Elden Ring creator reveals open-world details, combat mechanics, and more

Elden Ring
Elden Ring (Image credit: Bandai Namco)

What you need to know

  • Elden Ring is being developed by FromSoftware with help from George R.R. Martin.
  • The game takes place in an open-world environment with combat similar to Dark Souls.
  • It will be Xbox One X Enhanced.
  • You can preorder Elden Ring for $60 on Amazon.

Elden Ring is an upcoming Dark Souls-like game from Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin and Japanese developer FromSoftware. Unlike the open-dungeon structure of FromSoftware's previous games, Elden Ring features vast environments stretched across great distances. You'll have to travel on horseback to reach them.

An interview between FromSoftware's Hidetaka Miyazaki and IGN, new details were revealed about the project. Many gamers were curious if the combat would be similar to Dark Souls or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and it looks like it's an evolution of the Dark Souls formula. Miyazaki said the following to the outlet.

Elden Ring is a third-person action role-playing game with a fantasy setting. The gameplay is not so far from Dark Souls. That doesn't mean that the gameplay will be identical, but you could say that Elden Ring belongs to the same genre... With a larger world, new systems and action mechanics inevitably become necessary. In that sense, I think that Elden Ring is a more natural evolution of Dark Souls... While the narrow and complex dungeons of our previous games were indeed interconnected, Elden Ring's environments will be much more open and vast. The more extensive world will form the base of Elden Ring's gameplay, and its mechanics are designed with that type of environment in mind.

Elden Ring character

Elden Ring character (Image credit: Bandai Namco (screenshot))

Instead of narrow corridors, the villages in the game will serve as dungeon-like environments. They may be similar to the "Undead Settlement" from Dark Souls III. The area looks like a village, but its layout was more like a dungeon. Miyazaki added the following when discussing the open-world game.

Villages will be the dark dungeon-like ruins that you have come to expect from us. Creating a more open game is a big challenge for us. If we were to add towns on top of that, it would become a bit too much, so we decided to create an open-world-style game focused on what we are best at... The player will be able to learn about Martin's mythology through exploration. We are known for letting the player explore the game's lore through fragments of environmental storytelling, and this time around Martin's story is what you will be trying to unravel. The period the player actually explores is still connected to the old times, so as you slowly discover why the world has become the way it is, you will learn more about Martin's mythology as well.

Unlike Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Elden Ring lets you create your own character. The game sounds more and more like an open-world Dark Souls.

There is no fixed main character in Elden Ring. We mostly leave it up to the player to decide the characteristics and personality of the character they create.

Are you excited to play Elden Ring in 2020? Let us know. It'll be interesting to see how Martin and Miyazaki present their vision to gamers.

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Asher Madan

Asher Madan handles gaming news for Windows Central. Before joining Windows Central in 2017, Asher worked for a number of different gaming outlets. He has a background in medical science and is passionate about all forms of entertainment, cooking, and antiquing.