FromSoft's attempt at putting their unique spin on the open-world building-block setpiece style is a roaring success, replacing a lot of staleness in the genre with fresh flair, twists, turns, and many emotional highs and lows, but you ultimately still end up hoping that the next game is a more linear affair. An ideal sequel would take this as a base and go further with making every piece placed in the world more meaningful.

Still, these are minor complaints for a series that mostly only has itself to be compared to. Elden Ring is a fantastic entry in a larger franchise that has created waves of influence in modern gaming, and you can bet your life savings that we'll be seeing the influence of Elden Ring for a long time to come.