ELDEN RING
Intense overall intensityWhat's in it
Melee and magic combat against human, undead, and monstrous foes with blood spray, severed limbs, and gory death animations.
Heavy bleak subject matter throughout: genocide of races, madness, grief, decay, and the corruption and downfall of god-like demigods.
Several grotesque bosses and enemies appear with exposed or partially bared flesh in an artistic, non-erotic style.
Grotesque body horror, ambush enemies, and unsettling locations such as catacombs and rot-infested swamps create frightening moments.
Dismemberment occurs in combat, and one major boss visibly grafts severed limbs onto his body.
Blood rituals, communion rites, and summoning imagery appear in certain areas and questlines.
Wildlife and beasts such as wolves, bears, and boars can be hunted and killed as ordinary combat.
Lore and certain scenes reference tormented and imprisoned figures suffering at others' hands.
A few characters and bosses are presented with suggestive tone or dialogue, and one boss (Rennala) is framed around themes of childbearing; nothing explicit is shown.
Occasional mild profanity in NPC dialogue.
Who can reach your kid
What it is
Elden Ring is a large open-world action role-playing game set in a grim dark-fantasy realm where the player, a warrior called the Tarnished, battles knights, monsters, and fallen demigods to restore a shattered magical artifact. Gameplay centers on demanding sword-and-sorcery combat with frequent blood, grotesque body-horror enemies, and difficult boss fights. The world's tone is heavy and mournful, dealing with death, madness, familial corruption, and ritual bloodshed, and includes partial nudity on some enemy designs. Online play is limited to co-op summoning and PvP invasions with preset message stones and gestures rather than open voice or text chat, and there are no in-game purchases.
How it's framed
The game frames its violence and dark subject matter through a somber, mythic lens: fighting is the core survival mechanic in a decaying world, and cruelty, corruption, and suffering are presented as tragic consequences of a broken divine order rather than celebrated. Story and lore are told indirectly through item descriptions and environments, leaving much of the darkness implied and open to interpretation.
Details
- Developer
- FromSoftware, Inc.
- Publisher
- FromSoftware, Inc.
- Released
- Feb 24, 2022
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