ELDEN RING
Wes Fenlon, Senior Editor: Has a whip ever awoken something in you? Take that question however you want—for me, whips were the catalyst for fully appreciating how much From Software has improved the flexibility of its combat over the last decade. Compared to the Souls games that have pretty clear picks for the best weapons, Elden Ring lets you stick practically any ability and affinity on any weapon and dual wield for new moves. After playing some 60 hours with a pair of curved swords I threw away my muscle memory to become a whip guy, and it was a thrill. Instead of getting in close for quick combos I was staying back to poke at enemies or pouncing with a dual-whip slam.
The scale of Elden Ring’s open world exhausted me, but the depth of that arsenal is going to keep me coming back for years. I mean, have you seen that twinblade with a scythe on it? I’ll never go back to the monogamous sword life.
Sean Martin, Guides Writer: Weird builds are definitely one of the best things to come out of Elden Ring. Once you’ve honked an invader to death with a giant horn, electrified yourself to roll around like Sonic, or fired an endless stream of madnessinducing fire from your eyes, it’s hard to see Souls’ staple sword
‘n’ shield the same way.
Fraser Brown, Online Editor: Elden Ring’s launch and the following months were the best part of my 2022. Easily. It wasn’t just due to the game itself, but rather the event that it was at the center of—the Elden Ring era. Most of PC Gamer seemed to be playing it, it was all over my social feeds, and my days were spent in endless discussions about it, or trawling for new build ideas or funky exploits. It was this beautiful oasis of pointless bullshit, offering a reprieve from the state of the real world.
This is not to say that Elden Ring, on its own, is not an exceptional game. It wouldn’t have so dominated the early part of the year otherwise. FromSoftware’s stuff always does it for me, but I’m also impatient and easily frustrated by even the tiniest bit of adversity, so I’m often on the edge of packing it all in. Elden Ring’s freewheeling open world and concessions to accessibility solves that problem nicely. It’s still bastard hard, but there’s so much more you can do when you get stuck here. And that’s why I put 150 hours into it in just a few weeks.
Ted Litchfield, Associate Editor: In the months after beating Elden Ring I went back and replayed nearly every single Souls series entry sans Demon’s Souls and Sekiro. I feel secure saying that Elden Ring’s my very favorite, the pinnacle of that magic I felt when I first played Dark Souls back in 2014. I need its expansion pack yesterday.
Robin Valentine, Print Editor: I’ve really struggled to get invested in any of the Souls games, but Elden Ring hooked me right from the jump. Its more accessible story and open structure make it so much easier to love than its predecessors.
THERE’S SO MUCH MORE YOU CAN DO WHEN YOU GET STUCK HERE