There are a lot of reasons to be excited about the upcoming release of Elden Ring, rumored to come out in June 2020. Among them are FromSoftware's return to dark fantasy, the involvement of George RR Martin, the renewed focus on RPG mechanics, and the massive open world. Fans who love FromSoftware's crisp combat, penchant for environmental storytelling, or both will likely be in for something truly special. The studio has yet to disappoint with its departures from the Dark Souls series in BloodBorne and Sekiro, but a return to the dark fantasy that put it on the map is something to pay attention to.
One of the big features of Elden Ring that fans are looking forward to is the new lore and storytelling that will come with a new setting. Miyazaki and his team are masters at worldbuilding and experiential storytelling, but over the course of three Dark Souls titles, the story of that setting was very neatly wrapped up and even verged on repetitiveness. A return to dark fantasy is dangerous for FromSoftware, since it stands a high chance of over-using the same tropes. There are some core themes from Dark Souls and other FromSoftware games that definitely deserve to be included in Elden Ring, though. There are plenty of great story notes that are relatively unique to FromSoftware games that players aren't yet tired of exploring.
The appeal of having George RR Martin on the Elden Ring story team is that there will be all new lore from a fresh creative mind, but Miyazaki consulted heavily with Martin on the core principles of the game and its story. Martin's influence alone should set Elden Ring apart from Dark Souls significantly, but there is plenty more Souls-type material to explore. FromSoftware's games all seem to center around nihilistic struggles between humans and dubious deities, with the power of persistence and self-determined purpose central to achieving victory. Elden Ring has the chance to be the best medium for conveying those messages that FromSoftware has ever made.
The Nature of Humanity
There is plenty of evidence that Elden Ring's story will be similar to Dark Souls, but there is plenty of room to speculate on how that will be. The participation of George RR Martin certainly suggests at least one theme that will appear in Elden Ring. Both Martin's books and FromSoftware's games tend to show many different sides of human beings, ranging from the wholesome and inspiring to the sinister and ugly.
Something that fans find in FromSoftware's lore time and time again is the nature of humans and humanity in general. In Dark Souls, humanity was meant to inherit the world, but Gwyn feared the darkness that is inherent to humans and bound them to the flame, propping up the world of gods long beyond its natural lifespan. Likewise in BloodBorne, humans' natural curiosity led to the release of lovecraftian horrors into the world, revealing both the selfishness and the heroism of the people in Yharnam.
These themes are also shockingly similar to the way that people are depicted in George RR Martin's work. If there's anything that Elden Ring should take from Game of Thrones, it is the depiction of people as complex beings capable of both betrayal and heroism in equal measure. Complex politics, multifaceted factions, and individuals that range from vindictive to utilitarian to noble are all story components that lend themselves very well to FromSoftware's brand of dark fantasy.
Questionable Gods
In direct contrast to humans in FromSoftware lore, gods are typically selfish, dubious, or unfathomable. The gods of Dark Souls were deeply flawed, selfishly propping up a dying world for their own benefit even at the cost of its ultimate destruction. BloodBorne's gods are unknowable lovecraftian creatures, which by their very nature are beyond human ken. Likewise, the divine dragon of Sekiro is less of a deity and more of a mysterious, powerful creature that humans desire for its immortality. It seems like Elden Ring will include aspects of Norse mythology, which certainly had its fair share of deities with notably flawed personalities.
Borrowing from Norse mythology is a great way for Elden Ring to set itself apart from Dark Souls while still playing with familiar ideas. With the right touch, Elden Ring will be able to take all the best parts of FromSoftware's games and hone them into a great story. By branching out with BloodBorne and Sekiro, the developers learned a lot of important lessons, and its time to bring them home to their most comfortable stomping ground- dark fantasy.
Finding Purpose in a Wasteland
Hidetaka Miyazaki, Elden Ring's director, stated that he sees the real world as a wasteland. That isn't necessarily a bad thing though. He went on to clarify that part of his creative process is trying to find the beauty in a cruel world, which results in the eerie landscapes and rich stories that Dark Souls fans know and love. That's definitely something that Elden Ring should carry forward in its design. Even though the gods may be cruel and the world may be crumbling, there is still purpose and beauty to be found just by making it through.
As fans will remember, some of the hardest zones in Dark Souls were also the most beautiful, and the most fun to complete. It sends a very uplifting message that part of the point of the games is for players to find their own joy even in places that are punishing and brutal. For all the pessimistic nihilism of FromSoftware's worlds, the flip side of that nihilism is the sense of achievement that comes from persisting and seeing each journey through to the end.
The Power of Persistence
All of this is why the power of persistence is the most important theme that Elden Ring can take from its predecessors. If early Elden Ring gameplay details are to be believed, the game will be challenging and harsh in typical FromSoftware fashion. There has been plenty of debate over the difficulty and accessibility of FromSoftware games over the years, but the difficulty of their games is actually part of the main point of their storytelling.
Dark Souls is famous for its tough bosses, but the point of having such difficult enemies in the first place is to make the story more impactful. Part of the deep satisfaction of playing a Dark Souls game is in dying, getting up, and trying again until the player has mastered the combat enough to finally win. That persistence is part of the core of the game's story too. Those who lose their purpose give up along their journey end up as mindless hollows, and the only way to see the story to the end is to not give up, no matter how many failures are suffered. If Elden Ring can get that right, it will automatically be one of the best Souls-like games to date.
Elden Ring is currently in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.