“Foul tarnished, in search of the Elden Ring. Emboldened by the flame of ambition. Someone must extinguish thy flame.” – Elden Ring
This fantasy-action RPG title is one of the most highly anticipated games in a very long time. Being classified as a part of the Soulsborne games, we can expect an absolute beaut of a game; from the next-gen graphics to the gameplay and storyline (which of course will keep the cryptic element).
There has been a delay on the release date but really not by much, it was moved along from the 21st of January 2022 to the 25th of February 2022. It will be released for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S & Series X, and PC. For those who make the PS4 purchase of the game, there will be a free upgrade available to the PS5 version and Smart Delivery for Xbox One and Xbox Series S and Series X.
ELDEN RING – Official Gameplay Reveal
You know a game is going to be a masterpiece when the collaboration includes Game of Thrones writer, George R. R. Martin, and renowned games director, Hidetaka Miyazaki. To top it off, we also have Dark Souls 3 composer, Yuka Kitamura, on the team.
What Is Elden Ring?
“The Golden Order has been broken. Rise, Tarnished, and be guided by grace to brandish the power of the Elden Ring and become an Elden Lord in the Lands Between.”

To date, Elden Ring is the largest game for the developing team FromSoftware, who are working hand-in-hand with Bandai Namco Entertainment for publishing.
Taking place in the realm of the Lands Between, following the destruction of the Elden Ring which thereafter had the shards (the Great Runes) scattered, the realm is now ruled over by the demigod offspring of Queen Marika the Eternal; each of these offspring in the possession of one of the Great Runes which taints and corrupts them with power.

The story follows the main protagonist (you), playing as one of the Tarnished (those who have lost the grace of the Erdtree and consequently banished from the Lands Between until later beckoned to make a return). Driven by the Flame of Ambition, the player ventures into the vast landscapes of the Lands Between in order to retrieve the Elden Ring and become the Elden Lord.

Combat
Starting with the combat mechanics, well with this being a FromSoftware title among the Soulsborne games, one can already expect the dodge rolls, blocking, stabbing, some spellcasting, and a stamina bar as with pretty much any game.
FromSoftware does however say the following: “The stamina bar exists in Elden Ring, but we feel it has less influence on the player overall. We wanted to make it feel less restrictive.” With all of the usuals, they’ve been kind enough to throw in stealth this time as well. It was even mentioned that we’ll have sleep-arrows to take down enemies in a non-lethal manner if you so, please.

You can break an enemy stance and parry as per usual; but this time around there is an added component known as Guard Counter, where you get to attack immediately after blocking, although this will take quite a chunk of stamina to carry out. There’s also still not to be any difficulty settings as with any of the other Soulsborne games; you are thrown into the pits of despair and left to fend for yourself.

Your weapon skills will also be a lot less restricted, allowing for much more free customizing and upgrading than the norm for a Souls game.
“Before, where there was a certain skill attached to a certain weapon, now you’re actually able to freely interchange skills between a large variety of weapons. There are, I believe, around a hundred skills in total. Obviously, you’re free to combine your different skills with different weapons. You’re free to build your character with different weapons and equipment. You’re free to learn magic as well. So if you throw all of these things in, we think the build customization is going to be even richer and even more varied than before.” – Hidetaka Miyazaki, IGN Interview.

There will also be Summons on a much larger, wider scale. Usually, you’ll be able to summon a ghost of some being near a boss fight, whereas in Elden Ring you will be able to summon with a lot more freedom as well as being able to summon creatures that would otherwise usually be an enemy.
You’ll be able to summon your friends and co-op up to four players. Then there’s invasions, with minor details not yet finalized, they’ll be making a comeback, although so far you’ll only be able to invade players who are co-oping and not players riding it solo.
Gameplay & Setting

Of course, this is a Soulsborne game so you can expect the typical gloomy yet stunningly captivating atmosphere. There will of course be the notorious poison swap area, castle, dungeons, and all the rest of it as with pretty much any FromSoftware game; as confirmed on the site:
“Elden Ring features vast fantastical landscapes and shadowy, complex dungeons that are connected seamlessly. Traverse the breathtaking world on foot or on horseback, alone or online with other players, and fully immerse yourself in the grassy plains, suffocating swamps, spiraling mountains, foreboding castles, and other sites of grandeur on a scale never seen before in a FromSoftware title.”

