Post Script
Elden Ring is Miyazaki’s most successful attempt to get players out from behind their shields
Hidetaka Miyazaki has never seemed like one for sequels, which perhaps explains why his familiar gameplay template has appeared under so many different names. The Soulsborne lineage, or whatever clunky portmanteau has supplanted the label now that Elden Ring has released, has shuffled us not just between titles but styles, settings and time periods too. But despite all the costume changes and reshuffled staging, the song itself has largely remained the same.
That is particularly true when it comes to combat – despite efforts over the years to get players to change up their tactics. Swordplay in these games is a fighting game at heart: about controlling space, dancing in and out of range, baiting, evading and punishing. Success is about understanding when it is your turn; when the enemy has left themselves open enough for you to get in a hit or two. You nip in and dash off a couple of quick R1s, then retreat to safety, raise your shield, and begin the dance anew.