ELDEN RING is a triumph of videogame design because of the quiet moments

Fromsoft's big open world adventure game is more open, accessible and dense than past entries from the acclaimed developer.

March 23, 2022 10:15 AM

Adam Christou

Gianni Di Giovanni

ELDEN RING, the latest game from Japanese studio FromSoftware, has sold over 12 million copies since its release in late February.

This massive, open-world adventure-rpg continues to build on the legacy and foundation of FromSoftware's previous works in DARK SOULS and BLOODBORNE, throwing players into a dark fantasy world filled with rich lore and difficult boss fights and challenging encounters to overcome.

Sifter producer Adam Christou joins Gianni for a chat about his time in ELDEN RING, having just finished the game to completion, defeating every boss in the lands between over the course of 110 hours of gameplay.

Note: this is a very light chat as far as spoilers go, you should be fine to dive in with minimal discussion of locations, plot resolutions and lore.

SIFTER is produced by Nicholas Kennedy, Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer.

Thanks to Omny Studio for their support of SIFTER.

Elden Ring

From Software

Some good ninja stuff, good samurai stuff, it took them a long time to get here but boy I'm glad they did.

Pros:

Naoe feels like the old assassins from previous games
Yasuke definitely doesn't, which is very welcome change
Absolutely stunning world that feels busy and lived in

Cons:

Maybe the world actually might be too big?
It's an evolution not a revolution, if you've bounced off Assassin's Creed in the past this doesn't break the mold.