Summary
Elden Ringis FromSoftware’s most successful game yet, and an evolution of the Soulsborne formula that the studio pioneered withDemon’s SoulsandDark Souls- but many of the aspects ofElden Ringthat make it what it is also make it much more difficult to develop a sequel for. WhileElden Ringcould very well be the start of a new franchise for FromSoft, especially considering its massive success, the studio will have to work past some notable roadblocks that weren’t present in theDark Soulstrilogy.
With the notable exception of the threeDark Soulsgames, many of FromSoftware’s RPGs have not been direct sequels, withDemon’s Souls, the originalDark Souls,Bloodborne, and nowElden Ringall being more in the vein of spiritual successors - building on the studio’s past work without directly carrying forward the same lore or storylines.Dark Souls 2and3stand as notable exceptions, but the same storytelling aspects that madeDark Soulsmore conducive to sequels aren’t necessarily present in the studio’s newest and most popular game.
Elden Ring Review: Hands Across America
Elden Ring is a staggeringly large, nearly perfect culmination of everything FromSoftware has developed since the release of Demon’s Souls.
The Dark Souls Approach To Sequels Wouldn’t Work For Elden Ring
An Elden Ring Sequel Can’t Time Skip Like The Dark Souls Sequels Did
DespiteElden RingandDark Soulssharing much of the same DNA,Elden Ringdoesn’t share the aspects ofDark Soulsthat made it more conducive to direct sequels. The stories of theDark Soulssequels, especiallyDark Souls 2, are relatively unconnected to what came before them. While there are definite connections to be made, and many direct references to past events (especially in3), both sequels take place after incredibly long time skips, making the events of previous games more like background details than vital knowledge.
The same approach, however, might prove more difficult to pull off inElden Ring.A core part of the game’s narrative is built around the history of the Lands Between, written in collaboration with George R. R. Martin,that heavily informs the present day conflicts ofElden Ring. Unlike inDark Souls, which presents even many of its most important characters and bosses as remnants of an age long past, many ofElden Ring’s most important figures are still active participants trying to lead the world in a new direction.
As a result,Elden Ringfeels much more strongly tied to the presentthat players go through in-game, and going for a massive time skip in a sequel would run a greater risk of feeling jarring or narratively unsatisfying. WhereasDark Soulscould leap to new, but vaguely related settings and time periods (admittedly much more overtly related inDS3) across its sequels, thelore and narrative ofElden Ringmake it less well-suited to replicating that effect in a sequel.
Don’t Get Your Hopes Up For Elden Ring 2, Despite Miyazaki Saying It’s Possible
Elden Ring Director Hidetaka Miyazaki has acknowledged the possibility of an Elden Ring 2, but it is still best to restrain any excitement.
An Elden Ring Sequel Can’t Account For Every Ending
Player Choice Is Impossible To Account For
While the time skip approach of theDark Soulstrilogy would be harder to justify inElden Ring,the approach of trying to make a true direct sequel, set shortly after the end of the game, presents problems of its own. Importantly, one thing thatDark Souls 2neatly circumvented with its massive time skip was having to account for player choice - whether the player character in the originalDark Soulschose to link the fire or leave it, enough time has passed by the start of the sequel that it doesn’t matter, so there’s no strictly canon player choice inDark Souls.
However,Elden Ringcan’t quite take the same approach - whereasDSandDS2each only had two possible endings that sequels would have to account for,Elden Ringhas six endings, each of which lead to drastically different world states that a sequel wouldn’t be able to reconcile. The Lord of Frenzied Flame or the Age of the Stars endings, for example, are too drastically different from both each other and the other four endings to simply hand-wave away in a sequel, which means thatElden Ringwould have to pick a canon ending in a sequel.
AnElden Ringsequel would be caught between the fact thatit’s not possible to honor every player choice and ending from the first game, and also narratively unsatisfying to hand-wave those different endings away with a time skip. The same aspects ofElden Ring’s narrative that serve to differentiate it fromDark Soulsalso make it harder to develop a sequel for, with no easy answer or obvious approach for FromSoft to take.
When Shadow Of The Erdtree Takes Place On Elden Ring’s Timeline
Elden Ring’s new Shadow of the Erdtree DLC adds new events to the game’s story, but it isn’t entirely clear when they take place on its timeline.
How An Elden Ring Sequel Could Work
Despite The Challenges, A Sequel Could Still Happen
However, while it would be harder to make anElden Ringsequel in a narrative sense, it’s hardly impossible, especially for a studio as experienced as FromSoft.One possible solution is to take an approach similar toFallout, bypassing the need to canonize any single ending by simply setting the sequel in another location. ThoughElden Ringis strongly tied to the Lands Between, the game does make mention of other locations, some of which could possibly make interesting areas in sequels.
IfElden Ringstays within the Lands Between, though, another solution would be to simplypick one ending and stick to it- either the ending with the most interesting consequences, like the Age of Stars, or endings which leave as much room as possible for FromSoft to work, like the default Age of Fracture ending. In particular, the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending has several interesting implications and ends on what is essentially a cliffhanger, and so could serve as a good basis for a sequel.
Finally,a time skip does remain as an option- though it doesn’t seem like it would fitElden Ringas well asDark Souls, it should be noted that the originalDark Soulsitself wasn’t really set up for it either. The concepts and repeating conflict that made the time skip approach work were mostly only introduced inDark Souls 2, and there’s nothing to say that FromSoft couldn’t do something similar for anElden Ring 2- especially if the studio collaborates with George R. R. Martin again to progress the world into some distant future.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that FromSoftware’s next game afterElden Ringis yet another spiritual successor with an entirely new setting, asDark Soulsis still the only FromSoft-developed Soulsborne to have become a series - the studio’s next project could very possibly not even be a Soulsborne, given thesuccess of other recent games likeArmored Core 6andSekiro. Given the level of mainstream appeal thatElden Ringhas achieved, though, it’s hard to imagine that FromSoftware isn’t at least considering a sequel, and the challenges inherent in developing one.
Elden Ring
Elden Ring is a popular game released by From Software, creators of games such as Armored Core, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne. Players assume the role of a Tarnished, a being once exiled to the Lands Between and has returned to repair the Elden Ring after the events of “The Shattering.” “The Shattering” occurred when the offspring of Queen Marika battled to claim the shards of the Elden Ring, known as Great Runes. Their war has brought lawlessness, destruction, and chaos to the land, and the player will challenge them with the assistance of a Maiden known as Melina as they travel towards the great Erd Tree to face their destiny and to become the one true Elden Lord. Players can tackle the game how they choose and can adventure across realms as they build their character how they want - be it a powerful magic caster or a brutal swordsman - they will have complete control over their build.
