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The rhythm-game-like boss battles, offering a distinct charm unlike traditional Souls-likes, are particularly impressive, and the wire-action combat using the grappling gear is genuinely fun. It’s an enjoyable experience where you can simply follow the path, honing your skills along the way without overthinking it.

The bosses are fun, the atmosphere is excellent, the design is outstanding, and both the volume and overall polish are impressive—the concept itself is great as well. The only real flaw is that it’s locked at 30 FPS and has yet to receive a remaster.

It’s a game that neatly concludes the universe established by its predecessors while striking an impressive balance between challenge and accessibility. The boss designs and attack patterns show remarkable improvement over earlier entries, and the worldbuilding, regional aesthetics, and artwork are all highly compelling. If there’s one drawback, it would be the somewhat linear feel caused by the forced use of shortcuts and the lack of organic connectivity between certain areas.

With an unprecedentedly unfriendly UI, frustratingly unfair enemy placements, map designs that often make you question whether they’re meant to be progressed through at all, and limited fast travel that only becomes available midway through the game, it’s an experience riddled with inconveniences. Yet, despite all that, its captivating characters, memorable bosses, and the sheer joy of exploration make it a masterpiece that lingers in your memory long after you’ve completed it.

If I were to evaluate *GTA V* itself rather than *GTA Online*, I would give it an exceptionally high score. Not only are the systemic elements—such as freedom and interactivity—impressively well-crafted, but the relationships between characters and the unfolding events are also deeply engaging, making the entire experience highly immersive and enjoyable.

Despite featuring a world based on Dungeons & Dragons—a setting unfamiliar to many—and employing a turn-based, probability-driven combat system that can feel unconventional, the game achieves a level of polish that transcends genre preferences. From its massive volume and compelling story to its outstanding OST and finely tuned balance, nearly every aspect is executed flawlessly. The level design, which maximizes player freedom while maintaining a natural and cohesive progression throughout the experience, is equally remarkable.

While the game offers plenty of enjoyable elements—a map comparable in size to the main installment, challenging yet captivating bosses, a more accessible storyline than its predecessors, and various engaging gimmicks—the overall density feels lacking. The open fields seem to serve merely as passageways for navigation rather than meaningful exploration, which is somewhat disappointing.

Elden Ring can be highly praised for recreating the sense of exploration that Dark Souls 1 offered. Its carefully tuned level design—which grows more challenging as you ascend to higher regions—combined with a high degree of freedom and the series’ trademark difficulty and demanding boss encounters, evokes the feeling of truly living in a new world. Although the latter portions of the game feel somewhat less dense, the impressive boss designs and overall scale of the experience more than make up for it.