Elden Ring

An adventurous soulsborne-style action set in a dark fantasy world by the creators of Dark Souls, with the involvement of the author of "Game of Thrones." The focus is on a dying world where only the warriors who have lost their blessing are trying to bring it back to life. Players will find a wide selection of weapons and magic; an improved combat system that gives more control over the character; new role-playing elements compared to previous From Software games.

How the world of Elden Ring appeared and what it is — a mystery. The game introduces only a small part of it, the Interworld, a continent in the middle of the ocean. External gods — powerful, formless beings from space, incomprehensible to human logic — are fighting for its presence.

Everything began at the change of epochs when a god called the Great Will became interested in the Interworld. It expelled the protector of the ruling Dragons here and began building a new, "golden" world order based on the Elden Ring and a set of small and large Runes (commandments), as well as growing the Erdtree, which still rises today. The Erdtree controls everything that happens and allows the souls of the dead to be reborn for a new life.

The Golden order spread through violence (the inhabitants of the Interworld fought against outsiders), absorbing new followers through the efforts of the Fingers and the Scribes, and was governed by Queen Marika, a full vessel of the god's power. Over time, she gained free will: intervened in the Elden Ring and removed the Rune of Death, transforming into Marika the Eternal — both a god and the ruler of the Interworld.

This explains the abundance of unviable creatures in the game world. Those who fell out of favor were deprived of "grace" — a vital substance, which marked them as cursed, and they became "extinguished."

After hundreds of years of continuous battles, conquering or destroying all dissenters, Marika's Golden Order was established, but the era of peace and prosperity did not last long. The queen doubted the righteousness of the Path and the means to achieve it, broke the Elden Ring into separate Runes, distributed them to her descendants, and disappeared. Her children quickly clashed over supreme power, plunging the Interworld into an Age of Discord.

There was no winner in the war. Each Rune bearer suffered physically or mentally, and the unified kingdom became fragmented and weak. Centuries passed, decay affected the entire Interworld. The Great Will stopped relying on the remaining descendants of Marika and, through the grace of the Erdtree, summoned the extinguished to reforge the great Runes and restore the Elden Ring. Marika also returned, hoping to influence the extinguished so that one of them would change the world for the better.

The story of Elden Ring took a step forward compared to previous souls games: a well-developed, albeit complex, plot, diverse and lengthy NPC quests, more substance in dialogues, improved cutscene staging. All of this is supported by a rich lore hidden everywhere.

Main and side plots are so interconnected that skipping the second ones can prevent you from unlocking story arcs and learning many important details, which will affect the ending. There are only 6: a bad ending, an alternative one, and 4 main variants.

All NPCs have been developed in terms of motivation and backstory, sometimes quite deeply, but to understand them, you will need to complete each personal quest. Not so with the main character. The protagonist is one of many fallen beings who have returned to the Lands Between, whose backstory is not important, and the story unfolds before the player's eyes.

As a result, the story turned out to be deep, multifaceted, revealing events from different angles and offering choices. This is not typical "dark fantasy," but a profound narrative where simple joys and reflections on the eternal, touching and oppressive moments, friendship and betrayal find their place.

To understand it, you will need to read all notes and item descriptions, listen carefully to dialogues multiple times, explore the environment, and so on. But, as in other games by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the story and NPCs are secondary. You can complete Elden Ring without delving into its essence.

The world is truly vast, including 6 completely different biomes, each with its own landscape and flora: forested sunny plains, smoky swampy areas, fantastical mountains, and more. There are dark castles, intricate dungeons, and secret locations. Beneath this world, there is another underground one. All with stunning art design in dark fantasy aesthetics.

Due to its scale, the world suffers from insufficient density of content, with the same mobs or fauna, and some areas are copy-pasted. However, there are many unique, carefully crafted sections where everything revolves around the player. Fast travel is possible via horse riding or through Sites of Grace (bonfires), where you can restore strength and more.

Complete freedom: go anywhere immediately, do whatever you want, no markers or mandatory activities, but due to level zoning, exploring the world won't be easy. You need to check every meter — Elden Ring has many secrets with valuable loot and experience. Finding a hub location will lead the hero to important characters, interesting quests, and new mysteries.

The world is inhabited by various and very different peoples: giants, living crystals, flying hawks, beast-men, beings from alien worlds, and, of course, humans. Here and there, you will find merchants, blacksmiths, travelers, and other characters.

In Elden Ring, there are 10 character classes, differing in 8 attributes and a roster of suitable weapons and armor. Choosing a class only affects the first few hours; afterward, you can develop your character in any way to suit your preferred playstyle: a Samurai can become a Mage, and that one — a Prophet or a Villain.

Leveling up has been carried over from souls-games with minor changes.The build can be rebuilt from scratch. Several useful skills and spells can only be learned by training with friendly NPCs. Armor upgrading is not available, but weapons are improved from various sides. The gameplay is also affected by the dynamic change of day and night.

Crafting is comprehensive and even excessive: everything from arrows and swords to grenades and weapon lubricants can be crafted by yourself, with some effort to gather the necessary resources in the open world, such as plants, animal remains, and loot from defeated enemies and chests.

The combat system takes into account hero progression, skills and stats, and all equipment. The influence of health, stamina, and agility parameters has been rebalanced. Checkpoints before bosses, summoning spirits for help, primitive stealth, the ability to jump and run (speed boost) have appeared. Mechanics from previous games, such as enemy and boss balance, Power Stance, and others, have been carried over.

Battles remain unchanged — learn enemy patterns, defend or dodge their attacks, and strike at the right moment. Bosses (story or optional) still have multiple phases, each with its own move sets, attacks, timings, and minions. Some bosses can only be defeated while mounted. Weapons and gear should consider each boss’s weaknesses. Enemy AI is still somewhat dull, and hit detection calculations cause complaints even after patches.

Multiplayer is available after enabling it in settings and through activation of summon signs.