Elden Ring's Open Field Concept Explained | Game Rant
One of the most highly anticipated releases that the public still knows next to nothing about is From Software and George R.R. Martin's Elden Ring. Gamers have been clamoring at every bit of information leaked or released by From about the title, but one of the most curious details about the upcoming game is director Hidetaka Miyazaki's claim that the game's world will be what he describes as "open field."
So what does "open field" mean? Essentially, it means that Elden Ring will be an open world game, in the loosest sense. From Software had initially described the game as an open world title, but have since pivoted away from using that terminology in favor of the open field descriptor, likely to differentiate the two concepts.
According to Miyazaki, Elden Ring is set to be the studio's "biggest title yet in terms of sheer volume," suggesting that the game's world will dwarf those of Bloodborne, Sekiro, and the Dark Souls series. However, the open field distinction intends to temper player's expectations about what this bigger world will entail. Gamers shouldn't prepare for a world-spanning odyssey on par with The Witcher 3 or Skyrim, but rather a contained, yet explorative gameplay experience. In essence, players should expect a world that's smaller and more intimate than something as enormous as an Assassin's Creed game, but still be different enough from past From Software games to avoid being seen as simply a more spread-out version of Dark Souls.
Perhaps the best example of a game that utilizes an open field concept is Shadow of the Colossus. One of the most critically acclaimed PS2 games of all time, Shadow of the Colossus reveled in its unique setting of a desolate valley. Players would have to explore the valley, trekking through its beautiful vistas and locales in order to track down the game's 16 titular colossi. In using this format, Shadow managed to effectively break up the intense and bombastic colossus battles with quiet periods of introspection and exploration. With Elden Ring being set in an open field as well, it's likely that From Software will use its spanning map to juxtapose the moments of tension and horror that the developer is famous for.
From Software games have always been connected by the core theme of desolation, and Elden Ring's open field offers a new way to approach that central value as a spiritual sequel to the Dark Souls series. While Souls games evoked a sense of loneliness as the player descended into dark catacombs, further and further away from the safety of their last bonfire with every step, Elden Ring has the opportunity to evoke the same sense of isolation in the opposite way. Much like Shadow of the Colossus, riding one's horse through an open, barren, and ominous world is sure to communicate the game's grim tone in a much fresher way than Dark Souls did.
Fans of "Soulsborne"-style games need not fret, however, as Miyazaki promises that the game's open field will not be a departure from the developer's roots, but rather an "evolution" of the world of Dark Souls. While titles like Dark Souls and Bloodborne did indeed feature a large world made up of various interconnected areas, Elden Ring promises to expand the claustrophobic corridors of past From Software games into larger, more open locales. Tight spaces will still be present in dungeons and caves, but these zones will be reached from the game's open field, rather than through doors and elevators connected to other dungeons and caves.
Elden Ring will be released on PC, PS4, and Xbox One at an unannounced date.
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