Scrolls, etc.

In terms of recent releases, I’ll take Forbidden West over Elden Ring all day.

Chris
Reply to  Ray Ashworth
2 years ago

Careful, your Sony bias is showing 😂

Ray Ashworth
Reply to  Chris
2 years ago

Sony bias? outside of Forbidden West, none of the games I listed are even Sony exclusives. Mass Effect and Oblivion were even timed Xbox exclusives, soooo…..

Apple Jackson
Reply to  Ray Ashworth
2 years ago

KOTOR never made it to Sony consoles.

5RingCanes
Reply to  Chris
2 years ago

Ugh, looks like somebody’s lack of knowledge is showing.

DeezNutz
Reply to  Chris
2 years ago

Not really. Most of those games he mentioned are on other platforms. If you didn’t like Souls games you will not like Elden Ring, period. Honestly I am not sure why anyone would even try ER if they never played a Souls game. The game is purposely obscure. Yes, it can be a bit frustrating but that’s just how the game is. The game is a wonderful challenge but if you are just looking for a well developed story with lots of cut scenes and dialogue, the Horizon is for you, not ER. I’ve played through Horizon Zero Dawn twice. Once on PS4 and once on PC and never once did I feel challenged with it on hard mode.

Dakota
Reply to  DeezNutz
2 years ago

Why play an AC clone when I can just play AC? /s All jokes aside, both are bad.

CGNYC
Reply to  Gaemer
2 years ago

GTA, RDR2, Dirt Rally 2.0, Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding, Civ 6, Company of Hero’s

Mario
Reply to  Gaemer
2 years ago

I love Mount and Blade, & Bannerlord, for example, which aren’t exactly forgiving combat. But the UI works for me fine. This? ER felt hamhanded and clumsy. I gave up wrestling with the UI after a few hours and feel it’s a waste of my time.

Brian
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

Lol those are kiddie games my 7 year old plays those lol no wonder you didn’t like it not the normal game you play

Mario
Reply to  Brian
2 years ago

Your seven year old doesn’t play Bannerlord multiplayer, no. Sorry. 😀

Sean
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

What’s to wrestle with? Seriously.

Mario
Reply to  Sean
2 years ago

I talked about it in another post above.

Chris
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

The UI is literally so simplistic it can ot be in the way. The issue you are having is clearly not the UI, but the lack of UI. Not having your hand held through a game is not the same thing as a bad UI. It just means you are bad at this type of game, and it’s not meant for you. The UI is excellent, because it accomplishes the purpose of the game perfectly. What is that purpose? To create an open world where you feel truly immersed, where all discoveries are yours alone, and where the information provided by your hud stays out of your way rather than dragging you by the hand from point to point.

People like you want an open world, then complain when you aren’t led around on rails.

Mario
Reply to  Chris
2 years ago

I can have a terrible ride (UI) to a great location (content). For me, you’re talking about how awesome the middle seat was on the plane to Cancun. No, the middle seat sucks.

Asha'man
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

” I gave up wrestling with the UI after a few hours ” – How to say you’re not very smart without saying you’re not very smart.

Mario
Reply to  Asha'man
2 years ago

Oh Great Master Troll, I bow before thee. Prithee, stop the self referential posts, however.

Conner Green
Reply to  Ray Ashworth
2 years ago

Crazy it’s overrated by major gaming companies and an incredible amount of players lmao. Just another salty person that can’t figure out how to play the souls series. Is it because the game doesn’t tell you where to go? Lol

Sean
Reply to  Ray Ashworth
2 years ago

Nah.

Kyle Baird
Reply to  Ray Ashworth
2 years ago

Nah you just aren’t good at it

Jason Quince
2 years ago

The only decent fromsoft game that exists is sekiro. I played this for an hour and a half and nothing happened so refunded this trash.

Raymond Ereno
Reply to  Jason Quince
2 years ago

Get good scrub

Mario
Reply to  Raymond Ereno
2 years ago

Yet again with that overtired meme? Game works for some and totally misses the boat with many others.

Conner Green
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

What do you mean the game doesn’t work for some people? If you know anything about the souls series or any of FromSofts games this should all be well known. If you don’t want to play a game because there is no journal or quest markers then go play Skyrim or something like that. These games are made this way to be incredibly challenging yet rewarding. If it’s not your style of game that’s okay but nothing with the game is a 0/10 and yes you need to git gud@

Mario
Reply to  Conner Green
2 years ago

I actually don’t know a ton about the Souls series, but I didn’t realize that was a requirement to enjoy the game. I like challenging games! I was struggling with the UI here and that got boring. I might return in some months but not now.

