The hype behind "Elden Ring" continues to build as the release date draws near.
What spoilers have already made their way online? Keep watching if you're hungry
for every morsel of information about this long-awaited game.
During the game's closed network test, players with jailbroken PS4s datamined "Elden Ring"
and uncovered some closely-guarded secrets. From Software clearly understood the risk of players
digging too deeply into the test run, which is why the developers placed a giant bear in
the game that would kill any players who managed to find a way outside of the test's boundaries.
Not too surprising considering the developers' enduring sadistic tendencies.
But really though, after all the things "Dark Souls" players have been through over the years,
is a ferocious bear all that intimidating?
"Hey Ron! I'm riding a furry tractor!"
Unfortunately for From Software, the developers couldn't predict this new PS4 exploit. The Verge
released a report about the PS4 jailbreak on December 14, 2021, and spoilers for "Elden
Ring" began making rounds just a few days later. Of course, until the game actually releases,
From Software could certainly make as many changes as it wants to the leaked material.
The "Elden Ring" story trailer introduces the basics of the game's backstory.
It opens by revealing that the fall of the world's demigods began with Godwyn the Golden's death.
Newly leaked information from the game, however, seems to reveal that Godwyn is very much alive.
The leaks show that Godwyn will actually be the game's primary blacksmith, and players will rely
on his abilities to upgrade their weapons — similar to the process in "Dark Souls."
Considering that the game's trailer claimed that Godwyn had died after the rune of death
was stolen, how does he factor into the rest of the game's story? Another audio
file features Godwyn quietly rambling about a Grail and his ability to smith weapons.
The speech is in line with characters from previous "Souls" games who lost
their minds after taking part in horrifying events.
"For a very long time, I was trapped within the Crystal Golem. From my home I was taken,
and banished to a plane of distortion."
Perhaps tragedy left Godwyn's mind damaged,
even as his body lives on to assist future travelers. And maybe that's why the trailer
shows Godwyn's corpse opening its eyes as black liquid oozes from beneath its eyelids.
One of the biggest changes that "Elden Ring" will introduce to the "Souls" sub-genre is
an open world that puts a heavy emphasis on exploration. Since the first "Dark Souls" game,
From Software has been crafting worlds that seamlessly interlink different areas,
but "Elden Ring" will offer an open world in the more traditional sense. In November 2021,
Bandai Namco finally released a gameplay preview of "Elden Ring" that gave players a taste of
the variety of locations they would encounter throughout the game. The recent data-mining leaks
have revealed even more details about what's in store for adventurers come February 2022.
"We happy?" "Yeah, we happy."
One file that's been leaked makes reference to "the other Eternal City." The speakers say that
the city hides a "cradle chalice," and though the importance of the chalice has yet to be revealed,
From Software fans will likely remember the importance of chalices in "Bloodborne." In
that game, chalices were used to generate dungeons that could be explored for unique loot and bosses.
Some other "Elden Ring" dialogue has been leaked in a text file, and an unknown speaker makes
reference to a secret path that leads through a well to the meeting place of "the Great Caravan"
somewhere "under the capital." Secret paths and underground cities are nothing
new to veterans of From Software's previous games, but we'll have to wait until February,
or the next round of leaks, to piece together how the Great Caravan fits into the game's story.
From Software's games tend to have stories that are rich with details
but difficult to understand. They're often told through item descriptions and opaque
bits of dialogue threaded throughout the game, which turns piecing things together
into a challenging mini game of its own. That makes this particular leak especially
exciting for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of "Elden Ring's" main story.
"I offer you an accord."
Datamined files from the game's closed network test contain an entire quest's worth of dialogue.
The dialogue comes from Millicent, a young girl suffering from "scarlet rot," and Gowry,
the sage who raised her. Millicent is the daughter of Malenia who rules part of the Lands Between
with her five sisters. Malenia once fought the giant Lord Radahn, and one day she will replace
her mother Marika as Queen. Gowry asks that the players kill Millicent when Malenia ascends
to the throne. Only then will Millicent, quote, "begin to flower" and become a "scarlet valkyrie."
The branching dialogue seems to reveal that players have the option to either
do as Gowry asks or to help Millicent escape her fate. There's no indication
of how central this particular questline is to the main story, but fans already know from the
game's official description that Queen Marika the Eternal and her daughters are a main focus.
If the leaks are to be believed, many fan favorite methods of mowing down enemies from
the "Souls" games will be returning to "Elden Ring." Data mining has revealed many of the
various weapon classes that the Tarnished will have at their disposal as they wander
about the Lands Between slaying monsters. Many classes, from the greatsword to the warhammer,
are "Souls" series regulars. Others, like the bow and crossbow, have seen their mechanical ups and
downs over the years. There are also some exciting new additions, including the glintstone staff.
