Devoted fans of From Software and the Soulsborne series are in a state of eager anticipation now that Dark Souls 3 is just about content complete with the final DLC, The Ringed City, soon to be released. The anticipation, however is for where the developer is going next with their efforts. As long time players of the franchise back from when Demon’s Souls first released in Japan, we know that From Software is extraordinarily secretive when it comes to their design plans for future games. As such, with the futility of speculation apparent, the most logical next step is to discuss what it is that fans of the franchise want to see in a new From Software game.
New Universe and Lore
By the time we reached the end of Dark Souls 3 everything in that world was so well worn. Of course the cryptic story was provocative, but much of it was retreading hollowed ground. We had come to know all of the faces and places in the world even if the games technically didn’t take place in the same exact land. Our story as one who seeks flame was effectively the same in all 3 games, with a few wrinkles here and there, and as a result the formula was pretty similar. Acquire souls of special beings to become powerful enough to challenge for the right to the flame. The same can even be said for the possibility of a Bloodborne 2. Although a Bloodborne sequel is something we’d love to see because there are so many questions left to explore, the formula and universe would be similar to the first. An entirely fresh new world and journey would be welcome.

Fans have been waxing philosophical on the types of worlds they’d love to see From Software apply their Souls framework to. Sci-fi, samurai, cyberpunk, pirate. There are as many worlds to explore as there are sourcebooks for tabletop RPGs. We’ve already seen From Software try their hand at medieval fantasy and famous monsters/lovecraft so we know they have a demonstrated ability to get to the essence of a setting and deliver something authentic. What’s important is to maintain their same approach to how they tell a story, with item descriptions, visual cues and other subtle elements that don’t present themselves until you’ve really invested fully in the game.
New Mechanics
Bloodborne elucidated just how much room there is for innovation within From Software’s new Soulsborne niche. Although the framework for gameplay was similar such as camera perspective, general control scheme and design concepts, Bloodborne introduced fresh conventions. Trick weapons that transformed into something entirely new in application were a revelation and despite Bloodborne featuring much fewer weapons than any Dark Souls games, the transformations effectively doubled them. Furthermore inclusions like firearms and gems and runes were all fresh twists. Even if they didn’t all quite hit the mark, the important thing is they were attempts at innovation rather than refining their known formula, which we’ve seen in 3 successive Dark Souls games.

What could we see? Mind you I’m no game designer but it’s fun to think out loud nonetheless. Of course the setting of the game would dictate a lot, so if we were to receive a Sci-Fi Souls game, ranged weaponry like lasers or high tech ballistics are obvious candidates for something new. A new game could even bring back old mechanics like World Tendency with a twist, such as variable weather that creates new hazards? There are mechanics possibly to be gleaned from other genres such as survival games where literally losing everything including gear and experience is a possibility or where you must make everything in the game that you need, with only materials, blueprints and resources dropping as loot.
Furthemore, new mechanics could mean a return to some earlier design sensibilities that were left in the past. Team Ninja’s upcoming game Nioh’s demos have been a wonderful prompt of elements that the Souls series once excelled at but left far behind, as the game often conjures up feelings of Demon’s Souls. Methodical level progression, looking for traps that are set against you which can be turned against foes if planned right. Meaningful checkpoints and shortcuts that result in a feeling of accomplishment when you make it there, not a bonfire every 10 feet. The enemies between you and your next safe point should matter, and every encounter should count for something because the experience you’re holding is precious. For that matter, experimenting with a design that eliminates midlevel bonfires altogether and build worlds in a similar structure to Demon’s Souls (keeping things seamless as Dark Souls of course) would bring the series back to its mantra of teaching the player how to improve and progress. It should never have been “Prepare to Die.” It should always have been “Prepare to Learn.”

New Atmosphere
We get it, From knows grim. But with so much of the experience about death and decay, a focus on life, resurrection or creation could be a refreshing theme that doesn’t have to alter the core mechanics or difficulty challenge the developer is known for. How could that look? Perhaps something along the lines of Okami, where creating stuff out of thin air aids you on our quest and brings restoration to a world. Art as a weapon that heals?

