The Elden Ring is a classic RPG that players love. But one thing has been puzzling many people since its release: the game’s world appears to be inspired by Dark Souls, an incredibly popular series of games that already has a sub-Reddit dedicated to it. Now some are wondering if Elden Ring is actually connected to the much loved franchise and where this connection came from in the first place.,
Elden Ring is a game that was released in 2018. It has been compared to Dark Souls, but it is not as hard as Dark Souls. Read more in detail here: is elden ring as hard as dark souls.
Elden Ring has attracted many new gamers to FromSoftware games, with over 13 million copies sold. It’s only natural to want to play the other games in FromSoftware’s burgeoning portfolio after completing Elden Ring. The Dark Souls trilogy is the most well-known of them. It’s only logical to question whether Elden Ring has anything to do with Dark Souls.
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Elden Ring and Dark Souls are compared.
While you would think they’re two unique games at first glance, there are a lot of connections and allusions that have us wondering whether they’re part of the same world. Today, we’ll look at how these games are similar and different in order to see whether and how Elden Ring and Dark Souls are related.
Similarities
The first and most apparent resemblance is that both were created by FromSoftware. FromSoftware has created a number of games in this manner under the leadership of Hidetaka Miyazaki. This “souls-like” approach has grown in popularity to the point that it is now recognized its own subgenre.
FromSoftware has created titles in this category, such as:
What does it mean to play a “Souls-like” game?
Stored experience points are a typical characteristic of this subgenre. These are lost when a player dies, however they may be found around where the player died. Difficult action RPG combat, checkpoints where players may level up particular attributes, and a selection of weapons and equipment for your character are other gameplay aspects connected with the “souls-like” genre.
Elden Ring ticks all of these criteria, firmly placing it in the “souls-like” category. However, a large number of games are classified as “souls-like.” Let’s take a closer look at the precise parallels that exist between Elden Ring and Dark Souls.
Patches
FromSoftware has a propensity of using the same goods and characters in several games. Patches is one of these characters.
Patches, the Immortal Trickster of FromSoftware
Patches the Hyena, a trickster who lures the player into his trap with the promise of riches only to throw them down a cliff so he may loot their stuff, makes his debut appearance in a “souls-like” game in Demon’s Souls.Â
Trusty Patches comes in Dark Souls and performs a similar trick on the player, enticing them to the brink of a cliff before pushing them over.
In Bloodborne, he transforms into an arachnid, with his distinctive bald head attached to a monstrous spider’s body. He pulls his old tactic of kicking the player over a precipice once again.
Patches appears as Unbreakable Patches in Dark Souls 3 in his last appearance before Elden Ring.
Patches tries to lure you into descending into a hazardous location before snatching the ladder and preventing you from escaping. He also attempts to lock you up in the Firelink Shrine’s bell tower. Patches, on the other hand, settles down and becomes a trader from whom the player may buy items after evading both of his traps this time.
Patches Makes a Comeback in Elden Ring
Image: FromSoftware & Bandai Namco Entertainment via HGG/ Drew Swanson
Patches has a new nickname, the Untethered, after making a great comeback in Elden Ring. He originally appears as an optional boss in Murkwater Cave, ambushing the player. When his health is low, he will surrender and, if the player spares him, he will become a merchant, similar to how he was in Dark Souls 3.
This raises the issue of whether or not this Patches is the same as the one seen in the Dark Souls games.Â
Patches in Dark Souls seem to be similar to those seen in Dark Souls 3. This indicates that he has survived the ages in between the two games without becoming hollow.
Patches’ Untethered title in Elden Ring now indicates even more spectacular things about him. It’s almost as if he’s unattached to any one universe, or game in this instance. Patches may have the capacity to travel between realms if he can live millennia in the Dark Souls universe.
The implications for the Dark Souls and Elden Ring link hint to a common universe with the ability to move across worlds.
Additional Connections
While no official confirmation has been given, many have theorized that the universe of Elden Ring is similar to that of Dark Souls. Patches isn’t the end of the relationship, but it does get more hypothetical.
The player is cursed in both Elden Ring and Dark Souls. The Tarnished may be found in Elden Ring, whereas the Unkindled can be found in Dark Souls 3. Both of these cursed persons are attempting to achieve godhood in their own games. In Dark Souls 3, the land of Lothric is referred to as a “transitory land” in game dialogue. In terms of its implications as a liminal environment, this is very comparable to Elden Ring’s Lands Between.Â
Is Elden Ring Solaire of Astora?
Image: FromSoftware & Bandai Namco Entertainment via HGG/Drew Swanson
Elden Ring makes a reference to another legendary Dark Souls character when he talks about cursed people.
In Elden Ring, the Dung Eater is a monstrous Tarnished that emerges in a chamber littered with corpses inside Roundtable Hold. You may get his Omen armor set by completing his quest line. When you look at the Omen Armor, you’ll see a sun adornment on the chest piece, identical to Solaire of Astora’s.