"Ugh, that is so gnarly."
Another returning combat enhancement is the ability to infuse weapons with various magical
properties or elements. Players can make their blades ignite into flames, poison enemies, or
deal extreme physical damage. For anyone building a character with a darker aim on dealing death,
blood and occult infusions will likely work perfectly, though gamers don't yet have a
clear understanding of how they augment damage. There were no major surprises in the weapons and
infusions leak, but there are more than enough new touches to get fans' imaginations running wild.
The bosses of "Elden Ring" will likely provide some of the game's most memorable moments.
"Someone must extinguish thy flame. Let it be Margit The Fell."
There'll be no shortage of monstrous death dealers for players to tackle
during their exploration of the lands between, but another spoiler claims to reveal the identities
of the six main bosses who will need to be dispatched to obtain the Great Runes.
Players will take on the Golden Lord Godric, the Moon Lord Rennala,
the Blood Lord Mohg, the Grace Lord Morgott, the Chaos Lord Hoarah Loux, and the Giant Lord Radahn.
The last of these intimidating warriors can be seen in the game's story trailer.
The "Elden Ring" leaks uncovered a few other small insights into two
of the bosses. There are three NPCs listed as Lord Rennala's children,
meaning that Rennala's boss battle could be one to look out for. It wouldn't be the first
time From Software put players toe-to-toe with multiple bosses in a single fight.
Radahn's strength level is supported by another audio file where a female NPC
describes his battle, and victory, with a constellation of stars.
Either she's speaking metaphorically, or Radahn is even bigger than he appeared in the trailer.
A massive text file containing huge chunks of the game's dialogue
was uncovered during the data-mining process. There are pages of text to pore over,
but none of them label which characters are speaking which lines. Even without that key
information, however, keen readers have been able to pull out some inferred story beats
from the file's disjointed lines, and luckily for anyone truly committed to
uncovering as much information as possible, another leak can work as a helpful guide.
A list of every NPC in the game has been revealed, and it can tell players quite a
lot about what to expect throughout their time in the Lands Between. Queen Marika,
the various lords, and Millicent all stand out because their names come up more often
than others in the dialogue that's been revealed so far. Characters with names
like Narrator and Talking Corpses are little more than interesting mysteries at this point,
but others might be familiar to "Souls" fans — get ready to say hello to Patches once again.
"Oh! The demons haven't got you, have they? I'm in luck."
The extensive NPC list is also a reminder of the game's scale. There are over five
dozen NPCs named, and it's hard to say for sure that everyone has been included.
Sometimes a soundtrack can tell a story of its own. Music can make or break a game's tone,
and the music of "Elden Ring" has high standards to live up to. Half a dozen soundtrack files have
been leaked, and they give an instant sense of how the game will feel. In one track,
epic choral swells create a grandiose but unrelentingly eerie atmosphere.
Another track that sounds like it came straight out of a bloody fight scene
uses a combination of chorus vocals and rhythmic strings to build the tension.
Composer Yuka Kitamura's talents are on full display in all of the music that has been leaked
so far. It's no surprise that Kitamura also worked on the soundtrack for "Bloodborne," and clearly
the horror elements that inspired the previous game's sound have been brought into "Elden Ring."
Until Bandai Namco releases more in-game footage or a playable demo that's open to the public,
listening to these tracks is the closest fans can get to experiencing the game firsthand.
You don't really need leaks to tell you how "Elden Ring" ends. After exploring every inch
of the Lands Between and slaying countless monsters and foes, it will all come down to
one last epic boss battle. "Dark Souls" had Gwyn, Lord of Cinder, while "Bloodborne" had Gehrman.
Every "Souls" game has its own memorable final boss, and there's no reason to expect
that "Elden Ring" would suddenly abandon this integral piece of the tried-and-true formula.
"Well, I'm convinced."
For all the information pulled from the game's closed network test,
dataminers apparently came up empty on the question of the game's true big bad.
Instead of giving a definitive answer, fans have surmised that there are several different
possibilities, ranging from Queen Marika the Eternal to Malenia's many daughters.
Queen Marika might be the obvious choice for a final boss,
since her offspring rule the various regions of the Lands Between, but FromSoftware isn't exactly
known for making obvious decisions with their stories. For now, the final battle in "Elden
Ring" remains a mystery — but the leaks have definitely given fans a few credible hints.
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