Celebrate one year of Elden Ring with our 12 favorite features in the Lands Between

gamesradar.com:

As a game rooted in paradoxical time cycles, it seems fitting that Elden Ring feels both recent and ancient. On one hand, it's difficult to believe that it's already been a full year since FromSoftware's latest, brutally challenging action RPG first graced our screens; and yet on the other, it's had such a huge impact – on its respective genre and the wider landscape of mainstream video games – that it's already hard to picture the entertainment world without it. 

Part of that's down to the involvement of Games of Thrones novelist and screenwriter George R.R. Martin who assisted in the Lands Between's creation, but most of it's down to the fact Elden Ring is a remarkable video game. Its myriad Game of the Year accolades speak directly to that, as does much of GamesRadar+'s commentary over the last 12 months. Here, we gather our 12 favorite features to this end – each of which underlines why this game has captured the hearts and minds of so many players since its launch on February 25, 2022.

Elden Ring review

It takes a special game to earn a five-star rating at GamesRadar+, and Elden Ring more than earns its place among the pantheon of our greatest games. Joel Franey writes: "When Elden Ring hits the rails, the momentum carries it forward and refuses to slow down… It might not be as groundbreaking as its inspirations, but taken on its own terms, Elden Ring might be the best of its brethren – and that's something I'm still struggling to believe has actually happened."

Elden Ring lets you play Prop Hunt with its enemies thanks to 'Mimic Veil'

Elden Ring was even causing a splash pre-release, with players uncovering a number of its would-be secrets during its extensive play test weekends. During one such session,