Elden Ring is considered one of the best games of all time. Nevertheless, the chief developer Hidetaka Miyazaki is not entirely satisfied with the final product. For the next game, he wants to take inspiration from another game by FromSoftware.
How does Elden Ring stand? The large open-world game by FromSoftware was released in 2022 and has won numerous awards. It is regarded by fans as a milestone and a preliminary highlight in the studio’s catalog. On Metacritic, Elden Ring has a score of 96 in the critics’ rating and a user score of 8.0.
However, chief developer Hidetaka Miyazaki believes there is still room for improvement. He thinks Elden Ring is not perfect and there is space for enhancements.
What exactly he wants to change, he explained in an interview with Game Informer. A previous game from the studio is supposed to serve as a model for any new titles, at least regarding the combat system.
Here you can see the trailer for the upcoming DLC “Shadow of the Erdtree”. You can find all the info about the release on MeinMMO.
“Sekiro was a turning point”
What does Hidetaka Miyazaki say? In the history of the Soulsborne games, one title stands out for the Japanese developer: Sekiro.
The game deviates somewhat from the norm and is different in some respects compared to Dark Souls, Bloodborne, or Elden Ring. Especially the combat system resembles more of a rhythm game than actual fighting.
For this reason, Sekiro is especially challenging at first; only when it “clicks” in the player’s mind do fluid duels with the tricky opponents occur. Miyazaki today describes Sekiro as a “turning point” in FromSoftware’s development history.
After the slow fights in Dark Souls and the somewhat faster ones in Bloodborne, he wished for an even smoother and more active system. In Sekiro, Miyazaki came quite close to his vision. But he also says:
“I personally think there’s another level on which we can make the whole thing sharper and refine the mechanics even more.”
What does this mean for new games? In future titles, the design philosophy from Sekiro is to be continued. Battles could become even faster and thus smoother. So even faster than in Elden Ring, which had somewhat slowed down in terms of pace, appearing more like a mix of the previous games.
The mistakes that Miyazaki believes he made in Elden Ring are to be corrected in a new game. He says he has not yet completed the “ideal fantasy role-playing game.”
Some aspects that were not perfect in Elden Ring could still be refined. Whether these high expectations will be realized in a potential Elden Ring 2 or a completely new title remains unclear.
First, on June 21, 2024, the release of the major expansion “Shadow of the Erdtree” is impending. The DLC is the largest the studio has ever made and will keep you glued to the screen for about 40 hours. It was already clear during the preview: the bosses are once again the incredibly tough highlight.
