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When the collaboration with George R.R. Martin was announced for the From Software title, fans were elated. However, that was only shortly after the Game of Thrones Season 8 final left fans feeling more than a little disappointed.
Since then, the entire world has changed. Game of Thrones seems like a lifetime ago. Now, Souls-Borne games live on. Elden Ring is set to release on February 25th, 2022. Some testers have been permitted to play a trial of the game on a network test, but the real excitement comes in the story trailer.
Elden Ring’s creepy narrator
In the first seconds of the trailer, viewers are led into the story with some great homages to some Tolkien-like scenery. Meanwhile, the soft-spoken narration follows the traditions of the Dark Souls franchise. Elden Ring is not in the same fading world as Dark Souls. Yet, somehow, the world appears more doomed. It is not fading away but is being actively destroyed. Talks of the death of demi-gods signal those entities are working against the structure of the world.
Subsequently, we are given a thick layer of atmosphere. This is followed by a creepy, doll-like, girl with a ghostly conjoined twin. With any luck, we will find more about her. Games from Hidetaka Miyazaki tend to make us dig for the lore. Is she a reliable narrator? Does she serve a grander purpose?
An abandoned crown
The talks of war between demi-gods don’t paint a picture of sunshine and rainbows. In the story trailer and some other teasers, we can gather that the Elden Ring is an object of power. That likely makes it the second coolest ring in fantasy. However, the politics of the powerful in this land are still largely unknown.
While many troupes can be seen concerning myth and legend, likely, this is not a classic hero’s journey. Tradition dictates that the player will be a nobody in search of a way to put together a history of the great beings that inhabited the land. Success and happy endings are not synonymous here.
Does the storytelling in Elden Ring work?
George R.R. Martin served as the lore maker, like a game manager for a tabletop game. Souls-like games have a history of giving the players very little to go on. Sometimes, however, they give players a sense of what is going on around them from short descriptions accompanying items. The question is a simple one.
Does this work? Fans seem to think so. Consequently, the lore serves as a deep reward for hardened players. Getting to know why a player was pummeled to death a dozen times can make the knowledge of why they are going through all this much easier to swallow. Don’t expect easy lore to follow when picking up Elden Ring in early 2022. So, the game will be available for Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Elden Ring is set to release on February 25th, 2022.