Elden Ring review roundup: ‘an unrivaled feat of design and inventiveness’

Elden Ring
(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

Reviews for Elden Ring are now live, and it appears that FromSofware’s latest adventure is a rousing success with critics.

Elden Ring is available on February 25 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The game is currently sitting on a staggering Metacritic score of 97 on PS5 after 28 reviews, which means it’s received universal acclaim and a 97 on OpenCritic after 89 critic reviews.

You can look forward to reading our verdict on Elden Ring soon, but for now, here’s what other gaming critics have had to say about FromSoftware’s latest title.

Our friends at GamesRadar said “suffering has never been as much fun” and awarded Elden Ring a perfect 5 out of 5. Guides Writer Joel Franey said: “Elden Ring is both a refinement and evolution of the Dark Souls formula, presenting an expansive world that's as hostile as it is inviting.”

GamesBeat felt similarly, awarding Elden Ring another perfect score. Writer Jay Henningsen said: “Elden Ring is an exceptional, accomplished work that realizes a fantasy world of solemnity, beauty, and menacing uncertainty you can’t help but lose yourself in.”

Writing for The Guardian, Simon Parkin said that Elden Ring is “an unrivaled feat of design and inventiveness” giving FromSoftware’s game another perfect score, while GameSpot’s Tamoor Hussain said “Elden Ring takes the shards of what came before and forges them into something that will go down in history as one of the all-time greats”, awarding it 10 out of 10.

An Elden Ring character taking on a large forest creature

(Image credit: FromSoftware)

IGN also gave Elden Ring a perfect score, with IGN’s Mitchell Saltzman saying: “Elden Ring is a massive iteration on what FromSoftware began with the Souls series, bringing its relentlessly challenging combat to an incredible open world that gives us the freedom to choose our own path.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly at this point, Elden Ring snagged a perfect score from Game Informer, too. Writer Daniel Tack said: “Elden Ring represents a truly amazing combination of various game elements that all come together to create something fascinating, special, and unforgettable. Elden Ring isn’t just the best game this year; it’s one of the best games ever made.”

But did any critics dislike Elden Ring? The lowest score we’ve seen so far is a 9 or 90, so no, it doesn’t look like it, at least at the time of writing. And of course, we've yet to see the general consensus from the players. The game is sure to be under extra scrutiny from longtime Soulsborne fans hoping the game lives up to previous FromSoftware titles.

Time to die 

Elden Ring

(Image credit: FromSoftware Inc.)

The overall verdict on Elden Ring is clear, then: this is potentially one of the best games ever made, receiving universal praise across practically every outlet. 

That doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll love it, though; reviews are subjective after all. But if you’re a fan of the Soulsborne genre, or simply feel like you’ve wanted to find out what all the fuss is about, Elden Ring appears to be the perfect place to start.  

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Adam Vjestica

Adam was formerly TRG's Hardware Editor. A law graduate with an exceptional track record in content creation and online engagement, Adam has penned scintillating copy for various technology sites and also established his very own award-nominated video games website. He’s previously worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor and once played Halo 5: Guardians for over 51 hours for charity. He is now an editor at The Shortcut.