I\u2019m by no means against the studio, or any studio, experimenting with what it wants to do. If anything, a multiplayer-only game in Elden Ring Nightreign feels like a natural experimental step for a studio that often includes some form of co-op in its Soulslikes. Nightreign was also directed by someone other than Hidetaka Miyazaki, Junya Ishizaki, and more directors getting to lead projects is an overall good thing for a studio.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just that game development takes a long time, and if you\u2019re not excited about your favorite studio\u2019s next releases (as I wasn\u2019t with Nightreign), you might be waiting a while for whatever it has next. I thought the legally-distinct-Bloodborne, The Duskbloods<\/a>, was initially going to be the salve to my ails. (I\u2019m one of those dorks who won\u2019t shut up about the ten-year-old Bloodborne<\/a>.) The idea of FromSoft developing an exclusive for a Nintendo platform was tantalizing, but that excitement was zapped when it became apparent The Duskbloods wouldn\u2019t be the single-player adventure I wanted, but rather another multiplayer-focused title.<\/p>\n Further in that MP1st report is the speculation that the rumored 2026 FromSoftware game would be a remaster of 2016\u2019s Dark Souls 3<\/a>. (Poylgon has reached out to representatives for Bandai Namco, longtime publisher of FromSoftware\u2019s games, for comment.)<\/p>\n I have fond memories of Dark Souls 3, my first foray into the series. It came out right when I was graduating college, and I remember hooking my PlayStation 4 up to a hotel TV to play it, as my parents were between closing on one house and waiting to move into another. I had fun with co-op, dunking my character\u2019s head in wax<\/a> alongside my old college roommate. Was it a good idea? Was it going to kill us? We were gonna find out!<\/p>\n That\u2019s the type of multiplayer I enjoy in a FromSoftware Soulslike \u2014 optional and additive, and not the entire conceit of the game. I preferred playing these games Han-style back then, and still prefer a single-player experience now, with the occasional call for assistance during a tough boss fight. Dark Souls 3 nailed that, but a remastered version won\u2019t necessarily scratch my itch for single-player FromSoft; I still have my PS4 disc of the game and could pop that in whenever I want. I\u2019ve already explored most of what Dark Souls 3 had to offer, and now I want to dive into something fresh.<\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing quite like exploring a FromSoftware labyrinthine level. They\u2019re dense, chaotic, atmospheric, interconnected, and wholly original, allowing you to adventure at your own pace (without a burning ring of fire closing in.) Other Soulslikes have tried it, but not even my favorites like Lies of P<\/a> or newcomers like Wuchang: Fallen Feathers<\/a> can quite match the tremendous layouts of a FromSoftware level. There\u2019s a reason the genre is named after FromSoftware\u2019s games; the studio is King of the Soulslike.<\/p>\n After cutting its teeth on a multitude of titles and series over the years, FromSoftware found mainstream success with its dense, difficult, and moody Soulslikes. It has pushed that genre into new territory with multiplayer-focused titles, but I\u2019m hoping the time is near that we get a new single-player FromSoft joint. Maybe FromSoftware has a third unannounced 2026 project in the works? A tarnished can dream.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019m by no means against the studio, or any studio, experimenting with what it wants to do. If…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,48,17813,874,927,61],"class_list":["post-21347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-elden-ring","tag-gaming","tag-opinion","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}