5 Older Games to Play If You Love Elden Ring

For good reason, Elden Ring is one of the biggest games of all time. Developer FromSoftware crafted something truly special, giving fans of souls-like combat a massive world to explore, filled with challenging battles and exciting objectives to uncover. While no one game has ever matched exactly what Elden Ring pulled off, FromSoft was inspired by pieces of several games. Below, you’ll find five great games that give you a taste of what makes Elden Ring great in their own ways.

Here are five games that are great for Elden Ring lovers. This list is ordered by each game’s release date, starting with the oldest.

5) World of Warcraft

• Release Date: November 23rd, 2004

From a gameplay standpoint, World of Warcraft shares almost nothing with Elden Ring, outside of large-scale battles against massive foes. And for that, WoW is great, especially if you can get a group of friends to jump into raids with. That spectacular rivals much of Elden Ring‘s, even if the graphics are a little dated and cartoony.

The real comparison point between the two is the sense of discovery. When you’re exploring a new location in Azeroth (or the worlds beyond), you never know what’s coming over the next hill. Like Elden Ring, there is so much to see in this gigantic world, making it an exceptional game for anyone who loves exploration.

4) Shadow of the Colossus

• Release Date: October 18th, 2005

At this point, you’ll want to pick up the 2018 remake from Bluepoint, which takes the all-time classic and makes it look even better. Either way, not many games can nail scale like Shadow of the Colossus. The boss fights play more like puzzles than Elden Ring, but you’ll immediately notice a similar level of spectacle. Plus, each encounter is inventively designed, which might make you wish Elden Ring had a few more puzzle bosses.

That said, the real comparison comes from how gorgeous the environment is. Simply put, nobody does a skybox like Elden Ring, but SotC comes pretty close. You’ll marvel at the world’s beauty as you ride your horse to take down the next Colossus, and know that FromSoft’s team probably took this same path for inspiration.

3) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

• Release Date: November 11th, 2011

Like World of Warcraft, this is more about exploring a huge world filled with things to do. Even the most generous fan of Skyrim wouldn’t put the game’s combat even close to Elden Ring‘s level. That also means that if you’ve already played Skyrim (which many likely have at this point), some of the luster of discovery might be gone for you.

Fortunately, Bethesda has several more worlds to dive into if exploration is your favorite thing about Elden Ring. There are four more mainline Elder Scrolls games, though most modern players should stick to Oblivion and Morrowind to keep things simple. And if you’re willing to leave behind the fantasy setting, there’s also Fallout 3 and 4 and Starfield.

2) Bloodborne

• Release Date: March 24th, 2015

I didn’t want to make this a full list of FromSoft games, since that’s not really in the spirit of the list. However, it’s hard not to list Bloodborne here. FromSoft’s dip into gothic horror remains one of the best-playing games in the developer’s long history, thanks in large part to the perfect mix of action-heavy combat and FromSoft’s excellent boss design.

Add in a world that is begging you to explore every nook and cranny, and you have one of the best games of the last generation. If you somehow played Bloodborne and love Elden Ring, this is a must-play. I’m not sure how many of you there are, but don’t skip this exceptional game.

1) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

• Release Date: March 3rd, 2017

Breath of the Wild (and its sequel) is a game that everyone needs to try, even if they don’t love Elden Ring. If you do fall into the latter camp, BOTW needs to immediately move to the top of your list.

Again, no game quite matches Elden Ring‘s combination of open-world exploration and pulse-pounding combat. Breath of the Wild gets the closest. It’s a different type of combat, but it still encourages you to be clever in solving its encounters. Sure, you can just go toe-to-toe with your enemy, but it can be much more rewarding to outthink them. Some Elden Ring players might call that “cheesing” a fight, but I just call it being smart.

Then there’s the exploration parallels. You won’t find a game with a more engaging open world than Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring. Both developers have mastered the art of catching your eye with something in the distance that you absolutely have to see for yourself. It’s a masterclass in design, and only Nintendo and FromSoft have fully realized how to do it.

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