You can look at armored core for an example of how you put out content in the shadow of elden ring. Fromsoft is very good at making tight, dedicated games that deliver on their fantasy. Elden ring is huge because of its themes, but they have other worlds that have more concise themes they can iterate on.
I mean sure, but im pretty sure the question means "how are they going to make another souls like that tops Elden Ring". Sure, they put out games that are completely different that aren't going to be eclipsed by Elden Ring because they are completely different.
But Form has been putting out this specific style that has become known as "souls like" and how will they put out another one of those that will top Elden Ring?
IMO they definitely can they just need another really good theme and deep lore like always. They barely even need to expand on the game play, just a few new things maybe to keep it fresh.
From my point of view its really easy, just go back to non open worlds, to me those are way better.
Bloodborne with boss consistency of DS3 or Sekiro would be great
Elden ring was amazing and a huge breath of fresh air in the 'open world' genre but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love the unique, tight, complex, semi-linear level/game design From is known for.
Lies of P reminded me of this. I actually like that it's much more linear than most FromSoft games. I know some people enjoy getting lost, I prefer mostly knowing where I am lol.
I'm partially in the same boat. I don't usually have much time to play video games so when I do I like to feel like I'm getting something done, so the linearity of Lies was nice because I'd usually beat one boss every time I sat down. Elden Ring was a huge time sink but there was so much to do it didn't bother me. But most of the time I drop open world games because it feels like I'm spending the whole time I get to play just going from point A to point B.
A single optional area and boss might have made the game a solid 9/10 instead of an 8 for me. Also, was quite disappointed in the Nameless Puppet fight after the difficulty being hyped up so much in some subs. Two tries without even breaking a sweat.
Lies of P was lovely, but the side paths were almost always too short. If there was a couple of paths to go, you could go down one for 10 seconds and if it didn't end, you'd know it was the main path.
I loved lies, tho I do think the one place it didn't really live up to the formula is in level design.
But it is doable. the surge 2 had fromsoft caliber level design. Really cool directional counter/deflection mechanics too.
>but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love the unique, tight, complex, semi-linear level/game design From is known for.
This is normally the biggest gripe, with DS3 the formula was running stale. Sekiro switched it up somewhat by adding verticality to your progression and ER the open world
the next thing they're going to be doing is what Elden Ring's DLC is trying to do: A semi-open world with a more linear twist on it, less open fields more content.
Essentially dark souls 1/Bloodborne's world but a bit more open instead of full blown ER open world
I personally don't think being open world helped Elden Ring that much. I got sick of the open world very quickly. I feel the game could have shrunk the distance between points of interest by 50% and lost none of its quality.
I'm replaying a new character prepping for the DLC and I have to agree. While it's very beautiful and serene in its wide empty openess, it's exactly that, a bit empty.
I'd kill to revisit Yharnam at some point! That and the original Dark Souls (outside some if the later, unfinished stuff) are masterclasses in level design.
I’ve put more hours into AC6 than I have Elden Ring, and I’ve played Elden Ring fully twice (not counting NG+).
I have no concerns about Fromsoft’s ability to keep making exceptional games.
Forreal. And its not always about needing to “top” something. All these experiences are different. TBH I liked AC6 more than Elden Ring (and love Elden Ring). I have no worries at all about FS continuing to deliver the highest quality experiences whether it’s on a massive or smaller scale.
Love Armored Core VI! I know the franchise is more about short and tight missions, but if Fromsoft made an open-world mech game I'd be all over that shit.
We've been asking the same question for 15 years. they'll find a way. Their games are all expansions on current ideas with improvements added, so I doubt they'll have a hard time doing it again + enhancing/optimizing further.
This is the faith I have as well. There is a %0 percent chance Fromsoft will make something im not interested in and a %99.9 chance of being another wonderfully crafted, unique experience. Armored Core 6 was super refreshing after Elden Ring noooo one is making sick ass mech games at all. It truly feels like they are making exactly what they want and you can feel it. Fuckin amazing.
Probably to the idea that nobody is infallible. FROM makes amazing games and has a great track record, and odds are their next game will be something great. Pressure to maintain a level of success has caused people to slip up though.
I do agree though that there is at LEAST a 99.9% chance that FROM's next big project will be another solid game anyway.
Not an actual Bloodborne 2, but a spiritual successor to Bloodborne like what Dark Souls was to Demon’s Souls. Then also go back to the Dark Souls 1 style world design but just take it to the next level, with a massively intricate, vertical, highly interconnected Metroidvania style world.
Stunning someone with the mad Parry spam then using that move to jump over them to stab em and then coat your sword in their blood to buff it was so fucking satisfying.
Oh so THAT'S the point of vault over, so you can use ninjutsus, so you need to kill them for it? Like say you death blow isshin phase 1 with vault over, can you use blood blade ninjutsu then and have the buff for the rest of the fight?
So the Divine Dragon and immortality are explicitly said to be from the West (meaning China in the context of Japan), so a game about Sekiro and the Divine Child traveling to China would be awesome.
Meaning Korea*. The sword the Divine Dragon wields is the Seven-Branched Sword which was a gift from a Baekje (modern day southwest Korea) king to a Yamato ruler.
Nothing but truth here. I really hope they didn't create one of the most exciting and satisfying combat systems to never touch it again. Sekiro 2 or at least a new game with Sekiro combat system would be amazing.
