If you've ever had a minor interest in the Dark Souls franchise, but stayed away due to it's renowned difficulty, this is the perfect game to get you started, as well as in my personal opinion, the best open-world RPG game in the last decade. Elden Ring combines the classic combat of the Souls series with a massive (and I mean MASSIVE) open-world experience that is teeming with dungeons to explore, loot to find, and an insane amount of bosses that will leave you breathless. I've lost count of the amount of times I've been in absolute awe whenever I discover a new area. I'm already level 75, with almost 50 hours in the game at the time of writing this, and I'm pretty sure I've only explored 60-65% of the map so far.

Difficulty wise, this game is still a FromSoftware game, and it is very hard at times. However, unlike Dark Souls linear level design, Elden Ring's open world means that if you get to the next boss, and he's decimating you, you have the freedom to go explore the vast open world. Screw around, loot new weapons and runes to strengthen your character, or find small dungeons, mines, and mini bosses to battle. You'll completely lose track of time by the time you've already become strong enough to handle the boss you were struggling with earlier. If you're still having trouble after completing a majority of the area that you can handle, the new Spirit Ashes can help take some of the edge off a fight. Spirit Ashes allow you to summon different companions that fight along side you in combat. It can range from 3 wolves, undead skeletons, or even a giant heavy dude with a flail and a pumpkin for a head. There are over 30 spirit ashes to find across the world that can help aid you in battle.

If this is your first FromSoftware game, the combat is much different than traditional hack and slash RPG's like Skyrim or BotW, requiring a bit more finesse. Understanding the combat mechanics can take some time, and you're going to die a lot, but that's part of the fun and learning experience with Souls games. Learning when to time your attacks, when to dodge, and when to run away is a constant theme throughout this game, and it makes it all the more satisfying when you learn how to take down bosses.

The absolute massive scale of this game is unlike anything I've ever seen. The hud isn't cluttered with tons of information or quest trackers like traditional RPG's which really makes finding things organically extremely satisfying. Beyond the issues still present on PC right now with micro-stutters, I absolutely can't recommend this game enough. If you were looking for the next big RPG, this is without a doubt the greatest RPG I've ever played. 10/10