Often considered to be the culmination of FromSoftware’s best works, Elden Ring stands as the sole successor of the studio’s best ideas put together. However, a lot of things that work in Elden Ring were initially ideas for Dark Souls 2 that never saw the light of day. Quite literally.
From dark dungeons to an open-world game that feels non-linear, the studio’s focus on building a truly open-ended experience became a process of brainstorming ideas over the years. Eventually, gamers received a title that wasn’t just worthy of praise, but also an experience that set the benchmark for an open-world Souls game.
Dark Souls 2’s ideation led to a lot of key features in Elden Ring
During its initial days of testing and building the framework for a game set in a semi-open world, Dark Souls 2 felt ahead of its time. Developers struggled with putting out a game in the PS3 and Xbox 360 era that simply couldn’t handle the game’s potential. This was also true for Demon’s Souls, where the studio struggled to match hardware capabilities with the game’s true vision.
Furthermore, Dark Souls 2 had a highly anticipated shadow system that could turn dungeons almost completely dark. This feature would push players to use a torch to navigate through challenging spaces. However, this was removed for both engine limitations and gameplay reasons. Fortunately, Elden Ring players will know that this aspect of the game is now a common thing they can expect when traversing different dungeons.
Finally, another important mechanic in Elden Ring features charging spells to create a stronger and lasting effect. This was initially a mechanic that was worked on for Dark Souls 2, but was never featured in the game. While we don’t know the exact reason for this, it may be due to the game’s engine limiting things.
Whether or not every missing feature eventually came to light; it’s clear that FromSoftware had a lot of tricks up its sleeves that waited for the right time and place to take shape.
Elden Ring became the ultimate fan service for players
Be it an open world that begs to be explored, or a combat system that feels like home to fans of FromSoftware, Elden Ring is a game that pushed the studio’s creative potential to its absolute best. The game’s success has been cherished by millions across the globe, and stays as an important indicator of something that many devs are trying to do; introducing new players into a challenging world without pushing them away.
With the new generation of consoles, the studio has been able to create a world so rich in content and diversity that new players don’t shy away from a challenge or two. The nonlinearity of Elden Ring not only thrives on the mechanics of its predecessors but also sets a symbol for both, a familiar game and an experience to be celebrated by new players.
At the time of writing, fans eagerly wait for a DLC (or two) to arrive for the game, and conversations around the same have been prevalent in online forums. Speculations are looking at 20 hours’ worth of content coming our way, and it seems that FromSoftware will once again hone its craft for storytelling and gameplay uniqueness.
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