ELDEN RING

Item: ELDEN RING
Rating: 74
Author: VaporLens

Last updated: 2025-03-26

Summary

Visually stunning, detailed open world for exploration
Engaging story with rich lore to discover
Deep combat system with versatile options
Accessible, challenging, and rewarding gameplay loop
Repetitive and uninspired boss designs
Poor quest guidance and tracking system

Categories

Action RPG Open-World Exploration Soulslike Combat Character Customization Character Progression Cooperative Multiplayer Competitive Multiplayer Single-player Story

Reviews (sample size): 2000
Helpful reviews: 86%
Unhelpful reviews: 12%
Protest reviews: 2%

74%
Helpful reviews with positive sentiment
26%
Helpful reviews with negative sentiment

Positive points: 8504
Negative points: 6833
Gameplay points: 2228
Perf. points: 567
Rec. points: 2849
Misc points: 721

Point	Description	Importance
Visually stunning, detailed world Description Elden Ring boasts stunning graphics, detailed environments, and impressive art direction, a significant upgrade from previous FromSoftware titles. The game features vibrant colors, detailed character designs, and a vast, immersive world, creating a captivating atmosphere. This point is highly important due to its consistency and impact on the overall player experience. Importance 41%	Elden Ring boasts stunning graphics, detailed environments, and impressive art direction, a significant upgrade from previous FromSoftware titles. The game features vibrant colors, detailed character designs, and a vast, immersive world, creating a captivating atmosphere. This point is highly important due to its consistency and impact on the overall player experience.	41%
Vast open world, free exploration Description Elden Ring's open-world design allows for unprecedented freedom, enabling players to explore at their own pace, tackle challenges in any order, and discover hidden secrets. This non-linear approach rewards curiosity and experimentation, providing a sense of agency and discovery that enhances the overall gameplay experience. The open world is a key feature mentioned frequently. Importance 40%	Elden Ring's open-world design allows for unprecedented freedom, enabling players to explore at their own pace, tackle challenges in any order, and discover hidden secrets. This non-linear approach rewards curiosity and experimentation, providing a sense of agency and discovery that enhances the overall gameplay experience. The open world is a key feature mentioned frequently.	40%
Rich lore, engaging story Description Elden Ring features a rich and complex narrative, delivered through environmental storytelling, item descriptions, and cryptic NPC dialogues. The game's lore is deep and immersive, rewarding players who delve deeper into the history and mythology of the Lands Between. Memorable boss encounters and NPC interactions add to the narrative depth. Importance 38%	Elden Ring features a rich and complex narrative, delivered through environmental storytelling, item descriptions, and cryptic NPC dialogues. The game's lore is deep and immersive, rewarding players who delve deeper into the history and mythology of the Lands Between. Memorable boss encounters and NPC interactions add to the narrative depth.	38%
Deep, versatile combat system Description Elden Ring offers a deep and versatile combat system with a wide array of weapons, spells, and abilities, allowing for diverse character builds and playstyles. The combat is challenging and rewarding, requiring skill, strategy, and adaptability. The extensive customization options and fluid mechanics contribute to a highly engaging and replayable experience. Importance 26%	Elden Ring offers a deep and versatile combat system with a wide array of weapons, spells, and abilities, allowing for diverse character builds and playstyles. The combat is challenging and rewarding, requiring skill, strategy, and adaptability. The extensive customization options and fluid mechanics contribute to a highly engaging and replayable experience.	26%
Accessible, challenging, rewarding gameplay Description Elden Ring successfully blends challenging gameplay with an accessible open-world format, making it more approachable for new players while retaining the depth and complexity that fans of the Souls series expect. The game provides various tools and options to tailor the difficulty, allowing players to progress at their own pace and overcome obstacles through exploration and character development. Importance 25%	Elden Ring successfully blends challenging gameplay with an accessible open-world format, making it more approachable for new players while retaining the depth and complexity that fans of the Souls series expect. The game provides various tools and options to tailor the difficulty, allowing players to progress at their own pace and overcome obstacles through exploration and character development.	25%
