Elden Ring

Game images by RAWG

Elden Ring

FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment

PC; PlayStation 4; PlayStation 5; Xbox One; Xbox Series X|SPremium single player title with optional DLC

Health Score

DECENT

Official Website Watch Gameplay

About This Game

Super Review

Elden Ring is a vast, challenging action RPG that demands persistence and strategic thinking, offering immense satisfaction for those who overcome its relentless difficulty. Parents should be aware of its frequent violence, dark fantasy themes, and the potential for frustration, making it a qualified fit primarily for older, resilient teens.

Super Review

Parent verdict

Elden Ring earns a 'Decent' health score of 49, indicating it's a qualified fit that works best for specific, older players with parental guidance. Its brutal difficulty and mature themes mean it's primarily suited for resilient teenagers aged 13 and above who thrive on challenge and dark fantasy narratives. Parents will need to weigh the significant benefits of persistence and strategic problem-solving against the high potential for frustration, frequent violent content, and occasional online social risks. Clear limits on session length and screen time are advisable.

What kids actually do

Players will extensively explore a vast, open-world fantasy setting, uncovering hidden areas, optional bosses, and cryptic lore. This encourages curiosity and a strong sense of discovery.
Players repeatedly engage in challenging combat, learning enemy attack patterns, timing dodges and attacks, and strategizing character builds to overcome powerful bosses. This builds persistence and pattern recognition.
Players customize their character with a wide array of weapons, armor, spells, and abilities, adapting their playstyle to different challenges and experimenting with various combat approaches. This fosters strategic thinking and problem-solving.

Where it shines

The game excels at teaching persistence and resilience, as players must repeatedly attempt difficult encounters, learn from failures, and adapt their strategies to progress.
Elden Ring offers a strong sense of discovery and mastery through its expansive world and deep combat mechanics, rewarding players who invest time in exploring and perfecting their skills.

Parent watch-outs

Its extreme difficulty can lead to significant frustration and repeated failures, which might be discouraging for less patient children.
The game features frequent violent deaths, blood and gore, and dark fantasy monsters, making the content intense and potentially disturbing for younger audiences.
While primarily a single-player experience, optional online messages and invasions can occasionally expose players to crude language or hostile interactions.

Family rules worth setting

Set clear time limits for play sessions, especially given the game's difficulty and potential for extended periods of focused concentration.
Discuss expectations around frustration. Remind your child that difficulty is part of the game's design and encourage them to take breaks when feeling overwhelmed.

Talk about this

How does Elden Ring teach you to be persistent? What do you do when you face a challenge that seems impossible?
Let's talk about the online elements. Have you seen any messages or interactions that made you uncomfortable, and how would you handle that in the future?

Play style

Elden Ring is a demanding single-player experience with a session rhythm that can vary from short, intense boss attempts to long stretches of exploration. It features extremely high difficulty, requiring patience, precise timing, and strategic planning. Children will face frequent deaths, but each failure is a learning opportunity. The game can be played entirely offline, minimizing social risk, but optional online features allow players to leave messages for others or engage in player-versus-player combat. Children will often need to research strategies or character builds online to overcome certain obstacles.

Score Breakdown

Positive Aspects

Educational Value

1/5

Creativity

2/5

Pro-Social

2/5

Risk Factors

Addictive Monetization

1/5

Time Pressure / FOMO

1/5

Social Risk

1/5

Content Intensity

4/5

Why this rating

Educational Value

1/5

While Elden Ring heavily promotes persistence and strategic problem-solving, its educational value beyond these specific skills is limited. The game's primary focus is on combat and exploration rather than academic or broad developmental learning, leading to a low score of 1.

Addictive Monetization

1/5

Elden Ring is a premium single-player title with optional DLC, meaning it avoids the manipulative design often found in free-to-play games. There are no loot boxes, gacha mechanics, or pay-to-win elements designed to encourage excessive spending, resulting in an excellent score of 1 for addictive monetization.

Content Intensity

4/5

The game features frequent, explicit violence, blood and gore, and pervasive dark fantasy themes with grotesque monsters, justifying a high content intensity score of 4. This level of mature content is a significant watchout for parents and directly contributes to its M (Mature 17+) and PEGI 16 ratings.

Negatives

•Very difficult and potentially frustrating
•Dark themes and frequent violent deaths
•Online messages and invasions can occasionally be crude or hostile

Positives

•Excellent at teaching persistence
•pattern recognition and strategic thinking
•Strong sense of discovery and mastery
•Offline play minimizes social risk

Gameplay Videos

ELDEN RING Gameplay Walkthrough FULL GAME [4K 60FPS PS5] - No Commentary

MKIceAndFire

1 of 3

Other Recommended Games

Spiritfarer

Thunder Lotus Games

74/100

Same platform, Similar gameplay style, Higher health score

LEGO Harry Potter Collection

TT Games; Double Eleven (remaster)

70/100

Same platform, Similar gameplay style, Higher health score

The LEGO Ninjago Movie Video Game

TT Games / Traveller's Tales (TT Fusion). citeturn3search12

70/100

Same platform, Similar gameplay style, Higher health score

Project Zomboid

The Indie Stone

70/100

Same platform, Similar gameplay style, Higher health score

Official Ratings

M (Mature 17+)

ESRB

Blood and GoreLanguageSuggestive ThemesViolence

In-Game Purchases (DLC)

PEGI 16

PEGI

ViolenceIn-Game Purchases

Age Fit

ℹ️Ages 3-5

Not suitable; content is too intense and the gameplay is far too difficult.

ℹ️Ages 6-8

Not recommended; content intensity, dark themes, and extreme difficulty make it inappropriate and likely frustrating for this age group.

ℹ️Ages 9-12

Generally too intense and difficult; may only suit a very mature and resilient twelve-year-old co-playing with an adult, but still on the edge of suitability.

ℹ️Ages 13-15

A qualified fit for teens who enjoy very difficult fantasy games and can handle frequent gore, dark themes, and significant frustration, with clear parental guidance.

ℹ️Ages 16-18

Suitable for older teens who seek a deep, challenging, and mature action RPG experience.