Elden Ring (New From Soft Game)

[Cyrus Jong]

Was the connection of Bloodborne initially planned (and then cut) or something you could deduce from the plot (item descriptionsl dialogue, ...)? I'm not finished with BB yet but everything seemed very different from Demon's Souls so far. Oh Amygdala, give me the insight to see the answer!

The former. In an alpha build, Father Gascoigne would utter the phrase "Umbasa," which was the clergy's equivalent to "amen" in Demon's Souls. However, it was removed in the final version, and as it is, there's no concrete evidence connecting the two worlds.

 

[Phonon89]

George RR Martin on Elden Ring

Get Fire and Blood: https://amzn.to/3lXp8IL(Affiliate Link)Previous Video - George RR Martin Writing Advice: https://youtu.be/ynfKemJinVMFull Interview: http...

youtu.be

Feel free to delete this or correct me if it’s been posted.

But in this interview he straight up says the game is a sequel to dark souls.

I’m not sure if he means that literally or he’s mistaken? As many have said already the game is basically dark souls 4. But I’m curious if Miyazaki intends to somehow link the stories together beyond themes.

 

[Cyrus Jong]

George RR Martin on Elden Ring

Get Fire and Blood: https://amzn.to/3lXp8IL(Affiliate Link)Previous Video - George RR Martin Writing Advice: https://youtu.be/ynfKemJinVMFull Interview: http...

youtu.be

Feel free to delete this or correct me if it’s been posted.

But in this interview he straight up says the game is a sequel to dark souls.

I’m not sure if he means that literally or he’s mistaken? As many have said already the game is basically dark souls 4. But I’m curious if Miyazaki intends to somehow link the stories together beyond themes.

I'd take what he says with a grain of salt. It doesn't sound like even he fully understands what the project is, and I personally doubt he really cares. He doesn't seem like he's all that involved with the game's development, and most of what he had to contribute was done years ago.

 

[Griffith]

He's likely just speaking practically, as he understands and contextualizes it, rather than technically, in terms of official canon or IP (which fans inevitably get more pedantic about than the actual authors). So no, he's not likely talking about a direct in-game connection (though he wrote for it, so maybe if he thinks so; it could indicate he didn't shy away from using DS as inspiration or a basis), but in any case, for all intents and purposes this is the next Dark Souls. I mean, is it more wrong to think so than thinking it's truly different because the name's changed?

Maybe we should think of From Soft more like a band and the Souls games like their albums. In that sense this is definitely another sequel to Dark Souls in every way that matters, but it's not like the lyrics are going to follow the exact same subject matter.

 

[Aazealh]

But in this interview he straight up says the game is a sequel to dark souls.

I’m not sure if he means that literally or he’s mistaken?

Like Cyrus said, he's just talking from his perspective as someone who doesn't know much – nor cares about – video games. His comments are a confirmation of what we previously assumed: he worked for a limited time (likely days) on a setting for the game, meaning the lore, history and geography of it. "Not the plot or characters" as he says himself. Then From Software took it from there, and he hasn't really had any contact with them since.

 

[Walter]

New Elden Ring gameplay footage. Looks ambitious! Got a Monster Hunter vibe from that big dragon fight, and BotW feeling from the open-world map + marker system. But once they started the actual gameplay, it's certainly another Souls game.

 

[BerserkDrifter]

Haven't seen the gameplay preview since I want to go in with as little expectations or knowledge as possible but I really hope that From have brought something new and fresh to this game. I've loved every single Soulsbourne game but it's no secret that all of them heavily share concepts, mechanics, and gameplay systems with one another despite only 3/5 of them being in the same series. I truly want to experience that new sense of adventure and discovery I had when I first tried a From title but from what little I've read, this does seem like more of the same but just mildly different.

Here's hoping we can get something new and surprising.

 

[Aazealh]

Got a Monster Hunter vibe from that big dragon fight

It's an open secret as far as I'm concerned that the Souls gameplay was deeply inspired by Monster Hunter right from the beginning. It's certainly what the "weight" of movement and timing of attacks always evoked to me. Anyway, yeah in that trailer it very much felt like "Elden Ring: Breath of the Souls" to me. Which is fine, BOTW is a spectacular game, and it's nice to see them get more ambitious. The world really looks quite big.

