Elden Ring cover art

Elden Ring

An open-world soulslike about pattern-learning bosses while engineering a strong build.

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Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION8 /10READS1 /10VARIANCE2 /10OPTIMIZATION8 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    8/10

    Dodge timing and weapon spacing carry every fight.

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    1/10

    Bosses use scripted movesets with delayed timings, not adaptation.

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    2/10

    Open-world drops and rune farms add mild randomness.

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    8/10

    Build crafting, routes, and boss patterns are deeply learnable.

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

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Game details

Released
2022
Developer
FromSoftware
Platforms
Series X|S, PS4, Switch 2, PC, PS5, XONE
Modes
Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
IGDB critics
97/100
IGDB users
93/100
Role-playing (RPG)AdventureActionFantasyOpen world