Jun 212021
Ahead of the Summer Games Fest, I had only a passing interest in Elden Ring due to all of the excitement about it and my own growing interest in FromSoftware’s games.
Because of course, one of the big selling points is that it’s open world, and I’m not the biggest fan of open world games.
The trailer revealed during the Summer Game Fest was pretty cool, but it’s the details revealed about the game since then that have really made me more interested in following it.
In IGN’s interview with Miyazaki, he explains a little more about the world structure, saying that the world is split into six main areas.
You have a hub, which leads to the six areas, each of which has its own major dungeon as well as optional areas.
A large Famitsu interview with Miyazaki, translated here, also goes into more detail. In the discussion about exploration (found in Part 3 of the translation), Miyazaki mentions that in addition to the “large open field,” there are areas structured more like areas in Dark Souls. These “legacy” areas appear to be the six major dungeons.
When discussing the field (in Part 4 of the translation), Miyazaki reveals that the open field areas have a world map where you can set waypoints, but the dungeon areas do not have a map. There are also barriers blocking your progress to some areas that you’ll need to overcome.
So overall, it sounds like there is a big open area that connects to the world’s major areas, and the main dungeons are structured more like Dark Souls.
I’m cautiously optimistic about that. While it’s still open world, it sounds like it might be the sort of structure that I’ll find enjoyable. A big hub leading to more traditional areas sounds good to me. So for now, I’m much more interested than I was before… and keeping my eye on Elden Ring news despite not being completely sold yet.
What are your thoughts on Elden Ring’s open world structure?