It's beginning to look like fans of FromSoftware may finally be seeing more of Elden Ring at next month's Taipei Game Show. Although the developer has been around in the video game industry since 1994, releasing titles like King's Field and Armored Core on the original PlayStation console, it wasn't until 2011's Dark Souls that FromSoftware became a household name in the gaming world, and their following entries in the Souls franchise, as well as other titles like Bloodborne, only solidified their foothold.
From Demon's Souls to their most recent game, the brutally hard Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, FromSoftware is credited with creating an entire new genre of gameplay, one which forces players to balance stamina management with reflex-based combat while also employing a risk/reward system in character progression which has all the player's recently defeated enemies respawn if they want to level up or if they are defeated in battle. This simple combination of systems has been much-emulated since Dark Souls' popularity exploded, most recently by Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Not much is known about FromSoftware's next title, Elden Ring, other than it is being developed in conjunction with Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin and will be a dark fantasy title. The game released a short trailer at E3 2019 (embedded below) but has since gone quiet. Thankfully, according to a report by PC Gamer, fans now know Elden Ring will be appearing in some fashion during Sony's portion of the Taipei Game Show, which will take place from February 6th through February 9th.
Unfortunately, the report goes on to say the game won't be appearing in a playable manner, but hopefully FromSoftware will at least be releasing a new Elden Ring trailer. The game has been in some form of development since work on Dark Souls III concluded in 2017, so the idea of a Elden Ring gameplay trailer instead of something which just shows cinematics is possible, if not likely. Series creator and FromSoftware director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, has said Elden Ring is an evolution of Dark Souls, so it will be interesting to see what changes have been made to the classic formula this time.
Although Dark Souls arguably perfected the Soulsborne genre, FromSoftware continues to adjust and tweak the franchise's mechanics with each new game. From getting rid of the player's ability to shield themselves in Bloodborne to forcing them to only use one weapon and parry every attack in Sekiro, the company clearly isn't afraid to take risks if it suits the new title's specific artistic vision. With an emphasis on dark fantasy and role-playing, it's still unclear as to what the ultimate vision of Elden Ring will be, but fans will surely be checking in on the Taipei Game Show to see if they can learn any new details about FromSoftware's next game.