Because Elden Ring is a FromSoftware title, it is only natural that it will incite comparisons to previous FromSoftware games. Because it matches earlier FromSoftware visuals, gameplay, and mechanical designs, it is unavoidable for fans to acknowledge and dissect what Elden Ring’s formula will change from Dark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, or Bloodborne.
Elden Ring’s closed network test has offered players variable hours of experience with these changes. But while many of Elden Ring’s mechanics are seen as modified or derivative of previous FromSoftware games, players agree that the game’s tone, open-world system, and visuals are unique to Elden Ring. One fan has taken a look at Elden Ring as it compares to Bloodborne, with a particular lens at how Elden Ring’s visuals contrast with Bloodborne’s.
Bread remarks upon the fact that Elden Ring already appears to highlight warm, bright colors and lighting as opposed to Bloodborne. Elden Ring’s environments are emblazoned in an amber, orange tinge, whilst Bloodborne is a naturally desaturated mixture of dimly lit browns. Rather, Bloodborne’s morose, moonlit locales are suitable for their dreary atmosphere and cosmic horror influences. Bloodborne’s terrifying enemies are also appropriately suited to Yharnam’s dark, tonal slums, and would probably feel out of place in a bright and colorful location.
Because Elden Ring and Bloodborne’s environments reasonably equate to each game’s theme and atmosphere, it makes sense why Elden Ring might feature a much more vibrant and colorful palette. Elden Ring’s fantastical mysticism bleeds throughout the Lands Between with a golden sky, not to mention the luminous Erdtree, and is intended to be a much brighter experience in its open-world. However, Elden Ring’s dungeons and underground locales will still require the use of a torch to illuminate otherwise pitch black areas.
Character models and certain mechanics are indeed transferring over from Dark Souls 3, as has been the most notable comparison to Elden Ring. But each game’s tone is identifiable apart from one another, and Bloodborne’s is still hailed for its gloomy bleakness. Elden Ring, on the other hand, appears to be dipping into its fantastical features far more than other FromSoftware games. Regardless, it is a brisk change of tone that helps to associate a unique atmosphere in each of FromSoftware’s games. While some fans would surely like to see more Bloodorne-inspired content, others will be satisfied that the two titles are so different from one another.
Elden Ring releases on February 25, 2022, on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
