Concrete details surrounding From Software’s upcoming Elden Ring remain thin on the ground, but what has been revealed so far has been huge cause for excitement. Hidetaka Miyazaki, acclaimed Director of every game in the growing Soulsborne library besides Dark Souls 2, is at the helm once again for Elden Ring.
The game will be a more expansive affair than previous entries in the series, famed for its challenge and dense but obtuse approach to world-building, and George R.R. Martin's involvement appears to be a match made in heaven. In addition, Miyazaki has promised that Elden Ring is a "natural evolution" of the Souls series, so the scope of its world design and the mechanics of its combat can be expected to build on what came before.
Looking back at From Software's history, there are plenty of narrative and gameplay qualities that would be brilliant to see replicated and iterated upon in Elden Ring.
Storytelling: Mystery is One of the Dark Souls' Greatest Strengths
Martin's complex and watertight fantasy world-building is a great fit for Miyazaki's love for immersive and compelling settings, from the fallen kingdoms of the Souls games to the Lovecraftian nightmare of Bloodborne. Where the two great minds differ most is the mode of storytelling: Miyazaki imparts narrative through environment, flavor text, and snippets of detail from a greater, daunting whole; Martin's world-building is largely reliant on descriptive passages that organically develop characters, their conflicts, and the world they live in.
While a lore-heavy approach akin to Dragon Age could be ill-suited to a Souls-like, Miyazaki has said that the team is using Martin's lore in a similar way that a tabletop RPG player would refer to a dungeon master's handbook. From this, it seems clear that he is committed to retaining the mystery of previous entries in the Souls style, and it would be a shame for Elden Ring to miss out on this quality. Exploring Boletaria, Lordran, and Yharnam is often its own reward, with players drawn in by the allure of arcane knowledge that's always felt beneath the surface but only seen in tiny fragments that must be pieced together. Marrying this incidental research with Martin's genius is sure to be a winner.
Combat: Battle In Your Own Way
Bloodborne and Sekiro diverged most notably from the steadier, shields-up gameplay established in Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, and they found exciting new ways to test the player's mettle in grueling combat situations. Where Bloodborne did away with defensive gameplay in favor of encouraged aggression and multi-function weaponry, and Sekiro introduced balance and stance-based mechanics that broke away from the tradition of chipping away at boss's health bars, Elden Ring could offer players a choice between these styles. A blend of defensive, offensive, and skill-based combat mechanics would be more complex than the relatively straightforward combat options of Souls games past, but this would certainly feel like the kind of evolution of the formula that Miyazaki has promised.
Bosses and Exploration: Take the Long Way Round
Anyone familiar with Soulsborne games will know the frustration of a roadblock, that one boss that takes a little too much pleasure in kicking the player back to a bonfire. Perseverance and practice are par for the course, but sometimes having the option to turn away, cool off with something else, and come back later can be beneficial to the experience. Demon's Souls and Bloodborne, in particular, often have clear alternative challenges to face when the likes of Old King Allant and Vicar Amelia have worn the player's patience a little too thin. Often, the inspiration needed to find the right strategy for a tough boss can come from checking out other parts of the world, and that in itself is a sign of complete game design that rewards the player's dedication to finding a way through.
Setting: Dead Ends
That being said, not every path has to lead somewhere. The world of Elden Ring is promised to be considerably larger than previous 'Soulsborne' games, potentially even with horseback riding and expansive dungeons set to feature, so it is likely that nooks, crannies, and eerie pathways will all be vying for the player's attention. Bloodborne in particular does a great job of distracting players from the most direct course of progress, such as with the optional challenges of Old Yharnam, only to reward those players with something new to try out. Defeating the Blood-Starved Beast, for example, allows players to take on the optional chalice dungeons which often bring out some of Bloodborne's finest moments. This kind of tangential and optional discovery rarely feels like wasted time, and hopefully Elden Ring will benefit from similar ways of rewarding its most intrepid players.
Hubs Tie Everything Together
The Souls games often have a (reasonably) safe space for players to take a breather, and it will be interesting to see how Elden Ring incorporates this mechanic in a larger "open-field" setting that is rumored to have multiple Kingdoms to conquer. Whether it's detached from the main game world as it is in Demon's Souls and Bloodborne, or integrated into it like Dark Souls' Firelink Shrine, respite amidst Miyazaki's oppressive and testing worlds is an essential component to the experience.
Having somewhere to take stock, safely tinker with builds, and reap the rewards of a long stretch of battling through the games' challenges has so often been a key part of any Souls game session. After all, even the smallest comforts in such unforgiving places can take on huge significance when players need a moment to steel themselves for the next round. Or perhaps Elden Ring will find altogether new ways of delivering Miyazaki's iconic vision - it certainly seems like his most ambitious effort yet.
Elden Ring is currently in development for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.