Few games are as highly anticipated as Elden Ring, the upcoming dark fantasy RPG from FromSoftware. Not only is it the new IP from the creators of Dark Souls and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice but it’s also a collaboration with George R. R. Martin, who helped craft the story for this new fantasy universe. Yeah, it sounds like a match made in heaven!
But after being revealed to so much fanfare at E3 2019, the developer went radio silent. No updates, no teasers, not even a few tiny details about the game’s story. On social media and in forums, fans began to worry the game was in trouble, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic made development even more difficult for studios around the world.
Fortunately, Elden Ring has finally resurfaced! A new trailer revealed at Summer Game Fest 2021 gives fans a much better look at what they should expect from the game. There are flying mounts, giant enemies, and the epic scale we’ve come to expect from both FromSoftware and Martin. Most importantly, the trailer finally gives us a release date. Elden Ring hits shelves on January 21, 2022!
Watch the full trailer below:
“With Elden Ring, we have applied all our dark fantasy and action-RPG expertise cultivated throughout the Dark Souls series, in order to create a bold, classical evolution of the genre,” said game director Hidetaka Miyazaki in a press release. “We’ve crafted a rich world with a staggering sense of scale, based off of legends written for the game by George R. R. Martin. Elden Ring is a world full of mystery and peril, ready to be explored and discovered; a drama in which various characters flaunt their own mystique and ulterior motives. We sincerely hope you enjoy experiencing it for yourself.”
At the center of the backstory crafted by Martin is the mystery of the Elden Ring itself. What is it and what role does it play in the hero’s story? As we all know after watching his characters chase after the Iron Throne in Game of Thrones, Martin sure likes his MacGuffins.
Elden Ring is an open-world game spanning multiple environments that players will be able to “traverse on foot or horseback, alone or online with friends, across grassy plains, suffocating swamps and lush forests.” They’ll also be able to “ascend spiraling mountains, enter breathtaking castles, and witness other sites of grandeur on a scale never seen before in a FromSoftware title.” It certainly sounds like Elden Ring is seriously expanding the usual FromSoftware formula.
The game will hit both last-gen and current-gen consoles as well as PC.
Meanwhile, just as you’d expect, fans hoping for even a tiny Elden Ring update absolutely lost it after the trailer and release date dropped. Here’s what Twitter had to say about the game:
Users were particularly into the “pot goblin”/”vaseboy” enemy in the game: