Meanwhile my wife has taken to painstakingly exploring levels to make sure all the secrets are unlocked, where before she would plow through the critical path without a whole lot of deviation.
I've noticed, being married to a fellow gamer with a playstyle almost completely opposite mine, that we've started to rub off on each other in how we approach games.
I'm normally methodical and careful, but I find myself being a little more reckless and spontaneous now.
I always go in the front way to Blighttown, and now I know it well enough that it barely takes any time anymore.
And honestly...I've come to really like it as a level.
(Because lava doesn't deal significant damage in ER, they were able to basically coat the floor with it, and it was this not the chariot that made that specific dungeon very tedious.
And there's a shortcut to beat that one anyway. Or just Bloodhound Step...you know.)
The only one I didn't really care for was the lava one, and that mostly because the lava physics generally in Elden Ring are kinda bizarre and nonsensical.
Yeah I booted up Dark Souls and played for just a few minutes, and I could instantly feel the difference between the original and the refined product of Elden Ring.
Dark Souls feels slower and more deliberate, which to me is more interesting.
I think it'll always be me #1