Updated Review:

After 168 hours and earning all of the achievements, ER is now my 4th favorite game of all time. I absolutely love...almost...everything about it. The only thing that annoyed me were two of the boss fights towards the end: Elden Beast and Fire Giant. Both of these boss fights were incredibly unfun and two of the worst boss fights FROM has ever made. In particular, Elden Beast was REALLY horribly designed and is THE worst boss fight by FROM (yes, even worse than the infamous Bed of Chaos). Sorry, but running 95% of a boss fight because the boss is constantly running away from you while spamming spells is not my idea of fun.

But besides those two boss fights, ER is FROM's best game to date and one of the best games ever created.

Initial Review:

So far, Elden Ring feels like an all-time classic. Elden Ring has to be a front-runner for GOTY and it's easily the best game that I've played in years.

I'll update this review after I beat it, but here's what I know so far:

1) The open world feels like BOTW, which IMO is the best open world game ever made. It makes you want to explore "just one more hill" to see if you come across a hidden cave or something cool without littering your map with endless markers.

2) The PvE combat has improved on past Soulsborne games and feels near flawless at this point. The ability to stealth and jump add a lot to the combat, exploration, and overall gameplay.

3) This might be the most beautiful game ever, IMO. No, it is not the most graphically impressive, (although, the graphics are still great) but the art direction is phenomenal. Walking out of the beginning area into the open world will go down as one of the best moments in gaming history. It left me awestruck.

4) I love that there is music constantly playing. I love Soulsborne games, but I always wanted more music. I get that they were letting the background sounds of those games provide the atmosphere, but a good soundtrack always delivers atmosphere the best, IMO. And Elden Ring's soundtrack is perfect.

5) I LOVE AND PRAISE From Software for removing the boring-as-hell forced PvP (when playing solo). The nerdy teenage boys who want to circle each other and continuously dodge and heal nonstop for 30 minutes can PvP each other. The forced PvP invasions were the most boring and dumbest mechanic of previous Soulsborne games and I love that they finally removed it from Elden Ring for solo players.

Elden Ring not only lived up to the hype, it surpassed it. And how do I know that Elden Ring is already an all-time classic GOTY? Because just like BOTW, there are already a contingent of cry babies screaming that they don't understand why it's so great. I'm sorry that you don't get it, but I'll enjoy your salt.

Updated Review: After 168 hours and earning all of the achievements, ER is now my 4th favorite game of all time. I absolutely love...almost...everything about it. The only thing that annoyed me were two of the boss fights towards the end: Elden Beast and Fire Giant. Both of these boss fights were incredibly unfun and two of the worst boss fights FROM has ever made. In particular, Elden Beast was REALLY horribly designed and is THE worst boss fight by FROM (yes, even worse than the infamous Bed of Chaos). Sorry, but running 95% of a boss fight because the boss is constantly running away from you while spamming spells is not my idea of fun. But besides those two boss fights, ER is FROM's best game to date and one of the best games ever created. Initial Review: So far, Elden Ring feels like an all-time classic. Elden Ring has to be a front-runner for GOTY and it's easily the best game that I've played in years. I'll update this review after I beat it, but here's what I know so far: 1) The open world feels like BOTW, which IMO is the best open world game ever made. It makes you want to explore "just one more hill" to see if you come across a hidden cave or something cool without littering your map with endless markers. 2) The PvE combat has improved on past Soulsborne games and feels near flawless at this point. The ability to stealth and jump add a lot to the combat, exploration, and overall gameplay. 3) This might be the most beautiful game ever, IMO. No, it is not the most graphically impressive, (although, the graphics are still great) but the art direction is phenomenal. Walking out of the beginning area into the open world will go down as one of the best moments in gaming history. It left me awestruck. 4) I love that there is music constantly playing. I love Soulsborne games, but I always wanted more music. I get that they were letting the background sounds of those games provide the atmosphere, but a good soundtrack always delivers atmosphere the best, IMO. And Elden Ring's soundtrack is perfect. 5) I LOVE AND PRAISE From Software for removing the boring-as-hell forced PvP (when playing solo). The nerdy teenage boys who want to circle each other and continuously dodge and heal nonstop for 30 minutes can PvP each other. The forced PvP invasions were the most boring and dumbest mechanic of previous Soulsborne games and I love that they finally removed it from Elden Ring for solo players. Elden Ring not only lived up to the hype, it surpassed it. And how do I know that Elden Ring is already an all-time classic GOTY? Because just like BOTW, there are already a contingent of cry babies screaming that they don't understand why it's so great. I'm sorry that you don't get it, but I'll enjoy your salt.