Elden Ring Gameplay Reveal

Elden Ring is an upcoming open world action-RPG from venerated Japanese studio From Software, who also gave us the legendary Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Slated for a February 2022 release, the studio recently revealed 20
minutes of gorgeous 4K gameplay footage which featured some jaw-dropping
visuals and gameplay.

With
a world co-created by Game of Thrones’ author George R. R. Martin, and
video game visionary Hidetaka Miyazaki (father of the Souls games), Elden Ring is one of the most hyped upcoming cross-gen games, even scooping up the Game Award for ‘Most Anticipated Game’ in 2020.

And the recent gameplay showcase delivered — big time.

Set in a world known as The Lands Between, Elden Ring
features a vast and dense open-world full of verticality. The game will
gently nudge players toward objectives, without bothering with lots of
waypoints and markers. ‘Sites of Grace’ act as both save points and
manifest rays of guiding light. Players follow these toward their next
objective, or like any great open world game, they can freely explore if
they choose. The developers have clearly taken care to ensure their
game remains as immersive as possible, despite the large world to
navigate.

In
fact, there are very little HUD elements on the screen at all, lending a
cinematic quality to the footage. In one scene, the player gallops on
horseback across a swampy marsh in a scene reminiscent of Witcher 3 or even Lord of the Rings.
Then a dragon descends from the sky, spewing fire and circling the
player over a shallow lake. The ensuing battle is both gruelling and
breathtaking.

Players
have a mix of traditional melee and ranged weapons, along with spells
and magic. In battling the dragon, the player summons a glowing blue bow
and fires multiple electric arrows. Knocked from their horse and
pummelled by the dragon, the player is able to slide underneath,
slashing the dragon’s neck.

This is ‘David and Goliath’ style combat — a From Software speciality.

After
an odd B-roll-style encounter with a talking saucepan, the trailer cuts
to a breathtaking vista from a clifftop in the centre of the map. It’s a
stunning next-gen scene with two giant ‘Erdtrees’ visible on either
side of the horizon. The function of Erdtrees isn’t explained yet, but
they do look very cool — mile-tall trees of glowing light. They clearly
have a close connection to the story.

Another highlight is Elden Ring’s
beautiful hand drawn map. It’s a large and detailed world connected by
valleys and mountains ranges, drawn with obvious care — a work of art.
The map can be populated by acquiring map fragments, and offers
different kinds of markers for tagging locations of interest. Beacons
placed on the map will appear in the world as tall shafts of light —
again, the developer is moving away from simple waypoints which can
break the immersion.

After
this we get a look at one of the more controversial features — spirit
springs. Entering one of these upwellings of air will shoot the player
(and horse) high into the sky, over cliffs and onto a more elevated
region. While they do make it easier to traverse, they also look
slightly ridiculous. One of the more iconic Elden Ring
images is the horse and rider plunging skyward from a spirit spring.
The sight of them landing unharmed after flying half a mile into the sky
may be something straight from a fantasy movie, but From Software games have never aimed for die-hard realism.

We
then see a glimpse of the game’s crafting system, which allows players
to craft various items using materials found in the world, with the
player crafting some arrows using animal bones and feathers. The system
looks robust and will certainly add considerable depth and
personalisation.

There
are stealth sections too, with the player creeping up on an enemy
caravan then firing an arrow into an enemy soldier’s back for a silent
kill. The combat system looks methodical and tactical, full of action
but at a more measured pace. Enemy stances can be broken with heavy
blows, such as attacking from above. When faced with more challenging
enemies, players can also summon spirits to fight alongside them.

Online
multiplayer is shown, with both co-op, PVP and invasions on offer. The
co-op footage shows two players creeping through a wonderfully creepy
autumn forest, then pummelling a hammer wielding knight on horseback — a
typically fantastic creature design by From Software. The player deploys a lightning storm attack with a large area of effect, and the fight looks as gruelling as any Dark Souls encounter.

The world definitely has echoes of Witcher 3’s gloomy realm, and the scale of the cliffs and valleys nod to classics like Shadow of the Colossus.
There’s an underground world too, with the player sneaking down into a
dungeon lit with ray-traced fire torches. Dungeons can be played in
co-op, and feature your typical boss challenges and high-tiered loot.

One
of the game’s large scale dungeons, Stormveil Castle, is shown in
detail. An enormous structure, with angular turrets and surrounding by
swirling clouds and circling crows. The dungeons are complex and
non-linear, with multiple layers, filled with enemies and NPCs. In one
scene, an NPC offers a shortcut through the dungeon, and players must
choose whether or not to trust them — spoiler alert: don’t!