With Shadow of the Erdtree, Elden Ring is a classic and I hope they never make another one

Do you remember when Elden Ring was first announced? That beautiful moment back during E3 2019, when FromSoftware — at that point riding the high of Dark Souls’ and Bloodborne’s acclaim — presented a fresh spin on its signature hardcore fantasy RPG formula. It was like Dark Souls, but not quite. A new world, with a new spin. That moment before we were able to jump into this new adventure was truly special, and it’s a feeling I’d quite like to experience again. And again, and again.

Fast forward to today and not only have we been able to play Elden Ring, but its major expansion in Shadow of the Erdtree. If you’re like me, you’ve gorged yourself on the new lore, and experimented like a mad scientist with new weapons and talismans. Elden Ring is a hit. There’s no way around it. But rather than return back to The Lands Between and capitalize on its absurd popularity, I’d rather FromSoftware go back to the kitchen and cook up something new once again.

I will conceed that there are exciting avenues that FromSoftware could walk down with a hypothetical Elden Ring 2. The narrative team has done a great job of teasing the world beyond the shores of Limgrave, and if one leaves the plain entirely, they’ll find a whole cosmic stage production of competing forces that are undoubtedly intriguing. The Formless Mother, the sealed god of Scarlet Rot. The very stars themselves have ambition and motives, their path through the sky being a march towards celestial fate. Seeing more of these figures, — as well as the destiny of The Lands Between long after Marika’s Golden Order — is tantalizing, but ultimately unnecessary.