Skip to main content

Elden Ring gameplay trailer shows off open world, spectral horses

Today’s first look at gameplay for Elden Ring, FromSoftware’s highly-anticipated upcoming title, is all-encompassing. The 19-minute video from the developer offers details on everything in the game, including the random encounters that players can expect, new gameplay mechanics like crafting and stealth, and the changes that have come from giving players the option to do a little hop whenever they want.

ELDEN RING - Gameplay Preview

Elden Ring takes place in The Lands Between, and that’s pretty much all we got of the game’s story or setting during today’s presentation. It’s not clear why players will be adventuring through the strange, cursed land or what their goal is. Like the Dark Souls games, Elden Ring‘s story may be told through item descriptions. However, much like a Dark Souls game, there are places scattered throughout the world for players to rest at called sites of grace. Lights from the sky point to these sites, giving players a beacon to head towards if they need to get away from the action.

The Land Between in Elden Ring.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Elden Ring‘s largest departure from all of From Software’s other games is that it’s totally open-world. Players can summon a spectral horse and ride through The Lands Between, meeting NPCs or taking part in random encounters. One such encounter shown today had a dragon swoop in and attack the player as they were passing a patrol of enemies.

Recommended Videos

Players will also be able to ambush convoys of enemies, stealing treasure from the carriages they carry. In today’s video, the player accomplished this by sneaking up on enemies and stunning them with a heavy strike before taking them down. Similarly, players can prepare for fights by crafting useful items, including arrows, from the materials they find around the world.

When they approach enemies or the game’s dungeons, players won’t be bound to the same constraints of other Souls-like games, either. Movement in Elden Ring seems to be a blend of Dark Souls and Bloodborne, with fast dodges being available in combat and quick, high jumps performable at any time. Giving players the ability to jump without needing a running start has evidently affected the design of the game’s dungeons as well. Players can take multiple routes through Elden Ring‘s dungeons by climbing across rooftops or into open windows.

Not everything in Elden Ring is different from FromSoftware’s previous games, though. Players can still summon other players for co-op play or invade others to ruin someone’s day.

Elden Ring is set to launch on February 25, 2022, for PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Anyone who wants to try out the game early can register for a Closed Network Test slated to take place next week.

Otto Kratky
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…
Elden Ring players are already struggling to beat Shadow of the Erdtree
The hand-to-hand combat style in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Difficulty is a well-known hallmark of FromSoftware games, and so the fact people are experiencing issues in the new Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, even against even common enemies, is unsurprising. However, even veteran players appear to be struggling. Many have taken to Steam to negatively review the game, which is now sitting at "Mixed" at the time of this writing.

Some of these complaints also cite performance issues, including stuttering and dropped frame rate. Publisher Bandai Namco and FromSoftware haven't commented on any upcoming fixes.

Read more
How to find and use the Prayer Room Key in Shadow of the Erdtree
Multiple players look out over a landscape with the Elden Ring co-op mod.

Calling Shadow of the Erdtree a DLC is kind of misleading when you actually enter the Land of Shadow and see just how massive this new region is. The base game was already massive, and this feels like another game about half its size was plopped into the world, with bosses, weapons, dungeons, and secrets all included. Among all the hidden areas and items, the most mysterious include the Prayer Room and the Prayer Room Key. Players may stumble upon one or the other -- most likely neither -- but almost certainly not both without some help. If you're interested in the lore of the game in particular, you will want to see what's hidden behind this very secluded door.

Note: This article contains minor spoilers for bosses and NPCs in Shadow of the Erdtree.
Where to find the Prayer Room Key

Read more
How to stagger enemies in Elden Ring
A troll fights a player in Elden Ring.

Whether Elden Ring is your first From Software game or you’re an experienced Souls player, you’ve probably learned that some of the game’s systems can be a little…opaque. Staggering is an excellent example: Players know it’s in the game, they can see it work when an enemy drops their shield or gets interrupted, but it isn’t clear what’s going on.

Staggering is a clear advantage in Elden Ring, especially when you are facing a heavily-armored opponent or trying to break a boss’s moveset before it utterly destroys you. While some of the mechanics behind it are still a little fuzzy, we know enough to turn you into a stagger master anyway. Here’s what to do.

Read more