If you believe Elden Ring‘s Hidetaka Miyazaki’s games are depressing, it may just be down to how Miyazaki sees the world. Having worked on the Dark Souls franchise and Sekiro, Miyazaki explained in an interview that his grim views stemmed from his belief that a happy and bright world just wasn’t practically possible.
Elden Ring was released after this interview, and the title carried forward the soul-like genre set in an even more dark and dead world. Fans don’t seem to mind that, however, as the new Soulslike title went on to become an even bigger sensation compared to the Dark Souls franchise, and fans now await the game’s first DLC, which is dropping later this year.
All the World’s a Wasteland, According to Elden Ring’s Hidetaka Miyazaki
Hidetaka Miyazaki has several Soulslike titles to his name, starting from the Dark Souls franchise to Elden Ring, with several common elements in all of them, including demigods and monsters of all sizes. One other common theme between all of them is the world the games are set in, which usually looks apocalyptic and dead.
Miyazaki revealed in an interview given to IGN that he never personally felt that a happy and bright world could feel realistic, even if it sounded like a traumatic thing to say.
I believe that the world is generally a wasteland that is not kind to us. That’s just the way I see it.
“Light looks more beautiful in darkness“, explained Miyazaki, as he continued and also said that “finding something beautiful in the middle of a wasteland” is appreciated a lot more, and in the same sense, finding a unique piece of jewelry amid a large collection is also “worth so much more“.
Elden Ring‘s announcement teaser from E3 2019 was something very similar to what Miyazaki tried to explain in the interview. The teaser starts with a tiny light in the middle of darkness before revealing a figure standing in the middle of darkness, hammering the source of light.
Fans Divided Over Brighter and Darker Soulslike Title
Once Elden Ring released, some players felt the title had a brighter world compared to the ones seen in the Dark Souls franchise, while most others didn’t see too much of a difference.
One fan on the Steam community page for Elden Ring stated that they had to up the vibrance and contrast while playing Dark Souls, but then the game did look amazing once the brightness was adjusted. Another fan debated that the style of both titles remains equally dark.
As for the tone of Elden Ring, Miyazaki had mentioned during E3 2019’s Xbox Briefing that the new Soulslike title is a “more natural evolution of Dark Souls.” The upcoming DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, seems to be no different either, continuing the game’s lore.
Are you a fan of the dark and dull world of Miyazaki’s Soulslike titles? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
