Skip to main content

New Elden Ring trailer reveals an open world and a January 2022 release date

FromSoftware and Bandai Namco unveiled a new trailer for their newest “Souls” game, Elden Ring, today at Summer Game Fest 2021. The game will launch on January 21, 2022, on PC, plus current and last-generation consoles.

ELDEN RING - Official Gameplay Reveal

Elden Ring is a new action roleplaying game from FromSoftware, the developers behind series like Dark SoulsDemon Souls, and Bloodborne. This game is being headed by game director Hidetaka Miyazaki, a lead on Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and fantasy writer George R. R. Martin, the man behind the original novel series that inspired Game of Thrones.

Recommended Videos

Based on the trailer, we know that Elden Ring takes place in a world of ruins and players will take control of a created character in search of the “Elden Ring.”

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Unlike the past Souls games, Elden Ring is more narrative heavy, thanks to Martin. In past games, the lore felt more optional, while this game seems to be taking a more active storytelling approach.

Elden Ring is being called the “natural evolution” of the Souls series and features a larger, more open-world experience. There is also the added mechanic of being able to ride on horseback for travel due to the scale of the world that is shown off in the trailer.

It seems that the combat will be a bit deeper than in past games while still keeping the classic Dark Souls options intact. The trailer showed off new magical attacks, more spectacular combos, and greater evasive options. Despite these differences the combat looks very similar to Dark Souls 3.

Elden Ring is set to release on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on January 21, 2022.

DeAngelo Epps
Former Digital Trends Contributor
De'Angelo Epps is a gaming writer passionate about the culture, communities, and industry surrounding gaming. His work ranges…
Elden Ring: How to find and use Rune Arcs
An Elden Ring player sits on their horse and looks out at a castle ahead.

Like everything else developed by FromSoftware, Elden Ring is painfully difficult. It'll take you hundreds of hours to discover everything it has to offer, and unless you're a grizzled veteran, you'll likely hit the "Game Over" screen thousands of times before your journey in the Lands Between comes to an end.

One way to help even the odds is by using Rune Arcs — a consumable item that lets you access Great Runes. You'll first need to unlock Great Runes to start properly using Rune Arcs, but once that's taken care of, you'll notice a big boost in your abilities.

Read more
Every FromSoftware Soulsborne game, ranked
A dragon in Elden Ring.

It could be said that FromSoftware's ever-expanding collection of punishing but rewarding role-playing games – lovingly referred to as the Soulsborne series – has been among the most influential of all time. In fact, the cultural impact of Soulsborne games has been so powerful that it's led to an entirely new subgenre of role-playing games known as "Soulslikes." But while many studios have tried to mimic the famed Japanese developer's game design philosophy to varying results, few have come close to offering the same breathtaking experiences.

Granted, as the grandfather of Soulslikes, FromSoftware simply knows its way around the genre like no other. And by maintaining extremely similar gameplay mechanics, controls, and UI elements across each game, the studio ensures that its games, though not directly connected, remain familiar to fans who have played previous entries in the series. The most consistent thing of all, though, is the consistently challenging combat and exploration, which has defined the series since the beginning and is often the most-cited reason players flock to the games.

Read more
Armored Core VI lives up to post-Elden Ring FromSoftware expectations
A boss fight in Armored Core 6.

I don’t envy the position FromSoftware is in with Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. It’s the first title since the release of Elden Ring, a monumental, critically acclaimed title considered one of the studio’s best. It’s also reviving a series that hasn’t been seen in a decade for modern platforms and game audiences. On top of those things, because this isn’t a Souls game, a microscope will be on the title as FromSoftware fans scrutinize if it’s as good as other games, while Souls haters will wonder if this is finally a good FromSoftware jumping on point for them.

ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON — Gameplay Trailer

Read more