He's written books like Game of Thrones, The Winds of Winter, Fire and Blood and A Dance with Dragons. It's not a surprise that he's involved with Elden Ring.
The Sen's Tower in Dark Souls is a very perfect example for me support your assessment. And also, the Memoria in Final Fantasy 9 can't be overemphasized.
I can mention at least 5 of such games that came in a way that most gamers never really believed it would do good. They are ;
1. Until Dawn
2. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
3. DMC
4. Doom 2016
5. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Yeah, I do look forward to having the game come out within the same time frame of 5 years at most. If it takes longer than that, it might lose its value.
I can't forget how I used to beg my peers who's got Gameboy first in the neighborhood to play with their game. It was really hard then before I later got mine.