I began Elden Ring on its launch day in 2022. As my first FromSoftware game, it introduced a style of play I did not yet understand—and I brought plenty of assumptions and anxieties with me.
Those expectations shaped almost every decision. Instead of settling into the game on its own terms, I spent more than two years and over 200 hours approaching it in a way that never really worked for me.
A first FromSoftware game is a steep introduction
Starting with Elden Ring meant learning a demanding action RPG without any previous experience of the developer’s games. I had to work out not only how to play, but also how to interpret a world that expects patience, experimentation and persistence.
That learning process became tangled with worry about playing correctly. Rather than treating confusion as part of the experience, I allowed those concerns to guide my choices. In hindsight, that made the game feel more difficult and less approachable than it needed to be.
Two years and 200 hours without a finish
The result is an unusually long unfinished playthrough. After more than 200 hours across two years, I still have not completed Elden Ring.
That is the clearest sign that my problem was not simply a lack of time. I was carrying the wrong expectations into the game, then reinforcing them every time I played. A game built around discovery became a test of whether I was making the “right” decisions.
What the experience taught me
My Elden Ring experience is a reminder that even a highly regarded game can be approached in an unhelpful way. The difficulty was only part of the challenge; my assumptions and anxiety made it harder to find a comfortable rhythm.
Arcade games can create a similar learning curve, particularly when a cabinet demands practice before the controls feel natural. For readers exploring that side of gaming, RETROCADE’s Arcade Blog offers a starting point, while the Arcade Machine Buying Guide explains how to choose a setup that suits your space and habits.
Whether the game is played on a console or through an arcade machine, the lesson is much the same: there is no benefit in turning every session into a judgement of your progress. For a smaller setup, bartop arcades provide another way to keep games close at hand, while DIY arcade kits suit players who enjoy shaping the experience themselves.
Still unfinished
I started Elden Ring on day one, spent over 200 hours with it over two years, and still have not beaten it. The most honest conclusion is that I did not merely struggle with the game—I spent much of that time playing it the wrong way for me.
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