Expansion97Elden Ring: Shadow of the ErdtreeJun 21, 2024Requires the base game
Release
Friday, February 25, 2022
Critic score
97/100
Platform families
4
Editorial overview
Inside Elden Ring
What it is
Elden Ring is an action RPG developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, released in February 2022. Directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, with world-building contributions from novelist George R. R. Martin, the game features an expansive open world called the Lands Between. Players assume the role of a customisable character known as the Tarnished, who must explore this world, battle formidable enemies, and seek to restore the Elden Ring to become the Elden Lord.
The game builds on the challenging gameplay mechanics familiar from the Dark Souls series but introduces a more open-ended structure with vast exploration, dynamic weather, and a day-night cycle. It offers deep lore, complex characters, and an interconnected world filled with secrets, dungeons, and powerful bosses.
The premise
Elden Ring takes place in the Lands Between, a fictional realm over which several demigods rule. It was previously ruled over by the immortal Queen Marika, who acted as keeper of the Elden Ring, a powerful force that manifested itself as the physical concept of order. When Marika shattered the Elden Ring and disappeared, her demigod children began fighting over pieces of the Ring in an event called The Shattering. Each demigod has a shard of the Ring called a Great Rune, which corrupts them with power. In the game, the player character is a Tarnished, one of a group of exiles from the Lands Between who are summoned back after the Shattering. The player must traverse the realm to repair the Elden Ring and become the Elden Lord.
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