Elden Ring, Game of the year?

There you are, a new tarnished emerging in the land in-between, maiden-less, placed in this new world of beauty and danger. Your first step will surely equal death but as you play you grow and learn a play style of your own. Elden ring has taken the gaming world by storm, and many people are talking: There have been talks of it being too hard, the map being too big or the story being too complicated but let me tell you that From Software put their entire heart in this game and I feel it every time I play.

Every section of the map is a new world ready to knock you on your butt, but if you’re wiling to dust yourself off and try again the rewards will be immense. The treasures hidden away in every cave, or legacy dungeon put you one step closer to becoming the Elden Lord. You realize that every step, though incremental, adds up to a stack of skills and items that help you become the Elden Lord that you wish to be.

Customization is one of my favorite features in any game and Elden Ring has it in abundance. Elden Fashion keeps you slightly protected and looking cool. Every piece of armor is vastly different in stats and in look. You can even mix and match to make your own outfits, if that’s something you are looking to do. Every enemy has the potential to drop their armor or weapons so each fight is rewarding within itself. I love wearing the armor of a foe I’ve defeated after he’s smacked me around for 5 hours as a sign of dominance. Just like the armor, the weapons also drop giving you the power of the enemy that you’ve struggled to beat. Moreover, Remembrances place the magic of bigger bosses in your hands. Imagine using a move that killed you over, and over again on other bosses. Giving them the grief that you once had. Elden Ring puts that power in the players hands, all the power in fact. Though you start off as weak as one ply toilet paper, you slowly become one of the bosses you once feared.

If all of this wasn’t already an overwhelming win for From Software, they also added co-op, so even if you can’t beat an area or a boss you can always call a friend to get beat up with you. This feature alone transforms the boss fights to a journey of camaraderie as you and your friends struggle to protect each other from the onslaught of boss attacks. Soloing bosses can be torturous, but the fun in fighting bosses together is unlimited and fulfilling. I often ask my friends if they want to jump a boss that’s given me a hard time before.

After beating this game three times I still find new things every play-though, which is amazing because the map is already so huge. The hidden areas, hidden quest lines, and things you didn’t even know you missed will blow your mind. I’m obsessed and watch people play it on twitch often and every time I find myself gasping and saying, “wait where the heck is that?”. One of my favorite streamers found an invisible floor in an area called the Halligtree that I didn’t even know existed and I’d been there twice before.

With that being said: Is Elden Ring the game of the year? If you asked me, I’d say an astounding resounding unfaltering yes. The world that was built is amazing and extremely unique to any other open world Rpg that you will ever play, and George R.R. Martin wrote the hell out of this story. The lore is deep, with multiple endings and so rewarding to dig into. Go pick up a copy and start your journey to become Elden Lord today. What are you waiting for?