As a big fan of FromSoftware's games, I naturally want to talk about them with as many people as I can, and those attempts are often met with people saying "I could never get into those games" or "Those games seem cool but I don't like hard games", or simply "Sekiro is too fucking hard". And that's fine! People can enjoy the games they enjoy and not play the ones they don't! It's ok! I have plenty of people within the Dark Souls and FromSoftware community to talk about.
But then, FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki stated that Elden Ring would be "FromSoftware's most accessible game yet....and will lead to more people finishing the game than any of FromSoftware's previous games"- to which the fans started to wonder "What does he mean? Will there be an easy mode?". Then, Elden Ring released and started getting all-time level reviews (not weird). Almost immediately, people who ordinarily don't play FromSoftware games started expressing interest (also not weird). The weird part was that I started to hear a sentiment pop up again and again- "I don't usually like these games, but I'm really loving Elden Ring!". This Break from the Backlog episode was inspired by those people, and seeks to answer one simple question:
_Why is Elden Ring connecting with so many more people than FromSoftware's previous games? _
Joining me for this discussion is total FromSoftware newbie Aaron Angle and on-and-off-again fan Ryan Arrington. Aaron is my co-host on [A Top 3 Podcast](www.atop3podcast.fireside.fm) and a frequent guest on Tales from the Backlog, and Ryan is a frequent guest on both shows. Aaron was a guest on the Ghost of Tsushima, Hades and It Takes Two episodes of Tales from the Backlog, and Aaron and Ryan have been guests together on the Rocket League and Persona 5 episodes. They lend some great insight and comedy to this discussion, so if you're on the fence about whether Elden Ring is for you or not, give it a listen.
You can listen to this Break from the Backlog (FromSoftware and the Open World) of Tales from the Backlog in the player below, or you can follow the links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or search "Tales from the Backlog" in your favorite podcast app!