The Souls for Everyone? Explaining Elden Ring's Immense Popularity
As Elden Ring promises more accessibility, it seem set to be a global hit. Lower difficulty, however, is just one of many factors that could make FromSoftware's new product the souls game for the masses.
It won't be a newsflash when I admit that I'm really looking forward to playing Elden Ring – from the moment I first played Dark Souls, I was sure I wanted more of this type of games, I craved this kind of challenge, foggy, ambitious narratives and atmospheric fantasy worlds. Fortunately, the formula has evolved into a whole, separate sub-genre of action games, so both my humble person and millions of other soulslike enthusiasts have no reason to complain. I am a bit surprised, however, that the latest production of FromSoftware has gained so much popularity that it landed on the very top of the wish lists of so many Steam users. Because although I am aware of the strength of this universe, it always seemed to me quite a hermetic one.
After all, the reason why so many players gave up playing Demon's Souls and sequels was the forbidding level of difficulty, which could not be customized to provide a little less nightmarish experience. After all, not everyone has masochistic tendencies, not everyone has enough free time to afford several dozen unsuccessful attempts at the same boss, and not everyone will accept so many cunning traps and mechanics that are designed to give the player's patience a run for the money. Everything indicates that Elden Ring can break out of the merciless framework and become the soulslite for (almost) everyone.
I admit I didn't play Miyazaki's youngest digital child myself, so I base my, perhaps a bit risky, statements on the texts I read, materials I watched, and general observations. When I was formulating my opinion before the release of Sekiro in a similar way, I was right – the game gave me such a hard time that I still shiver at the mere thought of returning to it one day.
Back to the subject of Elden Ring – why do I think that that of all other FromSoftware soulslike games it will address the largest number of players? Why would so many people want it in their Steam library? The answer, in my opinion, is not that obvious. Theoretically, I could refer to the above difficulty level considerations and say that it will simply be slightly easier than its predecessors. Because yes, if you believe the beta testers, it just is easier. It would be an argument, even quite a solid one, but in the end, surely not definitive. Because people discouraged by earlier IPs wouldn't reach for another very similar game; it can only take a slightly lighter version in terms of challenge to convince them.
So let's consider for a moment how Elden Ring was trying to sell the idea from the beginning (apart from George R. R. Martin as screenwriter). First, of course, there's an open world. Fully open, this time. It's true that the Dark Souls or Bloodborne trilogy offered really large locations to explore, and they were connected by various, more or less complicated paths. Everything, however, was quite claustrophobic, based on corridors; as if it was possible to choose the direction of the journey, and that's a far cry from traversing a large expanse of land on horseback. And Elden Ring will feature a horse.
Let's agree on one thing – a well-designed open world stimulates imagination, increases the desire to explore and look into every nook and cranny, open every closed door. So if we get a promise of a game that can deliver something like this, with a hyper-quality approach that meets all the standards of the best AAA games, then sorry, but at this point, fans of Skyrim, The Witcher 3, the new Zelda or Dragon Age are starting to seriously consider whether this is not the perfect time to finally enter the world of soulslike, or give it another chance.
If we add a combat system emphasizing the weight of the weapon wielded known from Dark Souls and the dynamics of clashes known from Sekiro, the ability to travel on horseback, stealth mechanics, cooperation (and competition) modes, open map, and – behold – the long-awaited jumping abilities, then hey – it promises to be a varied and satisfying game with a true RPG twist. This is not a U-turn for the souls formula, but it's certainly a kind of evolution that can prove very beneficial in terms of attracting more audiences.
And I am well aware that my arguments may only convince some of you until you face the first boss. Because the vision, expectations and a promising open world are one thing, and the actual experience with the game can a slightly different story. Some players will probably crash into an impassable wall again, with a production that, despite all the improvements in accessibility, will simply have no mercy for the impatient and those looking for a slightly different type of challenge. Nevertheless, I encourage all those who haven't been riding the souls train so far – seriously, consider the Elden Ring. This game has a huge potential to be your first soulslike that actually provides that spark, freshness and chemistry some of us have known since February 5, 2009. Even if these feelings are intertwined with moderate outbursts of anger and frustration.
