Elden Ring is the most recent game from the FromSoftware studio, known for their notoriously challenging, yet rewarding games. For many players, they are glad that their newest game, Elden Ring, is no different. There was immense hype in the gaming community leading up to Elden Ring’s release. After the game’s release it received amazing reviews from a growing community of adoring fans. I set out to play the first ten hours of Elden Ring and find out if the game really is as good as people say or if the community was made biased by the hype.

The first few hours of the game are all about learning the basics of the game and the world it is set in. I have played another FromSoftware title, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, so I was already familiar with the core gameplay, but the story was new and compelling. Elden Ring takes place in the Lands Between, a land fallen into chaos and ruin after the shattering of the magical Elden Ring.

When I told others that I was going to play the first ten hours of Elden Ring and write a review on it, they laughed and said I probably would not make it past the first boss. This speaks to how Elden Ring is known as a grueling game that holds nothing back. That being said, I defeated the first boss around the five hour mark.

The intriguing story and challenging gameplay combine to make an experience that keeps bringing players back for more. IGN gave Elden Ring a 10/10, a significant accomplishment for FromSoftware, on March 13th, 2022, less than a month after the game’s release on February 25th, 2022. There is no way to know if the review was elevated by the game’s hype or dedicated community, but after the hype has died down I have played the game with little expectations, and believe it deserves that 10/10.

I honestly felt begrudged to give Elden Ring a 10/10 because I thought it would be more interesting to declare the critically acclaimed game to be secretly terrible, but I can’t find anything wrong with it. Sure, the game is hard, but it’s meant to be hard to invoke a feeling of accomplishment after each challenge. The game gives ample ways for players to improve their skills and abilities to overcome any obstacles.

Overall the gameplay is fun, the story is interesting and the world is exciting to explore. It turns out after all that the game really is as good as people say it is.