As players prepared for the upcoming onslaught of Viking and Norse based games coming over the next few years, fans of hardcore action-RPGs have been anxiously awaiting news on Elden Ring. Although, with everything FromSoftware has released about its upcoming title, it looks like the game may look to redefine Ragnarok with the company's classic style of creating and breaking cycles of tormented worlds.
So far, most of what we know about Elden Ring can be summed up fairly simply to having a deeply Norse inspired lore that has been written and established by George R. R. Martin. While there is plenty that players would love to see come from Norse mythology and into the title, via themes and legendary weapons, it's what the game might change about well established lore that may be the most interesting aspect of the story.
What is Ragnarok?
Gamers have seen this before, thanks to other Norse inspired games like God of War, but the historical telling of Ragnarok is more than what most currently imagine as the end of days. Instead, Ragnarok is the start and end of the cycle of life for the nine realms, as the each realm is destroyed and the gods are killed before everything resets and the cycle starts all over again. This cycle is especially important to note when it comes to Elden Ring, because that is what the titular Elden Ring is expected to symbolize within the game.
According to the original myths, Ragnarok begins and ends with the deaths of the gods, as well as the remaining giants, as the two factions wage a war that will destroy all of the nine realms. Starting with the World Serpent, Jormungandr, and Thor fighting to the death and ending with Odin being eaten by Fenrir, Ragnarok means the end of the world and the gods, something we hope to see in God of War. However, a new world will supposedly be brought out from the destruction, creating a whole new collection of gods and recreating the realms as they inevitably continue the cycle and lead to a new Ragnarok.
How Direct will the Mythologies Inspiration be?
Looking at how FromSoftware tends to look at the inspiration from the mythology that guides its titles, like the way Dark Souls leaned on Greek Mythology and Bloodborne borrowed from Lovecraft, the inspiration will likely be closer to a guideline than a direct take. Equally, George R. R. Martin's influence will likely mean that the inspiration won't be a one-to-one reflection of Norse mythology either. Both creators, Martin and Hidetaka Miyazaki, have frequently been transformative in how they interpret the themes that they draw from when creating a new world.
So, while some references might end up fairly on the nose, like the redheaded Valkyrie from early trailers, others will likely be up for interpretation, with the most dedicated lore divers finding the breadcrumbs sprinkled here and there. For a game like Elden Ring that is looking to build its own world and mythology, this is probably the best course of action. While sticking fairly close to lore works for games like God of War, a new IP would do best to distance itself slightly from the mythology that inspires it.
Breaking the Elden Ring
Reportedly, the inciting incident of Elden Ring is the shattering of the titular Elden Ring that seems to be a representation of the cycle of the world within the game. This is similar to the lighting of the fire from Dark Souls, but from what has been released so far, it looks like shattering the ring is similar to the "Usurpation of Flame" or "Dark Soul" endings and the rest of the game is the aftermath. So while Elden Ring's narrative resembles Dark Souls, it seems to be focusing on a different angle from the familiar themes.
To a degree, this will be bringing new direction to the rules of Ragnarok and how the fighting is supposed to lead to a rebirth of the world, starting the cycle over again. If the early speculation and reports of what the Elden Ring is turns out to be true, the story will have more of a focus on a "what if" for the Norse end of days with no repeated cycle coming after the death of the gods and giants. Perhaps this is a look at Miyazaki's view of the real world as a wasteland with no confirmed rebirth of the world coming after everything is inevitably destroyed.
Dark Souls and the endless cycles
The themes of previous FromSoftware titles has centered around cycles, from the more obvious Cycle of Fire from Dark Souls to the endless cycle of the hunters nightmare from Bloodborne. This theme even lends itself to the New Game Plus system that has become a mainstay of every FromSoftware game, with players reenacting the cycle repeatedly as they continue to replay the game. In this way, the cycling process of Ragnarok actually fits perfectly into the FromSoftware formula, with the themes of death and rebirth fitting in well with other games in the company's catalogue.
However, Elden Ring seems to be attempting to alter the formula in some way, similar to how Sekiro deviated from FromSoftware's long running themes by including a more direct story. Although, it should be noted that the cycling theme persisted in that most recent title as well, with much of what the plot directing players through the legends of the character's ancestors taking a similar route as the player character. So for players looking forward to see Elden Ring hit its own stride within the realm of FromSoftware titles, it would be a solid choice to deviate from the cycling and redefine both the company's long running history as well as the original myths of Elden Ring.
Elden Ring is currently in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
