Elden Ring: PS5 Review

Developer: From Software Ltd
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Platform: PS5

Those devils at From Software have done it again.

Not content to ruin our lives with the continual deaths in the likes of the Dark Souls series and Bloodborne, they've continued to mine a similar genre and furrow a familiar path with their latest release, Elden Ring.

Once again, the words "You Died" will haunt your life and irritate the heck out of you as you try to negotiate your way through the world of Elden Ring. Made in collaboration with George R R Martin of Game of Thrones' fame, the third person perspective Elden Ring sees you roaming around an open world of the Lands InBetween, some time after destruction of the famed Elden Ring.

You are one of the Tarnished, a warrior being who roams the land, trying to reunite the shards and facing all manner of conflicts as you do so.

It's not an easy game to master, and in truth the opening sequences and gameplay of Elden Ring will help you decide whether you are in or out. But patience gradually sees you rewarded as you pass through the lands - with or without the help of messages left by other players scattered throughout. (Be warned, not every message left is helpful, and some are downright obnoxious).

In fact the unhelpful other players are perhaps the biggest issues of Elden Ring. When a game gives you an ability to leave messages for others, there's an inherent decision to be helpful or not - most of the messages in-game are just malevolent - such as the ones that tell you try jumping near a cliff or that are just abusive. It's a depressing sign once again that gamers are inherently toxic.

While boss fights remain incredibly tough, Elden Ring has given you a chance to remove yourself from the combat, go off and do other things and level up and then head back to defeat them. It means the Souls formula has been refined and it doesn't hinder your progress in the game throughout. It's a smarter touch that means the once seemingly uncrackable formula can offer new players enticed by the accolades an in rather than leaving them frustrated.

Ultimately, there's a lot to uncover in Elden Ring, and a review doesn't do it justice, nor should it hold you back from experiencing it yourself. While From Software may continue to be mining the same world it has always done, and you sort of wish they'd offer a variant now and again, Elden Ring's fantasy edges, coupled with its gloriously executed worlds make the game something enigmatic and challenging.

Whether that's enough for mass markets is a different matter - but for those already ensconced in the genre and set alight by it, this superlatively-executed game proves once again the immersion is real.

A review code for Elden Ring was provided by Bandai Namco for the purposes of this review.