One of the most highly-anticipated games of this year--and maybe the last few years--is finally coming this week. From Software's ambitious open-world RPG Elden Ring is coming on Friday, February 25. Ahead of release, reviews have started to populate online, and it's already one of the best-reviewed games of all time.

　　Here at GameSpot, our Elden Ring review-in-progress scored the game a rare 10/10. Reviewer Tamoor Hussain has not finished the game, an experience seemingly shared by lots of reviewers given the game's massive scope and punishing difficulty. But he's seen enough to call it a masterpiece. "Elden Ring is From Software's crowning achievement in world design--epic in scale and scope. But what makes it special isn't just how visually stunning it all is, or that its open-world is vast, rich in detail, and teeming with possibilities. Instead, it's how the studio has applied its own esoteric design principles to deliver an experience that feels fresh, elegant, and uniquely From Software."

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　　Now Playing: Elden Ring Review In Progress

　　With a 97 Metascritic score so far, Elden Ring is currently tied with games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Grand Theft Auto 5, among the best video games of all time. Naturally that score may be subject to change as more reviews come continue to come in.

　　For a broader look at the critical reaction Elden Ring, check out more review scores and excerpts below, or check GameSpot sister site Metacritic for even more impressions from around the industry.

　　Game: Elden RingPlatforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|SDeveloper: From SoftwareRelease Date: February 25Price: $70

GameSpot -- 10/10 (Review-in-Progress)

"In a genre that has become wrought with bloated and over-designed games, Elden Ring is defiantly contrarian in almost every way. Its commitment to design by subtraction and to placing the responsibility of charting a path through its world entirely on the player makes it stand head and shoulders above other open-world titles. Elden Ring takes the shards of what came before and forges them into something that will go down in history as one of the all-time greats: a triumph in design and creativity, and an open-world game that distinguishes itself for what it doesn't do as much as what it does." -- Tamoor Hussain [Full review]

　　

GameRant -- 5/5

"However, when judged on its own merits, Elden Ring is a phenomenal game that will disappoint very few. It has most of the components that fans of the genre seek: a wondrous aesthetic, a feeling of mystery that invites exploration, skillfully designed and intimidating adversaries, and rich gameplay with a lot of replayability thanks to the various classes and builds. In the end, Elden Ring is more than just an open-world Dark Souls. It is strong in its own right, with tweaks to the classic Souls blueprint that create a refreshing new experience that still feels familiar." -- Pam K Ferdinand [Full review]

　　

GamesRadar -- 5/5

"Elden Ring is both a refinement and evolution of the Dark Souls formula, presenting an expansive world that's as hostile as it is inviting. Despite the occasional excess, suffering has never been as much fun as this." -- Joel Franey [Full review]

　　

Destructoid -- 10/10

"To say I was blown away by Elden Ring is an understatement. Sure it’s still going to appear esoteric and unapproachable to a subset of people. There are things it could still do better in terms of onboarding, and it could do even more on the front of quality-of-life enhancements for returning Souls players. But as an experience, it’s one of the most wondrous and open-ended games I’ve played in years. It has so much to say from a design perspective that people will be talking about its choices for years on end, and playing it for longer." -- Chris Carter [Full review]

　　

Ars Technica -- Unscored

"After over 20 hours spent in this kind of explore-and-bounce-off-a-boss pattern, I still feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of Elden Ring’s entrancing world (not to mention the many magical systems that aren’t really available to my character’s warrior class). I’m not sure I’ll ever have the patience or discipline to endure all of the punishing boss battles I still have ahead of me. But I can easily see myself just hopping on a horse, picking a direction, and galloping off into the many unexplored corners of Elden Ring." -- Kyle Orland [Full review]

　　

Eurogamer -- Unscored

"All that said, Elden Ring remains a glorious game, one that established fans are going to savour for some time to come, and one that may just welcome new fans into the FromSoft fold. Sumptuous visual design, dark and detailed lore and a vast-but-intricate open world are reason enough to venture out into the Lands Between. Add to that FromSoftware's unforgiving and unforgettable gameplay loop and this is something truly special." -- Aoife Wilson [Full review]

　　

Polygon -- Unscored

"But, all told, FromSoftware has done more than just remix its earlier games and layer on open-world influence with Elden Ring. The studio’s conversation with the player goes in fascinating new directions, and there are great surprises here for longtime fans of Souls games; From clearly knows what we expect of its castles, its boss encounters, the random out-of-nowhere ambushes, and it plays with those expectations. Sometimes it means I die unexpectedly. And sometimes it makes me smile." -- Michael McWhertor [Full review]