Elden Ring may not release for some time yet, but loyal fans are already anticipating a worthy follow-up in Elden Ring to the likes of Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Over the years, From Software has created a long line of brilliant games with consistent quality and groundbreaking design philosophy, and Elden Ring will have to live up to that tradition. It is easy to assume that FromS oftware will strike again with its newest game, but looking at the success of past titles, the changes that Elden Ring will make, and the stiff competition that the game will likely have, the gargantuan task of making Elden Ring stand out as yet another masterpiece becomes clear.
Elden Ring is arguably the most new and revolutionary game that From Software has ever made, even more so than Sekiro, which was no small fry. With a much larger open world, collaboration with George RR Martin of Game of Thrones, a return to From Software's traditional dark fantasy, and the introduction of new Norse lore elements and even deeper RPG mechanics, Elden Ring represents the synthesis of many highly-ambitious elements into a single promising package. Whether or not it can live up to the hype that each of those elements inspires is a big question, but From Software rarely lets its fans down.
Elden Ring's Heavy Competition
The first major challenge that Elden Ring will have is due to its setting and mechanics. It's not that making a large-scale, challenging, Norse-inspired, triple-A RPG is too much of a challenge for From Software, but it's that there will be a lot of great games that fit that exact description to contend with. Assassin's Creed Ragnarok, God of War 2, and Elden Ring will all be big-budget RPGs with Norse-inspired settings if all the fairly robust leaks and rumors are to be believed.
Elden Ring will most likely take a more original approach to Norse mythology than the likes of the rumored Assassin's Creed and God of War 2, but the broad similarities remain in genre, mechanics, and themes. Even if Elden Ring manages to exceed the expectations set on it as a scion of the Dark Souls lineage, it will have to contend with some very heavy hitting titles that will look strikingly similar to it at first glance.
How Elden Ring can Live Up to Dark Souls
Dark Souls left behind a huge legacy that changed games, and especially RPGs, permanently. Games like Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3, and Sekiro all continued to live up to that legacy by expanding on the original game's ideas and bringing fans more of From Software's signature level design, lore, and challenging combat. That also leaves some huge shoes for Elden Ring to fill though, especially since it will likely be a lot closer to Dark Souls than Sekiro and Bloodborne.
Elden Ring will be going back to dark fantasy, and that means that it will be compared much more closely to Dark Souls. It is practically impossible to completely live up to such a groundbreaking title, but nonetheless there will be a lot of scrutiny placed on Elden Ring. Seemingly, the game will be much bigger, more beautiful, and more polished than Dark Souls now that From Software has that many more years of experience, but its similarities to the original mean that Elden Ring will doubtlessly be compared to the impact that Dark Souls had in its own time.
The other big similarity that Elden Ring shares with Dark Souls is its RPG sensibilities. While the game has been teased to have even deeper RPG mechanics, it will be an ideological return to what the original Dark Souls was meant to be. Bloodborne and Sekiro shied away from a heavy RPG formula, but Elden Ring seems to be a way for From Software to expand on the other side of the Souls-like formula.
How Elden Ring Could Surpass Sekiro
The other big title that Elden Ring needs to live up to is Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Sekiro was so important because it was a major evolution in Souls-like combat and traversal, but it also had the biggest budget, largest scale, and most polish of any From Software game up to that point. Elden Ring will be even bigger, and it will definitely have to deliver on that scale. Elden Ring will take a very different approach to its design than Sekiro, but its polish and originality will have to be at least on par for it to be considered a worthy successor.
To surpass Sekiro, Elden Ring needs to learn from previous titles, but also set itself apart. The most tantalizing aspect of the game's unique evolution on the Dark Souls formula is Elden Ring's open-field concept, which would go a long way towards changing up the traditional From Software level design that fans have come to know and love. Sekiro changed it up with the introduction of a grappling hook, but Elden Ring's entirely different level structure is another step beyond its typical vertical level design.
A fresh new mythos sourced from a collaboration with George RR Martin is also a big step in the right direction, since it will go a long way towards preventing repetition and stagnation in From Software's storytelling. There is more storytelling gold to mine from Miyazaki's signature focus on cycles, nihilism, and rebirth from decay, but the injection of just a little outside influence promises to freshen up the storytelling to the direct benefit of players and lore-hounds.
Of course, that also means that Elden Ring will have to live up to the reputation of George RR Martin, whose Game of Thrones mythos is one of the most iconic fantasy settings in recent memory. With so many legendary creators involved and such a pedigree behind it, Elden Ring seems like it will have to be good to meet fan expectations. That being said, From Software has churned out a lot of great games, and for now, it seems nigh infallible.
Elden Ring is in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.