Dakota
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

“I like challenging games!” *is challenged by the ui* ” I don’t like this game!” Jokes aside I don’t believe you. I don’t believe you have the brains, drive, or perseverance to make it though a single challenging game. You can claim otherwise, but being unable to figure out the UI is a clear indication that you are on the left side of the bell curve.

Apple Jackson
Reply to  Conner Green
2 years ago

The complaints I’ve heard/read about the UI aren’t about the lack of quest markers, they’re about slogging through sub-menu after sub-menu in inventory inception. I don’t know why the fanboys all think it’s about quest markers. Mind you, I haven’t played this yet, but I’m checking out what people complain about and what they like to help to decide if I should try it. I gotta admit, trudging through inventory screens all the time is definitely a turn off. I gotta start hearing some pretty good positives to balance that out before I’m tempted.

Dakota
Reply to  Apple Jackson
2 years ago

Probably because its not hard at all to use the inventory if you have 2 braincells to rub together, and the bad take everyone is making is about the quests. Just a bunch of children that don’t do any research before spending money, then act surprised when the game isn’t what they imagined when they saw the cover-art. You can not like the game, but don’t come here complaining about things you would have known if you had bothered to do so.

Apple Jackson
Reply to  Dakota
2 years ago

Who’s complaining? I plainly stated that I haven’t played it yet. The complaints I had heard were not about the quests. It’s not from people who don’t research. As I recall it was ACG that I thinking of while writing that comment. His complaint was that the inventory system was unintuitive and unnecessarily convoluted. Did you drop those two brain cells whilst rubbing them together or something? Has that made it harder for you to play the game? Do you own stock in the company or something? You sure do go all out defending this game against any mention of even the slightest criticism. Clearly you believe the game is perfect in every possible way, but maybe some of us would like a more nuanced and unbiased opinion on some aspects. I don’t think you qualify to weigh in under those conditions. See if there’s any Xanax in your parents’ medicine cabinet. You could use one.

Apple Jackson
Reply to  Dakota
2 years ago

The complaints I’ve heard/read about the UI aren’t about the lack of quest markers, they’re about slogging through sub-menu after sub-menu in inventory inception. I don’t know why the fanboys all think it’s about quest markers. Mind you, I haven’t played this yet, but I’m checking out what people complain about and what they like to help to decide if I should try it. I gotta admit, trudging through inventory screens all the time is definitely a turn off. I gotta start hearing some pretty good positives to balance that out before I’m tempted.

Apple Jackson
Reply to  Dakota
2 years ago

The complaints I’ve heard/read about the UI aren’t about the lack of quest markers, they’re about slogging through sub-menu after sub-menu in inventory inception. I don’t know why the fanboys all think it’s about quest markers. Mind you, I haven’t played this yet, but I’m checking out what people complain about and what they like to help to decide if I should try it. I gotta admit, trudging through inventory screens all the time is definitely a turn off. I gotta start hearing some pretty good positives to balance that out before I’m tempted.

Sean
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

Game works for many and misses the boat for some others*. Fixed that for you.

Mario
Reply to  Sean
2 years ago

Sure. We don’t know how many are in either pile. But I can’t contradict that position.

Jimminy crickets
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

You still haven’t said what your issue is with the UI, just generic le UI is bad. You are a walking maymay

Mario
Reply to  Jimminy crickets
2 years ago

See above.

Sark
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

And yet your spout the same tired excuse with no specifics over and over again… you aren’t one to talk.

Mario
Reply to  Sark
2 years ago

If you’d like them, you only need to ask, and I have provided now that they were asked. I just think your response is shallow and lame and being a bully.

Raymond Ereno
Reply to  Jason Quince
2 years ago

Get good scrub

Kyle Baird
Reply to  Jason Quince
2 years ago

So you just aren’t good at games nice

Jason Quince
Reply to  Kyle Baird
2 years ago

I didn’t die once in the hour and a half. Just nothing was happening after wondering around for an hour and a half and got bored killed some stuff ran into a dragon survived but literally nothing was happening to keep me interested if i wanted to kill stuff endlessly i would just go play assassins creed at least that has some interesting things happening in the world.

