Review of Elden Ring

Elden Ring has quickly become 2022's greatest pop-cultural phenomenon; in these unpredictable times it's games like this (let alone immersive narrative experiences) that give us new appreciation for fantasy storytelling as a whole.

Elden Ring has everything: horseback travel, fast-travel, interesting characters encouraging you to keep digging into the world to know more about its history, punchy swordplay, scale and scope to remember, and boss-battles that leave you feeling extra fulfilled when you've won after God-knows-how-many-attempts. The fantasy genre has always been ripe for video games to explore thanks to their emphasis on exploration and overcoming challenges, and Elden Ring feels like it's a summation of everything JRR Tolkien, George RR Martin (obviously), Zelda, Skyrim and the Souls games (Bloodborne too) to make up an experience that's something else.

This is an example of gaming and storytelling coming hand-in-hand where the progression of the player progresses the story in turn. Elden Ring is challenging yet rewarding, expansive yet not too overwhelming in its scope, hard yet adaptable, and fun yet immersive that the world ceases to be fake in the eyes (and minds) of the player.

Elden Ring gets 5/5 stars. It's a great time to be had for gamers everywhere.