The world design for
Elden Ring by From Software is epic in scale and scope. However, what sets it apart from other games isn't just how beautiful everything is or how expansive, detailed, and full of possibilities its open world is. It is instead how the studio has used its own esoteric design principles to produce a product that feels brand-new, elegant, and exclusively from From Software. The main components of the game offer more freedom to explore than ever before while maintaining the same solid action and role-playing foundations as previous iterations. Elden Ring is an open-world game that belongs entirely to a different genre. From Software has mastered the delicate orchestration of highs and lows, the build-up and release of tension, and when combined with the excitement of freeform exploration and discovery, the result is an addictive cocktail of game design.
Elden Ring uses the lightest of touches to lead the player. The player has complete exploration autonomy in The Lands Between, whether they choose to travel on foot or by horseback. Five Elden Lords who each hold a shard of the eponymous Elden Ring rule the world. As a lowly Tarnished, your goal is to overthrow these evil lords, take their shards, face the Erdtree, and eventually rise to the position of Elden Lord. You are given free rein to explore the world however you see fit after a brief cutscene establishes the game's premise.
