So I’ve been playing Elden Ring for about a month now. My previous track record with From Software games hasn’t been great. I tried one of the Armored Core games back on the original PlayStation. I found it not as fun to play as either Virtual On or Gun Griffon on my Sega Saturn so I quickly dumped it. Later on I tried my next game, Bloodborne. Loved the look and story, but that was one hard game. Never did get far into that one. It was less a game and more of a screaming exercise for me.

I was excited when I first heard bout Elden Ring. I usually enjoy open world RPGs and this one looked great and had a compelling story. I worried about it being too difficult, but the best part of an open world affair was that there would always be something to do. Thankfully that proved to be the case. Yes, there are enemies in this game that will take your lunch money and then some but, and here’s the game changer, you can just go do something else. If you are having a tough time there’s always some other place to go and you can come back once you’ve found some better weapons or spells and have a few more levels on your character.

Don’t get me wrong, there are times when you’ll be driven into a controller throwing frensy, but it’s all up to you if you want to keep putting yourself through that. Granted it is the charm of this type of game and purists will just tell you to, “git gud.” I really hate that phrase, forgive me for using it. Where previous games locked you into one fight like this after another, the options in this game are so welcome and there is so much to do it is a real joy to just hop on your spectral horse, Torrent, and run for the hills when things get too intense. I almost feel like I can finish this game which is something I never expected I would say about a From Software game. At the very least if I get to a point where I can’t, I may just start anew with a different character build. Like I said options make all the difference.