Elden Ring is undoubtedly one of those games that has been teased to fans for just a bit longer than it probably should have.
For years now FromSoftware has been very quiet about any details regarding their spiritual successor to Dark Souls and Bloodborne.
But now the Japanese developer has provided us with a generous look at what we can expect from Elden Ring's gameplay.
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It comes as the game becomes available for pre-order ahead of its release on February 25, 2022.
With only a few months left to wait until we can get our hands on "the largest FromSoftware game to-date" here's what you can expect by looking at the 20-odd minutes of gameplay footage.
It's important to note that things shown in the footage may not be in the final game, or some things may be changed.
A beautiful open world
While Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro had impeccable world design, Elden Ring is simply on a different scale of detail and appeal.
In fact, Elden Ring appears to have elements from all three of the previous titles, complete with gorgeous fantasy architecture that adds to the dramatic environment.
It also wouldn't be a medieval FromSoftware game without some kind of underground catacomb full of haunting enemies hiding in the shadows.
The open world of Elden Ring means that there's more of an opportunity to explore the landscape freely, while Dark Souls somewhat had this with its interconnected level design, it's nowhere near on the same scale.
However, an interesting mechanic teased in the footage is the implementation of stealth.
The character in the footage is seen sneaking into a gothic castle from a back entrance which hints that there could be different ways to approach different areas depending on preference.
Familiar yet different combat
One of the reasons games such as Dark Souls, Sekiro and Bloodborne were so popular was because of their extremely difficult yet rewarding combat.
Elden Ring's combat seems to take elements from all three predecessors combat mechanics while adding some new features never seen before in FromSoftware's games.
A feature that stood out in the footage was the use of summoning spirits to aid in battle - the NPC appears to stay summoned for a short time, keeping enemies pre-occupied so you can take a step back from combat and assess the field.
Bosses, of course
The gameplay footage finishes of with a peek at one of the bosses in Elden Ring, Godric the Golden.
In familiar FromSoftware fashion, this grotesque boss has multiple arms fixed across his body which are only outdone by the giant golden axe he wields.
Like most bosses in the franchise, it appears that beating enemies like Godric won't be an easy feat with complicated move-sets that need to be memorised - chances are you're going to die a few times before nailing these bosses.
