Is Elden Ring Bigger Than Dark Souls 3? A Data-Driven Comparison

As a passionate gamer and content creator, I‘m often asked how FromSoftware‘s latest mega-hit Elden Ring compares to previous Souls titles like the beloved Dark Souls 3 in terms of size and scale. After pouring over 100s of hours into both games, I can definitively say Elden Ring surpasses Dark Souls 3 by a significant margin in world size, gameplay length, sales, and critical reception. Let‘s dive into the data:

World and Map Size

First, the actual in-game maps. Elden Ring features a sprawling contiguous open world known as "The Lands Between" which has been estimated by players to be roughly 79 km2 in size based on travel times. This makes it over 2 times larger than Dark Souls 3‘s non-continuous world. While DS3‘s labyrinthian maps are intricately designed, FromSoftware broke new ground with Elden Ring‘s vast expansiveness. You could fit entire previous Souls games inside just one region of Elden Ring!

Sources: reddit user calculations, fextralife wiki

To put that into perspective, Elden Ring‘s world size rivals beloved open world greats like Skyrim (37 km2) and The Witcher 3 (136 km2). Developers packed an insane amount of content into every nook and cranny of The Lands Between. You could spend 100+ hours and still not discover everything it has to offer.

Main Story and Completion Gameplay Length

Now let‘s compare the gameplay length and game time. Main story playthroughs clock in at about 56 hours for Elden Ring and 32 hours for DS3. For players aiming to 100% complete all content, you‘re looking at 133 hours and 97 hours respectively based on user data from HowLongToBeat:

So in both main story and completion times, Elden Ring offers significantly more gameplay and content over Dark Souls 3. And remember, Elden Ring‘s world encourages non-linear exploration at your own pace, so playtimes can vary wildly depending on player path and playstyle.

Source: HowLongToBeat.com

Sales and Popularity

Perhaps the biggest indicator demonstrating just how massively Elden Ring has pierced the mainstream consciousness is by looking at the sales figures and number of players:

As of February 2023, Elden Ring has sold over 20 million copies globally across all platforms, while Dark Souls 3 has sold about 10 million since its 2016 release. And Elden Ring broke Steam records with over 950,000 concurrent players at launch, dwarfing anything the Souls series achieved before. It has become FromSoftware‘s best selling game ever and has dramatically expanded their audience reach.

Sources: Bandai Namco financial reports, SteamDB

The fact that such an unforgiving, mechanics-driven RPG like Elden Ring has managed to break into the mainstream just demonstrates how masterful FromSoftware‘s open-world Souls design turned out. It‘s a testament to their stellar worldbuilding and ability to turn struggle into triumph.

Critical Reception

Lastly, let‘s compare how the two titles were received critically. Currently Elden Ring sits at a 96 average critic score on Metacritic:

While the more linear Dark Souls 3 holds an 89 average critic score on the site:

Elden Ring is considered by many gaming publications as one of the best games of all time, with praise focused on its incredible sense of discovery, challenge and worldbuilding. The combination of Soulsborne gameplay translated into an open world elevated it into a masterpiece.

So critics and gamers alike believe FromSoftware took the winning Souls formula from DS3 and innovated it into something greater with Elden Ring. It represents a new pinnacle for the genre.

Verdict: Yes, Elden Ring is Bigger in Nearly Every Way

Based on all the data – world size, gameplay length, total sales and reception, I can safely conclude Elden Ring is unambiguously "bigger" and more ambitious than the excellent but more narrowly focused Dark Souls 3 in almost every metric. FromSoftware leveraged everything they perfected in the Souls series so far and put it on a grander canvas.

Yet there is an argument that more focus and linearity helped Dark Souls 3 perfect a certain rhythmic tempo and balancing lacking at times in Elden Ring. And for hardcore challenge seekers, some late-game Elden Ring bosses have been criticized as overly difficult.

But in terms of scale, scope, ambition and overall achievement – Elden Ring stands head and shoulders above any previous Souls game as FromSoftware‘s grandest accomplishment yet. It manages to retain so much of what makes these games special while inviting an entirely new audience into its enigmatic and wondrous world.

So if you enjoyed classic Souls games, do yourself a favor and explore the vast Elden Ring. Just be ready to get utterly lost within The Lands Between – in the best possible way!