Elements that have been successfully hinted at in all Souls games to date. With each telling a compelling story through subtle hints, speeches, item descriptions and cut scenes. Elden Ring is the latest creation of Miyazaki Hidetaka, who by his own admission, never intended for his approach to gameplay, one centered around the art of dying to become normalized. Yet that’s exactly what’s happened in the years since Demons’ Souls was first brought upon us. Many games since its inception have used its template of difficulty as a crutch, often times mirroring even its darker tones. Miyazaki helped to birth an entire Genre of games being dubbed ‘Souls Like’ and, now, he has brought us Elden Ring.

Elden Ring is a gorgeous game. As you traverse the world the glowing golden leaves of the Erdtrees are always on the horizon. It has a memorable art style similar to that of Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne, with diverse enemy designs and striking buildings littered over the map. With such a huge world to explore there exist only subtle hints as to where one should go next, This is my only gripe on this front as the path to your objectives is anything but easy, especially if you haven’t thoroughly combed though the surrounding areas. Sites of Grace have been designed with a mechanic where they emit a light trail leading you to your next major checkpoint, though they are not linear in this regard and will have you lost at some point.

Regardless, from the get go Elden Ring will have you riding through beautiful green fields with little wooden shacks and marching soldier regiments in view whilst titanic Sentinels lurch about. Later on you will find yourself in Leyndell Royal capital, a dead city of Imperious imposing stone architecture patrolled by Golden Knights and next all the way to Siofra River, a beautiful hidden area underground. With fauna and lush terrain blessed with perpetual illusory starlight guarded by primal hordes of brawny ancestral tribesmen. All the game areas are stuffed to the top with diverse enemies, secrets, scenic plateaus, hidden treasures, and, the trademark, a plethora of quick ways to die.

The Creativity it offers does not end on the character customization screen, but continues into armour choices, weapon choices, spell choices and the way all these can be combined. It truly allows you to engage in combat in any way you see fit as there exist multitudes of ways to take down bosses. And believe me, you will have to be creative to take down bosses.

In Souls games failure is not punitive. One is always meant to feel under powered. From the first boss Margit the Fell Omen, you are taught through a trail by fire that failure will be part and parcel of your journey as you frolic about the Lands Between, but failure against Margit is there to teach you that in the Lands Between lies adventure, and the possibility to improve. It doesn’t matter how you defeat him, because no matter how you do, you will have defeated him. “Getting gud” is a culmination of what progress in any souls game looks like and Elden Ring is no different. No matter the boss and obstacles in front of the player, you must improve to take them down as it is about rewarding intrepidness and creativity. Over the course of the game you will improve. Such that when you face DRAGONLORD PLACIDUSAX who sits in the decaying yet beautiful Crumbling Farum Azula at the heart of the storm beyond time, you are not daunted by the enormity of your task.

And later still when you choose the fate of the Lands Between, you truly will be an Elden Lord, having conquered all to stand at the summit.