5/5 ★ – Pixelguy9's review of Elden Ring.

Elden Ring is everything I ever wanted in a video game. Beautiful vistas, engaging combat, an epic score, masterfully crafted stories, and challenging boss fights. As my first foray into the souls-like genre and the library of the legendary FromSoftware, Elden Ring proved to the be the perfect experience, a game that is capable of captivating for hundreds of hours. Gameplay: Elden Ring differentiates itself from FromSoftware's previous work, taking the tried and tested formula of their Dark Souls series, and expanding it into one of the most satisfying open world experiences the medium has to offer. The way in which the player interacts with the world is almost identical to Dark Souls III, but with several new additions; a jump button that is sorely missed when returning to previous installments, and a spectral steed to help traverse the wide open world are the highlights, but this is not to mention the ability to craft consumable items, summon spirits during boss encounters, and follow up blocked attacks with a powerful guard counter attack. Elden Ring is FromSoftware's magnum opus when it comes to gameplay feel and execution. There are few games as consistently satisfying as Elden Ring to play, and the fact that this feeling does not diminish even after hundreds of hours of gameplay speaks volumes to the game's polish. Side Content: With a new open world to explore, FromSoftware had the difficult challenge of filling up the world with entertaining side content. Throughout the world are scattered mines, catacombs, hero's graves, and caves, all filled with important upgrade materials, weapons, and powerful artefacts. Although these activities can appear somewhat repetitive, I personally have little issue with this, as every little bit of progression in Elden Ring is vital, whether it be collecting smithing stones from or scouring dark tombs for runes. Elden Ring's second main form of side content comes in the form of quests. Similar to the Dark Souls series, quests in Elden Ring do not hold the players hand, rarely telling them what they are doing or where they are supposed to be going. The quests are never simple either, not a single fetch quest exists in any of these games, instead replaced with character driven encounters or game-spanning adventures. Quests can be easily failed by entering areas at the wrong time, or fighting bosses before key progression points have been met, and by failing, you will be locked out of rewards and even entire endings of the game. Many quests also interact with one another, and by doing so, build up the Lands Between as a living world unlike any I've explored before. Bosses: One of the aspects in which Elden Ring succeeds in more than any other is in it's boss fights. Elden Ring evolves on the standard set in games like Bloodborne and Dark Souls III, with aggressive foes boasting long combos capable of killing the player faster then you could say "poison swamp". Despite this, the bosses of Elden Ring, with few exceptions, still maintain the design philosophy of previous installments; punishing but fair. Elden Ring's bosses are all designed perfectly, featuring incredibly unique designs, innovative move sets, and great pacing. There are close to 300 bosses in the game when the DLC is taken into account, and many rank among my favourite bosses of all time; Starscourge Radahn with his atmosphere and incredible second phase, Radagon with his hard hitting holy attacks and hardest hitting boss theme ever composed, Rykard with his spectacle and endlessly fun gimmick, Malenia with her arena and high skill ceiling, and Godrick with his music and voice acting. Every boss in Elden Ring excels in at least one main area, and it's because of this that so many rank among my favourites of all time. Levels: Elden Ring's world can be neatly split into two major types of areas; the open world, and the legacy dungeons. The game's world is expansive beyond belief, offering hundreds of small moments completely unique to this game. Limgrave, the Weeping Peninsula, and Liurnia for example, are perfect starting areas, with lots of early-game bosses, dungeons, and quests to start, as well as pleasant soundscapes and scenery. Meanwhile, areas like Caelid instill nothing but dread in the player, not only through the visuals of the area, but the horrifyingly powerful and deformed enemies. The game constantly leaves me blown away by the beautiful vistas, especially in areas like the Altus Plateau and the Mountaintops of the Giants. The game's legacy dungeons, however, are where the game takes its Dark Souls roots, and dials things up to 11. Stormveil, the first of these the player is likely to explore, is a sprawling castle, larger than even some entire Dark Souls areas, and filled with dozens of useful goodies for you to find. Raya Lucaria Academy is similar to Stormveil in size, but will require completely different strategies to get through thanks to the enemies heavy use of magic. Volcano Manor feels like one of the smallest legacy dungeons in the base game, with little roadblocks to bar the player’s progress to the boss, but makes up for it with the unique setting and mechanics. Leyndell, Royal Capital is perhaps the most visually striking area in a FromSoftware game, with the shadow of the giant petrified dragon always being an amazing sight to behold on repeat playthroughs. Miquella’s Haligtree and Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree are probably the most complex legacy dungeons in the game, with plenty of verticality to navigate and tough enemies to fight as you explore deeper and deeper into the withered tree. Elden Ring constantly excels with its environments, and it’s abundantly clear that this is one aspect that FromSoftware will never fail in. Story: Elden Ring's story is one that during my initial hours I had no interest in. But now that I've beaten the game a number of time, the story is one of the aspects that keeps me coming back, usually through the efforts of the endlessly talented community, led by content creators such as VaatiVidya and his "Prepare to Cry" series. Elden Ring's story is far too deep for me to even begin to summarise here, but needless to say, it is one of the most well crafted parts of the whole game, and I would highly recommend reading up on it or watching lore videos about it. Soundtrack: Elden Ring, like all of FromSoftware's work, features an amazing soundtrack, however, Elden Ring stands head and shoulders above their previous entries. The addition of music while exploring the world helps build the impeccable atmosphere the game hopes to