Toki Longsmokes
Reply to  Jason Quince
2 years ago

Shit in my first hour I had a crytal sword and was summoning wolves. 💫

Dakota
Reply to  Jason Quince
2 years ago

“I was not smart enough to follow the figurative yellow brick road, this game is bad!” Dog water of a take.

Solitary X
2 years ago

Elden Ring is an impressive game. Speaking of quest lines though, I do wish there was some sort of guide as to who you’ve spoken too in the game and a brief description of what you need to do to complete a task. The game relies on the players own memory to know what was said during an NPC interaction and what needs to be done to complete a quest line. I plan to write down next playthrough exactly who I’ve talked too and what I need to do for them. Then again, this has always been the case in any souls game. I could just be complaining. Still satisfied with the game as an Xbox player.

Funny Dick
Reply to  Solitary X
2 years ago

If you go to Elden Ring Wiki, they have everything you are looking for. Under Guides you have a game progress route.

Aeden
2 years ago

Ubisoft devs complaining about the UX of Elden Ring is peak irony. FromSoft broke away from their standard formula and it worked. Ubisoft is still stuck making big open worlds that just ask you to conquer the same outpost 50 times.

Raymond Ereno
2 years ago

Looks like a bunch of salty devs that made crappie games. ER is amazing, rewarding and challenging. You have to actually use your mind to piece the lore together and you find some really great things. Love all their games!!

Apple Jackson
Reply to  Raymond Ereno
2 years ago

FROM fans all think they’re geniuses. They’re like Rick and Morty fans. I like both of those things, but I don’t go around talking about how smart and deep they are. They’re video games and cartoons.

Dakota
Reply to  Apple Jackson
2 years ago

Found the pseudo-intellectual that thinks they’re smarter than everyone else. News flash: you’re likely on the left side of the bell-curve. Another kid that thinks his straw-man is good; it’s not. Show me a single FS fan that conflates having to figure it out yourself to being a genius.

Apple Jackson
Reply to  Dakota
2 years ago

Pot, meet kettle. You two should get along famously.

Andrew
2 years ago

Yea Elden Ring is so bad I haven’t been able to put my controller down at all. Elden Ring > any UbiShit game.

Nicholas
2 years ago

A Ubisoft dev complaining about a FROM game is like a Jaguar mechanic whining about the reliability of a Camry.

Jason
Reply to  Nicholas
2 years ago

I think you have it backwards there buddy.

Dakota
Reply to  Jason
2 years ago

You both are clueless. The joke is the jaguar is poorly made and frequently breaks yet costs 50x as much. Kinda like how ubisoft makes games. Drops literal tones of money on it, only to release an unpolished turd of a game.

Chris
Reply to  Nicholas
2 years ago

Yeah, a fromsoft game would definitely be the Higher end car. If fromsoft games are a Camry, then Ubisoft is an old junker geo with a fresh coat of paint.

Rune
2 years ago

HAHAHAHAHA omg I thought games journalists were the problem. Nah, turns out it’s the developers themselves.

If Elden Ring doesn’t care about UX or quest design, then I as a gamer (your customer, the person you’re making it for) don’t either.

Fuck ubisoft ui, quest and game designs.

Solid
2 years ago

Elden ring is quite possible the best game of this year so far

Robert Buttazzoni
2 years ago

Guessing these guys are salty because their games are usually crap… Can’t remember a game I liked from those devs!

Scott
2 years ago

And along comes all the basement dwelling internet protectors of this game I never liked it performance wise or graphics wise I had it only an hr and the problems Started . Not to mention the numerous day three patches that you had to down load. Talk all the crap you want about ubisoft their the best at what they do. And bethesda is right there with them this company is fine if you want this kind of game dead souls. And other flawed garbage. The salty ones are the suckers that bought this masterpiece of garbage. they didnt even have the brains to try and name it. Appropriately. They stole elder scrolls and lord of the rings thank you R R Martin South Park got you right. and mashed them together eldon ring lmao ok 👍

Funny Dick
Reply to  Scott
2 years ago

“……dead souls. And other flawed garbage.”

A flawed player doesn’t equate to a bad game.

I have a 135 hours into Elden Ring and it is by far the best game I have ever played.

Bethesda or Ubusoft? Never played one of their games for more than 3 hours and was bored to sleep.

