One Simple Thing Elden Ring Does Better Than Most Open-World Games

With Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC expansion on the horizon, plenty of Tarnished are undoubtedly revisiting The Lands Between, something that’s incredibly easy to do thanks to the most basic consideration on FromSoftware’s part: Elden Ring’s tutorial is basically optional. When the appeal of so many open-world games is the freedom to go anywhere, you’d think more of them would be quicker to get out of the way and let players explore. Sadly, some of the best open-world games ever made are front-loaded with several hours of mandatory objectives designed to explain the basic gameplay mechanics or establish characters and story. The Legends of Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are both guilty of this, as is Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Don’t even get us started on the Assassin’s Creed or Far Cry series. Worst of all, every return visit to Skyrim starts with that insufferable wagon ride, and before hitting the streets of Los Santos, GTA V insists players pay a visit to Nor