Elden Ring trailer shows combat, the world, and more

Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest ended with a bang on June 10. The last trailer to air was one that fans have been waiting to see for years: Hidetaka Miyazaki’s Elden Ring. The game hasn’t been seen in quite some time, but the wait was worth it. The Summer Game Fest trailer gave fans more than two minutes of footage, with an excellent look at what to expect when the game launches on January 21, 2022.

The first thing to note is that the game looks absolutely gorgeous. Miyazaki and his team have always known how to use color in striking ways to really set a tone, and with a world created with the help of Geroge R.R. Martin you know it will be rich, but the footage they shared is on another level. Graphically, this looks like one of the better games we’ve seen over the last few years. And, as always, the team at FromSoftware’s enemy design is second to none.

However, the game is more than just nice to look at. The trailer also gave us some hints on what to expect from the gameplay. We have, of course, known that the game would feature things like horseback combat and an open world, but this showed those things in action. Seeing the player riding around the lush environments was a treat. It will be interesting to see how that’s incorporated into the usual Dark Souls-like combat, but this evolution is incredibly promising.

The trailer also shows off several magical abilities. We see the player using some kind of magic to create an elongated sword in a fight, and a horse jump pad propels the rider up a cliff. It’s hard to say if these will be abilities you upgrade as you level at this point, but this could mean different players will have access to unique modes of transportation and combat depending on how they spec out their character.

This is an exciting day for Elden Ring fans. Not only did we finally get a great look at the game in action, but it now has a release date. Of course, things could change in the coming months, but knowing we’re less than a year away from the game’s launch is the best news we’ve had out of E3 thus far.