Elden Ring
Every so often, a game comes around and becomes a phenomenon overnight. AlthoughtheElden Ringbeta showed me that future was possible, few could predict just how ubiquitous the From Software juggernaut would become.
After launch, I looked around and basically everyone I knew was playing it. My wife, who only plays action adventure games once every few years, was — and still is — into it. All of her office co-workers were playing it, and several folks who had never Platinumed anything in their lives were going for a full clear. People I hadn’t spoke to in a while were texting me for tips. It managed to break through like no other From Software game in recent memory: far more than theBloodbornecraze that you couldn’t escape from for roughly a full year and change.
Sight unseen with no tips or guides, it also led to some of my most nerve-wracking review sessions in my nearly 15 year career: right up there with a fewSekirobosses (From strikes again!). Although there are light streaks nudging you on where to go next,there were a few portions of the gamethat really had me sweating: and I don’t feel like that often! It was a complete rush, and unlike almost anything else released this year, or the past several years.
All of the groundwork that From Software had been putting down sinceDemon’s Soulsin 2009 had led to this. All of the shared experiences, the blood stains, the high-variance stories of boss battles and conquests: it felt like it all came to a head withElden Ring‘s massive open world, and the opportunity for emergent storytelling.
Having played From Software games all my life, it’s been a blast to see all of this unfold in real time. I grew up withKing’s FieldandArmored Core, and quietly enjoyedEternal Ringwhen no one I knew was playing it. But I never thought this studio would grow to become a mainstream staple like this: clawing their way up fromNinja BladetoDemon’s Souls, fromBloodbornetoElden Ring.It’s been a blast to literally grow up with them, and after this most recent award winner, all eyes are on From Software to see how they’re going to follow up theirSouls-like legacy. Next stop:Armored Core VI.
2018 –God of War
2017 –The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
2013 –The Last of Us
2007 –BioShock
