Famous fantasy author and mind behind Martin is a good fit for Elden Ring.
FromSoftware games are known for being extremely punishing, experimental in their presentation, and engaging when it comes to level design. One aspect of these games that is somewhat less fervently discussed, however, is their writing and worldbuilding; Demon's Souls and Dark Souls borrow classic fantasy staples like dragons, knights, and warlocks and twist them into dark, unsettling versions of themselves. Bloodborne, the spiritual successor to the Souls games, takes place in a desolate, Lovecraftian gothic city whose citizens are under the dark spell of some incomprehensible cosmic force. The most recent FromSoftware release, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, puts players into a rendition of feudal Japan that seems fairly straightforward at first, but quickly devolves into esoteric mysticism and eldritch horror. With Elden Ring on the horizon, fans of these games are wondering how exactly the esteemed Japanese studio will present Martin's lore and character work in Elden Ring.
It turns out that the realization of George R.R. Martin's world in video game form will not be as straightforward as some people, including Martin himself, might be expecting. In an interview with Game Informer, FromSoftware president and director of Elden Ring Hidetaka Miyazaki noted that the development team took Martin's characters and turned them into darker, stranger versions of themselves. Miyazaki went on to comment that Martin might be shocked at just how different his original characters turned out, explaining that "When [Martin] wrote them, he was really envisioning something a little bit more human, a little bit more traditional human drama and fantasy characters."
This shouldn't come as a surprise to most fans of FromSoftware's previous works; The studio, at least after the release of Demon's Souls, has never taken a traditional approach to its worldbuilding or narrative delivery. While Martin certainly places a higher emphasis on crafting relatable, complex characters than Miyazaki and the rest of FromSoftware's writers, he has made waves by subverting genre expectations, so the different storytelling styles might end up having more synergy than meets the eye.
As is the case with so many FromSoftware releases, very little will be known about Elden Ring until players actually get their hands on it at the end of February. The game is shaping up to be one of the biggest releases of 2022, and the involvement of Martin in the world-building process has no doubt played a very large role in creating hype for the title. It remains to be seen just how the story of Elden Ring will shake out, but with writers as creative as Miyazaki and Martin, there is a good chance it will be one to .
Source: Game Informer
Elden Ring will release on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on February 25, 2022
