Having had the pleasure of enjoying Elden Ring in its full glory in an early preview, we definitely had some burning questions to ask the FromSoftware team about their approach to their latest creation. Thankfully, the studio’s Yasuhiro Kitao was back once more for a group interview and talk more shop, and give us more of an insight into how Elden Ring came to be, what it could become, and how it is likely to be the studio’s most accessible title.
To say that FromSoftware understands its audience is an understatement. After all, this is the studio responsible for some of the toughest and most challenging games in the modern gaming landscape, crafting narratives that more often than not require a deep investment to appreciate and understand, but its following has never been more strong.
To that end, Elden Ring represents a love letter to those fans, as well as an invitation for others to experience some of that FromSoftware magic that many already know about.
“Naturally, we feel like Elden Ring is in a good place right now. It feels good after seeing the results of the network test last year, and hearing the feedback from fans. So we’re confident that it’s going to meet expectations,” Kitao shared.
“Elden Ring is a bit more of a mixed bag. It has various elements adapted and tweaked from our back catalogue that we wanted to employ and match this brand new world on this new level of scale and scope. So in that sense, it really is a sort of combination of our previous experience. And it’s something that there’s a lot of expectations riding on it in terms of it being a new flagship for the company.”
Learning from the past is almost always a good thing, and lessons have been applied for almost all facets of the game, just like from the Closed Network Test.
“Elden Ring is a traditional successor to the Dark Souls series, it’s our next big fantasy action RPG. So we wanted to take that series as a base and expand on the scope and scale of it in ways we couldn’t before. Of course, this isn’t just a copy and paste job, we have to actually adapt and adjust so that everything fits the world and the mechanics of this new title.”
On that front, the narrative formula is now more accessible than ever, without necessarily losing the depth of what fans have come to expect, instead, there is more onus on the gameplay to deliver that story, with more characters that will help flesh out “the narrative and the world-building.”
Working with George R.R. Martin also allowed the team a new perspective on development. Sharing that “this is the first time” that FromSoftware is making a game “based on something written by another creator,” it represented a unique challenge and a “great new source of impetus.”
“In the original manuscript, it was full of mythological drama, deep intrigue, conspiracy and family relationships that really shaped the world and its history So we’re really looking forward to players meeting these characters and facing these bosses and using their imagination to piece together everything that took place before the events of the game.”
As for gameplay, it is not about lowering the challenge that players have grown to love, but reducing the friction that surrounds that daunting encounter that is right around the corner. Elden Ring‘s version of bonfires is the new Sites of Grace, which, together with more intermittent Stakes of Marika, allow players to get back into the fight much faster when they perish.
“These are placed strategically in order for us to alleviate that stress when exploring in the open and to encourage that exploration. So yes, it also lets you have the checkpoints just before the boss, but also lets players tune their builds, level up a little bit, in order to try a different strategy and face the boss again to make that encounter the most important thing.”
The big key differences perhaps lie in the fact that Elden Ring opens up a huge open world for players to jump into, together with more extensive options when it comes to equipment and even playstyle.
You can go at your own pace, soaking up the atmosphere of the world, or dive right into the action and get stuck in. Equipment can be upgraded like past games, but there is also the element of customisation with new skills that can be used in conjunction to make you a better fighter.
For Kitao and the team, they believe that “this increased level of freedom and customization is going to benefit players in the long run,” while still maintaining the unique feel of each armament. In fact, “both Miyazaki and the design team worked many iterations on these weapons to make them feel special and unique.”
Each piece of equipment was worked on one by one, so that nothing is outrightly overpowered or too strong in the traditional aspect. For FromSoftware, it was more important that players had that choice to not stick to just one build, but to experience more of a hybrid build that influenced how one approaches different situations in Elden Ring.
Then there is also the addition of the Spirit Steed, not just a tool for cutting travel time, but also vital to mounted combat, another new addition to look forward to. Rather than something tacked on, this was a natural development for the game, especially as it help keep things “fresh, fun, and engaging.” At the end of the day, it is all about designing encounters that “feel interesting for the player regardless of what they are doing or how they are playing.”
That sense of experimentation also figures into problem-solving in Elden Ring, where certain foes (outside of key bosses) can be circumvented in lieu of combat. There is always the possibility of coming back to something later when you are more well prepared, the same way that FromSoftware is developing this game after amassing valuable lessons over the years.
Seeing that the 25 February date is inching ever closer, the FromSoftware will finally be able to unleash Elden Ring on the masses. Knowing their track record and their insistence on learning from the lessons of the past, this is most certainly going to be yet another home run.
Jake is a full-time trophy hunter and achievement gatherer on consoles, and part-time Steam Sale victim. He has a thing for Batman and awesome statues, and running out of space for both. Send help.
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