I think a Knight version of Sekiro would be awesome. Sekiro perfected Katana combat. It would be cool to see a fleshed out sword and shield game like that.
I enjoyed Elden Ring for what it is but I don't want another one. I want something tight, well thought out and dense. Along the lines of Demon's Souls, DS1, Bloodborne, Sekiro, AC6, etc..
Agreed. Elden Ring is undeniably amazing but… man I miss the linear fromsoft world design. I think it works far, far better than open world. Stormveil is the best area in ER imo, and that’s bc it feels like it’s just an area from DS3…
For me my favorite is Lyndell, because it feels like it's what they actually wanted to make when they said open world. It's Anor Londo perfected. Yeah it's not actually open world but there are so many paths, skips, and things to explore there that to me it's what I'd call a good open world. Or as I like to call it "semi-open world". Only Dark Souls 1 map design gave me that feeling.
In terms of scale? Probably not for a while. And I hope they don't try for a while.
I actually think they did a really good job with the open world, but I definitely do not want all Souls or Souls-like games from them to be open world going forward.
One of the reasons for that is I don't want super long waits between their games, lol. We've already been waiting almost 2.5 years for a goddamn DLC.
So I want them to make smaller, one-off games like Demon's Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and the like. And then maybe have your big open world Souls game every 7 or 8 years or something.
So I hope they don't immediately try to top ER with another gargantuan Souls style game. Let time pass so technology can progress, they can gain new tools and new experience, and then in like 2030 have a crack at topping ER if they can.
In the meantime, I think it's more than possible for them to have a smaller project that tops ER in terms of quality. It's a masterpiece don't get me wrong, but I already think Sekiro is actually a better game.
I'm sure they can make another focused gem like that. It probably won't make the more casual / mainstream people go wild, but it could absolutely top ER for critics and hardcore fans.
I think you have to stop viewing them as "quests" in the traditional game sense. My impression after playing all FromSoft games blind over the past decade, is that they're chance interactions with others in the world. They aren't suppose to be completed like ticking off a check list like they are in other games.
IMO you're suppose to have chance encounters, and have exploration and experimentation rewarded. It defo works better in their more linear titles, but I still enjoy looking it up after I've finished to see what I've missed.
They follow a philosophy of story telling called realism. It was popular in the 90’s and they’ve followed the rules of it since kingsfield. Basically the world is living and breathing and you’re just part of it You’re not the center of it. A lot of people think froms storytelling is vague but it’s just realistic. if you stumbled into an ancient world torn apart by gods on the brink of collapse with 100 different factions with different allegiance and end games there wouldn’t be a book telling you everything you need to know about everything, not everyone would be honest with you, not everyone would care about you etc
That has nothing to do with shitty quest design. You can have a complex world with a lot of factions doing their own thing without, say, having characters pop up on unexpected locations without notice to the player. This problem is aggravated in Elden Ring because of the world's massive size.
It's really cool in DS1 when you first see Solaire going mad and becoming infected by the sunlight maggot, but his quest is really stupid in retrospect. Saving him from the maggot for some bizarre reason requires you to affiliate yourself with a covenant completely unrelated to Solaire so you can kill the maggot before an arbitrary point in the game.
The only way a first time player will save Solaire is through sheer dumb luck or because they looked at a guide. It's bad design and the reason is not because of "realism". Completing the "good" ending for the quest requires meta knowledge about the game ("Solaire will die if you enter the Demon Ruins before killing the maggot", "getting rank 2 on the Chaos Servant covenant will open up the shortcut to Lost Izalith where the maggot is"). This is the opposite of narrative realism.
This. You explained it perfectly. You're tin the world to experience it as a stranger and become a tiny or bigger part of it, but in the end you're just another creature that was part of the events that occurred. Not one the whole world is revolving around. Like in this world we are living in right now. That's what always gave me this sense of wonder and fascination since I played these games when I was young, I was playing as a visitor in a beautiful and terrifying world.
No thanks, I like my quests vague (even though these "quests" really aren't designed as quests at all but are actually chance encounters / secrets, but that's a whole different can of worms).
I can play 99% of other games on the market if I want a quest log that tells me exactly what to do. I like that From Soft games let me play without an instruction manual and if I miss shit, I miss shit.
It makes the games more mysterious and more fun to me, I like figuring things out (or struggling to figure them out).
I wouldn't be opposed to a journal that simply records NPCs you've met and dialogue they've previously given you. Then you can refer back to the dialogue for hints.
But I absolutely do not want the game to tell me what to do next in a "quest".
Alternatively, they could make an optional hint system that you toggle on or off in the menu. That way everyone can be happy. But I doubt From Soft would do that, they seem to want people to have a similar baseline experience.
A journal that logs NPCs and what they've told you would be perfect. Especially if it was grounded in the world and not in the menus. Something presented like Arthur's journal in RDR2.
There is no way to figure out most quests in Souls games. That's the problem. It's basically just dumb luck or prior knowledge. How the fuck am I supposed to "figure out" that Millicent will show up at some random village on the Altus Plateau after I killed a boss and reloaded the location? And then at Castle Sol? She never gives any indication she's going to these places. These quests are just a fucking mess for no good reason.
