A 74-Year-Old Gamer Just Completed Elden Ring’s Hardest Test

A 74-Year-Old Just Got The Elden Ring Platinum Trophy Published Jul 21, 2026, 5:30 AM EDT Sam Woods is TheGamer’s Senior Reporter. He’s been in games journalism since 2020 and has undertaken a variety of roles in that time. These have included roles such as SEO Editor, Managing Editor at DualShockers, and Global Head of Gaming, and he's also been seen on the BBC. He was promoted to the Senior Reporter position in 2025 following a series of high-quality reports and exclusives for TheGamer. Since 2020, Sam has written over 2,500 articles and specializes in telling the stories of the people behind the games. He’s interviewed the biggest game directors, some of the industry’s top talents, told the stories of how indie games came to be, and spoken to players about what really makes them tick. He’s also interviewed some of the world’s biggest musical artists to find out how the medium has inspired their work, and TV and Film actors about their roles in video game adaptations. He even hosted a PAX panel in 2021 and made a documentary in 2024 surrounding the creation of a Disney game. Alongside this, Sam focuses on breaking news. He got the scoop on Perfect Dark’s cancellation, got context around some AI drama, and revealed how Lady Dimitrescu’s actress would love to step back into the character’s giant shoes. These articles have been picked up by the biggest gaming sites, including IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. He also loves to dive into the numbers behind the games. Sam’s journey in games journalism has taken him all over the world. He’s covered Gamescom in Germany, Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, each on more than one occasion. He’s been learning Japanese since 2024 with the intention of identifying and translating Japanese-language news and bringing it to English-language audiences first, something he’s done countless times. Sam’s first review was 2020’s Battletoads reboot, and he’s since reviewed games in The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokemon franchises. I'm not sure if you've heard: Elden Ring and its DLC Shadow of the Erdtree are hard games. They're not quite on the level of, say, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, given the freedom they present, but they're made by FromSoftware, so there is always going to be a challenge. I remember almost giving up on the game when I previewed it around 2022, but it's now a top-three all-time favorite for me. I'm confident in my abilities in the game, and it seems like I'm not the only one. A 74-year-old, known as The Elder Lord, has now proudly earned himself the Platinum Trophy on Elden Ring, joining an elite club of less than 11 percent of players who have managed the same. The 74-Year-Old Elder Lord Has Just Got Elden Ring's Platinum Trophy Elden Ring has spawned some unlikely heroes. The most notable, Let Me Solo Her, earned their notoriety by helping players beat the game's toughest boss, Malenia, thousands of times wearing no clothes and just a pot on their head. Another such player is The Elder Lord, who, in 2022, beat Elden Ring and the Shadow of the Erdtree on NG+7, at the ripe old age of 72. Two years later, he's achieved another feat not many have: Elden Ring's Platinum. Sharing his excitement on Reddit, he said: "Today, after tying up some loose ends, I got all 42 PlayStation Trophies for Elden Ring. I have like 1075 hours into Elden Ring on my PlayStation, and that’s not counting a couple of playthroughs on my Xbox Series X. I am 74 y/o. So, has anybody else my age earned all 42 trophies for Elden Ring? What a magnificent game!" The Platinum Trophy would have seen the player get multiple endings: Elden Lord, Age of the Stars, and Lord of Frenzied Flame, as well as beating some of its hardest bosses, including Malenia, Dragonlord Placidusax, Commander Niall, Elemer of the Briar, and Astel, Naturalborn of the Void. He would also have had to find all Legendary Weapons, Spirit Ashes, Legendary Talismans, and Legendary Sorceries and Incantations. Speaking from experience, they are a pain. The achievement was lauded by Elder Lord's fellow Redditors. "You truly are the Elden King," said one user. "You give me hope for my old age," said another. Released February 25, 2022 ESRB M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence Developer(s) From Software Publisher(s) Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software Engine Proprietary Genre(s) RPG, Action