Elden Ring PS5 PlayStation 5 PS4 1

Elden Ring reviews are in, and perhaps crucially, scored Elden Ring reviews are in. Media had roughly a week to play through this 100-hour opus, so we’ve pumped the brakes on our score for the time being; it’s unlikely many review outlets have reached the credits of this release. That’s not stopping sites from declaring it one of the greatest games ever made, though. With that in mind, here’s an Elden Ring review round up, starting off with our own thoughts so far.

Push Square: Unscored

Elden Ring feels like the definitive FromSoftware game. With a refined combat system packing new ideas and an open world perfect for exploration, it sets a new benchmark for titles of this ilk to strive for. While its technical faults and underwhelming side content may be sources of disappointment, what the core experience offers is spectacular. It won't suddenly convert those turned off by previous entries into fans, but FromSoftware lovers should probably consider Elden Ring an essential playthrough. We just need a bit more time to confirm those thoughts.

The Guardian: 5/5

Video games can be all kinds of different things, representing all manner of artistic ambitions. Most, however, share a common goal: to conjure a compelling fictional reality, filled with beckoning mysteries, enchanting secrets, and enriching opportunities to compete and collaborate. They aim to provide a liminal space in which a determined player can fix that which is broken, order that which is chaotic. By this definition, at least, Elden Ring is the finest video game yet made. Its final gift is the assurance that, whatever monsters lurk in a broken world, with perseverance and cooperation, they too can be overcome – all without losing the mystery and wonder that makes our existence beguiling, infuriating, and fascinating.

Eurogamer: Essential

All that said, Elden Ring remains a glorious game, one that established fans are going to savour for some time to come, and one that may just welcome new fans into the FromSoft fold. Sumptuous visual design, dark and detailed lore and a vast-but-intricate open world are reason enough to venture out into the Lands Between. Add to that FromSoftware's unforgiving and unforgettable gameplay loop and this is something truly special.

IGN: 10/10

It is no exaggeration to say that Elden Ring is FromSoftware’s largest and most ambitious game yet, and that ambition has more than paid off. Even after 87 hours of blood, sweat, and tears that included some of the most challenging fights I’ve ever fought, and innumerable surprises, there are still bosses that I left on the table, secrets that I’ve yet to uncover, sidequests that I missed out on, tons of weapons, spells, and skills that I’ve never used. And this is all on top of PVP and cooperative play that I’ve barely been able to scratch the surface of.

Gamespot: 10/10 (Review in Progress)

In a genre that has become wrought with bloated and over-designed games, Elden Ring is defiantly contrarian in almost every way. Its commitment to design by subtraction and to placing the responsibility of charting a path through its world entirely on the player makes it stand head and shoulders above other open-world titles. 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: 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.

Were you already aboard the Elden Ring hype train, or have you just booked a ticket in hurried anticipation? Don’t forget to check out our own Elden Ring review through the link, and let us know in the comments section below.

Are you buying Elden Ring this week?