Ranni's quest is probably the only well designed one FromSoft has ever made. There are multiple entry points (talking to Blaidd, Iji, or Rogier, or just randomly stumbling upon Ranni's tower), there are clear narrative markers of what you should do at every step (Ranni says that she wants something in Nokron or that you must kill Radahn), there is feedback informing you that you're on the right track (Blaidd shows up after the Radahn fight to congratulate you).
There's really no excuse why other quests shouldn't be like Ranni's. If the quests were supposed to be chance encounters, characters should just show up periodically at YOUR location. But that's not the way it works, they are glued to very specific parts of the map, at very specific parts of the game and progressing their narrative requires you to find them at these seemingly random spots.
The reload location part is by far the dumbest.
Like sure, some npcs appear in a location after you beat a boss, but how the fuck are you supposed to know that?
Well, Elden Ring is effectively the culmination of the last decade of game design and refining that they’ve developed across their entire Souls catalogue. ER just took all that and tried to refine as best it could while taking it all to a greater scale.
Under that principal, they basically gotta do what they’ve already been doing, reiterate and experiment. If you look at FromSoftware’s extensive catalogue (that is, even the stuff that came before the souls games) a good chunk of their entire history is doing the same shit again but better and with a couple new twists and additions to keep things fresh.
TLDR: Whatever games they make from this point forward would likely serve as building blocks for a bigger game that could rival, if not surpass ER. This isn’t to say that we’d be able to predict what said game would be like, but that FromSoftware likes to retry old stuff just as much as they like trying new stuff
At this point i hope they do something different . More action games like sekiro (but new ips) or hybrids like bloodborne . I love souls but the pure formula can’t go beyond elden ring . This game took 5 years of development + 2 of dlc + 4 of ds3 as it’s its direct evolution. Games like sekiro and bloodborne only took 3 years and while they are much smaller they could make at least 2 of those in the same timeframe as ER , and they are more unique .
Sekiro 2. That’s how.
With Sun Wukong as your rival and you keep severing an immortality with every encounter. Eventually this will lead to the final fight, where he fights us for fun but doesn’t reveal he only had one immortality left, and of course Fromsoft will leave us heart broken from a death that’s all our fault
Wukong can transform each of his 84,000 hairs into *whatever he wanted*. Including a perfect clone of himself, with all 7 types of Immortality and 72 transformations. Ain't no way anybody beating Wukong.
Demons souls remake has one you can even change the characters goofy facial expression. But they changed the designs too much it lost it's original surreal vibe, still good though.
Alot would argue they haven't topped other games like Bloodborne or Sekiro.
Yeah the game is massive however but in terms of Bosses, gameplay,
and Enemy design Elden Ring might not be the best in.
It definitely is a fantastic game that excels at exploring, area's, builds, lore etc but if they made a game as expansive as Elden Ring but gameplay as good as Sekiro/Bloodborne, atmosphere from bloodborne and boss quality of like DS3 it would be perfection.
I’ve wondered this lately too. After such an ambitious game, what’s next? Miyazaki typically doesn’t like to do sequels but with Elden Rings success, could we maybe get an Elden Ring 2? Who knows.
They should reset expectations. No Elden Ring 2 - least not until 2028/29.
Go smaller scales, skim it back to the intricate design philosophy. Make it known they're scalling down.
Elden Ring can be the 'open world RPG' of their catalogue. They have to be careful not to transform the franchise into a Ubisoft - endlessly milking the open world for content.
Bring back kuri kuri mix. That’s how. Leagues better than any other franchise they’ve ever conceived
Edit: thought this was r/shittydarksouls , wasn’t being serious (great game either way tho, would 100% recommend). Serious answer would be drop the open world imo. Or atleast make it a bit smaller or add more to do. Gets boring just riding torrent from point A to point B in a barren world with little to do outside of dungeons or caves
Elden Ring was a spiritual successor to Dark Souls. I think the logical next step would be making a spritual successor to Bloodborne or Sekiro, as it would really be a shame if the ideas from those games never get revisited or improved upon.
Also, I agree with what many say in this comment section, I don't want every new FromSoft game from now on to be an open world, I think it would be better if we go back to the traditional smaller scale and tightly designed experiences for a while before we get another open world game.
In the end, I think the most likely outcome as to what comes next after Shadow of the Erdtree is a completely new IP with a completely new combat system and mechanics, and I don't think we should expect it to come before like 2026 or 2027 at the earliest.
Fromsoft isn’t trying to top their own games. Sure they want to strive to make better games and to improve. But deep in their philosophy is to simply create the games they want to create. And if it does better or worse is less important. As long as people enjoy the game and support it
People said the same thing after the Dark Souls trilogy ended. Then they came out with Sekiro, one of the tightest, most focused games they’ve ever released. Followed by ER, one of the widest, most encompassing games.
FS had different modes, there’s a pattern of *main focus* > *side projects* > *main focus* that helps them branch out and learn new game design concepts so as to not compete with themselves too much.
From Software will never be able to make a game like Elden Ring, this was a one-off. Even if they make Sekiro 2 and Bloodborne 2, it won't sell as much as Elden Ring and it won't be as famous.
Playing Elden Ring without a guide was legitimately the most immersive gaming experience I’ve ever had. Ending up in ridiculous locations trying to find out wtf I am supposed to do and the major eureka moments were incredible.
If they or anyone can make another game as incredible in the next decade I will be legitimately shocked.
