Here at Hypertext we often say that games can be the best artistic medium and after spending over 150 hours in FromSoftware’s Elden Ring, that point was reiterated.

When the game launched in February Hypertext wasn’t able to secure a review copy but after watching play throughs of the game, we was intrigued. The lore, the freedom granted to the player, it reminded us of Dark Souls but with that open-world so many developers seem to want us to engage with.

The open-world was an important distinction here from past Souls-like games. Where once the path was set, in Elden Ring the path was yours to forge. Sure, there are places you must visit to progress the story and the game, but for the most part you’re on your own.

So how did FromSoftware develop a cohesive story while letting players roam free.

The Lands Between are fractured from a war that lasted an age. Queen Marika’s children, the demi-gods, have latched on to the now shattered Elden Ring, fighting amongst themselves for the title of Elden Lord.

Each of these demi-gods commands a specific area of the Lands Between and finding them becomes part of exploration. The Liurnia of the Lakes region wraps around the central Raya Lucaria Academy where players encounter Rennala Queen of the Full Moon. In Limgrave, Stormveil Castle looms over the woodlands with a terror so fierce you can hear the tortured scream within.

While exploring you discover additional context about the demi-gods. Before we entered Stormveil Castle we knew we would encounter unspeakable horrors and we were still shocked.

For those that want more context, items and NPCs can provide even more context to the world around you.

However, Elden Ring is full of secrets and it’s satisfying to discover these and even revisit them in a second playthrough.

So what about the difficulty?

The reputation of FromSoftware games is well known. The games from this developer are tougher than trying to convince your uncle they shouldn’t take medical advice from a “person” with a singular letter for a name.

We tried in vain to kill a boss in a cave but instead of giving up we moved on and levelled up. We fought through the cave, and transcended the mist to face the boss. We time our rolls and dodges, we found gaps to attack and took our time. Before long, the Beastman of Farum Azula became our first victim.

From there racking up boss kills became addictive but then so did the hunt for gear. We trawled through forum posts and guides trying to decide how best to build our character before settling on a Samurai Mage. Yes we used Moonveil, no we will not apologise.

The game can be tough but we never found it to be unfair aside from one or two instances in the final areas of the game. Some bosses will be a push over, others will require multiple attempts to beat but every win feels satisfying.

Should you want to make the game easier, modding the game is easy enough on PC and there are several mods that contain cheats and mods. We urge you to try the game at its base because it’s really no worse than getting one-shot by a sniper in Call of Duty.

The one problem with Elden Ring is that it has ruined both RPGs and open-world games entirely.

Unlocking maps in Elden Ring is simple as it should be because the challenge isn’t finding the map, it’s interpreting it. Where games such as Assassin’s Creed load a map with hundreds of markers, Elden Ring only features Sites of Grace you’ve visited and that’s it. You can add your own markers but you will be spending plenty of time analysing the map itself. So much so that you will be begging for a physical printout.

In terms of the RPG elements, the freedom to switch your build at a moment’s notice is incredible. It requires beating a boss but once you’ve beaten them, you can switch from tank to mage more times than you’d think possible. This is limited by a rare resource but you shouldn’t really be switching builds all that often if at all.

And that’s because Elden Ring really satisfies that R in RPG. By the end of the game we felt like we were the Elden Lord because our character’s struggle was our struggle. We laughed, we cried, we fed Torrent and in the end, we conquered the Lands Between.

There are so many memorable moments from this game. From that first boss, to the days long battle against the Fire Giant and the way the Godskin Duo’s theme has been hammered into my skull, it was an experience unlike any other we’ve had in a game.

A game like this comes around once in a lifetime, and we sure are glad we ignored our fears regarding the difficulty and became a foul Tarnished, emboldened by the flame of ambition.