I’ve completed it.

Yes, I finished my first playthrough of Elden Ring. Am I going to play through it again? Most definitely. Did I manage to get all the achievements and smack every single boss silly? Well, no.

See, here’s the thing, when I set out on this quest I had wholeheartedly decided to fully complete it. This includes exploring all the areas in detail, unlocking every achievement and getting to experience and defeat all the bosses in the game. What I found happening though, towards the end stretch of the game, I wasn’t even entirely sure that I would in fact get to an ending. My initial worry of not being patient enough for Elden Ring had finally come into play. I had found myself boasting about my newfound restraint and ability to control my frustration – naturally, this did not last.

My patience came to an absolute screeching halt when hitting the humongous brick wall that was the roly-poly Fire Giant. This was not an optional boss, I simply had to defeat him to move on… and he almost broke me. Looking back at the footage that I had decided to record of the entire game is unsettling. Initially, you could hear cuss words flying left and right, painful pleas to who knows and squeals of anger – but this soon turned to nothing. I went dead silent, not a sound, not even a defeated sigh. Something wasn’t working, I was missing a crucial detail, hadn’t entirely learned the boss, or was just plain stupid. I went in, again and again, doing exactly the same thing and praying for a different outcome. Insanity, no?

I evidently ended up defeating the last known survivor of the War against Giants – but at what cost? I found myself gunning for more bosses. The next three days just included me hunting and stalking through the Lands Between finding bosses to wipe out. I felt this almost built-up anger and debilitating blood lust to prove myself. That brick wall was once again met with Malenia, Goddess of Rot.  Now she was completely optional but oh I so badly wanted this achievement under my belt. Not only was there a Twitter uproar on the matter but I simply loved her design and the fight that ensued. Even if this did lead to me getting absolutely destroyed, Malenia starts her fight by uttering the words, “I am Malenia, Blade of Miquella. And I have never known defeat”.

I realised pretty quickly that she indeed had no idea what defeat meant but she could in fact dish that out quite easily. I found myself looking at this fight in a different light. I was frustrated, yes, but I was enjoying it much more than the Fire Giant. I think the difference is that I truly believed that I could not best the Fire Giant. But once I did I had a newfound perspective. The Fire Giant was my greatest teacher, he taught me that with persistence, the right approach and perhaps a little NPC help, I could conquer any boss. I carried that forward with me throughout the rest of my Elden Ring playthrough even when it came to Malenia. I actually enjoyed the battle, learning her openings and watching her small movements, it really was a delicate dance of many deaths.

I finished Elden Ring quicker than I think I would’ve liked to, hence why I want to play it so badly again. Fromsoftware tested me to a level that I don’t believe I’ve ever felt when thinking about video games and it’s due to that and the journey that I trudged along on that makes me hold Elden Ring so close to my heart. The stunning open world, the beautifully designed NPCs and my favourite tortoise priest (who I still visit often) truly laid out a fantastic journey for me to explore. There was so much to investigate and I’ve completed the game but there’s still so much to discover.

Did I become Elden Lord? Well, I’m still not entirely sure I deserve that title.