An Elden Ring player journals their lengthy 438-day adventure with the Lands Between, putting their thoughts and sketches in writing.

An Elden Ring player has kept a journal of the adventures within the Lands Between, which they've shared a number of online after completing their 438-day journey. Elden Ring players each have their own unique experiences using the game. Some burned through it quickly, rushing through its core quests and boss fights within a short period of time. Others were completionists, diving into all of Elden Ring's dungeons and seeking out rare items. Others yet took their time, chronicling their adventure so they could think about it once it ended.

FromSoftware games like Elden Ring are particularly rewarding with regard to players who like to journal their gaming experiences. Each of FromSoftware's games is stuffed with secrets, puzzles, and sophisticated systems that usually require online investigation and tips shared inside the community to understand. Some players steer clear of the online discourse, however, and treat games like Elden Ring as deeply personal experiences. They take notes, experiment, and ponder between sessions.

Such seems to be the case for Reddit user kalamari_safari, who shared their journal using the community after finishing Elden Ring. In a number of photographs, kalamari_safari shows their note and sketch-filled journaling. They keep an eye on which locations result in which, NPCs they encounter, and frustrating foes they encounter. There are funny notes, like describing Preceptor Seluvis as a "super ***hole," and sketches of interesting figures, such as the face of Godwyn's strange corpse inside the roots from the Erdtree. All of it was collected inside a leatherbound Lord from the Rings journal.

According to kalamari_safari's Reddit thread, It took them 438 days to accomplish Elden Ring. They explain it took such a long time to beat the sport because they kept running in various directions searching for "something shiny." For example, they mention collecting every weapon and upgrading all of them between +9 and +24. They also mention deciding on the Age of Stars ending, partly simply because they wanted "to let Marika finally rest."

While kalamari_safari initially apologizes for his or her messy drawings and handwriting, they're incredibly encouraging with other Elden Ring players to create a journal for themselves in the future. Journaling, they are saying, helps make the experience a lot more immersive. "It helped me feel like I was within the game," they explain. They even went a measure further and avoided looking anything up about Elden Ring until after defeating the Elden Beast. The journal was their method of keeping track of everything.

This isn't the first Elden Ring journal, obviously. But the effort that adopts Elden Ring players' journals may be worth celebrating, particularly when they're kind enough to talk about their work online. There are so many methods to play FromSoftware's games. All of them are valid and exciting in their own individual way. Here's hoping there are other journals in the future with Elden Ring's upcoming Shadow from the Erdtree expansion.

Elden Ring can be obtained now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.