10 Best "The Game Is Bigger Than You Think" Moments

8. Elden Ring

This is one of those entries that's firmly in “if you know, you know” territory, and if you don’t, you’re in for a real treat.

FromSoftware making a game that’s rich in lore, expansive in scope, and riddled with rewarding exploration and surprises to stumble on isn’t news. Even so, the sheer size, visual spectacle, and thousands of critters to meet (almost all of whom are trying to kill you), is something to baulk at. Much like The Stanley Parable, the Lands Between lets you loose to go anywhere you want whenever you want, so your ‘oh my god, this game is enormous’ moment will vary from someone else’s.

Despite having a vague concept of what the map looks like from the beginning, you actually have just a sliver of an idea of how big it really is. And we aren’t talking an underground lair here or a multi-floor castle there, we mean entire swathes of land, and sprawling locations that don’t appear on the original map.

Not only can you stumble upon these areas, there are teleportation chests which, upon your interaction with them, will spirit you away to a location you probably never knew existed.

Elden Ring is a game that well and truly intends to swallow you up, and with a map this big stacked with encounters and big bads, it’s time well spent.