Elden Ring: The First Preview - IGN

After a 15 minute hands-off gameplay session, we finally know a bit of what to expect from From Software’s latest Soulsborne game.

[CaptainHenry916]

Can't wait for this

[toxic-inferno]

I have to say, I'm still ever so slightly sceptical about the open world feel (I find it hard to see how it will keep the tight Soulsborne style). But this makes me feel a little more at ease with the idea. Particularly the talk of the Legacy Dungeons and the similarity drawn between one of these and Boletaria from Demon's Souls.

[fitofficial]

They called all the Dark Souls games "open world".

[fitofficial]

...the hell are you people disagreeing with? Go back and look at any preview of Dark Souls 1. People were flipping out that they were referring to it as "open world" versus the more level-based approach of Demon's Souls and wondering how an "open world Demon's Souls" would function.

[Chard]

"...the hell are you people disagreeing with?"
Probably the idea that the Dark Souls games are open world, because they arent. It would seem "They" were wrong

[toxic-inferno]

It's a failure of the N4G "agree/disagree" system. Your comment was entirely factual, and described a situation where an opinion was held. Sadly, people disagreed with the opinion that you were factually reporting on, not your report that the opinion was held. It is sad when people can't distinguish factual reporting from personal opinion. But that's the internet for you. (Have an agree from me!)

In any case, there's definitely a distinction between Dark Souls open world (which is more an interconnected world) and Elden Ring's promise of an open world. From a technical perspective, it's difficult to describe the precise difference, but on a gameplay level, they will play very differently.

[SoulWarrior]

Can they not just show us actual real time gameplay already?

[jznrpg]

I don’t need to see anything. I watched this for 10 seconds and decided that’s enough I don’t want to see anymore .

[Snakeeater25]

Elden ring dev: sorry we have to delay the game till mid 2022

[Lionsguard]

Would you rather it be another Cyberpunk?

[Freshnikes]

Nothing could ever be cyberjunk

[chicken_in_the_corn]

I'm sure this will be finished by the time it's released unlike Cyberpunk

[anast]

This is will be the game of the decade.

[demonseye]

yes it will be. the amount they have shared is enough to make this claim. you do know we just started this decade right we are almost like 2 years in. and we have barely seen any actual gameplay.

[anast]

BB was the game of last decade. I bet this one will be even better.

[toxic-inferno]

Not even 2 years - only 8 months. January 2021 was the start of this decade.

Just call me Mr Pedantic.

[derek]

@anast Nah, I doubt that. This isn't Froms wheelhouse.

[oldenjon]

We don't really know what 'this' is though. Miyazaki said 'open world' depends on your definition of the term. From what we know of FROM's design philosophy and it's attention to detail, expecting anything like BOTW or Skyrim is a mistake. I'm expecting something on the scale of older Zelda titles personally, and they're perfectly capable of pulling that off.

[thornintheside]

@oldenjon

hmm, I'm just gonna assume the worst: on-rails soulslike game

[FreeckyCake]

I remember the same thing was said when God of War 3 was released. And then, more games were released. It was difficult to pick which game was the GOTD back then.

[fitofficial]

Not sure why you're getting hated on. FromSoft is the best dev out there, head and shoulders above everyone else. ER's gonna be amazing.

[13sentinel]

I can think of at least 3 devs on the same level as from software, don't be ridiculous

[CrimsonWing69]

Why can they not just show the public that 15 minute demo? I don’t understand what the point is to show something behind doors but let people describe what they saw to the public. It’s pretty annoying, honestly. Like, if you’re going to do this you might as well not even announce the damn thing until you’re ready to show it.

[Vithar]

agreed

[Aloymetal]

It's the new trend with ''some'' of these devs, same crap happened with Cyberpunk...I remember the hype and BS of all the people that got to see it behind doors.

[Duke19]

Probably will be the reason for me to finally track down a PS5 - I am so excited for this

[SimpleSlave]

Is From Software about to make open world gameplay great again?

Yes.

[JayRyu]

Day 1 purchase that's for sure!

This game looks Awesome

[giovonni]

I’m getting it, but I hope they can add an adaptive difficulty setting instead of making it just plan Jane difficult. Between two jobs, kids, and a wife I don’t have the time to spend like I used to .

[Atticus_finch]

I completely understand not having enough time to game, I'm on the same boat. But an easy mode would ruin the experience for a game like this. Surpassing a difficult enemy is so rewarding and it's imo the main appeal for any Fromsoft games.

[enkiduxiv]

People often fail to realize just how much of the design is influenced by a From Software game's difficulty. If you could finish every boss on the first try or even on the third try, their games would be three hours long. That's why the original slogan was "prepare to die". The devs weren't trying to threaten you, they were explaining the main game loop. Hell, the only reason people stop and appreciate all of the subtle environmental storytelling is because they have to comb through each area very carefully to find items and weapons that help give them a necessary edge.

I have a hunch "open world" souls design will follow a similar path. The world will be small, but it will also be filled with choke points to prevent anyone from blowing through the content too quickly.

[giovonni]

I didn’t ask for an easy mode I asked for adaptive mode. The game adapts as you play and learn. I never play my games on easy. It’s always normal mode

[Eamon]

Honestly, Easy Mode in a FromSoft game wouldn't be enjoyable. The game design's foundation is literally its challenging gameplay. Like think about it; the combat mechanics are extremely simple. A button to attack, a button to defend, a button to roll. There aren't any combos/cancels because an input carries out its command right till the end of the animation.

Essentially, the core of the combat is learning the enemy's attack patterns. From that you figure out the positioning and timing of your response. If the threat of near-instant death was non-existent, you wouldn't really bother with any of that. If enemies couldn't kill you as easily, you wouldn't have much incentive to defend/roll or wait to observe enemy moves. Then the game turns into a button masher.

[giovonni]

But that’s the thing, I’m not asking for an easy mode. I’m asking for Adaptive mode. It worked well for Infamous.

[ecchiless]

sorry but after Cyberpunk i dont gonna trust those hands off.... well actually i never did XD

[oldenjon]

This practice isn't anything new though. Elden Ring isn't being marketed anything like Cyberpunk was. You just got duped.

[ecchiless]

guess my comment is not sarcastic enough..... cause i dont think cdpr is "good" dev, dont like their games, i tried the witcher... not my taste.
So if you think i was duped... nope, did not buy the hype or the game.

[Dirtnapstor]

This looks absolutely fantastic. Dripping with atmosphere. I just hope this game is more accessible than the standard Souls games. Noob mode please. I don't have the time to dedicate to this live, die, repeat a thousand times over. It gets frustrating... too many other games to focus on.

[jznrpg]

Souls game were accessible to me . I platinumed the first two games quickly . I hope it is challenging as souls games aren’t as hard as people make them out to be really , you just need a little patience and persistence .

[jznrpg]

This then Forbidden West makes for a great couple of months

[HeliosHex]

Stop teasing,!

[RPGer]

Great for fans of Souls style games and LoTR.

But personally I am all tired of Nioh, Dark Souls, Sekiro, Final Fantasy Chaos, Code Vein etc. The shine of these start to dim of. At least for me.