As the world prepares itself for the upcoming release of ‘Elden Ring’ on February 25 of 2022, questions are still rife about the particulars of the game, its features, and its world.
While many of these questions will likely persist for months after launch, thanks to developer FromSoftware’s famed nebulosity, some we can at least hazard a guess at. Specifically, we’re left wondering what the change to open-world gameplay could do for a pseudo-series that has traditionally delivered a much more linear form of progression.
For both changing the way players and audiences engage is something we’re sure will have implications within the genre for years to come.
Building a New Place for Bloggers
Even though many choose to engage in the Soulsborne genre as a single-player experience, the community has always played a hugely important part. Fans gather to discuss secrets, lore, odd systems and interactions and generally raise the profile of the games to levels they couldn’t achieve otherwise. So profound is this contribution that the largest content creators for the series boast over a million subscribers, which has made it difficult for newcomers to break in. With a new type of gameplay approach, however, this could change.
Though the mystery of the world and its characters will undoubtedly continue to play an enormous part of ‘Elden Ring’, the new setting also introduces the need for a fresh set of eyes. If this sounds like you, then learning how to start a blog for the game is easier than you think. Whether choosing the right platform, brainstorming topics, or promoting, online guides can help get you ready to go for when the game finally hits our shelves.
A Less Guided Experience
One of the most pronounced advantages of linear style games is their ability for developers to ensure the player engages the world in a measured and directed way. If everybody is moving down a set path and looking in the same direction, then it’s easy to guarantee they’ll notice what the developer wants them to. In an open world, the player could be looking in any direction, so they might miss important events, world markers, or hints on what to do.
The same can be said for the all-important combat encounters. With only one direction to come from, the developer’s enemy designs and placement can be that much more confident, and the solution can be much more concrete. Approach from a random angle and placement becomes much more complicated, and even the enemies themselves might need adjustments to cater to a less direct threat.
Implications of non-linearity affect so many facets of the gameplay balance that it has to make fans wonder if FromSoftware can adapt their time-tested formula to the challenges that the open-world presents. Though their pedigree is unmistakable, the company can still make mistakes, so fingers crossed they understand the open-world concerns as well as fans hope.
The Potential of an Open World
Of course, moving to an open world isn’t only a problem, it can also generate possibilities that linear games never could. Perhaps the biggest opportunity here comes from the ability to foster an atmosphere that values individuality. In every one of their modern games, with the partial exception of Sekiro, FromSoftware has placed a premium on the role-playing aspect of their gameplay. Choose your stats, choose your weapons, choose your gear, and use this to engage the enemy in the way that suits you best. Being able to personalise an angle of attack adds to this idea, making possible what was never an option before in ‘Elden Ring’.
We also have to point out the potential that an open world provides for secrets and random events. Secrets are always paramount in Soulsborne games, but the linear level design of earlier titles has limited how obscure these secrets could be. With an open world, there’s no telling how ridiculous the criteria could be for uncovering the rarest loot, and that’s an exciting prospect for treasure hunters.
Random events would similarly benefit from this open-world potential, especially when it comes to building urban legends and myths. FromSoftware already loves rare events, so having oddities occur in limited quantity in the open world would be a great way to celebrate their approach to development in a way linear landscapes can’t allow.
As with any FromSoftware game, we really don’t have much of an idea of what to expect before ‘Elden Ring’ lands. Like most of their titles before launch, we understand some of the component systems, but Soulsborne games are often worth more than the sum of their parts. The one thing we do know is that whether you’re an old genre fan looking to make a name for yourself in the blogosphere, or a newcomer keen on testing the waters, February can’t come soon enough.
