Let’s talk about Elden Ring. Your social feeds and group chats probably won’t shut up about it, but you’re not sure if you want to pay up for something you might hate. Perfectly reasonable.
But FOMO is powerful and it might have you on the fence about the latest From Software joint that’s part of a loosely connected bunch of games people collectively call the “Souls” series. It encompasses Demon’s Souls, the Dark Soulstrilogy, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and now this new open world adventure with some story assistance by George R.R. Martin.
Souls games are known primarily for brutal difficulty, which is both entirely fair and overly simplistic. They each have nuanced combat, worlds full of vomit-inducing monstrosities that want you dead, and the risk of losing all your money each time you die. All of that is technically true about Elden Ring, too, but it’s also much friendlier up front and could be the one to finally draw you into From’s legendary house of horrors.
It could also repel you just as much as the others have. Instead of debating about difficulty settings and worrying about what this game should be, let’s be honest about what it is: A game that is indeed more approachable than its predecessors, but not at the expense of its challenging vision.
The main distinction between Elden Ring and its older siblings is its massive open world, available to explore in its entirety pretty much right after the tutorial is over. Aside from providing a much-needed twist on the formula, it also gave From plenty of room to rethink how welcoming these games can be to new players. Here are a few key ways Elden Ring could win skeptics or even haters over.
