GAMES · STORY NOTES

Elden Ring

Elden Ring is a 2022 action role-playing game directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki with worldbuilding provided by the American fantasy writer George R. R. Martin. Developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, it was first released on February 25, 2022, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S with a Nintendo Switch 2 version released on August 28, 2026. Set in the Lands Between, players control a customizable player character on a quest to repair the Elden Ring and become the new Elden Lord. Elden Ring is presented through a third-person perspective with players freely roaming its open world. The six main areas can be traversed using the player character's steed Torrent. Linear, hidden dungeons can be explored to find useful items. Players engage enemies using various weapons and magic spells, and can focus on non-direct engagement enabled by stealth mechanics. Throughout the game's world, checkpoints enable fast travel and allow players to improve their attributes using an in-game currency called runes. Elden Ring features an online multiplayer mode in which players join through cooperative play to fight bosses or engage in player versus player combat. FromSoftware wanted to create an open-world game based on Dark Souls. Miyazaki admired Martin's previous work and hoped that his contributions would produce a more accessible narrative than those of the company's earlier games. Martin was given freedom to design the backstory, while Miyazaki acted as lead writer for the in-game narrative. The developers concentrated on environmental scale and the story; the scale required the construction of several structures around its world. Elden Ring won several Game of the Year awards and has been cited as one of the greatest games of all time, with praise directed towards its open world, gameplay systems, and setting. It sold over 30 million copies, making it one of the best-selling games of all time. A downloadable content (DLC) expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, was released in June 2024 to similar acclaim and sold over ten million copies. A multiplayer-focused spinoff game, Elden Ring Nightreign, was released in 2025. A film adaptation is in production and is slated for a 2028 release.

Description adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Elden Ring · CC BY-SA 4.0. Text adapted for this entry.

FULL SPOILERS AHEAD

The story, including the ending.

These write-ups discuss major events and outcomes for this listed work. Each source and its coverage are identified below.

Source plot synopsis — includes the ending

=== Premise ===
Elden Ring takes place in the Lands Between, a fictional landmass ruled over by several demigods. It was previously ruled over by the immortal Queen Marika, who acted as keeper of the Elden Ring, a powerful force that manifested as the physical concept of order. When Marika eventually shattered the Elden Ring and disappeared, her demigod children began warring over pieces of the Ring in an event called the Shattering. Each demigod possesses a shard of the Ring called a Great Rune, which corrupts them with power. In the game, the player character is a Tarnished, one of a group of exiles from the Lands Between who are summoned back after the Shattering. As one of the Tarnished, the player must traverse the realm to repair the Elden Ring and become the Elden Lord.

Plot

Early on in their journey to repair the Elden Ring, the Tarnished encounters a Maiden named Melina. As the Tarnished is Maidenless, Melina offers to act as their Maiden, granting them the ability to turn runes into strength, as well as giving the Tarnished her steed Torrent. She does this under the condition that the Tarnished brings her to the Erdtree, the home of the Elden Ring. Melina later takes the Tarnished to the Roundtable Hold, a gathering place for other Tarnished seeking to repair the Elden Ring. The Hold's benefactor, the Two Fingers, instructs the Tarnished to collect the Great Runes and bring them to the Erdtree, where they can be used to repair the Elden Ring.
The Tarnished journeys into the Lands Between, investigating its various locales and defeating the demigods. They soon recover enough Great Runes so that the Two Fingers allows them to battle Morgott the Grace-Given, the demigod guarding the Erdtree. As he dies, Morgott claims that the Erdtree will not allow anyone to enter it, making the Elden Ring irreparable. The Tarnished confirms this when they approach the Erdtree and find the interior blocked by a wall of thorns. Melina arrives and advises that they journey to find the Flame of Ruin, which they can use to set the Erdtree on fire and burn away the thorns. The Tarnished is then free to journey towards the Flame of Ruin, or can search for a way to harness the equally powerful Frenzied Flame.
Upon obtaining the Flame of Ruin, if the Tarnished did not gain the power of the Frenzied Flame, then Melina will take the Flame of Ruin and sacrifice herself to set the Erdtree on fire. If the Tarnished gained the power of the Frenzied Flame, then Melina will abandon the Tarnished, forcing them to use the Frenzied Flame to set the Erdtree on fire. Regardless, the Tarnished is transported to the ruined city of Farum Azula while the Erdtree burns. After defeating Maliketh the Black Blade and using his Rune of Death to fuel the fire, the Tarnished is returned to the foot of the scorched Erdtree. Inside, they fight Radagon, Marika's consort who had been inhabiting her body, as well as the guardian of the tree, the Elden Beast. After both are vanquished, the Tarnished gains access to Marika's shattered corpse, which contains the remains of the Elden Ring. Depending on the Tarnished's actions throughout the game, six different endings can then be achieved. These range from the Tarnished becoming the Elden Lord either alone or with the backing of one of several different characters, to allowing the Elden Ring to be destroyed by Ranni the Witch, or using the Frenzied Flame to destroy the Lands Between.
Sources and content license

Source and revision history ↗ · Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Elden Ring. Section headings and formatting adjusted. · Content license