achieve, and is especially noticeable in locations like Caelid, with its horror inspired instrumentation, and Leyndell with it's angelic horns. However, where Elden Ring really shines is in it's boss music, which has come a long way since Demon's Souls. So many tracks stand out that it's hard to put together a list, but I'll try my best. Of course, Elden Ring's main theme, shared with the final boss, is incredible, and suits the game perfectly, and that moment when it kicks in as Radagon raises his hammer is magical. The Godskin Apostles, while previously holding the position of most controversial boss in the game, hold what I and many others believe to be one of Elden Ring's single most uncontested tracks. The Regal Ancestor Spirit is an overall solid boss, but it is elevated extensively by the music, this somber track that fits both the enemy and it's environment perfectly. Lichdragon Fortissax offers what might just be the best second phase track in FromSoftware's whole library, with few bosses even contending in that category. However, another of these bosses can be found in Elden Ring also, Godrick the Grafted, whose soundtrack sounds like something right out of Bloodborne, and only getting better as the fight progresses. This section has gone on for long enough, and although I could talk about Elden Ring's music for days, there is one last part of Elden Ring we have yet to discuss. Shadow of the Erdtree: Elden Ring's expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, has set a bar so high for DLC, that I fear it may never again be reached. The DLC is packed with so much content, that a lesser studio would have sold it for full price as a sequel. Elden Ring was an amazing game before it's expansion, but Shadow of the Erdtree cemented the game as my all time favourite. The world is just as vast as the base game, and although there are less overall points of interest, those that do exist are far more interesting than anything offered in the Lands Between. Items called Scadutree Blessings can be found around the world, and boost the player's power, as it is vastly reduced for balancing reasons upon entering the Land of Shadow. As rewards, these items feel great, my only real problem with the system being how many are needed for even the earliest of DLC bosses to feel like a fair fight. The base game of Elden Ring did not fail with its environments and legacy dungeons, and Shadow of the Erdtree does not disappoint. Every area in the DLC looks even more beautiful, making use of bright vibrant colours in some areas like the Ancient Ruins of Rauh, while also presenting you with some of the most horrifyingly dark and dingy locations the game has ever seen like the Abyssal Woods. In terms of legacy dungeons, the Shadowkeep in particular is one of my new favourite areas in the game, perfectly utilising its size and height to create some truely unique encounters and environments, very reminiscent of areas from previous games like Dark Souls III’s Grand Archives. The story is brought much more into focus, with certain characters highlighting explicit details in the plot, that otherwise would have gone completely unnoticed. Speaking of characters, the DLC introduces many new faces, much of whom are now some of my favourite characters in the whole game; Moore, Leda, Sir Ansbach, and of course Igon. It wouldn't be a FromSoftware DLC however with fantastic bosses, and Shadow of the Erdtree does not disappoint, featuring not just contenders for the my personal favourite bosses of all time, but contenders for some of the best bosses ever made by FromSoft. Bayle the Dread, made famous by his interactions with the broken and vengeful Igon, is easily my favourite dragon fight in the series, and my second favourite boss in the DLC thanks to his amazing quest, soundtrack, move set, and visual design. Messmer the Impaler is a fan favourite boss, and although my feelings for his fight aren't as strong as they are for many others, he is still a highlight of Shadow of the Erdtree. Midra, Lord of Frenzied Flame is my second favourite boss battle of all time, right below Slave Knight Gael from Dark Souls III. Midra's attacks are easily telegraphed, fun to dodge, and offer good windows to punish. Visually, he is unnerving, flying across the arena like a puppet, and when combined with the unflinching stare of the Flame of Frenzy where his head once was builds a terrifying foe. His soundtrack is also my favourite in the whole game, and maybe even FromSoftware's entire library; the main chorus of the track kicking in the second phase, becoming so loud it feels like the Flame of Frenzy is screaming as the fight progresses, not to mention the masterful inclusion of the merchant's song, a melody with strong ties to Frenzy. But, it is impossible to discuss bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree without talking about the final fight; Promised Consort Radahn. Prior to the nerf, Promised Consort Radahn was one of the worst bosses I've ever had the displeasure of fighting, to the point where I needed to summon another player online to help me kill him. Post nerf, I think Radahn is now a much more balanced fight. Visually the boss is great, the soundtrack is phenomenal, my second favourite in Elden Ring as a whole, and the first phase is super fun to learn. The problems begin to arise in the second phase, where every one of his attacks is followed by beams of light. Combine this with attacks that leave after images (seriously, how do you dodge these?), and the orbital laser Miquella summons at the start of the second phase, and you are left with a boss that feels like it was made to be difficult, not to be a fair challenge. To clarify, the nerf has solved many of my grievances with this fight and it is one I now can say I enjoy, but this boss left a very sour taste in my mouth after my first playthrough. Shadow of the Erdtree ends very underwhelmingly, ending with a short cutscene of no real value showing an event that was already established, but with this aside, the content found within the Land of Shadow is some of FromSoftware's best, and I hope to see further innovations like it. Conclusion: Elden Ring is one of those few games that I think about regularly even when I'm not playing it. The lasting impact this game has had on me is only matched by a handful of other titles. This game introduced my to not only one of my favourite genres, but also my favourite game developer, and I will always remember that. Elden Ring is a special game, and one I recommend even to people who have never touched a souls-like before. After all, if I could beat it, they can too.