Welcome to the Lands Between, where the trees glow, the bosses scream, and your controller will 100% leave your hand at least once. Elden Ring for Xbox Series X is FromSoftware’s brutal love letter to open-world gaming, co-developed with George R. R. Martin (yes, that one), and published by Bandai Namco in 2022. If you thought Dark Souls was tough, Elden Ring hands you a horse and says, “Good luck, Tarnished.”

Explore a massive, hauntingly beautiful world filled with grotesque monsters, cryptic NPCs, and the kind of lore that’ll have you watching lore videos at 3AM. Build your character however you want—stealth archer, blood mage, naked guy with a club—there are no wrong answers. Just bad ones. Very, very bad ones.

The freedom is unmatched. Roam on horseback across open fields, scale crumbling castles, or get one-shot by something that looks like it crawled out of your sleep paralysis. It’s unforgiving, unapologetic, and absolutely unforgettable.

Looking for retro games? Buy retro games on Retro Games eXchange and find out why everyone keeps yelling “Praise the Erdtree!” while crying in a swamp.

1. Developed by FromSoftware, published by Bandai Namco
2. Massive open world with dynamic weather, day/night cycles, and terrifying freedom
3. Deep RPG mechanics with hundreds of weapons, spells, and armor sets
4. Summon spirits, invade other players, or go full solo masochist mode
5. Co-written by George R. R. Martin—expect dragons, doom, and daddy issues