Elden Ring

Elden Ring took FromSoftware's combat and put it in an open world, which everyone assumed would dilute it and instead produced one of the best-reviewed games ever made. George R. R. Martin contributed the underlying mythology; Miyazaki broke it into fragments and hid them under the map.

The design achievement is that the world respects you. There are no towers to climb, no icons cluttering a minimap, and no arrows telling you where to go. You see something on the horizon and you ride toward it, and there is something actually there.

The difficulty is negotiable in a way earlier Souls games weren't - if a boss is beating you, you can leave and come back with more levels, a different build, or a summon. That single change brought millions of people into a series they'd bounced off before.

Malenia, Blade of Miquella, is the most discussed boss in modern gaming and every player has an opinion about waterfowl dance.

This collection covers the Lands Between and its iconography.