Assuming all is well,Elden Ringwill be out in a few short months. FromSoftware will expand its already flexible level design into a pseudo-open world, with six different areas being accessible by the player right from the start. With all manner of new vertical movement options and a horse to speed things up, the structure of this game will be different from any FromSoftware title before it. That is rather significant, considering that FromSoftware has made a name for itself in modern times with itsSoulsgames, whichElden Ringappears to be a successor to. Apart from a few significant new elements,Elden Ringseems to be a direct evolution of past FromSoftware games.
This can be seen most keenly inElden Ring’s mechanics.Elden Ringis bringing forward many of the bits and pieces that makeDark SoulsandDemon’s Soulswhat they are, including plenty of weapons, spells, special abilities, and even online multiplayer. FromSoftware’s dark fantasy aesthetic appears to be intact, andG.R.R Martin’s writing involvementensures that the usual amount of optional lore will still be around. However,Elden Ringtakes a few things from FromSoftware’s other recent games as well, includingSekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Implementation of a true jump button is the most obvious feature carried over from that game, but it’s not the only one.Elden Ringappears to be implementing a more detailed approach to stealth than past FromSoftware games, and it will be interesting to see how it does so.
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How Stealth Worked in Past FromSoftware Titles
Previously,Soulsgame stealth has been fairly primitive. The major things it has concerned itself with have been reducing sound and sight. Both of these aspects have been present sinceDemon’s Souls, and equipment, spells, and strategies have been present to take advantage of them both.Demon’s Soulsintroduced a couple of ringsand spells that were made to enforce a stealth mode against NPCs and black phantoms. These effects would also reduce lock-on range, which could be useful even after being spotted in PvP. Unfortunately, it also ran into issues regarding invading players being able to see auras and soul form particles through invisibility, drastically reducing the effectiveness of this approach. Future games got better about this aspect, but then again, stealth was never really a priority in theSoulsgames.
More stealth options continued to be introduced over the years, including more ways to reduce one’s own movement sounds, and ways to change a player’s appearance entirely. The Chameleon spell added inDark Souls 1, used to change into various environmental objects, became a staple for a certain type of player. It was also possible to dress up as enemies and impersonate them in the environment. An invader would only be able to tell a host apart from an enemy using a player model if they happened to lock onto them. In turn, invaders could change their coloration into that of either a different type of phantom or their regular colors. And while this is a different type of stealth, theunlockable rings fromDark Souls 2challenge runsthat enable players to hide their weapons are also a form of subterfuge.
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How Sekiro Revolutionized FromSoftware Stealth
Taking all of that into consideration, it’s clear that stealth has always been a consideration in modern FromSoftware games. However, what stealth actually does is very limited. The only things to do with it are avoid fighting some enemies, make backstabs easier, and decrease invader lock-on range. Combat was always the main focus ofDemon’s Souls,Dark Souls, andBloodborne, so stealth was simply something for players to experiment with.Sekiro: Shadows Die Twicewas FromSoftware’s first attempt at making a more involved stealth game in quite some time. Loosely based on the oldTenchufranchise,Sekiroput players into the shoesof the agile shinobi Wolf. Wolf’s mobility allowed him to re-establish stealth, something that was very difficult in FromSoftwareSoulsgames, and that isn’t all he has in his bag of tricks.
Stealth had always been treated like some sort of status buff in theSoulstitles, but inSekiroit was an ever-present option. Wolf could crouch, allowing him to make less noise at the cost of some speed, and hide in tall grass and certain low structures. He could climb and move along ledges and was often rewarded for doing so. Successfully approaching any normal enemy inSekirowhile in stealth allowed the player to instantly kill them. Even some mini-bosses and bosses were vulnerable to stealthy attacks, with theTrue Corrupted Monk being the most memorableof these.Sekiroalso introduced tools that specifically enabled better stealth, which in turn allowed players to chain together stealth kills. While some of theSoulstitles' wackier stealth options were left behind, the concept as a whole was better realized inSekiro.
Elden Ring’s Environments Enable Better Stealth
It is now up toElden Ringto sort through its predecessors' mechanics and find what works best for it.The return ofSekiro’s crouchdefinitely implies that sneaking will be a more viable strategy this time around, and there will no doubt be a number of additional spells and items taken from FromSoftware’s various games that allow a player to reduce their noise and visibility. It comes down to the area design to allow players to make effective use of these tools.
And that area design will be what truly makes or breaksElden Ring’s stealth. The increased verticality means that players can perform more reconnaissance, find more routes through regions, and literally get the drop on enemies more often.Elden Ringplayers will suddenly find themselves in a setting that allows many more stealth opportunities, and it may take some time to get used to it. However, once some understanding of how touseElden Ring’s many tools in tandemis formed, players will be creeping through the environment with no issues. It may not be as graceful asMetal GearorSplinter Cell, but it will definitely be a new way to experience FromSoftware’s signature epic action-RPG gameplay.
Elden Ringis set to release June 09, 2025, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
