Summary
It’s presumed that FromSoftware will develop another smaller-scale action-RPG likeDark SoulsorBloodbornebecause those games helped pedestal the studio to unfathomable heights, though nothing about FromSoftware’s development plans ever seems predictable. Either way, if a linear Soulslike was to followElden Ring, FromSoftware wouldn’t need to abandon everything it’s learned from manifesting one of the most beloved and popular open-world action-RPGs by truncating the experience and distilling it back to the formula it had achieved in the past.
It might not make sense to adapt crafting systems for a linear Soulslike since the available landscape and overall exploration would be far more claustrophobic; likewise, an illustrative overworld map probably wouldn’t be reprised for the same reason. At the same time, FromSoftware has taken a liking to amplifying excitement for a boss fight spectacle all throughoutElden Ringby celebrating its gorgeous art direction with a longer lead-up before certain fights. This is true of General Radahn and the festival players get to partake in with multiple NPCs as well as withBayle the Dread, whose lead-up is long and full of suspense.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Journey to Bayle is More Hyped-Up Than the Fight Itself
Long before players even encounterElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Bayle the Dreadthey’ll have likely at least heard the name—several times at that. They’ll have probably seen the craggy, pale mountain Bayle resides atop, too, and anticipate a grueling yet epic battle ahead of them as a result.
No other foe in Shadow of the Erdtree is referred to as menacingly and ubiquitously, and to get to Bayle is a bit farther of a trek than it may ordinarily seem. Indeed, Bayle is quite out of the way at the eastern end of the map at the Jagged Peak.
Players also elude or fight other dragons on their way there as they come across dragon corpses and scale the whole mountain to its craterous boss arena. Furthermore, players can have Igon accompany them into Bayle the Dread’s boss fight to make it endlessly more cinematic with an NPC shouting vengefully at the foul, bulky dragon. It’s arguable whether or not Bayle actually meets the level of hype he’s given, but it definitely helps that the road to him and the fight itself are both given a ton of anticipation beforehand.
Many bosses are simply stumbled upon with afog gate being the only signifier that there will even be a boss in the area, and Bayle circumvents that beautifully by having players made fully aware of how challenging the dragon will be long before they reach it. There’s a crucial lesson to learn from this preference, though—anyone who believes Bayle failed to live up to the hype may also think the hype was unearned and thus a big, dedicated hike for an unsatisfying reward.
FromSoftware’s Linear Soulslikes Need Hype for Hard-to-Find Bosses and Popular Bosses Alike
FromSoftware couldn’t and wouldn’t account for every player and what they may or may not deem a worthwhile reveal or boss fight at the end of a string the developer pulls them along, of course, and there’s also a visceral charm in boss fights that are alarmingly unexpected. Messmer the Impaler is perfect proof of that as he’s discovered randomly and behind an ordinary door in a tiny corner of the Shadow Keep that many players might’ve assumed led to another ordinary room, notElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s mascot antagonist.
On the contrary, Messmer’s hype had already been built before players evenaccessed the DLC via the Cocoon of the Empyreandue to his prominence in its pre-release marketing and collector’s edition statue, which allowed for his sudden and understated appearance to work so well.
FromSoftware’s community usually has the responsibility of carrying hype for certain characters or events. However, FromSoftware has become great at hyping up its own and such excitement would boil over and be terrific in a linear Soulslike with bosses likeOrphan of Kosbeing deservedly hyped up before they’re found.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
WHERE TO PLAY
Shadow of the Erdtree is the first and only DLC expansion for FromSoftware’s groundbreaking Elden Ring. It takes players to a whole new region, the Land of Shadow, where a new story awaits the Tarnished.