I'll say though, I'm not sure how I feel about the spirit horse. It's going to be fun pretending to fly on my horse like the Skull Knight for a minute, but this sort of super easy traversal feels like a big departure and not necessarily for the better. In the previous games they really had you painfully crawl out of a hole at times and getting from one place to another felt like a real journey. You achieved something by entering a new place. But here you jump up and down cliffs like it's no problem, and there even seems to be no fall damage at all. Also, the cloak not moving while the guy falls looks so odd, hopefully they animate that before release.

I think I might have preferred an approach closer to Sekiro's, where a grappling hook allows for vertical maneuvering while still providing certain limitations. Or even BOTW's climbing. Speaking of Sekiro, I snickered when the guy said "we'll use stealth to avoid detection" and he's just walking while hunched over, three meters behind giant enemies.

Other than that I think it looks pretty damn good: environment, enemies, magic, etc. I especially enjoyed the variety of spells and abilities on display. Loved the spirit summoning in particular, but also the sword "wind attack" ability. Reminded me of Serpico's sylph sword. The "four arrows shot from a magic bow" also had a cool Irvine vibe.

 

[Guin]

New Elden Ring gameplay footage. Looks ambitious! Got a Monster Hunter vibe from that big dragon fight, and BotW feeling from the open-world map + marker system. But once they started the actual gameplay, it's certainly another Souls game.

Agreed, even some of the animations and sound effects are straight from dark souls, some slight tweaks but it feels very familiar, it's basically open world dark souls. It is the same engine I believe, it's not going to be graphically similar to the demon souls remake, but honestly it looks amazing and the art direction makes up for what it lacks graphically. I think Elden ring is the culmination of all the from games until now, it has elements from all of them, Even sekiro with the standing jump button and sneaking elements, but also so much new stuff. It's going to be hard to surpass Bloodborne for me though, I think that's the best from game, I think that game is a masterpiece. My order is probably. Bloodborne, DS1, Sekiro, DS2, DS3. all of them are great games

I'll say though, I'm not sure how I feel about the spirit horse. It's going to be fun pretending to fly on my horse like the Skull Knight for a minute, but this sort of super easy traversal feels like a big departure and not necessarily for the better. In the previous games they really had you painfully crawl out of a hole at times and getting from one place to another felt like a real journey. You achieved something by entering a new place. But here you jump up and down cliffs like it's no problem, and there even seems to be no fall damage at all.

I agree, but I honestly think they will use those jump spots sparingly, it's going to be different from Dark Souls in the way areas work, I think you will still have that sense of achievement in the smaller environments, but the horse is probably just for traversal in the larger world. But I'm bummed that there is seemingly no fall damage, I remember in Dark Souls and Bloodborne it always made you feel on edge, there could be a pit or you could misstep and you would be fucked

 

[Lawliet]

It's....it's beautiful...

Yeah, it doesn't look all that fresh, but I don't mind at all. As others have noted, it looks to have taken inspiration from BotW, which I've recently come out of. That makes me even more excited for it. The idea of exploring an open-world and discovering a multilayered castle or dungeon, From Soft style, sounds great to me. If they implement all the lessons of open-world design you can learn from BotW, this will be spectacular!

I'm also relieved about the vertical horse traversal actually. I'd rather spend time on exploration that actually matters as opposed to wasting time going around a hill or a mountain (a constant irritation for me in open-world games) before reaching the good bits.

I'll also say that I was wishing From Soft would implement some gore mechanics in their games. It should be about time, and I don't know why they haven't bothered with that. It would make combat more satisfying with that extra factor for me. Imagine cleaving through zombies or what not like Guts in a From Soft game. Ah well.

Can't wait for this game!

