Elden Ring

I die. A lot.

And by a lot... I mean A LOT!

There's a skill to this game that I, at near 50, with old man fingers and reactions, just don't have anymore. My son (15) beats me at Counter-Strike - a game I've played for years, but his keen eyes and even tactical brain is now better, faster, stronger than mine.

But age has not robbed away the enjoyment of it all. I still love to play games on my PC and Xbox... and that's another thing... bloody sodding camera lock-on controls kill me more than anything else... anyway.

I started with two-sword character mainly because I didn't know I could scroll further right and pick other classes. Once I learned that, I went and started an Astrologer.

It's a class I enjoy and feel frustrated with in equal measure... especially on horseback. Targeting can be a pain and the spells aren't a guaranteed hit. Cycling through spells by clicking up on my D-Pad (playing on the xbox) is sometimes a pain - I come from MMOs where I could press 1,2,3 etc for the right spell so this is a little cumbersome.

I feel like I am moaning... and I am. The game forces you to it, but you keep coming back for a little more.

I've killed the first "Bosses" - Margit and Gordrick - and now the first Dragon in the lakes. And that was battle, let me tell you! Oh, and I killed Loretta in the manor just so I could get the Great Bow spell with which I killed the Dragon.

Now I need more Runes and more power because my little trip to the Academy was one full of death after death after death... until I could die no more and decided I need more power!

Anyway, onward to more battles and more deaths. Thankfully, I have pet wolves... and still no idea what half the items I pick up actually do (the UI is less than helpful!).

Oh, and the disconnects... I've sworn more over those than dying... so much so that I turned off the multiplayer option by playing offline. I maybe missing out, but its less frustrating.

Now, for all those frustrations, I've already put in about 18 hours to get to level 38 and kill those bosses!

I found this video helpful to get started!

See you in Elden Ring.