A more vibrant palette could easily be overlayed onto the framework of the game. Jungles, deserts and other environments have yet to be explored, instead favoring crumbling urban or medieval architecture. But perhaps a Mayan temple journey in the jungle, Egyptian travels through palaces and pyramids? Viking raids on icy, green shores?
Death itself could also be an opportunity for innovation. Right now, we’re all familiar with the formula. Die, lose your souls, revive at last bonfire, make it back to your death spot, reclaim souls. Move on. But what if the journey back was tweaked while still retaining the same principle. What if the journey back was through a different realm? Torment: Tides of Numenera does something like this as you travel to the inner recesses of your mind, exploring a labyrinth that is a location all of its own, at which point you can then resurrect.

This makes death an opportunity to tell a story. What if death actually gave way to life? As in every time you died, instead of a bloodstain, you left a mound that sprouted a tree or flower that improved the world in some way depending on the volume of experience lost? Reclaiming it would move that world backwards. This would be a spin on death similar to the impacts of World Tendency in Demon’s Souls but reversed. Moments like these can make for interesting philosophical musings on concepts like hope and altruism. Presently death is such heavily trodden ground that the concept has become more or less meaningless.

After 8 years of similar themes, we’ve mused on the implications of death and decay quite enough. None of these thematic changes need be cheesy or hippy; it’s quite possible for a tale of hope, love or creation to be a sobering study.
New Spin on Multiplayer
Covenants were a revelation in the first Dark Souls but it’s time to move into something more meaningful. The formula of co-op and PvP is familiar to all of us and in some way that core structure should remain. Covenants helped augment that by providing a prompt for roleplay and gameplay, but they often don’t work as intended and become more work than worthwhile. It’s a fairly standard letdown at this point and merits exploration. Perhaps always on zones that are optional? Something like what we see in Destiny with their shared world concept. It’s not quite an MMO as much of the game is instanced but there are hubs of activity where players can interact. It may seem blasphemous, but a Dragon’s Dogma like Ur-dragon that functions like a public event where anyone in the vicinity can time attack a particularly powerful boss for rare upgrade materials could give a meaningful reason to check in daily.

Repeatable Dungeons & Endgame Content
Chalice Dungeons were a concept in Bloodborne that were an awkward inclusion to the main game and while much maligned by some players, the attempt is commendable and worth exploring. For many players the thrill of the challenge of clearing a level and squaring off against a boss is what keeps them coming back time and time again. Presently players get that fix by continuing into new, harder cycles in New Game plus and beyond or by starting new characters and tackling the game fresh. However those players invested in their current character and leaving a cycle open for farming for builds, are left in a bit of a limbo for full PvE content. This is where Chalice Dungeons attempted to fit in, and in some ways they were successful, behaving somewhat like the endgame Everfall in Dragon’s Dogma. What they lacked was intrigue, instead being mostly repetitive procedural dungeons that weren’t particularly rewarding beyond those looking for special gems. This disinterest was partially due to the gem system itself but also partially due to design.

However, an improved concept of these dungeons that were more varied in layout, design and setting and also worthwhile from a rewards standpoint would add an extra layer of replayability especially for players who are not heavily invested in PvP. Presently, the dedicated PvP community is what tends to keep interest in the game and online activity up for months after the release of a game. Those who favor PvE will play the game heavily for sure, but not necessarily as often or for as long. This also skews post launch support in favor of the vocal PvP focused community who although visible, may not be an accurate representation of the typical person who purchases the game. That’s an unfortunate situation that could be rectified with endgame-like PvE content outside of normal game cycles.
The Vanity of Hope
Everything said, simply expressing one’s vision for change is a dangerous proposition in the Souls community but it’s a valuable exercise nonetheless. One thing we can all agree on is that the Soulslike as created by From Software has a core sensibility that should be maintained which manifests as a feel and perspective. Something silly like a voiced character or pausing would be anathema to what drew us to the developer in the first place. The beautiful thing about the formula that From Software has crafted is that so much could be layered upon those vital core systems that result in something new yet familiar. It’s really only limited by their imaginations and our vain aspirations. What are yours?
Visit the Fextralife Wiki Hub
More Opinions

