I'd love to track monsters in Elden Ring
Like a Hollow Bear Grylls
Elden Ring exists! I'm still in a state of perpetual delight having read that I can turn my enemies into summoned sidekicks and that it has vases which are cute lads. And now I've learned that your enemies leave "trails" that are more visible at night, how curious.
Japanese magazine Famitsu recently interviewed Elden Ring game director Hidetaka Miyazaki, which has now been translated and posted on Reddit by "theangryfurlong". It has some precious nuggets of knowledge, and I'd say one about the day and weather cycles really caught my eye.
"Yes, those are elements that change in real time. This also has an effect on the game. For example, at night visibility decreases for both you and the enemy bringing new strategic aspects to approaching enemies. There are certain trails* that are more visible at night and terrifying enemies that only appear at night."
That asterisk holds the key to my curiosity, as the translator then pops in a note saying that the "trails" Miyazaki refers to are those "left by animals/monsters", as opposed to being pathways. Huh.
So it seems like there may be trails which lead to monsters, which are harder to see during the day then easier easier by night. Immediately I have many questions. I wonder if there's an element of tracking involved here then? Perhaps I can follow big footprints in the dirt and it'll lead me to a werewolf's lair. Maybe some elusive bosses can only be tracked down by following in their footsteps, and not just turning up to the same arena again and again. Could this mean our ability to see these trails is tied to a skill which we can level and improve? Am I getting ahead of myself? Probably.
The Famitsu interview also contains some other interesting tidbits of info on Elden Ring. Like the fact it's roughly - very roughly - 30 hours long. And that's if you blast through it without doing any side stuff. It's also worth noting that the Dark Souls speedrun record is 21 minutes, so you really can't look into FromSoft's game length too much. There's also a map of the world which you can set waypoints on, but there are no maps in "big dungeon areas" because that would spoil things. Oh, and those collectible spirits? You can level them up like a proper Tarnished Trainer.
Elden Ring is due to launch on the 21st of January, 2022.
E3 2021 may be over but our memories live on - see everything on our E3 hub. Many more big game showcases and streams are still to come this summer, leading up to Gamescom, so see our summer games stream schedule to stay up to date.