Easily one of the greatest open world video games that's ever existed Elden Ring will probably go on influence many others like it in the future. This thing is possibly the most packed AAA experience we've gotten in awhile without muddying the waters with pre order DLC, cut content, or a sloppy near unplayable finished release. Instead Elden Ring is such a hit because it feels like a solid video game through and through, it wasn't market tested into oblivion before releasing months earlier then it should have. I also wouldn't say the game is flawless, being packed with 100s of hours of gameplay basically guarantees reused bosses and assets past a point, the side dungeons in particular are where you'll notice this. However it's also very clear the true way this game was intended to be played is by simply focusing on a single build and not exploring 100% of the map and completing 100% of the content in a single playthrough. instead it feels like the ideal way to play the game is simply going through it multiple different times with multiple different builds and not exploring each and every thing you find. To me the end result is a virtually endless sandbox of an action RPG that dwarfs almost every open world game released before it, being one of the only games that took major notes from Breath of the Wild to release in the last few years who's takeaway wasn't simple "make the map big and empty". There is so much to see and so much to do, so many interesting builds and ways to play. To me these possibilities are the reason I play games, to have a sandbox to try things out and try different styles. I think because of this design any of the bad and notable issues it has are outweighed and I really hope other developers in the industry take something away from its design.