From Software
Elden Ring

Probably no one, back in the now distant time when "Demon’s Souls" was published, could have predicted that the particular and punishing vision of the classic RPG conceived by Hidetaka Miyazaki would become one of the cornerstones of role-playing games in the years to come. And yet here we are, several more or less spiritual sequels, a remake, and a few minor missteps later, reckoning with the peak of From Software's gaming formula, capable, through years of refinement and honing, of transforming its concept from a cult seemingly destined for a small niche of enthusiasts into a true mass phenomenon with over twenty million copies sold. All of this, and here's the real miracle, without losing an ounce of the brutality and identity that led the "Dark Souls" series to become a genuine sub-genre in the gaming world, with numerous clones trying, more or less clumsily, to emulate its success. "Elden Ring," indeed, is not an easier game; it doesn’t even try to be, but that doesn't stop it from being more accessible and having an appeal that piques the curiosity of those who have never been soulslike enthusiasts, perhaps also due to their hardcore aura.

Because yes, there are still bosses with complex movesets to study to avoid dying after a few hits, there are still bonfires (here renamed "grace points") that serve as save points amidst countless dangers, there are still some balance issues that make some playstyles more favorable than others (but never ruining the overall experience), and above all, there is still that silent storytelling that immerses you like never before in the game world without ever guiding you, but here it's all taken to another level, more readable but no less complex. In this sense, the creation of a massive explorable map by the Japanese studio has been beneficial, offering constant visual stimuli and invitations to be discovered (always rewarding the more attentive player with a new item, weapon, or spell), as well as constantly amazing and serving as the perfect stage for the world's story, written together with George R. R. Martin.

Thus, court intrigues, battles between demigods corrupted by the power of the Ancestral Ring, and fascinating characters with nebulous motivations intertwine with conflicts between mysterious cosmic deities, each intent on thwarting one another, with the player, part of the exiled Tarnished folk, called to decide the fate of a world that in its decay still holds some glimmers of beauty and wonder. And so, among golden woods, lands devastated by a terrible plague, and magic academies towering over misty lakes, From Software takes what already worked in "Zelda - Breath of the Wild" and makes it its own, with a map full of castles, caves, ruined cities, and diverse biomes all to explore on the back of your spectral steed and with exciting battles against aesthetically superb enemies, all with an endless variety of deadly tools at the player's disposal to carve a path through sword strikes and magical blows: from heavy and devastating greatswords, katanas, daggers, spears, and more, not forgetting cosmic sorceries, light spells, and draconic powers, there’s truly something for all tastes, and the possibilities to customize your character are truly infinite.

And never mind if some bosses, in the long run, repeat themselves, as does the structure of some mines, and never mind if the latter part of the adventure presents a sudden and artificial spike in difficulty, as well as less inspired areas compared to the initial ones, because in the end, it delivers a totalizing and satisfying experience rarely seen in the gaming landscape of the recent years, with a quality/quantity ratio decidedly favoring the former and a map design among the most inspired ever. The commercial success, after all, didn't happen by chance but was the result of meticulous work on every aspect that has so far brought fortune to the soulslike genres from From Software and Miyazaki, capable as never before, in this new incarnation of the genre, of pushing its potential to the maximum and further expanding its horizons. Is this really the ultimate peak reached by this type of RPG? It's too soon to tell, with the imminent release of the expansion "Shadow of the Erdtree," which will expand the already complex lore of the game with additional characters and lands to explore. And even in this case, wonders are to be expected.