Our journey may have been meaningless.
Our past may have been a mistake.
But we're not going back.
Even if this world comes to an end.

Because this...
This is the world with the people we cherish.

I, for one, have never exactly been fond of the Souls game due to how unforgiving each entry can be. I used to be in crowds asking for an easy mode or optional difficulty settings. After completing Elden Ring though, I now highly disagree with the notion of these games having an easy mode. It would be a disservice. A disservice to the pinnacle of video game design and to the message they try to convey. I am proud to say that I've got the message.

During my playthrough of Elden Ring, I came across a formidable boss in an endgame dungeon. One I already fought before and conquered. "Should be a breeze," I said. Skip hours later into the night. It was 2AM and I was begging for mercy after losing over and over to the same boss for three hours. It was brutal. I never raged like this ever since I played Smash Ultimate online. During one attempt I managed to get the boss's health down to a single digit, but I freaked out and whifted an attack. The boss jumped back and ended my run with a one-shot. This exact situation would repeat throughout the night. I guess this is what I deserve for being a greatsword DEX player. It got so bad that I started to doubt my video game abilities and almost began to cry. A video game has never brought me down like this before. That specific boss and many others before almost made me quit the game entirely. "Maybe Souls games really aren't for me" I started thinking. Even so, I still persisted and challenged the boss again and again until I got their patterns down. I took breaks by exploring the vast open-world to find upgrades that'll make me stronger. Finally, around 3AM that night, I defeated the boss with nearly perfect execution. That europhia I got after overcoming such an obstacle rippled across my body as I sank into my chair proclaiming victory. At long last it made sense to me. I understood why these games are universally beloved. I understood why people love these games despite being incredibly difficult. The feeling of winning a fight that seemed impossible at first, but eventually breaking the brick wall through trial and error and careful observation is one an easy mode simply cannot accomplish.

This revelation can be reached within anybody throughout any Souls games during any boss battle. Everybody falls in love with Elden Ring and other Souls games in many different ways. I find that magical. Elden Ring further drives that idea home with its vast and content rich open-world that will take players years to fully uncover every secret it has to offer. I cannot fathom how a game of this size was made in this day and age. It feels like a dream. Play anyway you want in this world. It's your own sandbox. You determine how much trouble the main questline will give you. Don't let anybody else steer you otherwise. Is a boss fight too difficult? Simply skip that area and explore the next section. Strengthen yourself with discoveries you find.The boss fight still too much? Simply summon other players for help in co-op. There is no shame in that nor using overpowered magic for encounters. If the boss plays dirty, so do you. No easy mode? Sure. Make an easy mode just for you using anything in your disposal. I love how there's still a challenge no matter how much you prep so get ready for a desperate struggle once you step through the mist. Like I stated earlier, that feeling you get once you eventually defeat a boss is pure bliss. Fight anyway you want. Go anywhere you want. This world, jam-packed with lore and breathtaking atmosphere, is all yours.

Even with all the praise I've given Elden Ring, sadly, no game is perfect. There are encounters that are often reused boss battles but instead of one of them, there's two of them which can sometimes feel unfair. There are obvious performance issues especially in the PC version with large amounts of stuttering and locked 60fps across the board. Will any of this negatively affect the score? No. Elden Ring is just THAT good. Amazing job to FromSoft for creating a completed, finished package with zero issues I have with modern gaming today. I highly recommend you check this and any other Souls games out because I know I will. Elden Ring is one of my favorite gaming experiences I have had in a long time.

I, at first, did not stick to this game. The raw MetroidVania genre was not very catchy, at least for me, at that time. But I tried many times to get back to the game, hoping I would find it more magical anytime I tried it one more time. Each time, I went farther and farther but uninstalled it after abandoning it for a while. But, eventually, I was lead to try again, willing to finish the game. I replayed the game, knowing where I needed to go for a little bit but still fascinated by the exploration and freedom the game gives you in its many zones. This time, I became more touched with the characters and were motivated to keep going forward and confront the difficulty of each zone and its diverse range of enemies' appearance. The soundtrack is just marvelous and the artstyle is so bright but dark at the same time, which makes it a pleasure for my eyes. Watching the contrast between Hollow Knight's colour palettes on the main character and on the zones also makes me very relaxed while being anxious fighting its numerous conflicts and feeling the ambient suspense. Its bosses, for me, are unique. Each and everyone of them is very memorable and every fight's pattern lives rent-free in your head after you fight the corresponding. Concluding, this game became the best game I have ever played and I have nothing, in a negative perspective, to say about it.