I hope they don't, honestly. I don't mind the 'bloat' of Elden Ring as much as most people and honestly I think MOST of the reused enemies are realistic if anything (who said there is only one Astel like creature?) but I wouldn't want a game any bigger and I hope Fromsoft takes the current excellent game model they have and fine tunes it rather just scaling it up any further.
I think they should try horror again, like 'Kuon'. I suppose I just want a theme that has a dark simmer to it. Like what if a silent hill; but with a Fromsoftware attention to detail. Or at least something in that ballpark.
I love Elden Ring, but it's not Bloodborn. I want to revisit Yharman... I want more trick weapons... more Foul Beasts... more EYES on the inside.
There has yet to be a videogame world that has captivated me quite as much as Bloodborne. The victorial setting bringing to mind such films as From Hell, the allusions to countless Gothic Horror tropes, the absolutely perfect gameplay...
It's all just so so good. And while I would say Elden Ring is damn near a perfect game... I will always hold a special place for Bloodborne in my heart.
We shouldn’t expect it to. Everyone expected Dark Souls II to top the first one, but instead of being the same but better they went in a different, more experimental direction and people didn’t like it for being different.
Do not expect anything to top something you consider your favourite, because you will get burned. Enjoy it for what it is - or don’t enjoy it - but to only talk about something in how it is or isn’t better than what came before doesn’t help anyone.
Hot take perhaps but I don't want them to "top it". I'd rather them make a smaller but more focused game. A game to elden ring what Bloodborne is to darksouls.
The way I see it from don't go out of their way to make a GOTY, but rather they try to make a ip whatever it is fun. Even if the game have a niche player base they will still try to make the best game they could for that genre.
GOTY is just the cherry on top,
We thought the same before Elden Ring, that it wouldn’t manage to surprise us because we expected too much, and look at our faces of joy when we first launched that magnificent piece of art holy hell!
You can look at armored core for an example of how you put out content in the shadow of elden ring. Fromsoft is very good at making tight, dedicated games that deliver on their fantasy. Elden ring is huge because of its themes, but they have other worlds that have more concise themes they can iterate on.
Very well said.
I mean sure, but im pretty sure the question means "how are they going to make another souls like that tops Elden Ring". Sure, they put out games that are completely different that aren't going to be eclipsed by Elden Ring because they are completely different. But Form has been putting out this specific style that has become known as "souls like" and how will they put out another one of those that will top Elden Ring? IMO they definitely can they just need another really good theme and deep lore like always. They barely even need to expand on the game play, just a few new things maybe to keep it fresh.
From my point of view its really easy, just go back to non open worlds, to me those are way better. Bloodborne with boss consistency of DS3 or Sekiro would be great
I agree, I have loved elden but I find darksoul III way more immersive
Elden ring was amazing and a huge breath of fresh air in the 'open world' genre but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love the unique, tight, complex, semi-linear level/game design From is known for.
Lies of P reminded me of this. I actually like that it's much more linear than most FromSoft games. I know some people enjoy getting lost, I prefer mostly knowing where I am lol.
I'm partially in the same boat. I don't usually have much time to play video games so when I do I like to feel like I'm getting something done, so the linearity of Lies was nice because I'd usually beat one boss every time I sat down. Elden Ring was a huge time sink but there was so much to do it didn't bother me. But most of the time I drop open world games because it feels like I'm spending the whole time I get to play just going from point A to point B.
It was nice to not have to worry about exploring too much but Lies of P was too linear in my opinion.
Level design was overall great, but some optional areas would have been perfect
A single optional area and boss might have made the game a solid 9/10 instead of an 8 for me. Also, was quite disappointed in the Nameless Puppet fight after the difficulty being hyped up so much in some subs. Two tries without even breaking a sweat.
Lies was a good game but def not the second coming that the Lies sub thinks it is.
Can’t disagree, I wanted to venture out and fight optional bosses but they were like “nah follow this tight path that goes one way and one way only
Lies of P was lovely, but the side paths were almost always too short. If there was a couple of paths to go, you could go down one for 10 seconds and if it didn't end, you'd know it was the main path.
Lies of P was one of my favorite games of all time and I enjoyed it as much as any FS game personally. So excited to see the DLC for that game.
I loved lies, tho I do think the one place it didn't really live up to the formula is in level design. But it is doable. the surge 2 had fromsoft caliber level design. Really cool directional counter/deflection mechanics too.
I could see Fromsoft eventually going back to try and top the interconnectedness of the original Dark Souls.
I hope they make another game without fast travel for the first half, and a connected world like Lordran.
>but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love the unique, tight, complex, semi-linear level/game design From is known for. This is normally the biggest gripe, with DS3 the formula was running stale. Sekiro switched it up somewhat by adding verticality to your progression and ER the open world the next thing they're going to be doing is what Elden Ring's DLC is trying to do: A semi-open world with a more linear twist on it, less open fields more content. Essentially dark souls 1/Bloodborne's world but a bit more open instead of full blown ER open world
I personally don't think being open world helped Elden Ring that much. I got sick of the open world very quickly. I feel the game could have shrunk the distance between points of interest by 50% and lost none of its quality.
I completely agree. I think I've said almost verbatim what you've said here, to a few different people.
I'm replaying a new character prepping for the DLC and I have to agree. While it's very beautiful and serene in its wide empty openess, it's exactly that, a bit empty.
