Hidetaka Miyazaki, director of the upcoming Elden Ring and president of its developer FromSoftware, recently revealed the 2020 remake of FromSoftware’s Demon’s Souls put additional pressure on developers to focus on Elden Ring’s graphics. FromSoftware released Demon’s Souls for the PlayStation 3 in 2009, and Bluepoint Games – a studio that has revamped several major games and collections, like Shadow of the Colossus and the God of War Collection – helmed its remake over a decade later.
The Demon’s Souls remake was deemed a success upon its release, with critics praising Demon’s Souls (2020) for its impressive graphical fidelity and strong representation of the PlayStation 5’s visual potential. The game’s photo mode was considered a strong addition to the title as well – a feature that managed to highlight the contrast between the remake and its source material; especially the differences in textures, colors, clarity and overall graphical enhancement.
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In a recent interview with EDGE magazine (via Video Games Chronicle), Miyazaki revealed the graphical enhancements in Bluepoint Games’ Demon’s Souls put extra pressure on Elden Ring’s graphics team. When asked about the remake’s effect on the development of Elden Ring, Miyazaki revealed, “Yes, I’m pretty sure our graphics-creation staff felt that pressure more than anyone else.” The developer also said that – although he hasn’t played 2020’s Demon’s Souls – its impact caused a strong focus on all FromSoftware games’ graphics. He explained, “Not just with Elden Ring, but with all the games we make. Graphical fidelity is not something we put as the top priority. What we ask for on the graphics side depends on the systems and requirements of the game itself, and it takes less priority compared to the other elements of development… our graphics-systems team and our programmers have been pushing a lot of new features to create the best-looking games we’ve ever made.”
Miyazaki might not have played the Demon’s Souls remake, but this should not be interpreted as a slight – Miyazaki notoriously never revisits his own work in any capacity, and Elden Ring is no exception. Miyazaki recently admitted he doesn’t plan on playing Elden Ring, explaining, “[I] wouldn’t get any of the unknowns that the fresh player is going to experience… it wouldn’t feel like playing. But if I did, then this would be close to the ideal game I’d want.”
Regardless of whether FromSoftware fans played the Demon’s Souls remake or not, they can thank the game and Bluepoint for adding pressure on Elden Ring developers to bring strong visual enhancements to the game. Based on Elden Ring’s trailers, the game’s graphics could certainly be a force to be reckoned with. However, its official release will confirm these pre-release theories.
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Sources: EDGE, Video Games Chronicle