28 responses to “What We Want to See In a New From Software Game”
I came across this :
http://www.usgamer.net/articles/dark-souls-from-software-has-worked-with-expanse-co-creator” rel=”nofollow
>
Would be better if the scope didn’t zoom in as far, and didn’t slow you down as much. Darksiders did it much better, making for a mostly quick and easy transition from hack and slash camera to over the shoulder aim mode.
>
That’s part of it. Gun distances are so limited you won’t be a sniper no matter what you do. Which there’s a good lore reason for I believe, but it does limit range drastically.
I also seem to recall that the camera speed using the monocular is reduced drastically, and with enemy speeds being what they are it’s less than ideal. Also, like a real monocular the field of view is pretty narrow.
>
Really? I guess it’d be more useful if the gun or tool range extended beyond lock-on.
Nevermind, then.
The monocular is complete garbage for anything other than looking at things.
>
Ohh I remember playing that game in mcdonalds. Not bad.
>
Technically speaking, the bullet counter is no different from a mana bar. It’s just displayed as a number instead of a meter. I’m also not sure if blood bullets are all that different from dividing your Estus between HP and FP, because whenever I make blood bullets I always use a vial immediately after. The fact that you don’t have to raise a stat to make it bigger does cut down on level costs, though.
Magic is a pretty big part of the Dark Souls universe, so I don’t agree a Souls game shouldn’t have it. If anything, they should focus on improving it instead. It actually worked just fine in Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls 2, so the problem isn’t consistent enough that removing it would outright improve the series, not to mention the drastic effect doing so would have on the lore. Even if it’s only the player character who can’t use magic, the question then becomes why.
Odd question, but have you ever used the Monocular in Bloodborne? Or is that different? I don’t play shooters much, so I wouldn’t know.
Just remember that this is the company capable of the game below. As a matter of fact, this particular iteration of the series was directed by Miyazaki and has a more direct story, ranged combat emphasis and can make Bloodborne feel sluggish. I will say that a lot of core concepts here are the same as Soulsborne (Demon’s Souls actually seems built fairly directly from Armored Core but medieval).
[BBvideo 560,315]https://youtu.be/XPq91E0VJyw?t=1m34s[/BBvideo]
They were on the right track with bloodborne regarding
-the fuel for spells and special abilities (limited amount, cost life to replenish): they fucked it up in DkS3 with this additional useless mana bar.
-the bloodstain being picked up by mobs
– the Chalice dungeons (not ideally implemented but right idea)
– the fashion friendly absence of armor upgrade
they have the right idea to circumvent low level griefing with the upgrade being equally important to level for invasions.
But they dropped the ball on invasions incentive and promoted terrible gameplay by gankers, effectively leveling the gameplay level by the low rather than by the high end of the spectrum.
they had all wrong with the ranged action but they always have it wrong, from day one…and its ok since they do melee so well!
I am confident that they can implement their expertise in mechanisms in any sort of lore / background. But if this happens in a world with lots of ranged weaponry, they will have to seriously rethink their mechanims in this respect…which would not be overly complicated since all you have to do is close in on the shoulder in third person and add a crosshair…but they failed at doing this little thing all along so…
I personally would love having them taking on a more realistic path even, pushing the physics of the gameplay even further in medieval world, not necessarily a fantastic one…there is no need for magic gameplay wise in souls, melee is all the jazz, all that is actually done right. So they should really push it to the next level, focus on this rather than continue to try pleasing everybody until they make everybody more or less disappointed as they did in DkS3.
>
I think we will have to rely on the developers of journey for a game to ever come close to it’s greatness. Not to mention the beautiful soundtrack.
But in a dream world, an openworld journey like game fused with souls would be beautiful, maybe add some disgaea in there too.
Demon Souls had everything I want from a game.
Lore
Atmosphere
Creativity
Diverseness
PvP
What I love about the Demon Souls formula, is that if you get bored of one area, you can visit another for a different feel and experience. From the gutter to the stormy sky.
I really hope they don’t abandon this recipe of greatness they have. Demon souls, dark souls, two of the best games to ever be created.
whatever they do, it needs to be significantly different. As a lot of people say about these games, a lot of the challenge comes from the learning, of figuring out the best way (preferably ways) to beat an enemy or boss. Once you got that down, the only challenge comes from the execution of the actions, which isn’t that hard if you know what you’re doing. Bloodborne did this by changing how the core combat of the player character and enemies operates, faster, more aggressive, with more attack types and combos to use.
