'Elden Ring': One Month Later, a Bona Fide Hit!

Elden Ring, an RPG game by FromSoftware Inc. that was released last month (February 25), has been the talk of the town for PC and console gamers.

In the game, the Golden Order has been broken and because of that, your character faces a million-and-one challenges in this world as they are guided by the finesse to flaunt the power of the Elden Ring and become an Elden Lord in the Lands Between. In the Lands Between, which is ruled by Queen Marika the Eternal, the Elden Ring, which is the source of the Erdtree, is shattered. Each shard is now considered a Great Rune and its newfound owners have tainted it with evil, causing a war. Now it is up to you, the player, to follow the path to the Lands Between, past the Foggy Sea, to stand before the Elden Ring. Throughout your journey, you are unraveling the mysteries of the Elden Ring’s power, as well as finding yourself being helped and set back by many characters that you meet along the way.

The dark fantasy action role-playing game (RPG) rocket-launched onto the “most anticipated” lists since its reveal back at E3 2019, thanks to the involvement of "Game of Thrones" author George R. R Martin. Elden Ring is easily one of the best video games of all time, according to critics and gamers across the board. They were rated perfect scores, and the game developers were not shy in making that well known.

GLHF’s Kirk McKeand was ecstatic in his review for the game on ForTheWin: “After a couple of hours back in the overworld, I’d found two entirely new areas that I’d never visited before. I’m not talking about little caves, I mean whole new areas with their own bosses, enemies, and items…” The world is full of different twists and turns, and even after continuing to play over 50 hours, he continues, “Can’t wait to go back and see more of it unfurl.”  

George R. R Martin co-wrote much of the game’s world with director Hidetaka Miyazaki, and while they did butt heads in how to develop the plot and whether they should leave more vagueness for the players, they ended up creating a world that millions are currently enjoying.

The good news is, for those who want to give this epic world a whirl, it is available almost everywhere -- Elden Ring is out now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam. Fans have been tweeting and nonstop playing for hours on end to discover every twist and turn of this game. Many even give suggestions on how to better your experience within the game.

While a FromSoftware game has never had a quest log or directions, he found a way to better his own experience.

This advice is in good spirit, for a game where you have to “collect souls”, but maybe running past things is not the best option.

YouTuber videogamedunkey made a video about his reaction to the game. I highly suggest giving it a watch -- he’s quick and funny and very honest with what he needs to say.

Game theorists are also having a trip with this game. According to a Reddit post, there is a lot of detailed information on who broke the ring, why it broke, and a whole lot more. If you have time and a pen and paper, take a gander at the theory. But in summary, they believe that Ranni indirectly caused the shattering by killing herself. Her reasoning was to free the Lands Between from the influence of the Greater Will. The Reddit user goes into in-depth, bulletpoint reasonings and background information to his theory as well as bringing other user’s ideas too. If you are going to read it, prepare for some mind-boggling information.

Another theory -- a little more heartwarming than the last -- surrounds the tribute to the late Kentaro Miura, the creator of the highly influential manga, who died in 2021. He inspired many games in his lifetime, some for From Software and other games like Final Fantasy 14. Little easter eggs were left behind in the game of the creator’s past works.

While gamers are getting their fix in for a new RPG game, Martin fans are getting their fix on his world-building. With a long, grueling wait for the next A Song of Ice and Fire book, many of his fans are looking to the game to satisfy their needs for a continuation in the Martin world. Indeed many fans started to see the connections to Martin’s upcoming novel. For better or worse, they feel that this is the best place to get their fix, as many are losing hope that Martin will finish his series any time soon.

No matter what it may be -- the lore, the graphics, the storyline, the creators, or even the fan theories -- that got you to this game, after so much praise and perfect scores, this game will for sure keep you glued to your screen for many hours. Elden Ring continues on the rise even a month later. We can’t wait to see what else From Software, Inc. and George R. R Martin have to offer next!