Here though, it’s much deeper and more complex, with a bunch of all-new features that should offer players a huge range of different gameplay possibilities. None of this comes as a disappointment to me, and I can’t wait to see how the Souls blueprint is expanded and made better with open-world exploration and crafting mechanics.Īs I mentioned earlier, it’s clear that the Dark Souls combat blueprint has been used as a basis for that found in Elden Ring. Of course, there are some key differences, too, but they’re more iterations on established Souls design, as opposed to all-new territory for FromSoftware.

The physics, the pace of its combat, the UI, and the strong focus on a very similar-looking progression and checkpoint system all appear signature of the Dark Souls series. Make no mistake about it: FromSoftware’s latest game is very familiar territory for the developer, and I think it’s not only going to look similar for Dark Souls fans but play in a very kindred fashion. After the most recent presentation of Elden Ring, however, it’s clear that Dark Souls is still very much the template on which FromSoftware is basing its latest epic.Īnd I say epic because that’s exactly what Elden Ring looks like - a sprawling, enormous dark fantasy open world that is absolutely Dark Souls on an epic scale. And following the launch of Sekiro Shadows Die Twice, it nearly seemed as though that might even be the case. Back in 2016, FromSoftware designer Hidetaka Miyazaki explained that he felt Dark Souls was finished as of The Ringed City DLC for Dark Souls 3, leading many to wonder whether FromSoftware would move on entirely from dark fantasy RPGs within the same blueprint as the beloved series.

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