Stunning graphics, a chilling voiceover, intriguing soundtrack, exhilarating gameplay—all of these aspects came together to create the trailer forElden Ring, the long-awaited collaboration between FromSoftware and world-renowned author George R.R. Martin. The fantasy action-RPG’s gameplay reveal trailer was unveiled in June, and since then, fans eagerly anticipating its release in January 2022 have analyzed the three-minute trailer in search of details that might better inform players of what they can expect fromElden Ring. The most obvious thing that most fans picked up on, however, was just how much it resemblesDark Souls.
While most fans of theSoulstrilogy knew that there could be similarities, given how much its incredibly defined world and well-structured gameplay created a winning and often-imitated formula, the resemblance caught some fans off guard. FromSoftware often releases games in theSouls-like formula, and the trilogy hasinfluenced a number of RPGsin the last decade to some degree, however minor. The studio’s other popular works,BloodborneandSekiro: Shadows Die Twice,both have very distinct worlds and they incorporate major innovations to combat. Their similarities toSoulsare superficial on the surface and can be attributed to the success of theSoulsformula and its impact on the RPG genre. WithElden Ring, however, these similarities go a little deeper.
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Similarities To Dark Souls In The Elden Ring Trailer
Elden Ring’s story puts players in the shoes of one of the Tarnished, a people who have been ostracized and exiled, and it takes place in a new world named the Lands Between. They have totake downElden Ring’s bossesin order to gather the scattered shards of the eponymousring, with their ultimate goal being to become the Elden Lord.
There are some moments in the trailer that appear to be small tributes or nods towards theDark Soulstrilogy; for example, the moment in which a person we can assume is the player’s character is seen sitting in front of a bonfire is an obvious reference.FromSoftwareloves to reference its previous works in its games even if they do not exist in the same universe. But flames, unending curses, enormous, mangled monsters, and delipidated Gothic castles are all startlingly reminiscent ofDark Soulsin a way that is not at all superficial.
TheDark Soulsseries has always had a distinct style that leans into medieval horror, and it seems so far thatElden Ringhas adopted a style similar toDark Souls. The decrepit, crumbling fortresses castles and dark dungeons shown all look like they could have been extracted fromDark Souls 3. The world is as bleak and forlorn as anySoulsgame; in fact, no FromSoftware game would feel complete without a world submerged in chaos. It is that combined sense of wonder and horror that defined the world ofDark Souls, and the trailer forElden Ringoffers fans insight into just how much it strives to imitate that. There is clearly a well-structured lore behind this game, and from the trailer it is evident that the claims about this beingFromSoftware’s biggest project so farare accurate.
George R.R. Martin’s Statement On Elden Ring And Dark Souls
WhenGeorge R.R. Martin stated in an interviewthatElden Ringis a “sequel to a video game that came out a few years ago calledDark Souls”, many fans of the trilogy may have taken Martin’s comments wrong and believed this was confirmation that it is aDark Soulsgame. Instead, it rather just confirms thatElden Ringis not shying away from how much it was influenced and inspired by the enormous legacy ofSouls.Martin appears to have simply mixed up the term “sequel” with “spiritual successor”—or perhaps he wrote his contribution toElden RingwithDark Soulsat the back of his mind.
It has beenstated multiple times thatElden Ringis not a direct sequel, and both the trailer and the official website state that this is “A New World Created By Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin”. It is not aDark Souls4, or even set in the same world, although perhaps there will be some small connections and Easter eggs in the game that say otherwise when it finally launches.
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Elden Ring Should Still Be Understood As Its Own Game
So far, in spite of the similarities and Martin’s comments, it does seem thatElden Ringtruly will be its own unique fantasy experience. While it is a return to the dark-fantasy form for FromSoftware, it is not a pale imitation of theSoulstrilogy or aDark Souls 4. Instead, it is set to offer fans of FromSoftware, Miyazaki, and Martin a chance to delve into a brand-new adventure.
Elden Ring’s story aims to be more layered than the studio’s other works and will have multiple endings, offering players the opportunity to branch out into the game’s fleshed out world. There will be more exploration and more freedom, and in this way, Elden Ring could be understood as amore expansive, amplifiedDark Soulssuccessor; one that takes from the studio’s flagship games and improves on them. It has the potential to innovate the fantasy RPG genre just as its predecessor did.
Nonetheless, it is a positive thing thatElden Ringis embracing its connections as it is likely thatElden Ringwould not be able to escape the shadow of its predecessor, even if it wanted to. Whether or not it willlive up to the standard set byDark Souls, of course, remains to be seen. Comparing a game that has not been released yet to one of the most celebrated trilogies of all time seems like an unfair comparison to make, but we have faith in the experienceElden Ringis set to bring to fans of fantasy RPGs.
Elden Ringis scheduled to launch on January 21 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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