Following the game’s showcase as part of the Summer Games Fest Show last week, new Elden Ring details have surfaced, including info on the game’s playtime, character, story, areas, bosses, and more.

　　FromSoftware’s highly-anticipated title finally received a trailer last week alongside a set of screenshots and additional information about the game’s online mode. In an interview with Japanese gaming outlet Famitsu, game director Hidetaka Miyazaki talked about the game, which will be FromSoftware’s largest to date.

　　When asked about Miyazaki’s aim with Elden Ring, the game director said that he wants to bring an evolution of the Dark Souls series to the players, and which will serve as the basis for what the studio wants to build with future games. “The aim of this work "Elden Ring" is, in a nutshell, the evolution of the royal road of the "Dark Souls" series”, the director told Famitsu (Google translated). “We wanted to bring the know-how we have cultivated through the production of the series, such as action, level design, and world view expression, to fruition as an evolved game with a larger sense of scale.”

　　Like in Dark Souls, players will build the game’s story by collecting fragments with the same gameplay system from Dark Souls being applied to the game’s open-world, although it will have a much higher degree of freedom compared to previous Souls installments.

　　As for the game’s playtime, Miyazaki said that he estimates that players will need roughly 30 hours to complete the game without taking too many side trips. Talking about the bosses in the game, the game director said that there will be a limited number with some being optional for players to beat.

　　The main highlights of the Famitsu interview have been summed up by Reddit user ‘AidThisFellowUser’. You’ll find this post with highlights below:

　　George R.R Martin writed down the base for Elden Ring world, the rest was made by FromSoftwareElden Ring is the basis for what FromSoftware wants to build with future gamesThe main character story and apperance is built by the player, unlike Sekiro.The game will have a way to lead the player to quest objectives, you dont need to obey it."The number of bosses in the game will be limited", there are no order for boss fights. Will have optional bosses.Players will built the story by collecting fragments like in Dark SoulsSix major areas that function as distinct dungeons, ruled by demigod characters .The game has a main hub/town.Same gameplay system for Dark Souls applied to Open WorldYou can summon a "spiritual body" to aid you in combat (summoning system). Spirits can be collected and equipped as items. There are different types of spirits (use them for assaults, as decoy, for defense etc). Spirits can be improved and there are also rather useless spirits with other traits.Game will have multiple endingsGame will have much higher degree of freedom than previous gamesBattle arts from Dark Souls III will return but are not fixed to a weapon (~100 techniques)Confident that Elden Ring will arrive on its release date.The game will have support for multiplayer (4 player) during exploration on the open fields (but you are not able to ride your horses in multiplayer apparently) .Elden Ring will be more "manageable" due to the many different options the player has during world explorations and encounters, but there are still many tough enemies.Fall damage is low to keep explorers motivated .There is a world map - but the actual dungeons do not have a map.Game will have a crafting system with materialsMiyazaki guesses playtime is around 30 hours "without too many side trips".The asynchrous multiplayer elements from Dark Souls return; you can (apparently) set up groups and give their messages/dead bodies etc. higher priority.Game has a keyword system and no limit on multiplayer group size (co-op is 4 players).Elden Ring launches globally on January 21st, 2022 for PC, PS5/PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X. As promised, there will be a free next-gen upgrade for those buying the past-gen versions of the game.