 

[Draculoid]

Looks fantastic as expected. One thing that stood out to me that will probably not be the case in the actual game is my perceived difficulty. They showed off so many spells and abilities, along with your summoning of spirits, that it almost made the player character look OP. I'm sure that it will be difficult to track down a lot of the abilities showcased and in the video and they won't be quite as powerful as they appear. Things like that giant beam attack just seemed so extra for a Souls game but I'm sure it'll all be done well. Also, with the fast movement of the horse, it almost seemed as though you could circle around that dragon super quickly and, if done right, it would be difficult for the boss to be able to hit you and you could cheese it. Again, I'm sure the bosses like that have some devastating AoE that the horse can't easily dodge, and I imagine that the mounted attack is very weak.

As far as the fall damage is concerned, while I certainly noted it while watching, I think that there was some clever editing and decisions being made. I have a feeling they were JUST outside the fall limit in the clips they showed, or that a small amount of fall damage might have been sustained. In such a huge world with the verticality on display, it just doesn't make sense for me that you could fall, possibly hundreds of feet, and not die. I feel that'd just appear too wonky for a From Soft game and take away from some of the exploration elements.

 

[Aazealh]

As far as the fall damage is concerned, while I certainly noted it while watching, I think that there was some clever editing and decisions being made. I have a feeling they were JUST outside the fall limit in the clips they showed, or that a small amount of fall damage might have been sustained. In such a huge world with the verticality on display, it just doesn't make sense for me that you could fall, possibly hundreds of feet, and not die. I feel that'd just appear too wonky for a From Soft game and take away from some of the exploration elements.

I mean, it could be as simple as them removing fall damage just for the demo, or having the character seriously overpowered for the sake of filming it. But... it felt odd that they'd show it so repeatedly if so.

 

[Phonon89]

Other than that I think it looks pretty damn good: environment, enemies, magic, etc. I especially enjoyed the variety of spells and abilities on display. Loved the spirit summoning in particular, but also the sword "wind attack" ability. Reminded me of Serpico's sylph sword. The "four arrows shot from a magic bow" also had a cool Irvine vibe.

I’ll definitely be making Berserk based characters if there’s enough special moves and gear to look similar.

I agree about the horse movement being a little easy. But the ability to have your character jump is a much welcome addition. It always felt strange and artificially difficult when you had to jump somewhere in a souls game.

I would be surprised if there was no fall damage at all. Was that the case in Sekiro? Perhaps certain points have no fall damage? Like in the ringed city in dark souls 3.

 

[Aazealh]

I would be surprised if there was no fall damage at all. Was that the case in Sekiro?

No, there's fall damage in Sekiro, though you can avoid it most of the time if you play smartly.

 

[Griffith]

Yeah, right off the bat it's clearly building on the same engine and animations as all the Souls games before it and then the guy straight up comes to a bonfire (or archstone) by yet another name. So, as suspected, it's Dark Souls IV, Bloodborne II, Demon's Souls VI, whatever you want to call it, it's the next! Already have it listed as my GOTY for 2022; it's Elden Ring's to lose. I just don't know if I should get it for PC or PS5 (might not matter on a game built with a tuned up engine from 2009 =).

Speaking of GOTYs though, looking back at 2020 and '21 as it comes to an end, kind of a paltry list... I think most of my favorite gaming experiences from last year were games from 2019 and before (obviously Covid was a factor, such as delaying this game), or were remakes ("remember when," the lowest form of conversation =) with the exception of the superlative Half-Life: Alyx last year. Wait a minute, Walter... did, did you ever finish Alyx, man!? I'm scared for the answer, if you lost interest at the second to last chapter or something I'm going to wait for you in the VR playground after school for a virtual slapfight.

"Play it." "No." "Play it." "No." "Play it!" "Nooo." "Play it!!" "No!" "Play it!!!" "No!!" "Oh, suit yourself then, don't play it!" ... ... "Play it?" "Hmm... Nah."

 

[Draculoid]

Watched Vaatividya, Maximilian Dood and Easy Allies impression of the early demo this morning. As expected, the game looks amazing. This small demo of the game included tons of bosses and took them on average around 7 hours to complete. Even though we already knew... this game is going to HUGE. I don't want to spoil any individual bosses or events but if you're interested I suggest you check those dudes out, they're all good content creators.

