Elden Ring And Dark Souls’ Co-Op Was Inspired By Helpful Strangers

Almost two weeks in, and many of you reading this will be so well-acquainted with The Lands Between that you know it better than the real world around you. Especially if the only reason you've been pulling yourself away from Elden Ring these past two weeks is to eat and sleep, in which case you may have completely forgotten what the outside world looks like. It might be a very frustrating game a lot of the time, but it's also a very addictive one.

As for the frustrating aspect, some of the most trying moments in Elden Ring are its boss fights. That moment you fail against the same boss for the 50th time and wish you could have a second to help you out. Well, you can. Players are able to summon someone else, a feature that has been a part of many Souls games over the years, and one that was inspired by a rather sweet real-world story.

FromSoftware's Hidetaka Miyazaki revealed to The New Yorker that the idea for his rather unique take on co-op came to him while his car was stuck in the snow. In a whole heap of trouble with no idea what to do next, a group of people passing by stopped and helped Miyazaki push his car out of the snow. Once he was able to continue on, those strangers disappeared into the night and the Elden Ring director never saw them again.

It was this random act of kindness that gave Miyazaki the idea to have strangers wade in to help Souls players slay beasts in the Dark Souls games, Bloodborne, Demon's Souls, and now Elden Ring. In the latest title, players will need to find a Martyr Effigy should they want to summon a player to aid them in battle. You can also make yourself available to be summoned should you ever feel as if you might be able to help a fellow player make it past a boss you previously had trouble with.

Since so many people are playing Elden Ring right now, there will never be a better time to dip into the summoning pool to try and find someone who can help you out. Elden Ring might be popular now, but there will eventually come a time when that pool dries up. As for how helpful some of your fellow Souls players can be, there's already someone out there who has finished the game without dying, and another who has beaten the first boss using a controller made of bananas. Suffice to say, if you need help, there are people out there with the means to give it to you.

Source: Read Full Article