Perhaps the biggest surprise of June's reveal events, between the Summer Game Fest and E3 2021, was the gameplay reveal for Elden Ring. From Software's upcoming RPG is one of the most anticipated games among enthusiast game fans and they've been waiting a long time for new Elden Ring information. Now that Elden Ring gameplay has been released, From Software is more comfortable talking about its plans. Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki says the game is an "evolution," and touches on what that means.
In an interview with Famitsu, Miyazaki describes how that when he says Elden Ring is an "evolution" he means that the new RPG is building off of the work and ideas of what came before. Specifically, Miyazaki references the Dark Souls trilogy. He refers to Dark Souls' action, level design, and worldbuilding as elements of game development cultivated in order to create Elden Ring. Building on that foundation from the Dark Souls trilogy is what's led to the "evolved game" that Elden Ring is and an overall larger sense of scale.
With that larger sense of scale, Miyazaki says that Elden Ring's worldbuilding and story needed to be "thicker than ever," which is implied to mean richer or denser. Miyazaki then ties that into From Software's partnership with fantasy novel author George R.R. Martin. Miyazaki explains that Martin helped deliver on From Software's need in that area, describing how Martin wrote the "myth" or "history" that makes up the foundation of Elden Ring's world.
In terms of structure, Miyazaki has confirmed some other changes that have been made compared to Dark Souls. He explains that the "degree of freedom" when it comes to progression is much higher in Elden Ring. Players will still be defeating bosses as the main path of progress, but it's structured differently. The core story of Elden Ring is much easier to understand and the number of bosses required to finish is "very limited." The story and world is much larger than just that main path, however.
Miyazaki also confirmed that due to that structure Elden Ring will have multiple endings. Elden Ring's larger story is said to be "bigger and more multi-layered" than From's previous work. So while some players will focus on just the main story path, those that branch out into the world will discover a deeper experience and will be rewarded for it.
With that said, even with Elden Ring's increase in scope, additional story and worldbuilding, and larger world in general, Miyazaki says that he continues to play a key role in the game's writing. He says that he tries to "read everything," in addition to writing, "a lot of it directly." In that regard, Elden Ring remains as much Miyazaki's work as the Dark Souls trilogy.
Elden Ring releases January 21 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Famitsu