Game On! - Elden Ring

[A-B]

I am beside myself with excitement for this game! After a long wait, and a few delays, the epic RPG developed by FromSoftware and Bandai Namco is right around the corner. Bearing a few resemblances to the stellar Souls series of games, this open-world action RPG is directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki and is made in close collaboration with none other than world renowned fantasy author George R.R. Martin! Martin provided most of the main story elements and worked closely with the developers, and the results should be breathtaking.

That looks fantastic. I'm a huge fan of the Souls series of games as well as other similar titles such as The Elder Scrolls so this looks right up my alley. Elden Ring takes place in the realm of the Lands Between. After the titular Elden Ring is destroyed and split into shards that are scattered throughout the world, an evil demigod now rules and her offspring each possess a shard of the Ring which gives them immeasurable power. As an exile, you're summoned back to traverse the realm and recover the Ring shards from each boss to ultimately restore the Elden Ring and become ruler once and for all. Yep, definitely sounds like George R.R. Martin material to me!

This third-person RPG has many similar elements to the Souls series as well as other titles like Sekiro and Bloodborne with the focus on exploration and fierce combat. I'm a huge fan of games like this where you can grind out hours on a day off, or jump back in for an hour here and there and just explore the world and build your character. Similar to Skyrim and other titles, exploring the vast map and coming across surprise encounters and enemies can be just as satisfying as undertaking the main campaign missions. Featuring extensive character customization and the ability to play through the game with a number of playstyles such as melee focused or via skills and magic, Elden Ring definitely scratches that itch for a deep, long RPG that you can get lost in. I can't wait!

Elden Ring is out February 25 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and 5, the Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Be sure to check it out!

[DanR]

As a die-hard fan of anything developed by From Software, I too am so stoked for this! Without a doubt it's going to take up all of my gaming time for the forseeable future. I just wish that it wasn't impossible to obtain a next-gen console to play it on ☹️

Side note: No way will it be as brutal as Sekiro...most unforgiving game ever and the only recent From game that I've still not finished.

[A-B]

@DanR I feel you on that. My current life situation dictates that I have to get my gaming in brief sessions here and there and I'm 100% worried that's not good enough for this. I'm definitely getting the new Borderlands next month so maybe will just kill time in the new Cyberpunk 1.5 patch until that drops. Maybe. Reeeaaally wanna play Elden Ring too lol.