FromSoftware has generally steered clear of sequels outside theDark Soulsseries, as the company has been known to prefer spiritual successors. However, it may be beneficial to the company to create a game in a similar vein toSekiro: Shadows Die Twiceafter the release ofElden Ring. The game was lauded by many to be the best game to come out of 2019, and some even considerSekiro: Shadows Die Twiceto be the best Soulslike game yet.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twicedid many things differently in comparison to the rest of the Soulsborne franchise. For starters,Sekiro: Shadows Die Twiceentirely removed the online multiplayercomponent from the formula; this allowed the implementation of a fully-fledged pause button, which a good few fans were thankful for. In retrospect, it never felt like an online component was missing from the game, as many Soulslike players often choose to complete the games solo for more of a challenge.
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Hidetaka Miyazaki, on the other hand, must have felt otherwise, asElden Ringis said to include multiplayer and no pause button. While online multiplayer has been an integral part of the FromSoftware formula,Sekiro Shadows Die Twicefelt like a more focused game without it. The game never offered players an easy way out by allowing them to summon other players into their world, forcing them to overcome these obstacles themselves.
Key Differences and Similarities Between Elden Ring and Sekiro
One of the major differences between the two games besides online multiplayer is the fact that players will be able to customize their characters inElden Ringby choosing from various character classes.Elden Ringhas even included a samurai class, most likely as a nod toSekiro: Shadows Die Twice.Players have no choice but to play as Sekiro inSekiro: Shadows Die Twice, but this is not necessarily a bad thing.
Some playerscriticizedSekiro: Shadows Die Twicefor not allowing players to use different weaponsor combat styles, but this allowed the developer to streamline the new parry combat system. This once again meant that players would have to develop the skills to conquer the enemies in the game the way the developer intended instead of being able to grind enough to create a near-flawless PVE build like in theDark Soulsgames.Elden Ringseemingly allows players to equip any weapon or armor set that they want, which is great, but it would be a shame to not seeSekiro’s style implemented again since it worked so well in the 2019 game.
Another thingSekiro: Shadows Die Twicedid very differently was its story-telling. The stories in the threeDark Soulsgames were exceptionally ambiguous and require the player to do some digging, put some puzzle pieces together, and then finally give up to search for what the games were actually all about online.Sekiro: Shadows Die Twicehad the most fleshed-out story of nearly all the modern FromSoftware games, as players were presented with a named character and a story that was much easier to follow. The fact thatSekiro: Shadows Die Twiceis set in a fictional version of Japanwas also a breath of fresh air since many of the other FromSoftware games are based on Western mythology.
Elden Ringseems to be a love letter to the past FromSoftware games, as Miyazaki has included many of the best aspects of these titles. WhileElden Ringis expected to be a huge hit, it would be nice to see FromSoftware create a new game similar in style toSekiro: Shadows Die Twice,as the differences set the game apart from the rest of the Soulsborne series.
Elden Ringreleases February 25 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
