After being revealed at E3 2019, Elden Ring, the mysterious new IP from FromSoftware has not been generous with its updates. The announcement trailer has had fans on the edge of their seats for two years, anxiously awaiting more. The upcoming game was even awarded Most Anticipated Game at The Game Awards 2020, proving that the excitement has not died down. FromSoftware’s open-world, fantasy action RPG is on a lot of gamers’ radars for 2021, but the developer has been frustratingly silent about the game’s progress, the release date, and other details.
It would be an understatement to say that gamers are growing impatient for news about Elden Ring. Unfortunately for the developer, that long-awaited news came on March 1 in the form of leaked trailer footage featuring voiceover dialogue, gameplay, and a little bit of cutscene footage. The leaks didn't come in one piece; multiple short clips have been leaked and more could be on the way. Partly because fans have gone so long without any form of announcement, the footage has blown up online and is being circulated around Twitter, YouTube, and Reddit. It has been suggested multiple times that an Elden Ring update is close, but the leaked footage beat FromSoftware to the punch. Precious little is known about Elden Ring, the world, the premise, or the gameplay, so fans are soaking in every detail and trying to make sense out of it all.
Thanks to the leaked trailer, it’s all but confirmed that Elden Ring will feature epic battles with dragons, Dark Souls style combat, and stunningly beautiful landscapes and architecture. In true RPG fashion, the trailer also seemed to hint at the different builds players will be able to choose for their characters. Almost everything is still up for interpretation, but it looks like the playable character is sometimes outfitted in knight-like armor and sometimes in robes and a pointed hat. This could be evidence of a melee-focused build and a mage build.
What the Leaked Footage Reveals about the Elden Ring Plot
Several other details can be gleaned from the footage, but only one thing can truly be confirmed about the plot: the player is on a quest to find the Elden Ring. Elden Ring is not just the title, it’s the overarching objective and destination. It’s not much, but it’s more than fans have had to go on for a long time and the detail provides a little more information about Elden Ring's narrative possibilities.
The trailer’s narrator warns of the dangers of seeking the Elden Ring, describing how the player has gone on a long and arduous journey only to wind up at the end of the map. Based on this line, players can begin to speculate that the search for the Elden Ring will take them to uncharted territories or, quite possibly, the end of the world. The latter is a more exciting interpretation of the line and better befits the grand scope of the dialogue and visuals that have been revealed so far, but every theory should be taken with a grain of salt. The player’s motives for seeking the Elden Ring are also unclear, but this is a FromSoftware title, so the one thing fans can count on is that it won’t be an easy task.
What Is the Elden Ring?
The question of what the Elden Ring actually is remains a mystery, but it is something tangible that can be actively sought after and probably hasn’t been permanently destroyed. It could be an object or a location, but it is real and can be found. While the reveal trailer said the Ring had been shattered, maybe the purpose of the search is to mend it somehow. Whatever the true nature of the Elden Ring, the narrator in the leaked footage clearly pities the player for trying to find it.
Hopefully, more details about Elden Ring’s plot and gameplay will be officially revealed by FromSoftware soon, but fans are sure to keep dissecting the leaked footage until the developer makes its own announcement. The leaked trailer didn’t confirm much, but it revealed enough to refresh the excitement surrounding Elden Ring and give players a taste of what the adventure could hold.
Elden Ring is still supposed to release sometime in 2021 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.