I play as Sir Frank, as I named him, a so-called tarnished (ruined in Swedish) who rides a horse over a landscape that resembles a sloping trip from hell.
The map slowly opens up when I find new fragments and so-called "sites of grace".
The goal is to reach a shining tree, find The Elden Ring and finally become the Elden Lord.
Exactly what all this means is unclear at the beginning of the game and will be revealed as the adventure progresses.
Sir Franks is descended from the pale-skinned night people, one of several playable classes of fascinating origin.
They are described as "few in number and are said to have bled silver a long time ago".
Other classes are Draconian - short-lived stone faces akin to dragons and Numen - inhabitants of another world who "live long but are seldom born."
The player can choose between different professions
such as vagabond, samurai, bandit, astrologer and more.
Sir Frank became a confessor, a multi-tasker with priestly style.
Elden Ring often plays aggressively with Gothic symbolism and architecture, something creates an atmosphere of spiritual darkness.
There is only one degree of difficulty: difficult.
That's why it's so crushing for all the nerves to run around in this nightmare realm in constant fear of their surroundings.
George RR Martin and FromSoftware have built a fantasy world populated by demonic bats, ghost knights, trolls, dragons and grotesque monsters who all want and will kill you.
Runes are the game's currency and are needed both for trading and as experience points.
But if you are killed, you lose all new runes, and only have one chance to retrieve them before they disappear forever.
It does not hurt to take advantage of the well-developed multiplayer features for assistance.
The developer FromSoftware is behind the Demon Souls and Dark Souls series and is known for making uncompromisingly difficult games.
The Fire Ring is thus no exception, but in the end rewards many hours of toil with cool magical powers and stronger abilities.
As popular culture has become nerdy
, games have become popular and designed to be easier to play for anyone.
Fire Ring is not a game for everyone.
In that way, it feels like traveling 15-20 years back in time, when video games were considered a special interest for snow-capped hermits with social phobia.
Of course, this unforgiving trait is also on fire for author George RR Martin, who is known for slaughtering the Game of Thrones audience's most beloved characters without apology.
However, Martin is behind the background to the world itself in Elden Ring, while game developer Hidetaka Miyazaki at From Software is responsible for the main story.
The Fire Ring has a magnificent aesthetic and a deep mythology, but risks making many depressed by pure stress.
Personally, I hate Elden Ring, but am also willing to admit that it is one of the best games of the year.