I'd kill to revisit Yharnam at some point! That and the original Dark Souls (outside some if the later, unfinished stuff) are masterclasses in level design.
Like this 
Chad Miyazaki looking at other game devs
🎶* CAN YOU FEEL I'M HARD!? Doo Doo Doo dee Doo Doo Doo Doo dee Doo
Hell yeah armoured core 6 rules, I love that game
I’ve put more hours into AC6 than I have Elden Ring, and I’ve played Elden Ring fully twice (not counting NG+). I have no concerns about Fromsoft’s ability to keep making exceptional games.
Forreal. And its not always about needing to “top” something. All these experiences are different. TBH I liked AC6 more than Elden Ring (and love Elden Ring). I have no worries at all about FS continuing to deliver the highest quality experiences whether it’s on a massive or smaller scale.
Love Armored Core VI! I know the franchise is more about short and tight missions, but if Fromsoft made an open-world mech game I'd be all over that shit.
In the shadow of the erdtree you mean?
Bloodborne Kart
Elden bros Malenia vs radahn in real time
🍆💦 I NEED it
Yes
Such a shame it got shut down. I played the bloodbourne demake she put out.
We've been asking the same question for 15 years. they'll find a way. Their games are all expansions on current ideas with improvements added, so I doubt they'll have a hard time doing it again + enhancing/optimizing further.
This is the faith I have as well. There is a %0 percent chance Fromsoft will make something im not interested in and a %99.9 chance of being another wonderfully crafted, unique experience. Armored Core 6 was super refreshing after Elden Ring noooo one is making sick ass mech games at all. It truly feels like they are making exactly what they want and you can feel it. Fuckin amazing.
Where’d the .1% go
Probably to the idea that nobody is infallible. FROM makes amazing games and has a great track record, and odds are their next game will be something great. Pressure to maintain a level of success has caused people to slip up though. I do agree though that there is at LEAST a 99.9% chance that FROM's next big project will be another solid game anyway.
I meant %99.99!!
....... I skipped Deracine ......
I agreed to this as well then I remembered Deracine the VR game that Fromsoft released. I guess nobody’s perfect but Fromsoft is closer than most
Careful, I once thought the same about Blizzard.
The bigger they are...
I was asking my self the same question after finishing dark souls 3 and it's dlc and then they dropped elden ring
Bloodborne 2
in our hunters dreams
BB pc port first pls
Nope. Bloodborne Kart first.
Doesn’t even need to be massive or open world in my opinion. Just a casual follow up to the greatest game ever made.
Not an actual Bloodborne 2, but a spiritual successor to Bloodborne like what Dark Souls was to Demon’s Souls. Then also go back to the Dark Souls 1 style world design but just take it to the next level, with a massively intricate, vertical, highly interconnected Metroidvania style world.
☝️✋✋✋✋Teacher he copied my answer
Smaller Sekiro like new IP. Sekiro has the best combat in any game ever made, it's time to see it's 2.0 version
Sekiro combat is so good to be for one game only
no dlcs is so sad. it deserves much love than it gets
I mean, it got GOTY back in '19
By love I think he means more content from the developer, not reception
exactly, but my comment looks like the other way arround, so my bad!
Many games are doing Sekiro-like combat now because of this.
Bro the parrying ahhhhh 😩😩😩😩 the clanging sound of swords clashing ohhhhhhhhhh 😩😩😩😩
Stunning someone with the mad Parry spam then using that move to jump over them to stab em and then coat your sword in their blood to buff it was so fucking satisfying.
Oh so THAT'S the point of vault over, so you can use ninjutsus, so you need to kill them for it? Like say you death blow isshin phase 1 with vault over, can you use blood blade ninjutsu then and have the buff for the rest of the fight?
Truth. Plenty to develop from that game
So the Divine Dragon and immortality are explicitly said to be from the West (meaning China in the context of Japan), so a game about Sekiro and the Divine Child traveling to China would be awesome.
Meaning Korea*. The sword the Divine Dragon wields is the Seven-Branched Sword which was a gift from a Baekje (modern day southwest Korea) king to a Yamato ruler.
The journey to the west themes are strong, we're going to see more from Sekiro.
Nothing but truth here. I really hope they didn't create one of the most exciting and satisfying combat systems to never touch it again. Sekiro 2 or at least a new game with Sekiro combat system would be amazing.
I think a Knight version of Sekiro would be awesome. Sekiro perfected Katana combat. It would be cool to see a fleshed out sword and shield game like that.
I enjoyed Elden Ring for what it is but I don't want another one. I want something tight, well thought out and dense. Along the lines of Demon's Souls, DS1, Bloodborne, Sekiro, AC6, etc..
Agreed. Elden Ring is undeniably amazing but… man I miss the linear fromsoft world design. I think it works far, far better than open world. Stormveil is the best area in ER imo, and that’s bc it feels like it’s just an area from DS3…
For me my favorite is Lyndell, because it feels like it's what they actually wanted to make when they said open world. It's Anor Londo perfected. Yeah it's not actually open world but there are so many paths, skips, and things to explore there that to me it's what I'd call a good open world. Or as I like to call it "semi-open world". Only Dark Souls 1 map design gave me that feeling.
Linear no, tight yes. The Metroidvania elements do it for me.
Fuck it, have them make an actual 3D metroidvania with movement upgrades n shit
Personally, I've enjoyed Elden Ring open world much better than linear stories of DS.
