While FromSoftware’s Sekiro shared lot of DNA with its predecessors (in the form of the Souls franchise), it was a departure in two key areas. The first being combat, but the second being storytelling. Unlike the Souls games, Sekiro had a plot that was given in a straightforward way through several cutscenes. What about the next game from the company, Elden Ring? Well, it seems they’re going back to the vague with their next fantasy epic.
For those not familiar, the Souls titles didn’t have a traditional story. Instead it involved a handful of cutscenes, devoid of context, and nothing more on the surface. The story was tucked away in the game’s lore through item descriptions, optional conversations with NPCs, or other environmental storytelling. In an interview with IGN, the game’s director said with Elden Ring they are going back more to that style of storytelling over Sekiro‘s more traditional, straightforward approach.
He’s also said the combat will be heavily inspired by Dark Souls as well, so it seems that the game will very much be return to that formula for fans. Elden Ring is announced to come out in 2020 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. You can keep up to date on all the news on the game here.