Elden Ring is becoming rather infamous for the lack of information being available for it being almost inversely proportional to the FromSoftware fandom’s hype for it. There is an enormous amount of excitement for the possibility of concrete Elden Ring news at this year’s E3, and the game itself is poised to make some big waves once it lands by refreshing the almost decade-old Dark Souls gameplay style, at least in theoy. Bigger areas, more traversal options, and what appears to be a spiritual return to the “grand, sprawling adventure” feel of the first Dark Souls look to be in the cards, as well as lore written by George R. R. Martin. It seems like a recipe for success, if it ever manages to come out. So, why does it feel so familiar?
As it turns out, Elden Ring isn’t the only big Japanese action title that’s been tightly under wraps for years. Platinum Games’ much-anticipated Bayonetta 3 has also apparently been devoid of news for quite a long time, and neither Platinum, Sega, or Nintendo seem keen on showing any more of the Switch game until it has a firm release date. Elden Ring was first revealed at Microsoft’s 2019 E3 press conference on June 9th, while Bayonetta 3 was first shown a year and a half earlier at the 2017 Game Awards. These two Japanese powerhouses have been on fans’ minds for a long time with no end in sight, and that’s not all they have in common.
The Fabled Follow-Ups
Bayonetta 3 and Elden Ring are both, in at least a functional sense, sequels to beloved niche action game series. Elden Ring isn’t a direct sequel to Dark Souls, Demons’ Souls, or any of FromSoftware’s other Souls-likes, but it has always felt like it will be. Judging by the leaked trailer that showed a game that looked an awful lot like Dark Souls with more giant fields, it seems those suspicions were validated. Bayonetta 3, meanwhile, is an almost total unknown in fans' eyes, but chances are very good that Platinum’s tried and tested third-person hack-and-slash gameplay will return once again.
Not many big, 3D, AAA melee action games come out in the modern game climate, and their fans happily look into just about anything they can get their hands on in the meantime. In this case, that means that the 2019 Platinum Games title Astral Chain, the 2019 Capcom game Devil May Cry 5, and the 2020 indie Souls-like Mortal Shell were both readily received by their respective communities. Those two games even both came out after both Elden Ring and Bayonetta 3 were announced. As a kicker, Platinum Games has also just released its mobile character action game World of Demons on Apple Arcade, which, like Astral Chain, was announced and released before Bayonetta 3 had any new information. To say that fans are frustrated about all this is an understatement.
What They’re Following Up
It’s not just the fact that Elden Ring and Bayonetta 3 are sequels to well-esteemed games from their developers, it’s also the specific games they’re following up and how they do so. For Elden Ring’s predecessor, this should come as no surprise; Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a very different game from both the Souls titles that came before it and the Tenchu series that inspired it. While it’s billed as a ninja action game by FromSoftware, Sekiro is more like Ninja Gaiden than it is Dark Souls or Tenchu. Combat is the focus, with precise defense and well-timed offense being the name of the game. Sekiro also didn’t allow for much build variety, something Elden Ring’s leaked trailer has shown returning in full force.
Bayonetta 2 was very well-received at launch, garnering praise for fixing many of the issues with the first game. Unfortunately, as the hardcore community dug into it, they started to realize that this was not the Bayonetta 1 they had fallen in love with. The pacing and difficulty were all over the place, and both ended up falling flat compared to the first game. A lot of this had to do with the new Umbran Climax, a Sin Devil Trigger-like super mode that used the magic meter in place of Torture Attacks and Wicked Weaves. This mode was so strong that other options were rendered obsolete. Throw in the fact that common enemies could break out of combos and that the scoring system was more lenient and based on damage rather than variety, and it’s plain to see why the fanbase wants Bayonetta 3 to be a return to form.
Big Changes
Finally, the main talking point around Bayonetta 3 and Elden Ring is the new features they will bring to the table. Elden Ring, as previously mentioned, will be a more sprawling “open field” approach to the Dark Souls formula. Horseback-riding will be a major part of getting around the largest world FromSoftware has ever made, supposedly. If the leaked trailer is to be trusted, there will also be slightly bigger emphasis on alternate movement types, like sneaking and jumping. It remains to be seen if Sekiro’s swimming will join in to complete the trifecta, but the resulting game will still have to be designed in a radically different way compared to the Souls games that came before it.
Bayonetta 3 is also expected to shake up the series formula, but aside from a few vague developer statements and the metaphor-steeped reveal trailer, not much is known about what the game will actually be like. It seems like there may be an attempt to make a much more sprawling open field game in the same vein as Elden Ring, which makes sense given the previous two Bayonetta’s penchant for encouraging exploration. Hardcore fans are just hoping that it will walk back some of the decisions made in 2’s design. As for what the trailer itself implies, it seems that Bayonetta herself could be split into two different-playing versions of herself by a powerful foe, but that’s just a literal interpretation of what’s in the trailer. With any luck, Bayonetta 3 and Elden Ring will both be ready for a burst of new information in the near future.
Elden Ring and Bayonetta 3 are in development.