Immersive soundtrack and audio design Description Elden Ring features an impressive soundtrack and sound design that enhances the game's atmosphere and emotional impact. The music ranges from haunting melodies to epic orchestral scores, perfectly complementing the game's dark fantasy setting and intensifying key moments. The audio design contributes significantly to the overall immersive experience. Importance 22%	Elden Ring features an impressive soundtrack and sound design that enhances the game's atmosphere and emotional impact. The music ranges from haunting melodies to epic orchestral scores, perfectly complementing the game's dark fantasy setting and intensifying key moments. The audio design contributes significantly to the overall immersive experience.	22%
Rewarding exploration, intricate level design Description Elden Ring's world is meticulously designed, with each location offering unique challenges, rewards, and lore. The game encourages exploration and discovery, with hidden secrets, dungeons, and treasures scattered throughout the vast landscape. The level design is a triumph of creativity and planning, offering a sense of constant discovery and rewarding curiosity. Importance 19%	Elden Ring's world is meticulously designed, with each location offering unique challenges, rewards, and lore. The game encourages exploration and discovery, with hidden secrets, dungeons, and treasures scattered throughout the vast landscape. The level design is a triumph of creativity and planning, offering a sense of constant discovery and rewarding curiosity.	19%
Excellent DLC, expands base game Description The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC expands upon the base game's strengths, offering a significant amount of new content, challenging boss fights, and visually stunning locations. The DLC is praised for its exceptional art direction, intricate map design, and engaging story, providing a fresh and rewarding experience for players. Importance 18%	The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC expands upon the base game's strengths, offering a significant amount of new content, challenging boss fights, and visually stunning locations. The DLC is praised for its exceptional art direction, intricate map design, and engaging story, providing a fresh and rewarding experience for players.	18%
Detailed, unique character designs Description Elden Ring features detailed and unique character and enemy designs that fit well within the dark fantasy aesthetic. The game's art direction is consistently stunning, with each location boasting a distinct and memorable visual style. The attention to detail in character models, armor, and environments creates a believable and immersive world. Importance 12%	Elden Ring features detailed and unique character and enemy designs that fit well within the dark fantasy aesthetic. The game's art direction is consistently stunning, with each location boasting a distinct and memorable visual style. The attention to detail in character models, armor, and environments creates a believable and immersive world.	12%
Meticulously crafted, purposeful encounters Description Elden Ring's encounters feel meticulously crafted and purposeful, demanding strategic thinking and precision. The game rewards a keen eye with a sheer amount of high-quality content. The game provides a tangible sense of progression in skill and understanding. Importance 9%	Elden Ring's encounters feel meticulously crafted and purposeful, demanding strategic thinking and precision. The game rewards a keen eye with a sheer amount of high-quality content. The game provides a tangible sense of progression in skill and understanding.	9%
Challenging but fair difficulty Description Elden Ring's difficulty is challenging but fair, rewarding perseverance and strategic thinking. The game provides a sense of accomplishment with each victory, creating an addictive cycle of learning from defeats and trying again with better strategies. The game avoids excessive grinding and microtransactions, focusing on delivering a polished and rewarding experience. Importance 9%	Elden Ring's difficulty is challenging but fair, rewarding perseverance and strategic thinking. The game provides a sense of accomplishment with each victory, creating an addictive cycle of learning from defeats and trying again with better strategies. The game avoids excessive grinding and microtransactions, focusing on delivering a polished and rewarding experience.	9%
