FromSoftware's future open-world game should avoid the mistakes of SotE boss Gaius

At the moment, the future of FromSoftware is unclear. The studio has finished development Elden Ring and its expansion The shadow of the Erdtreeand continues to release sporadic patches for them and 2023 Armored Core 6: Rubicon Fires. An outsider Elden Ring the adaptation was teased by game director Hidetaka Miyazaki and a Armored Core 6 there are rumors of an expansion, but that's all fans know. If no news follows Elden Ring: The Shadow of the Erdtree by the end of 2024, the FromSoftware community will once again be left in the dark.

Developer statements have hinted that FromSoftware is scaling back its scope Elden Ringit's an open world, at least for a while. The massive Soulslike represents the highest level FromSoftware believes it can reach the Souls formula, and the return of Armored core during The shadow of the Erdtree's development shows that it can carry out several smaller projects at the same time. However, open worlds remain a popular design choice in modern games, and FromSoftware has plenty of lessons to draw from the next time it revisits the format.

One of Shadow of the Erdtree's memory bosses doesn't stand out

Some problem areas include balancing collectible distribution and repeating content like minibosses and catacomb dungeons, but there's one particular flaw in the The shadow of the Erdtree that FromSoftware should avoid. Even in an open world, major Souls bosses need to have the right amount of talent. As Elden Ring Yes, The shadow of the Erdtree he's normally good at this, picking out important fights through visuals, environments, and even cutscenes when the moment is right. There's only one time inside The shadow of the Erdtree when all that abandons a leader who desperately needs it.

Commander Gaius is the least spectacular memory boss in Elden Ring

Many roads in Shadowland lead in and out of the Shadow Keep Legacy Dungeon, and the Back Gate in particular deposits players in front of Commander Gaius. Ignoring the polarizing aspects of its battle that can make it particularly difficult for some players, this fight commits a unique sin Elden Ring assigning a Memory to a rather simple boss. Gaius has a unique fighting style, but his first phase feels like a variation of the mounted bosses that often pepper Elden Ringit is the overworld. Even after the reveal of the second phase's gravity magic, it may still come as a surprise that this random boss has a Memory.

Major Souls bosses can't afford to blend in with the surrounding open world

The reason why this can be attributed to the circumstances of Commander Gaius' fight. Having it charge the player from a distance as soon as they enter Scadu Altus is conceptually interesting, but the resulting “arena” is just an open-air battlefield that requires force fields to keep players from leaving. Torrenting is also allowed in this fight, which is not unheard of Elden Ringholders of Memory, but is normally associated with open world bosses. Gaius' first phase is devoid of flashes, cutscenes, and voice lines, ensuring that the only ways this boss will stand out will be for the wrong reasons.

It doesn't take much to make a memory leader feel like one

Luckily, Elden Ring has other examples of “minor” bosses from Remembrance that work around Gaius' problems. Regal Ancestor Spirit, Lichdragon Fortissax, and Astel, Naturalborn of the Void lacked many presentational qualities like Gaius, but they all had side quests that fleshed them out and their own distinct arenas. The Fire Giant could also be considered a Memory boss fought in the open world like Gaius, but he was a unique boss on Elden Ringand boasted a dramatic mid-fight cutscene. It just takes a couple of extra touches to make one Elden Ring: The Shadow of the ErdtreeRemembrance's bosses stand out, and FromSoftware needs to keep them in mind when populating the open world of a future game.