Interview With Yasuhiro Kitao Reveals Elden Ring’s Gameplay Mechanics and Accessibility

Indonesian outlet JagatPlay sat down with FromSoftware’s Yasuhiro Kitao for an exclusive interview about the upcoming Elden Ring. Please read below for some exciting new information about it!

Because Elden Ring will be FromSoftware’s first take on an open-world game, players will likely miss some areas in The Lands Between. However, Yasuhiro-san reassured us that a structure called the Watchtower will give players a clearer view of the surroundings and automatically mark dungeons on the world map. Players will also be assisted by “Sight of the Lost Grace,” which acts as a bonfire in Elden Ring. This sight has a guiding light to show players where to go next. Collecting Map Fragments will also reveal more structures and points of interest as well.

There will be no level requirement for Elden Ring‘s Legacy Dungeons, but some will require certain key items or equipment to enter.

Yasuhiro-san noted that it is actually possible to create a “Spirit Summon” or stealth build. But this mechanic cannot be solely relied upon when it comes to boss fights. So although players can focus on a “Spirit Summon” or stealth build, they still need to actively play certain portions of the game.

Boss encounters won’t always have definite weak points but will be balanced regardless of the player’s build choice. Like most Soulsborne games, Elden Ring will mostly rely on learning a boss’s attack pattern. Still, bosses will definitely have specific weaknesses or exploits, such as Father Gascoigne from Bloodborne.

Tutorials in Elden Ring will pop up and can be re-accessed later on. Yasuhiro-san noted that they regretted Sekiro‘s absence of a feature to re-access tutorials, so they wanted to create a more accessible game for Elden Ring.

On the topic of accessibility, FromSoftware is still not planning on injecting different difficulty levels. Instead, their goal is for all players to share the same experience. Instead, Yasuhiro-san mentioned that varying build paths and cooperative multiplayer will create a more welcoming experience for players intimidated by the lack of easier difficulties. They will, however, continue to consider and actively explore more accessibility options in the future.

Elden Ring will be releasing on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on January 21, 2022.

Read more about this exclusive interview here.