A big emphasis from all of them (and what I was expecting and hoping for most from the design) is that you're constantly being pulled in different directions through your own curiosity of "what's that over there?" and discovering more and more outside the main path. Honestly, exploration and first time discovery are some of my favourite aspects of the Souls games (like many I assume) and this games more open design allows this sense of wonder and discovery to flourish in really exciting ways.

Did anyone here sign up or get into the network test this weekend? I signed up but unfortunately didn't make the cut. Probably for the best since I'm going to be visiting friends for the majority of it anyways!

 

[Walter]

This game is out in just a few more weeks, and I feel very conflicted.

Look at this incredible game! If this were from any other studio, I'd probably be ecstatic for it. But there's so much baggage between me and From Soft at this point after so many similar games that I just can't get excited for it. Even if it's regarded as a slam dunk for From Soft, I doubt I could get into it, given that everything I've played since Dark Souls 1 has felt hollow, no pun intended.

This isn't intended to rag on the game, but to say this is all on my side, and it's pretty frustrating! ... and I'll still probably end up getting it, just to know for myself.

 

[Aazealh]

Look at this incredible game! If this were from any other studio, I'd probably be ecstatic for it. But there's so much baggage between me and From Soft at this point after so many similar games that I just can't get excited for it.

You're probably the only guy in the world for whom the devs being From Soft is a negative.
As for me, I assume it'll be good, but I'm not sure I'll have the free time to justify a day one purchase. I guess I'll see whether I feel sufficiently compelled or not...

 

[Griffith]

Look at this incredible game! If this were from any other studio, I'd probably be ecstatic for it. But there's so much baggage between me and From Soft at this point after so many similar games that I just can't get excited for it. Even if it's regarded as a slam dunk for From Soft, I doubt I could get into it, given that everything I've played since Dark Souls 1 has felt hollow, no pun intended.

This isn't intended to rag on the game, but to say this is all on my side, and it's pretty frustrating! ... and I'll still probably end up getting it, just to know for myself.

Yeah, you've been weird about this for a while now. =) Remember a decade ago when I was the reluctant cynic you couldn't get into Souls? Now I'm a thousand hours undead, and loving it! When you say baggage I think you're really talking about Dark Souls II, because I know that one hurt, and we played the shit out of it anyway on the back of the original. I think the well was already poisoned for your late forays into DS3 and Bloodborne, which is a real shame in the case of the latter since it's as transcendent as DeS and DS experienced in its own right, minus baggage. It'd be like missing out on BotW due to Zelda fatigue.

You're probably the only guy in the world for whom the devs being From Soft is a negative.

I get it objectively, it's the same thing as Nintendo making "the same damn game again!" Except they're really good! I don't blame Walter for not being excited From Soft is still doing the same thing he was tired of years ago, but this looks like it could be really be the next evolution rather than iteration. It seems they're truly expanding on these concepts for the first time since Dark Souls, whereas Bloodborne and Sekiro were more streamlined around specific core concepts, offense and defense, respectively.

As for me, I assume it'll be good, but I'm not sure I'll have the free time to justify a day one purchase. I guess I'll see whether I feel sufficiently compelled or not...

Oh, I'm bummed it got moved back a month so I won't have it this week! I actually learned that fairly late because I wasn't trying to find out too much about it ahead of time, and it honestly kind of deflated me. Now I just sit around playing SFV online at night trying to keep my win rate above 50%. It's fine though, I can wait to get into it myself, I've played a lot of these too and Sekiro might have marked my point of fatigue (though I enjoyed Nioh 2 after), but I have faith if it doesn't hook me immediately it will sooner rather than later.

 

[Walter]

It'd be like missing out on BotW due to Zelda fatigue.

To be fair, since Demon's Souls came out in 2009, there have only been 2 mainline Zelda games (Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild). From Soft has filled that 12-year span of time with 6 iterative games. They've been comparatively uh... productive!

 

[Griffith]

To be fair, since Demon's Souls came out in 2009, there have only been 2 mainline Zelda games (Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild). From Soft has filled that 12-year span of time with 6 iterative games. They've been comparatively uh... productive!

