Darkish Souls 2’s essential reception was extraordinarily optimistic at launch in 2014. At the moment, nevertheless, you’d suppose the alternative primarily based on recurring discussions about FromSoftware’s oeuvre. With Elden Ring and its Shadow of the Erdtree growth now within the rearview, I can’t assist however ponder what we must always need from a theoretical second chapter.
Although FromSoftware president and common director Hidetaka Miyazaki just lately shot down the notion of Elden Ring 2 occurring anytime quickly, it’s onerous to think about a future the place the powers that be don’t push it by way of, particularly after the epic open-world RPG broke gross sales data for the corporate. When (not if) this occurs, what needs to be the cheap expectation?
Nicely, I personally need it to be nothing like Darkish Souls 2, that’s for certain. Whereas I don’t suppose it was a unhealthy sport, it actually didn’t really feel like the appropriate follow-up to the fashionable traditional that Darkish Souls turned out to be. After a profoundly bumpy dev course of, the sport we acquired was an enchanting mess. Positive, it labored and was principally enjoyable to play, particularly after the Scholar of the First Sin rework, however I can’t overlook its disjointed and janky nature.
Now, you is perhaps questioning why I’m speaking about Elden Ring 2 when the Nightreign launch date is probably going simply across the nook. Its announcement at The Sport Awards got here out of nowhere and induced a collective scream of confusion earlier than all of us realized it wasn’t a sequel however a roguelike spinoff designed firstly round co-op. Whereas it’s hardly a substitute for an Elden Ring 2, its fan response would possibly assist outline future FromSoftware initiatives, whether or not they’re Elden Ring-related or not, particularly if it proves to be the studio’s greatest deviation from the components established in Demon’s and Darkish Souls all these years in the past.
Whereas we’re speaking similarities and adjustments, one of many clearest hyperlinks between the primary Darkish Souls and Elden Ring is their delightfully interconnected areas. In fact, the latter had more room to develop, however this assertion pertains to the design philosophy behind each video games. The Lands Between really feel each bit as related and lived-in because the comparatively tiny Lordran. By going greater, the studio didn’t sacrifice the Metroidvania really feel that rounded off Darkish Souls’ crushing tackle fantasy RPGs. The bigger scale induced friction on different fronts although (extra on that later).
Darkish Souls 2’s Drangleic, however, resembles a bunch of ‘streets’ full of lifeless ends linked to an admittedly pretty central hub referred to as Majula. Total, it’s a fractured sport that we all know wasn’t the product of cautious planning however the results of a tumultuous growth, solely worsened by a decent deadline. When Darkish Souls 3 arrived two years later, Miyazaki’s agency guiding hand was felt as soon as once more.
Even when the Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura team-up hadn’t damaged off midway by way of growth, Miyazaki’s absence (justified at the very least by the all-timer that’s Bloodborne) nearly killed the sequence’ signature strategy to world and enemy design throughout its teenage section. Regardless of its glowing launch opinions, the FromSoftware legend admits it was the one challenge that taught them many useful classes.
By all accounts, and no matter what occurred behind the scenes, Darkish Souls 2 would’ve at all times been a extra experimental sport for FromSoftware. It’s onerous to think about the studio pondering the unique Darkish Souls would resonate with as many players because it did, even when Demon’s Souls was a sleeper hit on PS3. That’s a part of why I don’t significantly hate Darkish Souls 2 regardless of it being a marked step down from its predecessor.
So the general world construction didn’t work, and much too many areas have been simply variations of dusty ruins, however I’m additionally joyful to confess it’s typically beautiful and picturesque in its personal distinct approach. Likewise, covenants felt extra significant and fewer frustratingly obtuse. Fight additionally noticed some enhancements (although Adaptability’s impact on I-frames stays contentious). The checklist goes on and on. Darkish Souls 2 ain’t that unhealthy; it’s only a bit too sauce-less.
It did, nevertheless, fumble enemy designs practically as badly because the interconnectedness of its decaying world. There are solely so many variations of giants and lanky humanoids you may cram into your darkish fantasy RPG. Positive, there have been just a few cool monsters and deformed animal enemies right here and there, however Darkish Souls 2’s bestiary and assortment of evildoers pales compared to FromSoft’s finest work. Simply examine them to what the Bloodborne crew got here up with, as an illustration.
A possible Elden Ring 2 needs to be allowed to experiment in the identical approach as Darkish Souls 2, however that’s no excuse to repeat previous errors. We noticed what occurred when the studio rushed right into a full-scale follow-up final time round. The jury continues to be out on whether or not Nightreign (directed by Junya Ishizaki) can have the juice or find yourself feeling like an compulsory stopgap to appease Kadokawa shareholders, however perhaps going smaller is, for now, the appropriate name.
“Where FromSoftware is right now, in terms of scale, I would say Elden Ring is really the limit,” Miyazaki said earlier this yr forward of Shadow of the Erdtree’s launch. In the midst of an period when nearly each sequence appears to be chasing the massive open-world whale, it’s reassuring to listen to a inventive sidestep the countless pursuit of higher and higher scale.
Elden Ring stays considered one of my favourite videogames of all time. Interval. However it’s straightforward to identify the place FromSoftware unfold its assets too thinly within the pursuit of making a king-sized odyssey: a number of minor dungeons and crypts really feel copy-pasted or harking back to the monotony of Bloodborne’s procedurally generated Chalice Dungeons, and the identical goes for a number of the bosses whose solely differentiating issue is their title.
Elden Ring’s weak factors are in some methods much like what harm Darkish Souls 2: the concept that it needed to be an even bigger and meaner tackle FromSoft’s soulslike components, simply because. Elden Ring made it work in the long run, little doubt partially resulting from its longer growth time, however a full sequel can’t – and seemingly received’t, if Miyazaki’s feedback maintain true – chart the identical path.
So how ought to Elden Ring 2 feel and look? I can’t faux to know greater than FromSoftware, however Darkish Souls 3 at all times appeared like a wise and introspective continuation of the unique; the uncommon sequel that dared to query what got here earlier than whereas presenting itself as a nostalgic journey on the floor degree. It was in dialog with its predecessors with out feeling like a simple rehash, and that’s the sort of return to the Lands Between I’d wish to see. For now, we wait.
