While Elden Ring shares much in common with its predecessor, Dark Souls, the most recent FromSoftware title will hopefully not share the complications of accessing DLC, should Elden Ring actually receive DLC in the future. Initially released in February 2022, Elden Ring has proven to be as massive a success as it is an undertaking. The Lands Between is a vast setting, featuring numerous bosses, NPCs, and quests that players can get lost in for long periods of time. When it comes to DLC, Elden Ring has the potential to make the vast universe even larger, but if not done right, all that effort could get muddled into the background of Elden Ring.
It’s no surprise that Elden Ring shares much in common with Dark Souls, seeing as Hidetaka Miyazaki was the lead director for both games. In fact, Elden Ring features many Dark Souls easter eggs, as well as Bloodborne homages, that can be easily missed. As a FromSoftware game, Elden Ring is the magnum opus of nearly everything Miyazaki has created, pushing parts of the Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro formulas into bigger and bolder territory. These factors, as well as its own uniqueness, all add up to Elden Ring being one of the most anticipated, and most well received games of 2022. As more and more players complete the game, Elden Ring is now in the “what comes next” phase, prompting the speculation of what could be included in potential DLC.
There is plenty of cut content that wasn’t in Elden Ring’s release that could make it into, or at least inspire, DLC. From further character customizations to new boss fights, the content that was cut is only the tip of the iceberg of what could be included into DLC. The Lands Between already boasts a humongous map of battles and characters. With the abundance of lore within the game being interlaced through side quests, NPCs, and even changing depending on the choices a player makes throughout the game, Elden Ring DLC has the unique opportunity to not only add more to its game, but also help connect some loose threads. With this in mind, there is at least one thing from Dark Souls DLC that should be reconsidered when it comes to potential DLC for Elden Ring.
Elden Ring DLC Needs To Be Prominently Featured In The Map
Elden Ring’s biggest disappointment comes from the map, as it features many areas, but some are noticeably underdeveloped compared to others. Knowing this, it’s important Elden Ring prominently features a well-developed DLC area on its map. However, it would also need to address a problem many players faced in the Dark Souls DLC Artorias of the Abyss. This area was extremely difficult (almost impossible) to find without the help of in-game messages and online forums. This doubled-down on the community ideals of the game, which were relatively new during the time of Dark Souls, but Elden Ring is entirely different as far as its massive open world, meaning that it could be discouraging to have to work even harder to figure out how to access the DLC content without some more explicit instructions. Though certainly the convoluted steps to accessing the Dark Souls DLC fostered a sense of community through online engagement, too many obtuse steps could make the experience a nightmare in Elden Ring.
Without being too self-referential or corny, Elden Ring keeps themes of Dark Souls alive in its world. Elden Ring takes familiar FromSoftware mechanics and ideas and makes them new again through its own designs. When considering DLC, it makes sense to assume (and hope) that FromSoftware will continue to learn from past games and adapt to the present, but no matter what form it may take, Elden Ring DLC would be an exciting addition to the game - probably even if players had to band together to figure out how to find it.