Elden Ring on PC Review: FromSoftware’s Open World Masterpiece

Score: 9.4 / 10 — FromSoftware’s open-world reinvention of the Soulsborne formula, now running smoother on PC than ever thanks to years of patching and the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion.

Introduction

Elden Ring took FromSoftware’s punishing, methodical combat design and set it loose in an open world for the first time, and the result reshaped expectations for what the genre could be. Years on from launch, with the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion now integrated into the core experience, this review revisits the PC version to assess how it holds up — both as a game and as a technical product, an area where FromSoftware has historically struggled.

World and Exploration

The Lands Between remains one of the most remarkable open worlds in gaming, not for its size alone but for its density of handcrafted encounters. Nearly every landmark visible on the horizon is reachable and contains something worth finding — a hidden boss, a questline fragment, a piece of armor tied to an NPC’s story. Unlike many open-world games that rely on map icons and checklist design, Elden Ring trusts players to explore based on curiosity, and the payoff is consistently rewarding.

Shadow of the Erdtree adds the Land of Shadow, a zone comparable in scale to a significant fraction of the base map, packed with some of the series’ most elaborate boss encounters and armor sets. It’s a genuinely substantial addition rather than a token epilogue, and it meaningfully raises the game’s difficulty ceiling for players who complete it after the main story.

Combat and Character Building

Combat retains the deliberate, stamina-managed rhythm the studio is known for, but the addition of Spirit Ashes, a wider array of weapon skills, and more flexible respeccing makes build variety far greater than in prior Souls titles. Whether you want a pure strength build swinging colossal weapons, a dexterity-focused dual-wielder, or a spellcaster leaning on sorceries and incantations, the game accommodates all of them competently, though some builds remain more powerful than others in the current balance.

Boss design is the clear highlight, ranging from tightly choreographed single-phase duels to sprawling multi-phase gauntlets that test both mechanical skill and preparation. A handful of Shadow of the Erdtree’s late bosses have drawn criticism for aggressive move sets that can feel unfair on first encounters, though most are conquerable with patience and the right consumables.

Technical Performance on PC

This is where the story has changed most since launch. Elden Ring originally shipped with a hard 60fps cap, stuttering traversal issues, and inconsistent frame pacing. Successive patches have removed the frame cap, improved shader compilation stutter significantly, and added ultrawide support. On a modern mid-to-high-end system, the game now runs at a stable 60-100+fps depending on settings, a dramatic improvement from its rough launch state.

It’s still not a flawless technical package — occasional traversal stutter persists in the Land of Shadow’s more detailed areas — but it no longer holds the game back the way it once did.

How It Compares

Within FromSoftware’s own catalog, Elden Ring is the clear high point, offering far more build variety and exploratory freedom than Dark Souls III or Sekiro while retaining most of what made those games compelling. Against other open-world RPGs like Baldur’s Gate 3, the comparison highlights a difference in priorities: Elden Ring is almost entirely about environmental and combat mastery, with minimal dialogue branching or narrative choice, while BG3 is built around reactive storytelling. Players seeking mechanical challenge and exploration will gravitate toward Elden Ring; those seeking narrative agency will prefer BG3.

Pros and Cons

Verdict

Elden Ring, now bolstered by Shadow of the Erdtree and years of technical refinement, stands as FromSoftware’s most complete work. It asks a lot of players — patience, attentiveness, a willingness to fail repeatedly — but rewards that investment with some of the most memorable boss encounters and open-world exploration available on PC.