Elden Ring received an illuminating new trailer after two years of silence that has gotten fans very excited. The newest FromSoftware title had built up tons of excitement simply being confirmed to exist, despite a lack of information. Now that Elden Ring has received an update, those same excited fans are dissecting every frame of its new trailer for clues about where its story will take players, and how its combat systems will actually work. One thing that's been noticeable from the new gameplay is that the combat seems to have a style that falls almost squarely between FromSoftware's biggest games: Dark Souls and Bloodborne.
The new trailer for Elden Ring has both gameplay and cinematic elements interspersed throughout. One thing that's clear right away is that aesthetically the game more closely resembles Dark Souls than the dark palate and Victorian style of Bloodborne. Each character build shown off is carrying traditionally Medieval weaponry, and wear armor and clothing much more in line with Dark Souls. This naturally leads to attacks that suit the weapons themselves, leaping thrusts and powerful swings from the knight character, and faster slashing attacks from the more roguish one. Dark Souls players likely saw a lot of familiar combat elements.
Elden Ring's Apparent Focus On Mobility Looks Very Bloodborne
The thing that became apparent in the Elden Ring trailer, besides the obvious magical elements, is how quickly the characters are moving in combat. Even the heavier knight-style character moves much more swiftly than most Dark Souls characters. Quick rolls and some backstep animations can be seen throughout the trailer, something with which many Bloodborne players are familiar. That emphasis on quicker movement is something many Soulsborne games like Thymesia have looked to emulate. It also goes without saying that the rogue/assassin character is also very nimble, employing backflip attacks and the like.
Another interesting parallel to Bloodborne, but one that's purely conjecture based on the only available trailer, is the evident lack of shields. While Bloodborne does include one shield among its myriad array of equipment, the item's description itself basically tells players not to use it. This is a noticeable detail that many in the Elden Ring Reddit community picked up on as the natural comparisons between Elden Ring and FromSoftware titles past. The community is justifiably excited as FromSoftware has historically done a good job of adapting the success of its previous game when working on a new one.
Probably the most exciting about Elden Ring's combat are the things that are brand new. While each previous game has featured magic in some way, like the various tools in Bloodborne, The applications of magic shown off in Elden Ring so far are exciting. The rogue is seen conjuring a shadow clone of sorts in order to take down an enemy, and the knight shows off an impressive magical extension to their blade. While many elements of Elden Ring's gameplay are still unclear, this and the new mounted combat have got fans very excited. Mounted combat has never been in a FromSoftware title previously, so the implications are interesting.
Elden Ring looks to be blending together some of the best elements of Bloodborne and Dark Souls while injecting a healthy dose of new elements. Lacking firearms is definitely something more Dark Souls but if the trailer is indicative of a lack of shields, that's very Bloodborne. Balancing out the best of both worlds will be a feat, but something fans are already getting excited about. While there's still a lot of mystery surrounding Elden Ring, it's apparent FromSoftware melting pot has got fans looking hurriedly to January.
Elden Ring is set to release January 21st, 2022 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.