Dakota
Reply to  Scott
2 years ago

Which of your family members works at ubisoft? Corporate g rifter . All you’ve shown is that you shill for bad companies and have terrible internet. 3 day patches? If it takes you 3 ENTIRE days to download less than 1gb… you should probably buy older games on a disk.

Sam
Sam
2 years ago

I love Elden Ring! Such a good game.

Ubisoft is crap tho

Nick
2 years ago

I love the idea of elden ring, but as someone that does not have the time to invest serious play time on a regular schedule, the purchase has become regrettable for me. With not even a quest marker, I cannot jump back into it when I do have time. Unfortunately I also cannot get a refund since i bought it digitally. For me the UX is a 0/10 but I understand that others arnt in my situation.

Sean
Reply to  Nick
2 years ago

You can literally set your own quest markers.

Sark
Reply to  Nick
2 years ago

0/10 is just being dramatic. Plenty of people have jobs and lack of time to play and have zero issues. As was said, you can set your own markers, so that’s not really an excuse.

Chris
Reply to  Nick
2 years ago

You are asking them to remove one of the core mechanics of a souls game because you don’t have enough time. It’s never going to happen, because From isn’t going to dumb down their games, because they know their own audience.

That being said, I definitely respect your decision. The game isn’t for you, so you just want a refund. Good news, steam refunds any game you’ve played less than 2 hours and are within a 2 week window of starting playing. You definitely can refund digital.

Toki Longsmokes
Reply to  Nick
2 years ago

Quest marker? There are a million campsites to teleport to. 🤔

Pympjuice
Reply to  Nick
2 years ago

I couldn’t agree with you more. It’s like they heard complaints of too many Quest markers and then just opted for zero. Where’s the balance in that? I own over four hundred games for PS4 and PS 5. Do you think that I’m going to sit here and waste hours trying to figure out how to get somewhere ? No I’m going to play Horizon forbidden West or Far Cry. And git damnit just because we agree and a majority of you in this chat don’t that doesn’t make us wrong!

Dakota
Reply to  Pympjuice
2 years ago

Been like that since Des, if you would have done a single iota of research you would have found this out. This isn’t something new they did just for ER. Either look it up on the wiki or go play a game you actually like. Another mongo that only bought the game to feel included..

Asha'man
Reply to  Nick
2 years ago

I have a very busy work schedule myself and I’m finding it just alright to jump back into the game whenever I want. Since launch I’ve not been able to play even 10 hrs properly. Maybe the fault is in you, for being just way too used to games that handhold you from beginning till end. 0/10 is a Shakespearean level of melodrama.

Dakota
Reply to  Nick
2 years ago

“I did no research on this game and only bought it because I like to feel included” No wonder you didn’t like it. The only thing here that is 0/10 is your ability to use basic common sense before you spend money on something you’re unfamiliar with.

Mario
2 years ago

Played 3.3 hours and gave up. UI was only really hard part. He has a point, but maybe it’s a generational thing, what UI you grew up with etc.

Nigel Taylor Bartlomé
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

You have complained about the U.I. in multiple comments but given no insight into what problems you’ve had with it. What about the U.I. has been a miss for you?

Conner Green
Reply to  Nigel Taylor Bartlomé
2 years ago

My thoughts exactly.

Mario
Reply to  Nigel Taylor Bartlomé
2 years ago

The controls are not intruitive and not exact. I started with M/K, and the tutorial literally has nothing for that. I switched to controler and it feels inexact and awkward with turns and fine control. The focus ability does not feel intuitive. I felt more time trying to figure out how to play the game than playing the game, and it ultimately wasn’t fun. After wasting the better part of an afternoon–and I don’t have tons of spare time–I booted up Bannerlord and had a nice evening.

I’m totally open to the idea that other people have different experiences. Obviously they do. The author does not seem open to that, however, and I think his flippant dismissal is short sighted and playing to a “yes man” audience. It’s not especially thoughtful.

Chris
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

Maybe this will help with mouse and keyboard. Just go into the system settings and change the key prompts to keyboard and mouse rather than controller. It will then change your prompts so you can see what you are doing.

Dakota
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

Stop manually aiming, its not meant to be played like that. And I’m not sure how much more “intuitive” you want it. You press button, it does what it says on the tin. It’s clear from your tirade of posts you made, that you are unable to read.

