EldenRinghas the chance to outdo theDark Soulstrilogy and the rest of theSouls-like franchisebecause of its attempt at open world gameplay. If FromSoftware manages to get open world right, it will be a series first for the prolific franchise, and could redefine the rest of the series going forward. As great as they were, theDark Soulstrilogy never reached the level of freedom that open world games can provide, and fans would love to see a souls-style game set in a vast and explorable space that they can tackle at their own pace.
Obviously, none of the threeDark Soulsgames were open world. Often, their beautiful level design could invoke the feeling of an open world game with the way levels looped back around on themselves and led into one another, but there was still always a very clear path to follow moving forward. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with this type of game, asDark Soulsbecame one of the most iconic game franchises with it, but more and more games are shifting their attention to the open world genre as players show their love for it. The same is true ofElden Ring, which promises to be From Software’s first real attempt at an open world setting.
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Elden Ring - Open Field
Of course, it is worth discussing the distinction that Hidetaka Miyazaki, the series' creator, makes between the concepts of open world and open field. Miyazaki has describedElden Ringas being open field, but never went into too much detail on what that meant exactly. Most likely, this term is being used to temper player expectation, as fans probably shouldn’t go intoEldenRingexpecting a map on the same scale asAssassin’s Creed Odyssey,Breath of the Wild, or othermassive open world maps.
Elden Ring’s open field concept has been compared toShadow of the Colossus, which features a relatively small open world style map. The desolate yet gorgeous scenery of that game provides an eerie beauty to the game that would be fitting of a From Software game as well. If that game is anything to compareElden Ringto, exploration will likely be a major factor, even if the area to explore is somewhat limited by today’s standards. It will be interesting to get more information on this concept whenElden Ringfinally shares news on the game.
Fog Gates and Area Changes
Before entering any boss room or even certain new areas, players had to traverse the white fog first. While this has become something of atradition inDark Soulsgames, it initially was caused mostly due to technological limitations.Elden Ringlikely won’t suffer from these, allowing the game to have a much more connected and immersive feel. Likewise, players won’t be railroaded into certain areas, and the thought of wide open fields filled to the brim with difficult and deadly enemies is exciting for some. Players will have a choice as to what they wish to take on for the first time in franchise history, and this will provide a whole new level of depth to the gameplay, provided From Software decides to seize it.
How Elden Ring Differs From Dark Souls
Obviously, this approach is very different fromDark Souls, but different isn’t enough, it needs to truly set it apart. As great as the originalDark Soulswas, it is often referred to as a flawed masterpiece.Dark Souls 3went on to really smooth over some of the previous titles' defects andmakeDark Soulsbetter, but there are still some noticeable shortcomings. Particularly things like the fog gates that stop the flow of gameplay and take the players out of the world for a moment. They were necessary because of hardware limitations at the time, but that shouldn’t be the case forElden Ring.
Another thing is the tight spaces which are so prevalent inDark Souls. These work as a great way to emulate the loneliness that is any Ashen One’s adventure, but there are other ways to accomplish this that allow for more exploration.Elden Ring’sOpen Field conceptcould provide players the big, open areas that fans have been longing for while still keeping a lonely and dark tone that the franchise has become known for. Fans can imagine fields full of Ultimately, it all just depends on how FromSoftware decides to implement this aspect of the game, but if done well, it could very well surpass its predecessors.
Elden Ringis currently in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
