FromSoftwareis making bold moves with a genre switch-up forElden Ring: Nightreign, with the game leaning into the co-op elements of its predecessor and adding a roguelike twist. However, it’s likely thatFromSoftwarewill return to crafting more traditional soulslikes in the future, but they may still differ greatly fromElden Ring. As such, the developer may want to look towards a competitor within the same genre for a feature that could help a future game feel as robust asElden Ring, while still retaining a smaller scope.
Given how hugeElden Ringand its Shadow of the Erdtree DLC are in terms of sheer content, it’s not surprising that director Hidetaka Miyazaki has stated the studio’s next soulslike will not share its same scale and thatElden Ringis the limitof what can realistically be achieved. While this might be somewhat disappointing for fans who were hoping to see how far FromSoftware can take theElden Ringformula, the next FromSoftware soulslike may still be able to squeeze in nearly as much content.Lies of P’s Weapon Assembly feature shows that a soulslike can do a lot to stretch build diversity even with a limited arsenal, and FromSoftware may want to take note of this for its next game.
The Next FromSoftware Soulslike Can Use Lies of P’s Weapon Assembly Feature to Maintain Build Diversity
The base game ofElden Ringhas an impressive 308 weapons for players to discover and craft builds around, with theShadow of the Erdtree DLC adding a hefty 100 more. Given the nature ofElden Ring’s open world, the size of this arsenal makes sense, as a vast world lends itself to hidden gear as rewards for players who explore every inch of it. However, with it seeming unlikely that FromSoftware will attempt another open world on the same scale asElden Ring’s anytime soon, the arsenal size of its next soulslike may need to be cut back as a result.
Conversely,Lies of Pfeatures 40 weapons—29 normal weapons and 11 special weapons—which is a far cry from the numberElden Ringboasts. This number can be deceiving at first glance, asLies of P’s normal weaponscan be broken down into their handle and their blade and reconfigured using the Weapon Assembly system to create new combinations of blades and handles with different stats and Fable Arts. Even as a fairly linear game,Lies of Pfeels like it gives players a greater variety of build types to utilize thanks to the combinations the Weapon Assembly system offers.
Special weapons inLies of Pcannot be dismantled into a blade and handle for use in the Weapon Assembly system.
Lies of P’s Weapon Assembly Mechanic Can Help Make the Most of a Limited Arsenal
Lies of P’s Weapon Assembly system greatly stretches the value of the 29 normal weapons it features, making its arsenal feel a lot more robust than it might seem.FromSoftware’sBloodbornedid something similar with its Trick Weaponsthat could change forms for different play styles, andLies of Pclearly draws inspiration from this title. FromSoftware could take this design full circle and introduce its own version of the Weapon Assembly system in a future, linear soulslike to create the illusion of a larger weapons arsenal while leaving the experimentation of weapon combos up to the player.
FromSoftware has always pushed the envelope when it comes to iterating upon the soulslike formula, and its firstoriginal post-Elden Ringsoulslikewill likely do the same. Despite having such a large shadow to step out of afterElden Ring, incorporating a trick likeLies of P’s Weapon Assembly could make this future game still feel as robust asElden Ringwithout approaching the same development resources necessary to achieve its scale. A happy medium like this can enable FromSoftware to maintain its development timelines while still contributing to the evolution of the soulslike formula.
