Elden Ring Review for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.

I have seldom played a better game than Elden Ring.

While I know I’m supposed to save this kind of statement for the end of a review, I cannot contain my enthusiasm.

This is quite possibly the greatest game ever made.

Elden Ring is the first experience to truly follow the Soulsborne lineage in over six years. Taking cues from 2016’s Dark Souls III, From Software has managed to create a nearly perfect game that exceeds its highest standards.

Despite the name Elden Ring, it’s a Souls game through and through. A new world, new lore, open-world gameplay, and a horse separate it from its predecessors. However, its combat, aesthetic, lore, and overall gameplay are quite the same.

Why Elden Ring is the best game by From Software, the best game of 2022, and one of the greatest games ever made comes from its sheer level of polish. While its main story spans around 60 hours, dedicated players will spend over 100 hours clearing every bit of this game on their first run. With that being said, every minute of this masterpiece makes it worth playing.

Story

Elden Ring’s story begins with the shattering of the titular artifact. This creates discord in the world as demigods begin fighting over it to become the Elden Lord to rule the world. If it sounds complicated, trust me when I say it is. When I started New Game Plus and watched the intro again, it made more sense.

However, as with every game by the developer, the game’s story is fleshed out largely through lore. This comes from interactions with NPCs and is written within the flavor text in your inventory. The rest is up to you to piece together the vague story written within the game’s lore.

I think the real attachment to the story comes from the characters, worldbuilding, and the areas you’re in. They write the story for you to follow. As for the rest, it’s about you tearing through the world on your quest to become the Elden Lord. I feel it’s best explained through gameplay and exploring the game’s world. The attachment and immersion I had in the game’s world are among the best experiences in the medium today.

Audio-visual

Graphically, Elden Ring is as gorgeous as the games before it. Interestingly enough, it runs on the PlayStation 4; the same system which also ran 2015’s Bloodborne. 2016’s Dark Souls III came to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, which Elden Ring largely models itself after. However, on the PlayStation 5, it runs a seamless 60 FPS in 4K resolution.

Composer Yuka Kitamura returns alongside others for Elden Ring’s soundtrack. Elden Ring separates itself from its predecessors in that there’s a constant ambiance playing in the background. Gone is the total silence in areas and I honestly enjoy this approach. Moreover, the boss battles are as epic as ever and it’s hard to pick any favorite. However, as a fan of his previous works, I do miss the compositions of Dark Souls series composer Motoi Sakuraba.

Gameplay

If you’re familiar with the developer’s previous games, you’ll quickly grow attuned to the hack-and-slash combat. If you’re new to the franchise — and Elden Ring is a great jumping-on point — then you’ll start by customizing a character. The class you pick will not affect your endgame as you can respec stats later in the game.

Weapon skills from Dark Souls III return. However, instead of forging a weapon towards a build like Quality or Heavy, you can now apply Ashes of War to them. These Ashes affect both the build of your weapon as well as the type of attack you can apply to them.

Elden Ring separates itself from its predecessors with its gigantic open world. However, it’s not sprawling emptiness with parts in between akin to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Every part of this world has been designed with love and polish. There are so many subterranean dungeons that you can’t fit them all on the map. Plus, there’s an entire sub-region underground that isn’t visible on the main map.

While it took me around 60 hours to reach the final dungeon, I opted to clear all the conditions to get the Platinum Trophy. This does not necessarily mean pursuing all of the side-quests. But it took me a total of 106 hours to finish the game entirely.

Let me put that into perspective.

The Largest Game of its Kind

My game time for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and unlocking the Tunic of the Wild, took under 100 hours. Persona 3 FES, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal both took over 100 hours for me to beat. But keep in mind that the latter titles have visual novel elements to them. Their storylines and dialogue contribute much to that time. Even Horizon: Zero Dawn took roughly 60 hours for me to complete and that includes the Frozen Wilds DLC.

In terms of raw gameplay, Elden Ring is by far the largest game I have ever played. I do not know how it was even possible to dwarf something as large as Breath of the Wild which came out five years ago and was the largest game I played at the time of its release.

You cannot hope to underestimate the sheer scope and epic size of this game. Elden Ring is absolutely gigantic. As the game was being co-developed alongside Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the latter title was released in 2019. Elden Ring took an additional three years to complete. That said, following Dark Souls III’s release, it took six years to create the largest world in gaming history.

At times, it feels overwhelming. I’m taking breaths writing out how large this game is. Yet it never feels the same or repetitive. Every dungeon, every area, offers a fresh experience. There’s a plethora of bosses, enemies, NPCs, challenges, items, and side-quests to unlock. The sole exception is that you will fight variants of bosses in different dungeons. However, each one poses a different challenge — hence the variations — than the ones you faced before.

A True Challenge

On that note, Elden Ring creates the same risk-and-reward balance that its predecessors do. On one hand, you have a difficult game that punishes you and breaks you down with hordes of enemies, traps, and boss battles. On the other hand, clearing these quests yields weapons, forge items, Spirit Ashes, and other amazing treasures that benefit your experience. The game also rewards you for exploring areas thoroughly.

If you ever find yourself struggling, you can always summon help in this game. Use an item to make summon signs visible and let someone help you. Using proper strategy, you can make short work out of any boss. If you still feel underleveled, I encourage you to find a new area to explore. After all, the game allows you to nearly anywhere!

I feel good saying that Elden Ring never punishes you unfairly. Older games like Dark Souls had infamous areas like Blighttown, Lost Izalith, and Tomb of the Giants. Bosses like Bed of Chaos could insta-kill you into a pit and force you to run for five minutes from the nearest Bonfire back to its location.

Elden Ring’s finely-tuned difficulty balance punishes you for your own mistakes or ill-preparation. Upon studying boss patterns, summoning, and having a strong build, you can overcome any trial in this game.

Final Thoughts

When it’s all said and done, Elden Ring is one of the greatest games I have ever played. It fine-tunes the elements of its predecessors and expands them into the largest game in history. It’s an epic, phenomenal experience that does the Souls formula justice and creates a truly memorable title.

Elden Ring ranks among my all-time favorite games and is an experience I won’t soon forget. If you’re looking for an addicting and significantly challenging game, make sure to pick up Elden Ring. You will scarcely find a game of higher caliber.

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