Elden Ring is going to release someday, but until then, fans know next to nothing about the highly anticipated title. One thing is certain, though, it has a lot to live up to. The legacy of Dark Souls is vast and practically sacred at this point, so From Software will need to bring its “A” game if it wants to uphold this legacy. One way it could do this is by returning to the roots of Dark Souls and focusing heavily on builds and other RPG elements which have been absent from the studio’s recent titles.
Dark Souls offered players nearly endless customization when it came to what their character looked and played like. Though there were certainly some builds that were objectively better than others, almost anything was viable if the player was skilled enough. This meant that there was a wide variety of characters in the world of Dark Souls, including even infamous troll characters like GiantDad and anyone wearing the Xanthous Crown. Elden Ring could replicate this, giving players complete freedom over what their character wears and how that affects their own gameplay style, setting it apart from recent souls-like games.
With the huge variety of armor and a decent custom character creation mechanic, Dark Souls let players create nearly anything they wanted. Some players even use Dark Souls to cosplay characters from other franchises. Beyond looks, the freedom players had to upgrade their stats was also refreshing, as the player never felt limited regarding what they could do. Once players picked their starting classes, they could mold their character’s build however they wanted, with certain games in the franchise even giving the player the ability to reset their stats completely and change their build mid-playthrough.
These builds allowed players to cater to their preferred playstyle or challenge themselves further by pushing them out of their comfort zone. Depending on how dedicated players were, they could even mix multiple concepts together, perhaps being an Sorcerer with great combat abilities or a Miracle-user that also specializes in the use of Dark Magic. Because skill played such a huge role in Dark Souls, players could also feel free to choose their weapons and armor based on a character concept or looks, which allowed for more role play in this role playing game. This freedom in character progression is in large part what made Dark Souls as a franchise so popular, and each game in the trilogy expanded on and made character customization more engaging.
On the flip side, newer From Software games such as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice don’t offer nearly as much customization. This isn’t to say that Sekiro is a bad game, far from it, but rather that customization was not a priority for that game. Players don’t even get to make their own character, which although this provides for a better narrative, was disappointing to some. This meant that builds and some of the heavier RPG elements from Dark Souls were ultimately lost, but Elden Ring could be FromSoftware’s chance to revive that aspect of its legacy.
It is as of yet unclear what route FromSoftware will decide to take with Elden Ring, but a return to the franchise’s roots and reintroduction of heavy RPG elements would be welcome by longtime fans of the souls-like games. Unfortunately, no one really knows anything about the game, and though fans are hoping to see Elden Ring at Gamescom, even that seems unlikely at this point. Hopefully, FromSoftware will break its silence soon.
Elden Ring is currently in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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