Elden Ring Review: An Open World Where Every Detour Pays Off

Elden Ring is an open-world action RPG from FromSoftware, the makers of Dark Souls. The world of the Lands Between was created by Hidetaka Miyazaki together with George R. R. Martin. The game came out on February 25, 2022 and has sold more than 30 million copies. In this review we rate the base game and also cover the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. We tell you what the game does well, where it stumbles and whether it’s for you.

What Elden Ring is about

You play as a Tarnished in the Lands Between, and your goal is to become Elden Lord. Your path opens up through the Great Runes held by the powerful Shardbearers. As usual for FromSoftware, the story is pieced together from fragments, item descriptions and conversations; nobody spells it out for you.

At the start you pick one of ten classes, such as Vagabond, Samurai or Astrologer. The class is just a starting spread of stats and gear; you can level anything. You ride the open world on your horse Torrent, rest at Sites of Grace and level up with runes from enemies. When you die, you drop your runes and get one attempt to run back for them. How to get started is covered in our beginner’s guide and the classes overview.

Freedom instead of a wall

The biggest difference from Dark Souls is the open world. If you get stuck on a boss, you don’t have to bash your head against it, you can ride elsewhere, upgrade your weapon, find a new spell or spirit ash and come back. Bandai Namco says as much in its official tips: the Tree Sentinel right at the start is very tough for newcomers and it’s fine to skip it. You don’t have to beat every boss to finish the game, two Great Runes and the required path are enough. The order is in our required boss order guide.

Combat is built on stamina, dodging and reading attacks. You can get help from summoned spirits, weapon skills called Ashes of War, magic or other players. You can invite up to two co-op partners into your game, but there’s no cross-play between PC, PlayStation and Xbox. How co-op works is in our co-op guide.

What critics praise and what bothers players

On Metacritic the PS5 version holds 96 from 93 reviews, the PC version 94 and the Xbox Series X version 96. IGN called it one of the most unforgettable gaming experiences it has had and praised a dense open world built around freedom and exploration. PC Gamer gave it 90 with the caveat that it’s brilliant but a little too familiar, and GamesRadar+ similarly wrote that Elden Ring could have carved out more of its own identity than Dark Souls, but wider.

Everyone talks about the difficulty. PC Gamer ranks it among the hardest FromSoftware games and IGN admits it surprised them even as a genre veteran, while adding that the open world always gives you somewhere else to go. IGN also points out that without a quest log or markers it’s easy to forget plot threads you’ve started, and mentions frame rate stutter in the PC version. Players love it: on Steam it has 93.0% positive out of 1,159,561 reviews, a Very Positive rating.

How long Elden Ring lasts

According to the developers, the main path takes roughly 30 hours without major detours, but the game offers many dozens of hours of extra content and most players spend far longer in the Lands Between.

Shadow of the Erdtree and more

The Shadow of the Erdtree expansion came out on June 21, 2024 and takes you to the Realm of Shadow. To enter it you have to defeat Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood. On Metacritic it holds 94. You strengthen your character there separately with Scadutree Fragments. How to get into the DLC is in our Shadow of the Erdtree guide.

In August 2026 the Tarnished Edition came out on Switch 2 with the base game, the expansion and new content. Other platforms got the same content as the Tarnished Pack for €4.99: two new classes, Heavy Knight and Idus Knight, armor, weapons and Torrent appearances. The latest patch is 1.17 from August 27, 2026. The co-op spin-off is the standalone Elden Ring Nightreign from May 2025, covered in our Nightreign guide.

Price and platforms

On Steam Elden Ring costs €59.99, the Shadow of the Erdtree Edition €79.99 and the DLC alone €39.99. The PlayStation version covers PS4 and PS5, and on Xbox Smart Delivery covers Xbox One and Series X|S. As of October 20, 2026 the game isn’t on Game Pass. Editions are compared in our editions and price article.

On PC a GTX 1060 3 GB, 12 GB of RAM and 60 GB of space are enough, and the PC version uses Easy Anti-Cheat. On Steam Deck the base game is rated Verified. Details are in our system requirements article.

Who Elden Ring is for (and who it isn’t)

It’s for you if you enjoy exploring a world without arrows and markers and want fights where every win means something. It’s also the best entry point into FromSoftware games: when you get stuck, you can go elsewhere, summon a spirit or a friend.

Skip it if you want a game you can set to an easier difficulty, or you need a quest log and clear story guidance. Elden Ring will punish you and won’t tell you where to go.

Verdict: Is Elden Ring worth it?

Yes, if you want one of the best open worlds in years and aren’t afraid of difficulty. We’re giving it 9/10.

Elden Ring combines the freedom of an open world with the carefully designed combat and bosses FromSoftware is known for. Critics rate it as one of the best games ever, so do players, and Shadow of the Erdtree adds dozens more hours. Points come off for difficulty you can’t adjust, quests without a journal and a structure that at times feels too much like Dark Souls.

Playing Elden Ring? All our guides are on the Elden Ring hub. Start with the beginner’s guide, and if you don’t know where to go next, check the required boss order. Looking for co-op partners? Join the GamersTogether Discord.

FAQ

This review is based on player ratings on Steam and critic scores on Metacritic, on reviews from IGN, PC Gamer and GamesRadar+, and on official information from Bandai Namco and FromSoftware. Information verified on October 21, 2026. All our guides to the game are on the Elden Ring hub.