Elden Ring boss Hidetaka Miyazaki’s name is synonymous with innovation and bold design choices. The mastermind behind the Souls series, Miyazaki, has always pushed the boundaries of game design.
In a revealing 2019 interview about Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Miyazaki hinted at a pivotal shift in FromSoftware’s approach to game development. This shift ended up influencing the creation of Elden Ring, the studio’s highly anticipated open-world title.
Elden Ring Was a Clear Evolution From Sekiro
In a 2019 interview with Game Informer, Miyazaki spilled the beans on the development of Sekiro and the approach he took with the game.
While it has FromSoftware’s signature style of tough enemies, incredible boss design, and sleek combat system, among other things, it stood out (and still does, to this day) as an outlier compared to the rest of its medieval fantasy Souls games.
There were many new facets to the game that differed from FromSoftware’s previous titles, but one of them was the world exploration. When questioned about the game’s world design and player freedom, Miyazaki hinted at a shift towards a more open-ended experience:
We feel like Sekiro’s probably on the higher end of the spectrum in terms of the freedom the player has to explore the world
Unlike the linear progression of previous titles, around the midgame, players were granted a lot more freedom in terms of where they could explore. There were a lot more optional areas and bosses that you could go to, and these could be accessed at any time after a certain stage of the game.
This newfound sense of exploration and discovery may have been a way for FromSoftware to test the waters and realize its ambitious plans for future games, as we can see in Elden Ring.
Elden Ring turned out to be a huge step away from the company’s classic linear format, more so than S:SDT; it gave us a gigantic open world where we have the freedom to go almost anywhere at any time, as long as we make it to the area alive.
How Sekiro Strayed From the Classic FromSoftware Formula
Another key departure from the Souls series in S:SDT was the skill tree system, replacing the traditional stat-based leveling. Miyazaki explained the rationale behind this decision:
The introduction of a skill system meant that we could allow people to unlock every facet of this multi-talented ninja.
Unlike the Souls series, where players can specialize in specific builds and acquire a weapon that fits this build, S:SDT was more about using the tools that the game already gave you.
This meant players really had to ‘git gud‘ to progress through the game, as you couldn’t grind to level 100 and blaze through.
What do you think about Miyazaki’s approach to Sekiro? Did his risks pay off, or did he go too far? Share your thoughts in the comments below!