Well, they've been at it for a lot longer, multiple decades, dozens of games, including all those non-mainline games, and running back much of the same playbook since OoT if not the original Legend of Zelda. Until BotW that is, which is why people had even more skepticism about its "open world Zelda" pitch than you do about Elden Ring, until it actually came out. So, I think the comparison is still apt as far as franchise fatigue goes. Plus, it's beside the point that both BotW and Bloodborne are considered two of the transcendently best games of their generations, if not ever made, not merely "iterative" entries in their franchises. Anyway, hopefully Elden Ring similarly makes good on the promise of "open world Souls."

While we're making this comparison, I actually think Dark Souls II and III, despite their numerical canonization, are closer to non-mainline titles in the Miyazaki oeuvre. Demon's Souls (2009), Dark Souls (2011), Bloodborne (2015), and Sekiro (2019) are the "mainline" ones, and they're pretty unique (DS is actually the most derivative), but especially the latter two, and Sekiro most of all. The proof is in the pudding for me because Sekiro is different enough that I don't like it like I do the others. I do hope they implement the same level of technical sophistication to ER's combat, in addition to the open world aspects, but I'm glad they otherwise seem to be returning to DeS/DS/Bloodborne form. As I've said many times, Bloodborne's emphasis on offense, movement and aggression make it the most fun to me.

 

[4M4M]

I still haven't finished Sekiro yet...
Heck, I have never ever (properly) finished a Souls game either.
So I guess I can't purchase this game on day one.

 

[Griffith]

I still haven't finished Sekiro yet...

Well, I've finished all the Souls games, I've no hit the Orphan of Kos, I've beaten Midir and Gael consecutively on the first try of a run, I've completed Bloodborne on BL4, and I fucking SUCK at Sekiro (nice humble brag though, huh? )! Like, I got through it, but it never clicked for me and I needed every trick in the book just to get by. So, don't feel bad about not finishing Sekiro yet. I still feel like I have unfinished business with it... namely Owl (Father).

Heck, I have never ever (properly) finished a Souls game either.
So I guess I can't purchase this game on day one.

It's up to you, but I don't think you need to have finished or even played the others to get into this one. There's no official continuity from those previous games and it sounds like they're making it more accessible too (not necessarily easier, but less inscrutable), and if it's more like Souls than BB/Sekiro there will be multiple approaches to enemies that may be more comfortable to you (some of the summoning stuff already sounds OP). My point is, if you haven't experienced "the magic" of one of these games clicking for you yet, this may be the one.

 

[4M4M]

Well, I've finished all the Souls games, I've no hit the Orphan of Kos, I've beaten Midir and Gael consecutively on the first try of a run, I've completed Bloodborne on BL4, and I fucking SUCK at Sekiro (nice humble brag though, huh? )! Like, I got through it, but it never clicked for me and I needed every trick in the book just to get by. So, don't feel bad about not finishing Sekiro yet. I still feel like I have unfinished business with it... namely Owl (Father).

I LOVE Sekiro. Other Souls games were really difficult for me to the point of cheesing most enemies, bosses, skipping areas altogether to ignore annoying enemies, etc. But Sekiro with its rhythm based combat was an amazing experience. Everything is so intuitive, though I forgot how to do most things to enable other endings, secret bosses and such, so I haven't touched it in years now

 

[Guin]

I agree with Griffith i think all of their games are great, I think the first time you experience dark souls it's a very special experience because it's unlike anything you've experienced before, the other games don't quite capture that same magic as the first time I agree. But all of their games are unique in their own way. I can agree the souls games do get a little stale after a while, but they are still really enjoyable, and I always get invested in them. I think Bloodborne is their best game, it's my favourite game of all time alongside silent hill 2, it's far from hollow I think, it surpasses Dark Souls 1 in every way to me. When I first got Sekiro I wasn't sure if I liked it but once you understand and master the mechanics of the game it turns into something else entirely, once it clicked in my head and I stopped playing it like a soul's game I started to love it, that's a testament to how different each game is, they may look similar at a glance but they are all unique. I did everything in Sekiro 100% I played it over six times consecutively.
Not to brag but