We’ll also be able to jump in place instead of the usual running-jump, which could come in handy when taking on the dragons. You will also be able to jump and engage in combat on horseback (of which your horse can be summoned and appear anywhere) and we’ll even have a map…which we can place our own markers on. This won’t be a typical game map though, you will collect it in fragments and it will have a more “sketched” look with drawings of landmarks and no wording.

Hidetaka Miyazaki’s description of the game’s setting, which was laid out by George R.R. Martin goes as follows:
“The world of Elden Ring, The Lands Between are blessed by the presence of the Elden Ring and by the Erdtree, which symbolizes its presence, and this has given grace or blessing to the people throughout the land, great and small. What this represented in them is this sort of golden light or this golden aura, that’s specifically shown in their eyes. And this symbolizes the blessing or the grace of the Erdtree. However, after a time, there were some individuals who lost this grace, and the light faded from their eyes. And these are what are known as the Tarnished.
So, the Tarnished, you could call them tarnished individuals who have lost grace. And this was a long time preceding the setting of the game, a long time before. The ancestors of the characters that are present in the world were banished and exiled from The Lands Between, these Tarnished. Then a long time after that, the Elden Ring was shattered in a historical event. This triggers the return of this lost grace and it calls out to the Tarnished, who were once exiled from The Lands Between, and it guides them back. So this is the starting point or the impetus for the game itself, the Tarnished being called by the lost grace and returning to The Lands Between.”

The world will be “ripe for exploration” with it being much more open world than any of the other Soulsborne games. Where the Soulsborne games usually allow for open exploration in the immediate areas, it’s still quite restricted, whereas here with Elden Ring, yes they have laid out the map in such a way that you should go through it in a specific order but that’s not to say that it’s absolutely imperative to do so; you’re free to navigate the Lands Between as you so please.
Each of these six areas will also have its own dungeon area (Legacy Dungeons) which seamlessly connects to the Lands Between and these dungeons are also where you will find each of the demigod bosses lurking, awaiting their defeat.

“It’s divided into six major areas, and these are the domains of the major demigod characters. While the areas are lined up in a way so that you would normally tackle them in a specific order, you don’t have to follow it. We wanted to give a free level of progression and exploration throughout the Lands Between, so there’s a lot of different ways. You won’t be able to access everything from the start, but there are a lot of different ways you can approach each area. And there’s a lot of freedom as to which order you tackle different areas as well.” – Hidetaka Miyazaki, IGN Interview.

There is also supposedly a fast-travel system which can be found at bonfires known as Sites of Lost Grace, a weather and time system, you can also find hidden weapons, spells and other goodies throughout the world, therefore, encouraging some good ol’ exploration and supposedly a hub area that will be accessible later on in the game…which leads to a fair amount of curiosity. The firekeeper as per most Souls games will be a woman, this time named Melina and she’ll be a bit more “out there” than the usual “to themselves” types.

The Nitty Gritty
It’s been put at an extremely rough estimation that so far Elden Ring could require a minimum of around 30 hours to complete.
Elden Ring – Gameplay Preview
The only real confirmation we’ve had regarding specs recently is that it will have a maximum framerate of 60fps on PC with the 4K max resolution. On the up side, raytracing will be a thing for Elden Ring and frankly, it’s going to be gorgeous; although that will only be coming “via patch” and we aren’t even sure if that will be happening at launch or at a later stage.

Elden Ring also has the upcoming Closed Network Test. It was originally noted that you had to have signed up by the 1st of November but applications are still open if you would like to take a chance in the hopes of being included.
- It isn’t available on PC. You’ll need an Xbox One, Xbox Series S, or Series X, PS4, or PS5.
- The goal of the test is to work on server load and game balance, so you will be able to play online, but performance might be rough.
- Codes for the network test will be sent on Tuesday the 9th of November.
- Participants must be at least 17 years old.
- You don’t need Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus to play.

Closed Network Test Schedule:
- Session 1: Friday, November 12, 20:00 – 23:00 (JST)
- Session 2: Saturday, November 13, 12:00 – 15:00 (JST)
- Session 3: Sunday, November 14, 4:00-7:00 (JST)
- Session 4: Sunday, November 14, 20:00 – 23:00 (JST)
- Session 5: Monday, November 15, 12:00 – 15:00 (JST)
Why you SHOULD pre-order Elden Ring: All Editions & Collector’s Edition Revealed
If you’re keen, you can find Part 1 and Part 2 of the Hidetaka Miyazaki interview with Frontline Gaming Japan.