Having immersed myself in over 400 hours of Elden Ring, conquering its 200+ bosses and meticulously exploring every corner of its vast open world, I've reached an undeniable conclusion: returning to traditional Souls game mechanics would feel like a step backward. Elden Ring didn't just iterate on FromSoftware's formula—it revolutionized it, setting a new benchmark that future titles like The Duskblood will inevitably be measured against.

Previous Souls games, including the critically acclaimed Dark Souls 3, primarily refined existing mechanics rather than reinventing them. While these titles delivered exceptional experiences—with improved graphics, refined combat, and intricate level design—they maintained a fundamentally linear structure. Elden Ring's transformation of the Souls formula felt both revolutionary and inevitable, addressing the franchise's need for evolution while preserving its core identity.

The staggering commercial success of Elden Ring, with over 30 million copies sold worldwide, sent a clear message: players embraced these innovations wholeheartedly. This creates an interesting challenge for FromSoftware—how to evolve beyond what many consider the pinnacle of Souls-like design without alienating fans who now expect certain quality-of-life improvements.

Key innovations that reshaped player expectations include:

• A truly open world that rewards organic exploration
• The freedom to tackle Elden Ring's challenging bosses in non-linear progression
• Mounts that transformed traversal and combat
• Comprehensive jumping mechanics that added verticality to exploration
• Quality-of-life improvements like unlimited out-of-combat stamina and convenient respawn points

The introduction of fully realized jumping mechanics in Elden Ring particularly stands out—a fundamental gaming feature that previous Souls titles curiously omitted. Combined with the game's other innovations, it created a sense of freedom and player agency that now feels essential to the experience.

Hidetaka Miyazaki's philosophy of creative risk-taking has served FromSoftware well, leading to some of gaming's most memorable experiences. While the future direction of the Souls series remains uncertain, one thing is clear: players' expectations have been permanently elevated by Elden Ring's transformative design.