Elden Ring's newcomer discovery is just one reason its legacy will outlive the best RPGs of all time – including Skyrim
Nov. 29, 2024Opinion | Remember your first trip through The Lands Between?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
In order to access Shadow of the Erdtree – the first (and almost certainly last) slice ofElden RingDLC – you must first defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood.
In order to defeat Mohg, you must first reach Mohgwyn Palace. In order to reach Mohgwyn Palace, you must first complete a totally-missable early game questline after which you’ll reach the optional area depressingly under-powered. Or, failing that, you must first access a secret Waygate located in one of the farthest-flung corners of the late-game area, Consecrated Snowfield.
In order to access the Consecrated Snowfield, you must first locate both halves of the Hildtree Secret Medallion. In order to locate both halves of the Hildtree Secret Medallion, you must first travel to Village of the Albinaurics, and then Castle Sol – the latter of which requires you to overcome optional boss Commander Niall, who is as hard as fucking nails.
And all of this is merely toaccessElden Ring’sadditionalcontent.
Now try explaining all of that to someone who’s just emerged from the Cave of Knowledge starting area, with a save file minutes-long and who fancies their chances against that first roaming Tree Sentinel making its way down the grassy hill in the distance on horseback. Oh, you sweet summer child, you’ve no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.
Root and branches
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has the same crippling claustrophobia I haven’t felt since this 27-year-old console horror slasher scared the crap out of me
Which is the essence of Elden Ring’s beauty. It is absolutely massive, and eschews everything we once knew about typicalFromSoftwaregames in terms of level design, pacing and environmental storytelling.
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
I clocked over 300 hours in The Lands Between before Idiscovered its version of Dark Souls' worst area, a deadly underground labyrinth of pipes and plateaus, and it took me just as long to hoist my jaw off the floor as it did to guide The Tarnished back to relative safety on the surface.
Whether or not deserving of that inclusion is a different conversation, but what is clear is the sheer depth and variety of content Elden Ring offers in the here and now – something that’s even more pertinent for new players. Just the thought of putting myself in the shoes of a fresh-faced adventurer who’s still to visit Stormveil Castle for the first time flips my stomach; who’s yet to be fooled by a cave-dwelling Patches, wind up in the red-rotten hell of Caelid, and get chased by a roaring bear all the while screaming at the top of their lungs in real life and upsetting their real world neighbours.
Whether or not that anecdote applies to anyone but me is yet another conversation, but there are no action-RPGs out there right now that include the same bang for their buck when taking the Elden Ring base game and Shadow of the Erdtree as one single entity. I’d concede thatBaldur’s Gate 3offers comparable choice-driven gameplay in the more traditional role-playing space, but for me there’s no question which game excels through the lens of spectacle.
When you throw in the vast and growing library of creative, player-made mods that exist to bolster FromSoftware’s foundations, as well as the enduring headline appeal of dream team Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin in the writer’s room, I firmly believe Elden Ring is on course to surpassSkyrimas the longest-lasting, most important action role-player of all time. People are still talking about the genius of the original Dark Souls some 13 years on, and it held cult status right up until the launch of Dark Souls 3 five years after the fact.
Underwritten by prior Dark Souls entries, as well as Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Elden Ring has launched FromSoftware into the mainstream, in the same way The Elder Scrolls 5 was a starting point for those who missed that series' post-DOS era ventures Oblivion and Morrowind. Skyrim is the ruler within The Elder Scrolls' dynasty, there’s no question about that, and there’s every chance we’ll have this same conversation wheneverThe Elder Scrolls 6lifts its head above the parapet.
But if FromSoftware games have taught me nothing else, it’s that history is forever doomed to repeat itself. And from hereon and henceforth, it’s Elden Ring’s turn to rule atop the action RPG throne.
Ready to move on? Here are 10games like Elden Ringfor when you’ve conquered The Lands Between
Best Path of Exile 2 Sorceress build
Path of Exile 2 devs know the action RPG is “not rewarding enough,” so a patch is making Rare monsters less stingy and introducing “‘unlucky’ drop protection” for the truly unfortunate
Get hundreds of hours of RPG goodness for $30 with this bundle of 8 games that includes the first two Baldur’s Gate games, which are absolutely worth playing