New mechanics enhance gameplay Description Elden Ring introduces new mechanics such as jumping and mounted combat, adding depth and dynamism to both exploration and combat. The addition of a dedicated jump button improves platforming sections and allows for dodging certain attacks, while mounted combat enhances traversal and introduces new strategies for engaging enemies. Importance 8%	Elden Ring introduces new mechanics such as jumping and mounted combat, adding depth and dynamism to both exploration and combat. The addition of a dedicated jump button improves platforming sections and allows for dodging certain attacks, while mounted combat enhances traversal and introduces new strategies for engaging enemies.	8%
Precise, strategic combat Description Elden Ring's combat is precise and strategic, requiring players to master timing, positioning, and a variety of weapons and magic. The game's combat system is fluid and dynamic, rewarding patience, observation, and dexterity. The addition of mounted combat and spirit summons adds new layers of strategy and flexibility. Importance 7%	Elden Ring's combat is precise and strategic, requiring players to master timing, positioning, and a variety of weapons and magic. The game's combat system is fluid and dynamic, rewarding patience, observation, and dexterity. The addition of mounted combat and spirit summons adds new layers of strategy and flexibility.	7%
Most forgiving Fromsoft game Description Elden Ring is the most forgiving Fromsoft game, offering tools like Ashes of War, cooperative open world elements, cheese locations, and the ability to explore and get stronger before returning to tough spots. The game offers a wide variety of weapons and Ash of War skills, allowing for many different character builds. Importance 6%	Elden Ring is the most forgiving Fromsoft game, offering tools like Ashes of War, cooperative open world elements, cheese locations, and the ability to explore and get stronger before returning to tough spots. The game offers a wide variety of weapons and Ash of War skills, allowing for many different character builds.	6%
World feels alive Description The world feels alive with camps, caravans, and animals. Movement feels fluid, both on foot and horseback. The open world is gorgeous. This point is reduced by 90% due to lack of specific details. Importance 5%	The world feels alive with camps, caravans, and animals. Movement feels fluid, both on foot and horseback. The open world is gorgeous. This point is reduced by 90% due to lack of specific details.	5%
Challenging and memorable bosses Description Some bosses, like Rellana, are exceptionally well-designed. Boss fights are challenging and memorable. Boss battles usually felt fair, with enemies dealing massive damage in creative and elegant ways. This point is reduced by 90% due to lack of specific details. Importance 4%	Some bosses, like Rellana, are exceptionally well-designed. Boss fights are challenging and memorable. Boss battles usually felt fair, with enemies dealing massive damage in creative and elegant ways. This point is reduced by 90% due to lack of specific details.	4%
Positive emotional experience Description The reviewer felt better after pumping up their stats so they could dual wield samurai swords. The reviewer feels like their life is immeasurably better and their penis grew to above maximum after accomplishing something so impossibly unreal. The reviewer felt a sense of growth and strengthened resolve after each battle. This point is reduced by 90% due to emotional language without specific details. Importance 4%	The reviewer felt better after pumping up their stats so they could dual wield samurai swords. The reviewer feels like their life is immeasurably better and their penis grew to above maximum after accomplishing something so impossibly unreal. The reviewer felt a sense of growth and strengthened resolve after each battle. This point is reduced by 90% due to emotional language without specific details.	4%
High quality audio Description The sound effects are top notch, especially when playing with headphones. The voice acting is great and fully voiced. The audio design is very good. This point is reduced by 90% due to lack of specific details. Importance 3%	The sound effects are top notch, especially when playing with headphones. The voice acting is great and fully voiced. The audio design is very good. This point is reduced by 90% due to lack of specific details.	3%
Grandeur and melancholy Description The music captures the grandeur and melancholy of the Lands Between, with themes that evoke both wonder and dread. The Lands Between itself is a marvel of design, offering varied landscapes from lush forests to barren deserts, towering castles to sprawling underground catacombs. This point is reduced by 90% due to lack of specific details. Importance 3%	The music captures the grandeur and melancholy of the Lands Between, with themes that evoke both wonder and dread. The Lands Between itself is a marvel of design, offering varied landscapes from lush forests to barren deserts, towering castles to sprawling underground catacombs. This point is reduced by 90% due to lack of specific details.	3%