Since the announcement of “Elden Ring” at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) 2019, “Dark Souls” and FromSoftware fans have eagerly been awaiting information on the game. After a short story trailer and some leaked gameplay, fans are finally getting a taste of the game by means of a twenty-minute-long gameplay demo.
At a glance, this seems like the first FromSoftware game to truly embrace modern game design. While the worlds of “Bloodborne” and “Sekiro” felt very reminiscent of the classic, brutal NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) action games—wasting little space and quickly establishing atmosphere—”Elden Ring” looks more like recent open-world games like “The Witcher 3” and “Breath of the Wild”.
This apparent new design philosophy seems to impact two gameplay elements that FromSoftware’s games are known for: exploration and traversal. While “Dark Souls” and “Sekiro” had densely packed areas that were relatively easy to navigate and backtrack, “Elden Ring” has wide open spaces and rideable animals for travel.
With all the new additions to FromSoftware’s world design, one thing I hope they remember to keep is vertical exploration. Elevators, imposing towers, and cliff sides provide some of the most memorable sections of previous FromSoftware games. Although the new, open map design is a welcome change of pace, I hope we get a tall world map as well as a wide one.
In terms of combat, “Elden Ring” seems to incorporate elements of both “Sekiro” and “Dark Souls”. Rather than the slow-paced combat that the “Dark Souls” series is known for, “Elden Ring” shows off a faster-paced system that heavily emphasizes magic. Like “Sekiro”, jumping and breaking an enemy’s stance appear to be important to fighting various bosses and enemies.
While we now know more about “Elden Ring”’s gameplay and mechanics, the game’s story details remain mostly a mystery. When it was announced that “Game of Thrones” author G.R.R. Martin was going to be developing the game’s lore, I was both intrigued and confused.
While FromSoftware creates obscure narratives through cryptic dialogue and flavor text, Martin is known for his heavy focus on dialogue and internal conflict. The brutality and political intrigue that made Martin’s books so big seems to be missing from “Elden Ring”. Rather than just rehashing the same “Soulsborne” story formula, I hope “Elden Ring” provides a more high-fantasy approach to its plot.
In the art department, “Elden Ring” seems to be a departure from the “Berserk”-inspired, borderline-horror, look of “Dark Souls”. Instead, it seems to take more inspiration from traditional fantasy artwork, such as Alan Lee’s illustrations of the Tolkien books. The grand, epic tone of the released trailers is a welcome departure from the dark, oppressive atmosphere of the previous “Souls” games.
The most polarizing change for “Elden Ring” will probably be its new approach to difficulty. While NES-style punishing difficulty has been one of the signature draws of FromSoftware’s games, it’s also made their games daunting for newcomers. FromSoftware seems to be willing to change this.
In an interview with Japanese video game magazine “Famitsu”, the game’s director Hidetaka Miyazaki seems to indicate that the game will have more options to ease the game’s combat difficulty such as stealth, co-op play, and spells.
While still intense, combat in “Elden Ring” looks slightly more forgiving than its predecessors, and seems more based on creativity than skilled play. For those who have sunk many hours into more restrictive games like “Sekiro”, the adjustment to this new combat system might be difficult enough.
While I have my reservations about “Elden Ring”, I am still very much looking forward to the game’s release. The great combat and gameplay will almost certainly live up to FromSoftware standards, and it’s also exciting to have a new high fantasy story to experience. From how the gameplay demo and promotional art looks, I believe Miyazaki and Martin will deliver when “Elden Ring” arrives in February next year.