Elden Ring: Everything you need to know

Whether its the revolutionary franchise Dark Souls, the classic hit that inspired it, Demon’s Souls, or the likes of Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, chances are that you’ve heard of developer FromSoftware’s games. These titles were designed to be brutally difficult but also immensely satisfying, which is why they’ve become favorites amongst gamers everywhere. Its games have even led to the birth of a new genre called “Soulslikes,” or games that aim to emulate the feel and flow of Dark Souls games.

FromSoftware’s next big adventure is called Elden Ring, and while details about the game are still scarce, there’s still plenty for players to be excited about based on what we do know. Here’s a look at all the information we have about Elden Ring.

Elden Ring was officially revealed during E3 2019 at Microsoft’s Xbox briefing. During the show, fans got to see the first (and currently, only) trailer for the game that introduced Elden Ring’s world and showed off some of the character designs that we can expect to see in the full game.

Elden Ring is being fully developed by FromSoftware and is led by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the developer’s company president. Additionally, FromSoftware also has collaborated with famed author George R. R. Martin (widely known for the A Song of Ice and Fire novels that inspired Game of Thrones) for the project.

Elden Ring: Story and setting

So far, we don’t know much about the story and setting of Elden Ring aside from the fact it’s a fantasy universe. Something we do know, however, is that the Elden Ring “is the name given to a mysterious concept that defines the world itself,” according to Miyazaki.

He continued, “As the trailer at the conference implied, this ‘Elden Ring’ has been shattered. The significance of this will be one of the important themes of the game.”

Based on this, it sounds like the Elden Ring is less like an object and more like a supernatural power that forms the foundation of the game’s world. This is further supported by an interview that Miyazaki did with IGN that revealed the term “Elden Ring” doesn’t refer to an actual ring you wear but rather refers to a “circle” in the mind.

Based on game’s reveal trailer, the Elden Ring has been shattered by someone or something, which is having a significant impact on the world. The trailer’s narrator comments that the sky “burns,” and we see what appears to be a troll creature look up into it and then light on fire himself shortly afterwards. Ultimately, we won’t know more about how the shattered Elden Ring affects the game’s world until FromSoftware shows us more.

In terms of how Miyazaki and Martin are collaborating, Miyazaki said in an interview with IGN that he and the rest of FromSoftware were handling the main narrative for Elden Ring, while Martin was writing the universe’s wider mythos and lore. This was done because Miyazaki felt it would give more freedom for Martin to work his magic, and also because he wanted Elden Ring’s main story to remain non-linear.

“Storytelling in video games — at least the way we do it at FromSoftware — comes with a lot of restrictions for the writer,” said Miyazaki. “I didn’t think it was a good idea to have Martin write within those restrictions. By having him write about a time the player isn’t directly involved in, he is free to unleash his creativity in the way he likes. Furthermore, as FromSoftware we didn’t want to create a more linear and story-driven experience for Elden Ring. Both issues could be solved by having Martin write about the world’s history instead.”

Elden Ring: Gameplay design

Like with the story, we don’t know a lot about Elden Ring’s gameplay. However, fans can expect an RPG-oriented experience similar to Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne instead of the pure focus on action that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice had. This is because Miyazaki himself stated that Elden Ring’s 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,” he said. We also know that the game will be challenging like Dark Souls based on comments Miyazaki made in an Xbox Wire interview, and will feature plenty of big boss fights too.

Additionally, Miyazaki revealed that Elden Ring will be open-ended and non-linear in nature, almost like an open world game.

“While the narrow and complex dungeons of our previous games were indeed interconnected, Elden Ring’s environments will be much more open and vast,” commented Miyazaki. “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.”

He also stated that, “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.”

Overall, it sounds like Elden Ring will play a lot like Dark Souls, but will also have elements that support gameplay in open areas well. One such mechanic that we know of is horse-riding, which players can use for travel as well as combat situations.

Elden Ring: Graphics, music, and overall presentation

When it comes to how Elden Ring will look, players can likely expect the game to be gorgeous, but it’s unclear how much it’ll take advantage of next-gen capabilities. It’s been in development for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 since the final Dark Souls III DLC was released, after all. It’s very likely that the game will be playable on and recieve enhancements for Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, but we don’t know anything for sure just yet.

In terms of the game’s music, we know that seasoned FromSoftware composer Yuka Kitamura is working on it. When asked by a fan on Twitter, she confirmed her involvement with the project. Kitamura has also composed the music for Dark Souls III and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Elden Ring: Release date, pricing, and platforms

FromSoftware hasn’t revealed Elden Ring’s release date yet. The game is currently available for preorder now on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and some other retailers for $60. We also know that Elden Ring will release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows 10 PCs. It’s also likely that the game will work on the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 as well.

Your thoughts

What do you think of Elden Ring? Are you excited to get your hands on the game? Let us know.