Elden Ring, while very different from all the other past and future FromSoftware games, is still very obviously a FromSoft title. And, one of the largest reasons for this is that the overall ideologies, themes, and narrative devices that are seen in Elden Ring have a lot of similarities to all the FromSoft games before it.
It’s clear as day that director Hidetaka Miyazaki likes to reuse story threads or concepts from past games in new ways in every title. So, let’s take a look at some of the most prevalent narrative devices seen in Elden Ring and compare them to what came before.
7 Fire, Flames, & The Origins Of Fire
The concept of “fire” has always played a huge part in just about every FromSoftware-developed game since Demon’s Souls. Even Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, two games that are wildly different from the Dark Souls franchise, have fire as a prevalent narrative device. To be more specific, there are a lot of ways fire is used in these games, such as fire representing strong ambition or emotion, fire “cleansing” the world before the start of a new cycle, or just simply fire as a destructive force. Just to name a few key examples from developer FromSoftware’s “discography”:
6 Lineage, Order, & The Corruption Of The Gods
While it may not seem like an immediately apparent “trope” that FromSoftware falls into, the concept of “Lineage” and a corrupted greater power is always at the core of every one of these types of games. There’s always some major family of Gods or ruling force that once had noble intentions but has now become something much more sinister. Ultimately, because a lot of these games have an end goal of the player becoming the next Lord or Ruler, it sort of has to incorporate the idea of “What makes a ruler” using the ruling parties of the past as examples. Just to name a few sources for this idea:
5 Cycles, Rebirth, & History Repeating Itself
The concept of the world following a “cycle” is once again something that has always shown itself in some fashion throughout the Soulsborne games. Of course, this concept isn’t strictly tied to this company or franchise and is seen quite a bit throughout the gaming industry with games like Nier Automata or Bioshock Infinite.
Essentially, this concept refers to the age-old saying “history repeats itself” in the truest sense. No matter how grandiose the events of one game feel, it’s just one cycle of many in the endless expanse of time. In FromSoftware games, in particular, this concept is always personified with similar characters reappearing in future games with new names and motivations, or just even direct callouts to the “cycle” itself.
4 The Hollowed, The Ashen, & The Tarnished
This next one is just a good trope to use, as it always serves to make the player feel like they’re overcoming insurmountable odds. Essentially, it’s the idea that in every single From Software game, the player starts as a “nobody” or someone who is even lower than low, yet eventually fights against the Gods themselves.
3 Those Who Follow Chaos, Have Eyes On The Inside, & Worship The Frenzied Flame
This theme has to be one of the most fun to explore out of all of them because a lot of it has to do with the idea of exploring knowledge and “truths” literally outside the realm of human comprehension.
Hidetaka Miyazaki really seems to love to include some sort of “pure chaos” faction in all of his games that either aspire to ruin the world and reduce it all to nothing, or are incomprehensible in their pursuits, and can only be perceived as “insane”.
2 The World Explored Is Long Past Its Golden Age
This has to be the most beloved theme that the gaming world as a whole will never get tired of in FromSoftware titles. In every single game, without fail, the actual story the player gets to experience takes place long after the world around them was at its peak. Players are adventuring through a ruined world, long past its prime, and are encountering the “Gods” and “Heroes” of these settings after they’ve fallen from Grace. If the world isn’t on the brink of destruction from the first minute the player starts the game, it’s probably not a FromSoftware game.
1 The Big Bad Is Washed Up & Weak But Can Still Wipe The Floor With The Player
And lastly, let’s talk about the final or near-final bosses in all these games. There’s a recurring joke whenever a new FromSoftware game is on the horizon, and it goes something like “Can’t wait to fight an old man to sad music”. And, this is exactly the “concept” that’s being explored, as players almost always end their journey fighting against the previous or some previous ruler who would have wiped the floor with them in their prime, but is just a shell of their former self now.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