I personally would like to see a bigger emphasis on magic mixed with melee. a game where you’re some form of battlemage, mixing melee combat with various classes of spell casting against enemies and bosses with similar capabilities. Using both is necessary to being most effective in combat, and each magic class offers something different for your playstyle. It would mix Bloodborne’s fast paced melee combat, along with the tactical ranged and utility of spellcasting.
The game would have a much faster regenerating mana bar, not stamina bar fast, but always restoring (unless hit with a mana block spell or something), and there would be a far greater variety in spell types, no five different kinds of the same spell. It would also probably work like Bloodborne in that instead of a shield in your off hand, it would almost always be a spellcasting catalyst, a staff, scepter, magic hand, book, talisman, etc., each offering something a little different, like staffs are the slowest, but make spells more powerful, scepters are faster, books offer certain alternate effects, things like that. They would also have to make the controls easier to switch spells.
I’m hoping for something fresh. For all it’s glorious sections, By the end of Dark Souls 3 I did admit to myself that the series felt complete. I don’t think going back there could give us anything more fresh- the central problem being that with different narrative you can keep a series with similar gameplay and enemies fresh, but Souls is very story light and lore heavy.
Bloodborne I feel it could not be expanded upon too well either. The entire pantheon of beings and monsters were explored in good depth, and still was shorter than any souls game to date. I must admit, while it was good, I feel as though they ran out of ideas towards the end.
Something different and new would be wonderful. I’m hoping for something more story driven. Miyazaki has a great hand for compelling gameplay, and if only he could partner it with an equally incredible story he could create another Witcher 3 or Last of Us in terms of an all time great game.
At this time, knowing very little about the future, there’s not a lot I can ask for. (not a lot that’s better than a random idea anyway)
These kinds of threads easily add up to a lot of nonsense like:
“Bring back Smaugh!”,
“Havel backstory!”
“Keep in Shields and Estus or I shoot you down!” etc.
From my perspective such things are completely beside the point.
The series can keep going strong if it can stick to it’s strong points, fundamentally good, fun, diverse combat that’s rewarding to master.
I also see a lot of potential in expanding its cooperative and competitive play.
>
Journey, Diablo, and Bloodborne. Three of my favorite games.
They could probably do this by setting the game in the Church’s (or Byrgenwerth’s) tomb prospector days?
I think it would be really fun to play a loot based dungeon crawler developed by FROM.
HUGE randomized dungeons. Similar in style to chalice dungeons but much much larger both in size and scaling of the rooms.
Permadeath – death causes you to start back on the first floor, but reaching your corpse provides you with some type of boost
Dark Souls combat
Tier based loot system
Multiplayer system that would allow for teaming up w/ friends but also allow for random encounters with other players similar to Journey
Friendly fire always on so you never know if someone is friend or foe
Areas designed for multiple players to cooperate
A final area/boss that upon defeat would allow you to start a new journey
I would certainly would love to have the Chalice Dungeon system expanded in future From games, or just in general for Souls games to have more content and replayability. I love these game so much, I wish I could play them for much longer without starting a new game or new game plus and going through the same exact game again.
I’m sure there’s a large amount of singleplayer enthusiasts out there like me who can’t get sustained only by PvP for a few years until new From Software game comes out.
>
This, as well as these reasons:
1.) More awesome Trick weapons
2.) Improvements on the bloodgem system, which think was also a great idea, but not properly implemented. Some tweaks could make it a really shine.
3.) Expansion on the story and lore of the universe, unlike Dark Souls, Bloodborne’s story doesn’t feel quite finished to me. There’s more secrets to explore, and more of the world to be seen with different civilizations that have their own stories to be told.
4.) BEAST FORM. Like really beastly beast form that changes how you play, like Skyrim’s werewolf form.
5.) More of the gameplay which to me is the best in the Soulsborne series.
That’s where I’m at with it Mittens. Challenge me From!
I want Miyazaki’s “weird” new IP to be something beyond what I can imagine. I want my mind blown.
I just want MORE!!! More games in the style of Bloodborne or Dark Souls. It doesn´t even matter in what setting they will be in. As long as I get more intense bossfights, an awesome OST for the boss fights and an interesting world to explore, combined with the gameplay of the series I will absolutely buy it.
cyborg ninja souls.
I would also like to see a Revenant system in place, like Nioh but with just souls dropped.
Also, Armored Core please.
A disturbing lack of Armored Core mentions here. Tsk tsk…
I’d add that we’ve seen much the same combat mechanics since Armored Core IV and kinda know what sci-fi Souls might be like.
New mechanics would be a huge gamble for them but potentially quite welcome for From fans.
On the other hand, I’d have no problem with a similar play style dropped into a completely different setting
The Revnant could appear outside the boss Fog gate.
Log in to leave a Comment