An utter failure of a work.
Elden Ring completely misunderstands its own essence, what it means to be a Souls game, in favour of empty, superficial, unrewarding level-design and combat.

Ugly, angering graphics - the high-fantasy style creates controversies at every corner.
A bland soundtrack, with only a handful of decent songs among a hundred.
A completely generic story that has nothing to say - as if the former Souls Games, misunderstood by their own creators, were stripped of all their essence.
And gameplay that is so weightless, so unpolished, filled with horrendous scaling - from random encounters hitting as strongly as literal Gods - that its ridiculousness is simply baffling.
Clearly, all of these changes appeal to a wider, mainstream audience - one that favours superficiality such as the game's high-fantasy visuals over true thematic depth - but with these changes, the Soul-Series becomes nothing more than another series of Marvel Films.

And the worst flaw of all: The utterly shameless repetitiveness.
The beauty of Dark Souls 3's true ending, ruined to create one more empty, boring, badly written boss called Radahn.
Mechanics and designs of the previous games, used for the eight time in a row, without even understanding the initial intentions behind them anymore.
Merely mindlessly following the formula that previously brought success - and the mainstream audience loves it.

I fear for the future of Souls games.

Essentially: One of the most intelligent, significant pieces of art in the history of humanity turned into yet another Marvel movie, one that has nothing to say, is as safe as possible to appeal to the widest audience possible, and will ultimately be forgotten. Labeled worthless by the flow of time.

Insulting on every level. One of the worst works of art ever crafted.