Elden Ring was honestly my first. I avoided Soulslike games because I don't like to play games to feel frustrated. I heard about the crazy bosses, frustrating runs back from bonfires, and obtuse storytelling, so I was not inclined to give them much thought.

I was pushed to play it by a few friends looking for a third for a summons trio, with assurances that I'd have two Souls veterans to help me out with bosses if I got stuck. It took me a bit to get used to, but the nature of the open world and the rather more forgiving placements of graces/stakes to minimize the pain of runbacks made it a bearable game for me. Though the story is still obtuse, I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and how (excluding Caelid) surprisingly not dark the world was.

And you know what? I ended up being the friend to help one of them beat Malenia, who I defeated on my own first.

I've been enjoying Nightreign with those same friends lately. More good stuff, boiled down. It's made me get more comfortable with different playstyles just due to the nature of pre-built characters and random drops.

I'm also now playing through the remake of Demon's Souls on a whim, and while I feel better equipped to get through it just from what I know about Elden Ring, I can safely say that I would have completely bounced off of it had it been my first game. I'm definitely glad Elden Ring was my first, and Elden Ring 2 cannot come fast enough.