The Japanese studio’s next game, the Elden Ring is close to the Nintendo Switch launch title in several aspects… but taking cues from someone else’s book never hurts.

Several publications had the chance of playing a demo of Elden Ring for about roughly fifteen minutes. IGN‘s preview provides a nifty overview of what we can’t experience yet (unless the publisher, Bandai Namco, decides to release this demo to the public). Still, until then, you can take a look at a few 4K resolution screenshots below.

The open-world hub (called The Lands Between) features a day/night cycle. It’s also populated by groups of enemies that resemble The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s Bokoblins. However, it wouldn’t be a FromSoftware game if the Japanese devs didn’t put a spin on it. IGN invaded an enemy camp, which was then ambushed by a giant dragon, leading to an unexpected boss fight… so such surprises could happen to any of us.

Elden Ring will include a map. However, you have to find it in fragments. You can also set waypoint markers. Sites of Lost Grace replace the bonfires from the Souls games. Some of them will send out glowing light paths to guide players to their next destination. You can hop on your Spirit Steed at any time to traverse the hub world, and if you want to reach higher elevations, you can summon jump platforms.

The world will have smaller trap and puzzle-focused dungeons resembling Breath of the Wild’s shrines. If you want the classic FromSoftware size, look for the more extensive Legacy Dungeons, whose size will be similar to whole areas from the Souls games. The first one, Stormveil Castle, is similar to the Boletarian Palace from Demon’s Souls, IGN says. Direct and stealthy approaches are both working, and in the end, Lord Godrick awaits you.

Elden Ring will launch on January 21 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: WCCFTech