FromSoftware boss Hidetaka Miyazaki has reassured players that they won’t be forced into situations where they must ride a horse or engage in mounted combat in the upcoming Elden Ring. Fighting on horseback or traveling on a horse are merely options that can prove to be effective, but there’s no compulsion.
Miyazaki made his comments during an interview with EDGE magazine (issue 367) when he was quizzed about the enemy encounters seen in Elden Ring‘s network test. He responded:
At no point do we want to enforce horse riding or mounted combat on the player. Rather, we want to build situations that may ask for mounted traversal or may suggest that mounted combat is a viable strategy, and it’s up to the player whether they want to pursue those strategies. They should never feel as though something is being forced upon them. In terms of map design and encounter design itself, due to the scale and structure of the world, it’s something that should encourage traversal using Torrent. And also the mounted combat will hopefully play into the players’ variety of choices and how they approach these various situations, with that level of freedom, as well. So in that sense, yes, we’ve designed the world with that in mind.
Elsewhere in the interview, Miyazaki revealed that he sought inspiration from The Lord Of The Rings and The Eternal Champion during Elden Ring‘s development.
Elden Ring will release on February 25, 2022, for the PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, and PC. We’re almost into 2022 so not long to go now!