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  1. Games
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Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree leads PLAY’s open world special

News
By Oscar Taylor-Kent published 30 April 2024

Plus: the secrets to crafting your favourite digital worlds revealed, the evolution of the genre, Monster Hunter, and loads more!

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

PLAY Magazine
(Image credit: Future, FromSoftware)
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Worlds worth getting lost in are the bread and butter of gaming. This month is all about celebrating that, kicking off with a look at FromSoftware’s hefty expansion for their unique take on open worlds, Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree.

But that’s not all, we give our final verdicts on Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Rise Of The Ronin, talk to developers about the secrets behind creating worlds, and chart the history of the genre from PS1 to PS5. Plus, loads more, of course.

Subscribe to PLAY Magazine here to save on the cover price, get exclusive covers, and have it delivered to your door or device every month.

Article continues below
You may like
  • In Cyberpunk 2077, V leans against a car and looks out towards the bustling Night City 10 Best open world RPGs to play in 2026, from Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 to Elden Ring
  • Best Ps5 games Best PS5 games: The 25 greatest PlayStation 5 games in 2026, ranked
  • A screenshot of a man holding red fire in his palm in Elden Ring Tarnished Edition on Nintendo Switch 2 I played Elden Ring Tarnished Edition on Nintendo Switch 2 and rolled through the Lands Between as the new Knight class

Or buy the current issue here!

Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree

PLAY Magazine

(Image credit: Future, FromSoftware)

FromSoftware is one of the best in the business when it comes to their expansions. Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree is different only in the fact that it seems to be their most ambitious yet, well deserving of the long development cycle. We dig into why this new region to explore isn’t just substantial, but will change the way you think about Elden Ring forever.

CD Projekt Red, Larian Studios, HoYoverse and more on the secrets of world design

PLAY Magazine

(Image credit: Future, HoYoverse)

So what goes into making your favourite gaming worlds? We sit down to chat to the world-crafting masters at Larian Studios, Techland, HoYoverse, CD Projekt Red, and Billy Goat Entertainment about it. That’s a whole lot of different genres and approaches, but one thing’s for sure, it’s not easy!

Open World evolution: from PS1 to PS5

PLAY Magazine

(Image credit: Future, Sony)

And how did open world gaming get here? To chart the course, we return to PS1 to pick apart the roots of the genre, then follow that through each console generation to take a look at how it’s evolved over time, how you define an open world, and what’s moved things forward.

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Dragon's Dogma 2 soars into Reviews

PLAY Magazine

(Image credit: Future, Capcom)

But what about new open world games? Our hefty reviews section is led by two games: Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Rise Of The Ronin. Perhaps the biggest games in the genre to launch on PS5 this year, both of these huge reviews dig into these landmark releases down to the finest details.

Plus: Harold Halibut, Planet Zoo, Unicorn Overlord, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League - Season One, and more!

From San Fran with games: the GDC report

Images via flickr.com/photos/officialgdc under CC 2.0

(Image credit: Images via flickr.com/photos/officialgdc under CC 2.0)

You’ve heard about worlds in games, but what about the wider gaming world? We report back from the annual Game Developers Conference, look at the future of Monster Hunter on PlayStation, look at the re-reveal of Marvel 1943, and more in our Insider section.

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  • In Cyberpunk 2077, V leans against a car and looks out towards the bustling Night City 10 Best open world RPGs to play in 2026, from Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 to Elden Ring
  • Best Ps5 games Best PS5 games: The 25 greatest PlayStation 5 games in 2026, ranked
  • A screenshot of a man holding red fire in his palm in Elden Ring Tarnished Edition on Nintendo Switch 2 I played Elden Ring Tarnished Edition on Nintendo Switch 2 and rolled through the Lands Between as the new Knight class

Previews get dangerous

PLAY Magazine

(Image credit: Future, Bandai Namco)

We also shuttle off to a dangerous world in Synduality: Echo Of Ada, where our mech mastery is the only way to survive. Plus we also take a look at System Shock, Asphalt: Legends Unite, Multiversus’ return, Visions Of Mana, Kunitsu-gami: Path Of The Goddess, and more!

RetroStation

PLAY Magazine

(Image credit: Future, Sony)

And who can forget about the all-star world of baseball? In this months’s RetroStation we rewind the clock to a classic season: MLB 11: The Show. A landmark release for Sony, it remains a definitive sports sim to this very day. Plus, the brief history of reboots, Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier comes to PS5, and more!

Subscribe and save

PLAY Magazine

(Image credit: Future, FromSoftware)

Want even more? Then consider subscribing to the magazine for more fantastic access and insightful commentary on all the latest PS5, PS4, and PSVR games. We deliver to your door (or device) each month with exclusive subscriber covers, and subscribing saves you a chunk of cash while supporting the magazine directly. We can’t do what we do without your support!

You can subscribe to the print edition (which comes with digital access), or just digital version – all subscriptions even come with access to all the back issues instantly so there's no need to wait! Whatever you choose, you’ll be receiving an unprecedented trove of dedicated PlayStation coverage every month.

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Oscar Taylor-Kent
Oscar Taylor-Kent
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Games Editor

Games Editor Oscar Taylor-Kent brings his years of Official PlayStation Magazine and PLAY knowledge to the fore. A noted PS Vita apologist, he's also written for Edge, PC Gamer, SFX, Official Xbox Magazine, Kotaku, Waypoint, and more. When not dishing out deadly combos in Ninja Gaiden 4, he's a fan of platformers, RPGs, mysteries, and narrative games. A lover of retro games as well, he's always up for a quick evening speed through Sonic 3 & Knuckles or yet another Jakathon through Naughty Dog's PS2 masterpieces.

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