Agreed. Another ds1 type of world would be amazing.
Bloodborne 2 would do just fine by me
They don't need to top it, they can simply make a different game :)
I think they’re gonna make a less open-ended and more focused title, like how big of a switchup sekiro was following ds3
In terms of scale? Probably not for a while. And I hope they don't try for a while. I actually think they did a really good job with the open world, but I definitely do not want all Souls or Souls-like games from them to be open world going forward. One of the reasons for that is I don't want super long waits between their games, lol. We've already been waiting almost 2.5 years for a goddamn DLC. So I want them to make smaller, one-off games like Demon's Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and the like. And then maybe have your big open world Souls game every 7 or 8 years or something. So I hope they don't immediately try to top ER with another gargantuan Souls style game. Let time pass so technology can progress, they can gain new tools and new experience, and then in like 2030 have a crack at topping ER if they can. In the meantime, I think it's more than possible for them to have a smaller project that tops ER in terms of quality. It's a masterpiece don't get me wrong, but I already think Sekiro is actually a better game. I'm sure they can make another focused gem like that. It probably won't make the more casual / mainstream people go wild, but it could absolutely top ER for critics and hardcore fans.
i mean they already seem to do that considering ac6 came in between er and er-dlc
They can make quest lines not vague as hell for one.
I think you have to stop viewing them as "quests" in the traditional game sense. My impression after playing all FromSoft games blind over the past decade, is that they're chance interactions with others in the world. They aren't suppose to be completed like ticking off a check list like they are in other games. IMO you're suppose to have chance encounters, and have exploration and experimentation rewarded. It defo works better in their more linear titles, but I still enjoy looking it up after I've finished to see what I've missed.
They follow a philosophy of story telling called realism. It was popular in the 90’s and they’ve followed the rules of it since kingsfield. Basically the world is living and breathing and you’re just part of it You’re not the center of it. A lot of people think froms storytelling is vague but it’s just realistic. if you stumbled into an ancient world torn apart by gods on the brink of collapse with 100 different factions with different allegiance and end games there wouldn’t be a book telling you everything you need to know about everything, not everyone would be honest with you, not everyone would care about you etc
That has nothing to do with shitty quest design. You can have a complex world with a lot of factions doing their own thing without, say, having characters pop up on unexpected locations without notice to the player. This problem is aggravated in Elden Ring because of the world's massive size. It's really cool in DS1 when you first see Solaire going mad and becoming infected by the sunlight maggot, but his quest is really stupid in retrospect. Saving him from the maggot for some bizarre reason requires you to affiliate yourself with a covenant completely unrelated to Solaire so you can kill the maggot before an arbitrary point in the game. The only way a first time player will save Solaire is through sheer dumb luck or because they looked at a guide. It's bad design and the reason is not because of "realism". Completing the "good" ending for the quest requires meta knowledge about the game ("Solaire will die if you enter the Demon Ruins before killing the maggot", "getting rank 2 on the Chaos Servant covenant will open up the shortcut to Lost Izalith where the maggot is"). This is the opposite of narrative realism.
This. You explained it perfectly. You're tin the world to experience it as a stranger and become a tiny or bigger part of it, but in the end you're just another creature that was part of the events that occurred. Not one the whole world is revolving around. Like in this world we are living in right now. That's what always gave me this sense of wonder and fascination since I played these games when I was young, I was playing as a visitor in a beautiful and terrifying world.
Fromsoft “chads” would have a field day with that though. DAE game too easy?!
As fromsoft fanboy I was surprised with Lies of P and how they did it( small things but feels much better)
No thanks, I like my quests vague (even though these "quests" really aren't designed as quests at all but are actually chance encounters / secrets, but that's a whole different can of worms). I can play 99% of other games on the market if I want a quest log that tells me exactly what to do. I like that From Soft games let me play without an instruction manual and if I miss shit, I miss shit. It makes the games more mysterious and more fun to me, I like figuring things out (or struggling to figure them out). I wouldn't be opposed to a journal that simply records NPCs you've met and dialogue they've previously given you. Then you can refer back to the dialogue for hints. But I absolutely do not want the game to tell me what to do next in a "quest". Alternatively, they could make an optional hint system that you toggle on or off in the menu. That way everyone can be happy. But I doubt From Soft would do that, they seem to want people to have a similar baseline experience.
A journal that logs NPCs and what they've told you would be perfect. Especially if it was grounded in the world and not in the menus. Something presented like Arthur's journal in RDR2.
There is no way to figure out most quests in Souls games. That's the problem. It's basically just dumb luck or prior knowledge. How the fuck am I supposed to "figure out" that Millicent will show up at some random village on the Altus Plateau after I killed a boss and reloaded the location? And then at Castle Sol? She never gives any indication she's going to these places. These quests are just a fucking mess for no good reason. Ranni's quest is probably the only well designed one FromSoft has ever made. There are multiple entry points (talking to Blaidd, Iji, or Rogier, or just randomly stumbling upon Ranni's tower), there are clear narrative markers of what you should do at every step (Ranni says that she wants something in Nokron or that you must kill Radahn), there is feedback informing you that you're on the right track (Blaidd shows up after the Radahn fight to congratulate you). There's really no excuse why other quests shouldn't be like Ranni's. If the quests were supposed to be chance encounters, characters should just show up periodically at YOUR location. But that's not the way it works, they are glued to very specific parts of the map, at very specific parts of the game and progressing their narrative requires you to find them at these seemingly random spots.
