The Game That Broke All the Rules — and Won

The Problem with Today’s Open-World Games

Have you noticed that games today are mostly the same, relying on a trend and squeezing the most out of it, focusing more on riding the wave than bringing quality?

I’m sure you’ve seen this happen many times before. Some examples are games-as-a-service and NFTs, but the main topic today is… Open-world games.

Games in this style share many similarities: a giant open world to explore, but one that’s often uninteresting. In general, the experiences are poorly made and inflated. Many (most) companies love to create these types of maps but forget to transform this fantasy world into something truly engaging.

Questlines, villagers, and NPCs without any story or importance are usually how companies try to disguise this empty world they create and sell to us as the next game of the decade.

Applying a successful structure is not and never will be a guarantee of that same success.

Elden Ring: The Game That Took It to the Extreme

On February 25, 2022, FromSoftware released its biggest new Soulsborne game.

For those who are familiar with titles like Demon/Dark Souls or Bloodborne, it was no surprise that Elden Ring would be another challenging experience.

However, FromSoftware games, on the other hand, have never been known for the most beautiful graphics or a huge map to explore (so far). Yet here, FromSoftware bet on its visual composition once again, making each environment, each setting, and each boss room unforgettable.

Even though Elden Ring has an extremely colossal map, it never bombards you with multiple icons or points telling you where your next mission is.

For the story, Hidetaka Miyazaki (director of several Souls games) has always brought breathtaking fictional worlds and impressed us with the wonderfully told, but subtle, stories.

In Elden Ring, he surpassed himself by bringing none other than George R.R. Martin, the author of the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, to create the mythology for Elden Ring.

FromSoftware’s Formula

FromSoftware and Miyazaki were once again honored, winning the 2022 Game of the Year (GoTY) against God of War Ragnarök, one of the toughest GoTY battles in history.

If we look closely at Elden Ring, we won’t see anything we haven’t already seen in the industry or even from FromSoftware itself. Elden Ring is a culmination of 30 years of experience in game development.

The style of Demon Souls, the best combat from the three Dark Souls games, the consistency and exaggeration of Bloodborne, and the quality of Sekiro (also GoTY winner in 2019).

Elden Ring doesn’t reinvent the open-world concept, but it takes familiar mechanics to new heights. It demonstrates that while the gaming industry often prioritizes consumer spending and time, true success lies in delivering quality over quantity.