Early critic reviews for FromSoftware’s Elden Ring have been released and the game is receiving universal acclaim and high praise.
Metacritic
As of writing, the game currently sits as the 12th best reviewed game on Metacritic.
It has achieved a Metascore of 97 out of 100, based on 45 critic reviews. All 45 reviews are scored at 90 or higher.
“Elden Ring is not only the best game FromSoftware has released to date,” Atomix boldly claims in their 100-scoring review “but it’s also one of the best open world games I’ve enjoyed in recent years.”
“We are facing a title that manages to perfectly mix each of its elements, and the results really could not be better,” Atomix boasts.
“It feels like a culmination of everything FromSoftware has accomplished in the genre so far,” Gaming Age stated in their review- also 100, “offering up a robust world with tons of exploration married to the unique combat we’ve come to expect from their previous titles.”
Even those who had been repelled by prior Souls -style games were told by the reviewer “it’s such a great looking (and playing) game that I think if you enjoy action-RPG’s in the slightest that it’s still worth a shot.” Existing FromSoftware fans were told “I can safely say that you won’t be disappointed.”
“Elden Ring is both a refinement and evolution of the Dark Souls formula,” GamesRadar+ – 100- praised, “presenting an expansive world that’s as hostile as it is inviting. Despite the occasional excess, suffering has never been as much fun as this.”
“Elden Ring is the real next step for souls-like standards,” Areajugones stated in their review- yet another 100. “It is unlike anything FromSoftware has created before, displaying an uncanny world that will keep on wowing players even as they pile up more and more hours of gameplay.”
“Elden Ring is, thus,” Areajugones concluded, “a prime candidate to become the 2022 GOTY.” Reading other reviews, one cannot wonder if they are right.
“There is no way around it; Elden Ring is a masterpiece,” M3 closed their 100-scoring review out with. “From Software’s iconic gameplay, set in a vast and wonderful world, sucks us right in and never lets go. Even though the hand-holding is close to zero, Elden Ring will surely attract new players due to its more forgiving openness. A must play.”
Open Critic
Open Critic also shows nigh-perfection among its review aggregate. The game has a 96 out of 100 on average from “top critics,” and a 100% critic recommendation across 112 reviews.
“Elden Ring represents a truly amazing combination of various game elements that all come together to create something fascinating, special, and unforgettable,” Game Informer writes in their 10/10 review. “Elden Ring isn’t just the best game this year; it’s one of the best games ever made.”
“Elden Ring is a massive iteration on what FromSoftware began with the Souls series,” IGN states while bestowing a 10, “bringing its relentlessly challenging combat to an incredible open world that gives us the freedom to choose our own path.”
“Elden Ring takes the shards of what came before and forges them into something that will go down in history as one of the all-time greats,” GameSpot praises alongside a 10. “A triumph in design and creativity, and an open-world game that distinguishes itself for what it doesn’t do as much as what it does.”
In summation, Elden Ring is praised for its dark fantasy world and story that compels players to explore, perfectly marrying the unparalleled freedom players have to tackle the world however they wish.
Even the stereotype of game journos being challenge averse seems to have melted away, as they praise the game’s replayability, and freedom in not just exploration but combat. Some even dare to claim the game is more accessible.
Most praised how it expanded upon past Souls’ formula, yet others felt that its combat was the same as it ever was. The few other critiques were over minor balancing issues, still having the issues of past Souls games, or made fewer innovations compared to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
EuroGamer pondered in their review- giving the game a “EuroGamer Essential”- how much Game of Thrones’ author George R.R. Martin brought to the game.
“If there’s one studio that needed no help in crafting an enticing dark fantasy game world, From Software is it,” Eurogamer muses, “and George R.R Martin’s cultural currency in 2022 is hardly enough to change the trajectory of Elden Ring’s success on its own.”
The conclusion to PC Gamer’s review also ends on a surprisingly dower note, despite giving the game a 90. “Its devotion to what came before is distracting.”
“It dulls the impact of those moments where Elden Ring leaps beyond its past to demonstrate why FromSoftware’s games are unparalleled by all who attempt to replicate them,” PC Gamer writes. “As another Souls game, I love Elden Ring, but as the latest game from FromSoftware, I wanted it to dream a little bigger.”
Yet even then, the majority of reviews admit the good far, far outweighs the bad. Fans won’t have long to wait to get it themselves, or see what others think, as Elden Ring launches tomorrow, February 25th.
Do you have high hopes for Elden Ring? Do you trust the critic reviews thus far? Let us know on social media and in the comments below.