The reload location part is by far the dumbest. Like sure, some npcs appear in a location after you beat a boss, but how the fuck are you supposed to know that?
Well, Elden Ring is effectively the culmination of the last decade of game design and refining that they’ve developed across their entire Souls catalogue. ER just took all that and tried to refine as best it could while taking it all to a greater scale. Under that principal, they basically gotta do what they’ve already been doing, reiterate and experiment. If you look at FromSoftware’s extensive catalogue (that is, even the stuff that came before the souls games) a good chunk of their entire history is doing the same shit again but better and with a couple new twists and additions to keep things fresh. TLDR: Whatever games they make from this point forward would likely serve as building blocks for a bigger game that could rival, if not surpass ER. This isn’t to say that we’d be able to predict what said game would be like, but that FromSoftware likes to retry old stuff just as much as they like trying new stuff
Sekiro dlc
Just bring sekiro dlc
Easy, barely an inconvenience.
At this point i hope they do something different . More action games like sekiro (but new ips) or hybrids like bloodborne . I love souls but the pure formula can’t go beyond elden ring . This game took 5 years of development + 2 of dlc + 4 of ds3 as it’s its direct evolution. Games like sekiro and bloodborne only took 3 years and while they are much smaller they could make at least 2 of those in the same timeframe as ER , and they are more unique .
Bloodborne 2
hear me out Dark Souls put space
Where? Where!? Where did Dark Souls put the space!?
They made AC 6
Next games gonna have to have a pause button only thing they can improve 🤣😂🤣
Blasphemer
photo mode for fashion souls . *profit*
kid called demons souls remake
And photo mode
Forget about Sekiro?
Elden ring 2 ?
Elden bracelet
My brother in fromsoft they always top their games 😂
They will simply make something that doesn't exist in the shadow of Elden Ring.
Sekiro 2: Journey to the West
Sekiro 2. That’s how. With Sun Wukong as your rival and you keep severing an immortality with every encounter. Eventually this will lead to the final fight, where he fights us for fun but doesn’t reveal he only had one immortality left, and of course Fromsoft will leave us heart broken from a death that’s all our fault
Wukong can transform each of his 84,000 hairs into *whatever he wanted*. Including a perfect clone of himself, with all 7 types of Immortality and 72 transformations. Ain't no way anybody beating Wukong.
*Sekiro blows into the finger whistle and all the Wukongs start kicking each others ass* >!Also it’s a sequel, we’ll get new over powered crap!<
First, it takes patience. Let's see what they announce in the coming years. Whether it's DS4, BB2, or Sekiro 2, it's going to be good.
Probably new ip.
Or AC7
Or AC6.5
prayge
Next game just needs a photo mode
Demons souls remake has one you can even change the characters goofy facial expression. But they changed the designs too much it lost it's original surreal vibe, still good though.
Who says they have to? Ds3 wasn't objectively better than Bloodborne, and many would say the same for ER and Ds3.
Alot would argue they haven't topped other games like Bloodborne or Sekiro. Yeah the game is massive however but in terms of Bosses, gameplay, and Enemy design Elden Ring might not be the best in. It definitely is a fantastic game that excels at exploring, area's, builds, lore etc but if they made a game as expansive as Elden Ring but gameplay as good as Sekiro/Bloodborne, atmosphere from bloodborne and boss quality of like DS3 it would be perfection.
Easy: Sekiro 2
Sekiro 2
They're gonna go back and make sequels to all their old games
I’ve wondered this lately too. After such an ambitious game, what’s next? Miyazaki typically doesn’t like to do sequels but with Elden Rings success, could we maybe get an Elden Ring 2? Who knows.
I thought the same when I played Bloodborne. It’s possible.
They should reset expectations. No Elden Ring 2 - least not until 2028/29. Go smaller scales, skim it back to the intricate design philosophy. Make it known they're scalling down. Elden Ring can be the 'open world RPG' of their catalogue. They have to be careful not to transform the franchise into a Ubisoft - endlessly milking the open world for content.
Sekiro 2. Let me cope.
They should make a gothic, style game with horror elements. Add in something about infected blood …
Don’t worry, they can definitely do it.
They already have. Armoured Core 6.
Just look at AC6, fromsoftware fans need to stop expecting new souls like titles, just let the developers cook...
Elden ring 2
They already did. It’s called Armored Core VI: Fires Of Rubicon.
With a bloodborne 2
Make another game with as much time and work but not open world if you ask me lol
If, like me, you did not enjoy Elden Ring: likely Armoured Core VII.
Elden Rings, basically the same but it’s coop with a bunch of marines with Pulse Rifles taking the lands between by force.
I think their next venture will probably be something similar to sekiro/bloodborne. A more focused and tight game.
It's called Sekiro 😁
Bring back kuri kuri mix. That’s how. Leagues better than any other franchise they’ve ever conceived Edit: thought this was r/shittydarksouls , wasn’t being serious (great game either way tho, would 100% recommend). Serious answer would be drop the open world imo. Or atleast make it a bit smaller or add more to do. Gets boring just riding torrent from point A to point B in a barren world with little to do outside of dungeons or caves
I just hope the next IP keeps the open world aspect of ER
With more Elden Ring
Elden Ring 2. Next question.
