Sometimes you just need to start over. Let go of the pressure to keep pace with your peers, step away from expectations of a wider community, or abandon game saves when they start to become a burden. Time spent doesn't necessarily mean time wasted if you're acting with the best of intentions. That's how I'm treating Elden Ring as I dive back into the fray for the first time in two years – The Lands Between haunted by echoes of an adventure I had barely even begun.
It seems as if the entire video game industry is talking about Shadow of the Erdtree right now. The Elden Ring expansion has successfully dampened the noise which emanated out of the summer showcases, and provided a moment of safe harbor for those in search of respite from the release schedule – at least before the steady wave of new games of 2024 that landed throughout the spring transforms into a tidal wave this autumn. There's little chance I get around to Shadow of the Erdtree soon, but I was looking for space to reconnect with my backlog and realized that now is undoubtedly the time to do it – so I'm back on Elden Ring, against my better judgment, and having a surprisingly good time with it.
