Few days ago, I finally completed Elden Ring. It had been languishing in my steam backlog for over 2 years or so. I had multiple false starts with this one, always giving up on the Tree Sentinel. I decided to give it one more try (mostly as part of my uber goal of completing my backlog - more on that in another post).

It took me almost 3 months, wrapped up the game around level 168, with ~160 hours of playtime. I don’t think I completed 100% as I stayed away from walkthroughs as much as possible to avoid spoilers and maintain the sense of wonder. I think a major part of the fun in the game is exploration and figuring out stuff on your own. I think I would’ve missed some side quests or optional bosses due to this (maybe 90% completed and some 10% missed ?).

Given below is a mini review. My first attempt at reviewing a video game !

My Build & How I Played

I played melee builds throughout my entire run (although towards the end, I did feel that ranged builds like INT/FAI make the game much easier). Early on, I went with a Dex + Str setup and used the Bloodhound’s Fang ( upgraded to +9) for most of the game. It’s an insanely good weapon and carried me much further than I expected. Its unique ash of war - bloodhound fineese is really good against boss fights as most main/field bosses until mid game are very much susceptible to bleed damage. I also used a Longbow initially for ranged battle, later switching to the Pulley Bow.

Towards the late game, once I got the Blasphemous Blade (upgraded it to +10 eventually), I shifted into a Dex/Str/Faith build. That weapon is straight-up overpowered. It made several end-game bosses feel manageable when they otherwise would’ve been extremely frustrating.

For summons, I mostly relied on Mimic Tear once I unlocked it, upgrading it to +10. Towards the very end, especially for the last couple of boss fights, I switched to Black Knife Tiche (also upgraded to +10). Both summons have generous health at +10, but Tiche has the advantage of destined death, which reduces enemy health gradually making the tough boss fights really manageable.

Hardest Bosses I faced (in that order)

Everyone’s experience is different depending on their build, but for me, the hardest bosses where I felt like throwing my controller away were (in the order of difficulty):

  • Elden Beast + Radagon
  • General Radahn
  • Malenia
  • Decaying Eckzeys

The final boss fight (Radagon+Elden beast) was especially brutal. I must’ve fought the Elden Beast over a dozen times. With a melee build, it felt less like a test of skill and more like a test of patience by the end. I found out only later that I could use torrent (which made the fight somewhat manageable).

What worked for me

  • The core gameplay loop is excellent. Explore, get curious, get punished, learn, get stronger, repeat. It kept pulling me back in even after long sessions. There were times when I would go to bed thinking of what area to tackle next or what upgrades should I invest in. Rarely has a game sucked me in so much !

  • The art direction and visuals are genuinely amazing. From the leaves covered lush yellow regions of altus plateu to the rot infested Caelid (with terrifying creatures) to the swamps of liurnia to the snowy mountaintops of giants, every region feels distinct.Tthe palaces in particular are beautifully designed, more importantly, they actually feel like grand, ancient structures that were lived in, rather than just “levels” in a game.

  • The lore is another big highlight. Like Bloodborne, the story isn’t spoon-fed to you. I found myself reading item descriptions constantly just to piece things together. If you enjoy that kind of indirect storytelling, Elden Ring does it really well.

  • The open world is also very thoughtfully designed. There are enough checkpoints (called Sites of Grace in the game) that you rarely feel stuck or overly frustrated. Whenever I was stuck with a boss, I would just go to another area to take on a lesser challenge and level up. There’s enough stuff to do to keep the player engaged.

  • Some NPCs and their side quests are surprisingly engaging too, even if they’re easy to mess up or miss entirely.

What didn’t work for me

  • As with most FromSoftware games, there’s very little explanation of what’s going on or where you’re supposed to go next. That’s part of the charm, but it can also get frustrating, especially with quests. I think this is one of the few RPG style games, which doesn’t even have a quest log, despite the many quests/side quests.

  • Enemy variety isn’t great. A lot of enemies reappear later as stronger versions of themselves, which makes the game feel repetitive at times.

  • Boss fights are inconsistent. Some fights are incredible, while others feel forgettable or poorly balanced.

  • The catacombs and caves were probably my least favorite part. The environments and enemies repeat a lot, and towards the end, they started to feel more like chores.

  • Weapon upgrading can also be annoying early to mid-game. Since upgrades depend on smithing stones rather than your level, experimenting with different weapons feels risky until you unlock the bell bearings.

The Ending (Accidentally Chosen)

After defeating the Elden Beast, out of curiosity I clicked on the blue summon sign and got Ranni’s ending. At first, it felt so anti-climatic, I mean I fought the elden beast for over a dozen times, spent over 150 hours fighting all these monstrosities and then this is the ending ? this is my reward ?

I still feel it would’ve been nice if the game had given a confirmation screen or a warning dialog saying, “This action can’t be undone” or something like that. After all the time I spent playing, I felt that the way the game ends was somewhat disappointing.

NOTE: After reading more about the lore and understanding what that ending actually represents, Ranni’s ending might actually be one of the better ones. I think the other good ending was the goldmask ending, which I would have missed anyway (as I did not meet brother corhyn on the bridge again).

Final Thoughts

Despite its flaws, Elden Ring is a fantastic game. It’s one of the very few games where I’ve willingly spent over 150 hours. In fact, it’s only the second game in my Steam library to cross that mark, the first being Cyberpunk 2077.

It’s easily in my top 10 games of all time.

I’ll probably do another playthrough someday, maybe focusing on INT or ARC builds, which I barely explored this time.

9/10 from me.
Not perfect, sometimes frustrating, but absolutely worth the time.