This new content was announced at the Game Awards which took place on Friday 13 and is set to release sometime in 2025, this was an unexpected development for sure as it was clear that FromSoftware was not going to work on Elden Ring anytime soon but here we are.
What We Know So Far
The game mode is designed to be very heavily based around co-op, maybe taking a page from Elden Ring co-op mod that is now enjoyed by thousands of players and offers a unique experience on the souls formula for veterans, but it is still fully playable for those solo play enjoyers.
There will ofcourse be new weapons and movement mechanics as these were primarily showcased in the reveal trailer. There was a grappling hook for pulling enemies similar to how we saw it in Monster Hunter Wilds. We also saw new ashes of war, where we can actually fly vertically up for quite a big distance and then slam down on enemies similar to how the crucible enemies do in Castle Morne.
We saw a multiple of weapons get showcased for a few seconds at most so there is little description available but we know they will be completely unique and what is seemingly confirmed and a souls franchise first is the introduction of locked classes. Players at the start will choose from a preset of characters each with their unique weapons, ashes of war and spells and have to complete each run utilizing the tools available.
Structure Of The Gamemode
The is set to take place in an alternate universe consisting of the entire area of Limgrave (this includes Caelid) as per the areas we see in the game, the mode itself will be 3 in-game days and we can spawn in a go in any direction we want to gather resources, weapons or permanent upgrades that we need.
It should be noted that with each passing day the entire area will become smaller and smaller, similar to the mechanic in battle royales where we have to stay in an ever decreasing circular area. With each passing day in-game taking about 15 mins, we’ll have to utilize our time to the fullest as the environment will change as night starts to fall.
As Night starts we will start facing more and more difficult enemies, environmental hazards such as Acid rain, mini bosses and such which will eventually culminate in a boss fight. This feels like a mix of battle royale style of play and roguelikes where we get a decreasing area to explore and with each night we face a boss. Regular sessions themselves will approximately take 30 to 40 minutes to complete if successful.
New Mechanics And Combat
Something that was immediately noticeable was the fact that characters move very differently from what we are used to in the standard game. Characters just run a lot faster and perform double jumps when faced with high ledges.
We also may not get Torrent, instead to travel large distances quickly we’ll have to find certain points from where we’ll get to use a bird that will fly us in a certain direction for a set distance. We also saw some combat mechanics such as the deflection which felt different from the version we got in the DLC however there isn’t any confirmation on it.
Just FromSoftware Brilliance
It is amazing to see that even two years after launch FromSoftware is still giving us new content to try out, although the DLC came out much later than expected it still delivered the quality and experience we’ve come to expect from FromSoftware.
This new mode that is a mix of battle Royale and the Roguelike genre is offering an interesting and worthwhile experience and at the same time they are featuring Iconic bosses we’ve faced from previous Souls titles as the Nameless King was spotted in the trailer, of course we will get new weapons as mentioned before along with a host of new enemies or new versions of existing enemies.
FromSoftware are showing their dedication and letting us know just how redefining they can be as this is a first for FromSoftware to offer a genre blend of such a staggering degree. It is not yet clear how close or far we are from the launch of this game mode but what is clear is the hype and amazement that the trailer generated letting other development studios know just how well FromSoftware can keep a player base interested.
