Short Thought: I’m Excited for Elden Ring

Each passing day it feels like my soul is being sucked into an abyss, as the promise that ELDEN RING's release feels like a bell toll for my sanity. I gave up on my first playthrough of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, only to return stronger than ever a year after its release and beat it all the way to NG+7 with Bell Demon and without Kuro’s Charm. I've played hundreds of hours of DARK SOULS III, and played through God of War (2018) in the hardest difficulty, which okay, it's not a soulslike, but it might as well be! Ever since my final encounter with Sword Saint Isshin in Sekiro, I've been dying to sink my teeth into the next FromSoftware, inc. title: ELDEN RING.

The imminent release has driven me crazy, as I am torn between consuming every form of media merely mentioning the game or just deleting all of my social media accounts, hiding away like a cave troll, and experiencing it all for the first time completely blind.

Not only is the promise of Yuka Kitamura returning as the composer music to my ears (get it?), but also it's refreshing to my soul knowing that I will have the opportunity to hear more DARK SOULS-like music after the heartbreaking news that DARK SOULS III would be the final instalment to the franchise.

Don't get me wrong, I hate open-world titles; it's a distaste I've been trying to get over as the whole world and their mother seem addicted to them. I was heartbroken when the Legend of Zelda formula was turned into Breath of the Wild, I was left displeased with my inability to play through Skyrim's countless hours, I was even averse to Dying Light 2: Stay Human due to the game's alleged 500 hours of playtime; I don't have that kind of time. When ELDEN RING was announced to be open-world, however? I was excited; the promise of walking around and running into 'Eward, Eternal Nexus of Misery' (a made-up name) and getting killed on spot is exhilarating, to say the least. 

It's no secret I'm excited for ELDEN RING; I'm pretty sure my non-gamer next-door neighbour knows it from how much I babble about this game in my day-to-day life. You see, I'm a firm believer in not hyping stuff (looking at you, Cyberpunk 2077), but it's honestly so difficult to look in the direction of practically any FromSoftware, inc. game and not be excited once you've sucked out the life of the latest one you loved. A mythos written by the notorious George R. R. Martin, music composed by the virtuosa Yuka Kitamura, and directed by the genius mind of Hidetaka Miyazaki, it's impossible to say not be excited. On the 24th, come hell or high water, I'll be right there playing it.