While it is unknown whether the Dung Eater of Elden Ring is intended to be Solaire, he is cursed at the conclusion of Dark Souls. It’s no accident that Elden Ring has a cursed twin as well.Â
Differences
While there are several parallels, connections, and allusions to Dark Souls, Miyazaki claims that Elden Ring is a spiritual successor to Dark Souls rather than a straight sequel. This, regrettably, busts the bubble of fans trying to puzzle together Elden Ring’s Dark Souls link.
However, the topic of whether Elden Ring is linked to Dark Souls on a deeper level is more difficult to answer. When comparing the two games, it’s evident that Elden Ring is the Dark Souls series’ successor, not its sequel.Â
The Open World Design of Elden Ring…
With its open world exploration and battle approach, Elden Ring carries the souls-like concept to its natural progression. Elden Ring’s storyline is heavily impacted by the player’s option of how much they want to explore due to the game’s major focus on player discovery and asymmetrical world creation.
To reach the finish of the game, for example, the player just has to defeat two Shardbearers. As a consequence, they may miss out on vital bits of lore, giving them an entirely different experience than other players.Â
…against the semi-linear design of Dark Souls
Dark Souls, on the other hand, features a rather linear, linked universe, which is reflected in its gameplay and narrative design. As a result of the differences in level design, the way the story is structured to develop must also alter.
All players in Dark Souls experience events in roughly the same sequence. Alternatively, depending on how the player chooses to explore the environment, the events in Elden Ring’s plot may unfold in a different sequence for different players.
A Dark Souls sequel might use this approach to game creation. Elden Ring, on the other hand, is better suited for a standalone release due to its non-linear exploration-based gameplay.
Lore and Story
Image: FromSoftware & Bandai Namco Entertainment via HGG/Drew Swanson
The Lore and Story of Elden Ring, while sharing similar elements to Dark Souls, stands completely on its own. The Lords of Cinder of Dark Souls are remarkably similar to the Shardbears of Elden Ring. These Lords of Cinder are called so because they have linked the First Flame and prolonged the Age of Fire. This led to the creation and perpetuation of the curse of the Undead.Â
The Shardbearers in Elden Ring each have a Great Rune from the broken Elden Ring. Queen Marika the Eternal seized the Rune of Death before the Elden Ring was shattered so that those who were blessed by the Elden Ring would not perish.
This gift faded once the Elden Ring was shattered, leaving behind the Tarnished undeath. The player sets out to recover the Great Runes from the Shardbearers and restore the Elden Ring to its former glory. These tales are conceptually similar, but canonically distinct.Â
The Player’s Role in Dark Souls…
Image: FromSoftware & Bandai Namco Entertainment via HGG/Drew Swanson
Another mythology distinction is the player character’s involvement in the two games’ tales.
As previously stated, Elden Ring possesses Tarnished, while Dark Souls has Undead and Unkindled.
The Chosen Undead is the protagonist in the first Dark Souls game. The player must either succeed Gwyn, Lord of Cinder in rekindling the First Flame and extending the Age of Fire and the Undead Curse, or defeat him and extinguish the First Flame, bringing the Age of Fire to an end and the Age of Darkness to begin.
The Ashen One is the playable character in Dark Souls 3. The player in this game is assumed to have continued the Age of Fire from the original Dark Souls game. As a result, the Ashen One defeats the Lords of Cinder who remain. This brings the First Flame and the Age of Fire to a close for good.
…vs the Player’s Role in Elden Ring
Elden Ring repeats the process of conquering a succession of demigod-like entities and fulfilling a prophesy. The Tarnished are people who have fallen foul of the Erdtree’s grace and have been exiled to the Lands Between.
The player character is a Tarnished who is attempting to regain the Great Runes from the Shardbearers and restore the Elden Ring, earning the title of Elden Lord in the process. This narrative has many of the same cliches as the Dark Souls series.
In order to overcome the curse and restore the kingdom to its former grandeur, the cursed “chosen one” embarks on a mission of epic proportions. Apart from these weak story elements, Elden Ring and the Dark Souls series have little mythology in common.
Elden Ring’s backstory, penned by Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, is a well-known selling feature. While Elden Ring’s narrative has many of the same motifs and tropes as Dark Souls, the universe of Elden Ring is entirely different.Â
Be a part of the High Ground!
These are our ideas on the Elden Ring and Dark Souls links. If you have any theories of your own, please share them in the comments section below. To keep up to speed on all of our newest Elden Ring material, sign up for our newsletter!
Further Reading
Elden Ring is a game that was released on the PC in 2018. The game was developed by FromSoftware, the creators of Dark Souls. Elden Ring takes place before Dark Souls and does not have any direct ties to it. Reference: is elden ring a prequel to dark souls.
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