Elden Ring is said to be the most ambitious game ever created by From Software, but we know very little about how it will be different from the previous games created by the team. According to rumors, the world design will be the first thing that will set the game apart from the Souls series and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

　　Omni, who has proven in the past to have access to insider information regarding From Software, revealed earlier this month how the Elden Ring world design will be a step up the Souls' series in several ways. The landscape design has been inspired by Scotland, and the open world, or rather "open field", as the leaker describes it, has been inspired by Shadow of the Colossus, a game that features an amazing sense of scale. A lot of the elements found in this world will be dynamic and change on their own, such as enemy placements, and there will also be a day/night cycle and weather system, which is apparently not going to be particularly innovative. Elden Ring's is also going to feature smaller locations in the vein of the Souls series, so variety promises to be high. All these locations will be filled with enemies, and they will be smarter than ever, coming up with elaborate strategies to kill the player.

　　As someone who generally isn't into most of the last decades open world (AAA especially) titles (BOTW included) I would say if you're in the same boat as me you don't really have anything to worry about in terms of how Fromsoft is designing their "open world" and it's the reason they're pivoting away from even really calling it Open World and moving more towards the distinction of "Open Field". To denote a greater openness than past games have provided while also staying away from popular and over used Open World trends. Which doesn't just mean "So we made Dark Souls, but now areas are big enough to ride a horse through too" either. But design elements and direction, especially in terms of an open world are one of the things I plan to talk about and go more in depth with in the future.

　　But there will be open sections as well as more "corridor-like sections" like past games.

　　Omni also confirmed more recently that multiplayer will be included in Elden Ring, but he cannot say in which capacity.

　　MP is in but truth be told I'm not really an MP player so I haven't really bothered to concern myself with the specifics of it.

　　As for more detailed information, Omni is not willing to share more at the time, as the game is far from being finished and gameplay mechanics are subject to frequent changes.

　　But I don't want to make any promises that I can't keep, so while something like the landscape as a whole being inspired by Scotland or the game being inspired by SOTC, weather and day/night and other general things are macro things that aren't going to change, smaller micro level stuff like every area, asset, NPC will make it into the final game or how certain gameplay systems work are in flux and aren't really gaurenteed until the game is gold. Something that is true in January might no longer be true in May. Which is why I try to avoid and would preffer not to be asked micro or hyper specific topics like that (and you should probably be weary of anyone else that claims they do have such detailed info).

　　Even though Omni seems reliable enough, we have to take everything with a grain of salt until we learn more of Elden Ring. These rumors paint an incredibly interesting picture, showing From Software's willingness to bring the Souls series' formula to new heights.

　　Elden Ring is currently in development for PC and consoles. A release window has yet to be confirmed.