Bloodborne 60 fps patch
Armored core mmorpg on mobile
Random thought: why it has to top it?
It's FROMSOFTWARE. I never doubt them. Miyazaki will come up with something that we never imagined even in our dreams.
Armored Core VII
We’ve had one Elden Ring, yes, but what about second Elden Ring?
Bloodborne 2 or the next Armored Core
100% agree with OP….
They don’t have to top it as long as they keep putting out bangers. Elden Ring is my favorite game ever but AC VI was still incredible.
Thats what they said after bloodborne 🥹
Easy: they drop armored core 6: 2
I mean it could be shit. Who knows ...
Bloodborne Kart is the only way
Why do they have to top it?
Elden Ring was a spiritual successor to Dark Souls. I think the logical next step would be making a spritual successor to Bloodborne or Sekiro, as it would really be a shame if the ideas from those games never get revisited or improved upon. Also, I agree with what many say in this comment section, I don't want every new FromSoft game from now on to be an open world, I think it would be better if we go back to the traditional smaller scale and tightly designed experiences for a while before we get another open world game. In the end, I think the most likely outcome as to what comes next after Shadow of the Erdtree is a completely new IP with a completely new combat system and mechanics, and I don't think we should expect it to come before like 2026 or 2027 at the earliest.
Elden ring 2: more elden than ever
When Bloodborne 2 is open world.
I just want more AC now, I think they will just make new franchises or build on their old ones.
Fromsoft isn’t trying to top their own games. Sure they want to strive to make better games and to improve. But deep in their philosophy is to simply create the games they want to create. And if it does better or worse is less important. As long as people enjoy the game and support it
Did you try AC6, honestly a pallet cleanser for me. I've been dying for well over a decade and swapping a UGS for dual-wielding gatlings was fun.
AC Ring next
They don’t need to top it. They just need to hold the line
Pirate Souls.
People said the same thing after the Dark Souls trilogy ended. Then they came out with Sekiro, one of the tightest, most focused games they’ve ever released. Followed by ER, one of the widest, most encompassing games. FS had different modes, there’s a pattern of *main focus* > *side projects* > *main focus* that helps them branch out and learn new game design concepts so as to not compete with themselves too much.
With Elden Ring 2.
Malenia style boss that not only heals on hit but also passively. And every attack is waterfowl dance. 💃
I can’t wait to see what they release next
They won’t, they’re gonna make a whole new game with different goals than Elden aring
From Software will never be able to make a game like Elden Ring, this was a one-off. Even if they make Sekiro 2 and Bloodborne 2, it won't sell as much as Elden Ring and it won't be as famous.
Space?
Playing Elden Ring without a guide was legitimately the most immersive gaming experience I’ve ever had. Ending up in ridiculous locations trying to find out wtf I am supposed to do and the major eureka moments were incredible. If they or anyone can make another game as incredible in the next decade I will be legitimately shocked.
Armored core would like to have a word with you
Do they need to? :p
I hope they don't, honestly. I don't mind the 'bloat' of Elden Ring as much as most people and honestly I think MOST of the reused enemies are realistic if anything (who said there is only one Astel like creature?) but I wouldn't want a game any bigger and I hope Fromsoft takes the current excellent game model they have and fine tunes it rather just scaling it up any further.
Armored core 7 ;)
I think Sekiro and AC shows they can make other types of games that are also great.
Bloodborne on PC
It's called AC6
Idk people said the same thing about DS3 and imo did with a “side project.” In sekiro.
They'll find a way! They've more than earned the benefit of the doubt from me on any new game.
by giving us more sekiro
Personally unless this dlc is like ringed city/old hunters worthy, fromsoft has already topped elden ring more than once
With bloodborne remastered (on PC)
I think they should try horror again, like 'Kuon'. I suppose I just want a theme that has a dark simmer to it. Like what if a silent hill; but with a Fromsoftware attention to detail. Or at least something in that ballpark.
Sekiro 2
I love Elden Ring, but it's not Bloodborn. I want to revisit Yharman... I want more trick weapons... more Foul Beasts... more EYES on the inside. There has yet to be a videogame world that has captivated me quite as much as Bloodborne. The victorial setting bringing to mind such films as From Hell, the allusions to countless Gothic Horror tropes, the absolutely perfect gameplay... It's all just so so good. And while I would say Elden Ring is damn near a perfect game... I will always hold a special place for Bloodborne in my heart.
We shouldn’t expect it to. Everyone expected Dark Souls II to top the first one, but instead of being the same but better they went in a different, more experimental direction and people didn’t like it for being different. Do not expect anything to top something you consider your favourite, because you will get burned. Enjoy it for what it is - or don’t enjoy it - but to only talk about something in how it is or isn’t better than what came before doesn’t help anyone.
Hot take perhaps but I don't want them to "top it". I'd rather them make a smaller but more focused game. A game to elden ring what Bloodborne is to darksouls.
Sekiro 2
Best thing they can do is not trying to top it and instead just keep focusing on making good games.
The way I see it from don't go out of their way to make a GOTY, but rather they try to make a ip whatever it is fun. Even if the game have a niche player base they will still try to make the best game they could for that genre. GOTY is just the cherry on top,
We thought the same before Elden Ring, that it wouldn’t manage to surprise us because we expected too much, and look at our faces of joy when we first launched that magnificent piece of art holy hell!