Sark
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

If you have such a problem with the U.I., then maybe the problem is with you, and not the game. Just because you somehow can’t seem to understand it doesn’t mean there’s an issue with it.

You saying you won’t be checking in sounds more like a blessing than a threat.

Mario
Reply to  Sark
2 years ago

Sure. Except I’m not the only one. Which is the point of my response to the author. Which… you didn’t care to consider, and instead tossed up a common fallacy, which responds to none of my points. Random people on the internet….

Chris
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

The UI is literally part of the experience. No handholding, no glowing waypoints. The game is about discovery. It’s a true open world.

Mario
Reply to  Chris
2 years ago

I think the world is the world and the UI is how to engage the mechanics of the game. I don’t find it particularly interesting to explore how to use my pouch slots effectively? Maybe you do?

Asha'man
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

If you’re having problems browsing through your inventory, then you’re not very intelligent.

Mario
Reply to  Asha'man
2 years ago

Do you know what the pouch is? There are literally guides on how to use this thing. It’s super unintuitive.

Dakota
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

There are guides on how to boil water buddy, doesn’t mean its hard. As the others above me have pointed out, your problem isn’t the game UX/UI; it’s simply an issue of skill (ie, lack of braincells). Perhaps in the future you will have enough self-reflection to realize this, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter. You’ve already shown the world your lack of intelligence

Matt
Reply to  Asha'man
2 years ago

How is this comment productive or helpful whatsoever?

Chris
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

First off, I saw your original comment (it emails me that, and I am not making a mistake. The UI IS a part of the user experience. Minimalism and a lack of hand holding forces you to become more invested in the world directly around you rather than glowing waypoints and menus. Secondly, the pouch is self explanatory. It’s there the first time you hit pause, and when you hover over it, it give you prompts for what buttons to hit to equip said items. Each one is clearly up down left and right. Just because you needed a tutorial does not mean it’s bad design. Your experiences are not universal.

Utsav
Reply to  Mario
2 years ago

I absolutely love elden ring ,I think it’s one of the greatest games of all and I understand where you’re coming from, I was sure this was gonna happen when i saw the hype for elden ring , you should give sekiro a try , if you’re used to punishing combat , you’ll like sekiro.

Stilus
2 years ago

Ubusofts dev hands gamers a bag if glass and salt and says it’s nuanced design. And horizon devs are just tilted that their assassins creed clone is going to gather dust till elden ring is 2 years old

It's
Reply to  Stilus
2 years ago

Whats funny is people are upset and raging over a game they dont have to play. When I dont like something i dont interact or engage with said thing that I dont like.

Tamashii42
2 years ago

Thanks for BF2042 Ahmed

Conner Green
2 years ago

All of this is well known if you’ve played any of the souls series or are familiar at all with FromSoftware. If people don’t like not having a journal or quest markers go play different RPG’s. The game is this way on purpose, it’s supposed to be incredibly challenging and rewarding. And all of this about the UI what is so hard to understand about the inventory and menus? It takes all of 5 minutes to figure out lmao. People are just so used to skyirm type RPGs if they don’t have something telling them exactly where to go and what to do they just can’t figure it out.

nick shriver
2 years ago

Elden Ring is probably the best game I have played in a very long time. I own all titled games in this pile of shit talking.. All game devs have brought a different UX to the table but I have to say Elden ring is the only game that is unique and you can tell it just by playing it. It is not a game that you will play and be done with in a few hours and it is a game were you are actually challenged and everything is not just handed to you along with quest trackers and a shit ton of UI on your screen The game is simple, graphically amazing & challenging. If the devs for the other games are so worried about shitting on another game creation then that shows you the type of people they are and sound like a bunch of democrats trying to shift blame on there poor creation instead of be accountable for there own out of reach of the gamers of today.

Mr Jason Hardman
2 years ago

Battlefield is the worst game ever, maybe sort your own sht out before commenting on a 10/10 game you tool

Setzeral
2 years ago

I wasn’t aware Ubisoft even had a UX department, maybe address user experience in your own companie’s library before commenting on another’s.

Toki Longsmokes
2 years ago

Ubisoft, seriously all ofcyour games have the same map design. 🤔

seth
2 years ago

I’ll start giving Ubisoft credence once they make a game I want to play all the way through.

Top Games and Upcoming Releases