It's been the talk of the town ever since it was revealed, and we've been all over it thanks to our resident Souls-like genre and From Software expert, Joab Gilroy. But in taking on review duties its been revealed that the game is too big for the review period which he's been afforded ahead of embargo, and so today we present to you instead, a review in progress.

Here's a snippet:

The good, however, especially if you're a Dark Souls fan, is everything else. I mean everything. Because it's an open-world Dark Souls game. It's a Souls approach to an open-world, too, where the landmarks don't show up until you've actually visited them — and a map that won't show up until you've literally found a map piece.

The bosses are fantastic, and while I think George R. R. Martin's impact amounts to a few 'ye olde' word choices, the storytelling is surprisingly coherent. There's a wonderful throughline to it that you can follow, and while the game itself doesn't breadcrumb players all that well, the story carries its weight in that regard.

The variety is pure Dark Souls. I mentioned my colleagues' builds, but we barely scraped the surface of what was possible. Faith-based miracles are there, with all the classics showing up, but so are "God-slayer" incantations and "Dragon" incantations. Sorceries too, with I assume many varieties — but I never got to see them all because I accidentally killed the person who sells them.

Click here for our in-depth Elden Ring review in progress.