Many of us, myself included, were looking forward to Fromsoftware’s Elden Ring being released on January 20, 2022. Which was eventually delayed another month, to February 25, 2022 – but what was it delayed? Well, other than add some extra polish to the game and make sure the developer could squash as many bugs as possible? According to a recent interview with Edge Magazine, Elden Ring’s creative director Hidetaka Miyazaki has provided some context as to why this delay occurred.
When asked about the delay, Miyazaki was straightforward with this reply. The goal for Elden Ring is to provide a level of freedom that has need been available in prior Fromsoftware games. In the games’ current state, he didn’t feel that they had accomplished that and felt that more development time was needed.
For someone who had access to the Elden Ring Network Test, I thought the world and gameplay were pretty damned perfect. For Miyazaki to summarize and say the game wasn’t ready — that tells you that he and the rest of the team mean business. Then again, this is the same person who basically wrote the book on Dark Souls, Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro. If he says it isn’t ready, then I’ll tend to agree with him.
However, squashing bugs and making sure the gameplay was perfect is just one part of the equation. Anyone who’s played any of the games I’ve referred to will undoubtedly tell you that after a while they tend to get boring. This, coming from someone who has nearly 1000 hours of Dark Souls 3 on just the PC version. You’d think I’d never get bored, but I do. For example, Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls 2 are games I never want to play again. Despite enjoying them, they just don’t compare to Dark Souls 1 or Dark Souls 3. Heck, even Bloodborne (I’m sorry) is boring at times.
As such, Miyazaki wants to ensure this isn’t the case with Elden Ring. This is Fromsoftware’s biggest and likely, most important title to date. The last thing they want is for players to start, get lost, possibly bored, and lose interest. Miyazaki is committed to ensuring that doesn’t happen and that every moment in the world of Elden Ring is magical.
“We wanted to create this world that was full of the joy of exploration of the unknown, So we wanted to create lots of enticing things for the budding adventurer. Variety is something we strived for when creating this game, and something I believe we’ve managed to achieve,” he adds. “I believe it will be our best [game] to date” Miyazaki says. This man has a pedigree for making sure everything is as it should be. So given that he’s so passionate about Elden Ring, fans of the genre should get ready for one hell of an experience.
There’s much more in Edge Magazine 367 regarding Elden Ring. So if you want to get the full read of the interview, do try and track down a copy. Either at your local book store or digitally. Sadly, I haven’t had any luck finding a physical edition. It’s probably as hard as trying to track down one of those Elden Ring Premium Collector’s Editions that Bandai Namco dropped the ball on.
Elden Ring will be released on February 25, 2022, for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. I don’t have to tell you that Elden Ring is one of my most anticipated games of 2022. Once that day comes, I’ll be gone for a few days and playing until my eyes get tired.
Check out the following for more Elden Ring coverage from The Outerhaven:
- George R.R. Martin Talks About His Role in the Creation of Elden Ring
- No, the kick move hasn’t been removed from Elden Ring
- I love how death is handled in Elden Ring and now I’m spoiled
- Update: Things didn’t work as planned for the NA Elden Ring Premium Collector’s Edition preorders
- Breaking down the 15-minute gameplay preview of Elden Ring – I need this game
