To avoid finishing A Song of Ice and Fire, George R R Martin has yet another project on the horizon. But unlike the copious Game of Thrones spin-offs, there is one that we should all be keeping an eye out for. Turns out Tolkein is not the only one with an affliction for ring based fantasy titles…
Elden Ring is the latest game to come from Bloodborne and Dark Souls producer FromSoftware, and much like those titles this promises to be as brilliant (and traumatic) as its predecessors. Set in the open world of the Lands Between, Elden Ring follows the player, kindly nicknamed Tarnished, as you try to navigate a realm in pieces after a fittingly named war called The Shattering. With six main areas to explore, jumping (Demon Souls fans rejoice!) and up to four-player Co-op, it looks like this is the next evolutionary jump for the developer that likes to punish you at every step.
A key interest of many when it comes to Elden Ring is the involvement of George R R Martin, the mind behind Game of Thrones. While it is uncertain how much GRRM is involved, it has been confirmed that he write the “overarching mythos” while the game director (and FromSoftware CEO) Hidetaka Miyasaki and development staff wrote the dialogue and story of the actual game. According to Miyasaki, after Elden Ring’s initial announcement, the lore GRRM created “proved to be full of interesting characters and drama along with a plethora of mystical and mysterious elements” that was a “wonderful source of stimulus for us”. You can’t help but be excited for what a fascinating world this group of talented people have cooking up, which in combination with the return of Dark Souls 3 and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice composer Yuka Kitamura, Elden Ring is sure to make for one epic adventure, be it stunted by frequent death.
Elden Ring is set for release on 25 February 2022 on Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, Playstation 4 and 5, Xbox and PC.
