Elden Ring was undoubtedly one of the most highly-anticipated video game releases coming into the year. Since the game’s initial reveal during the Xbox Showcase at E3 2019, FromSoftware fans had been eager to see just how Hidetaka Miyazaki and his team would iterate on the iconic Soulsborne formula. Elden Ring not only lived up to fans’ expectations, but somehow surpassed them. Elden Ring is the most notable open-world RPG since 2017’s Breath of the Wild, and its Shacknews’ Game of the Year for 2022.

The Lands Between is a world brimming with unique areas to explore, and players are completely free to do it at their own pace. While previous Soulsborne games had built up the reputation of being brutal and unforgiving, Elden Ring managed to offer a less punishing experience that still felt wholly challenging. If you spent an hour facing off against the same boss, dying a couple of dozen times in the process, you didn’t have to keep banging your head against a brick wall. You could simply turn away, and do something else.

And this didn’t mean doing a quick side quest and returning after you’ve leveled up. You could abandon Elden Ring’s “main path” early on, and go on an adventure of your own. Wherever you went, there was a fascinating NPC to chat with, a dungeon to explore, or a great enemy to fell.

Whether it was stumbling upon a bandit camp, finding a sleeping dragon, or killing a…