Summer Game Fest 2021 is now underway, and fans are still buzzing from the opening ceremony’s biggest announcements. Primarily, we finally got a fresh look at Elden Ring, the latest super-challenging game coming out of From Software. The new trailer answered a few questions and raised a few more, as was expected. However, some fans have more obvious questions, like whether or not Elden Ring includes a character creation system.
Fortunately, this is one question with a definitive answer. Yes, Elden Ring does include a create-a-character system. The idea that the game would not feature a fixed hero was first mentioned by director Hidetaka Miyazaki back in 2019. Speaking to IGN, Miyazaki said that “[there] is no fixed main character in Elden Ring.” He then elaborated, saying, “We mostly leave it up to the player to decide the characteristics and personality of the character they create.”
The final line is the important one, as it directly references a created character. Of course, that detail was reiterated once the official Elden Ring website went live shortly after the Summer Game Fest trailer concluded.
Unfortunately, that’s about all we know about character customization in Elden Ring. Of course, Miyazaki’s comments imply that not all of the hero’s attributes can be customized. It’s possible that the create-a-character system may be limited to presets, like those used in Grand Theft Auto 5. Or, perhaps characters will change in appearance throughout the story. We also don’t have any idea how the character’s personality might be customized, assuming that’s what Miyazaki actually meant.
Either way, there’s still plenty more to learn about Elden Ring ahead of its release. There’s even a growing theory that Elden Ring could be a Dark Souls sequel. Whatever the case may be, we’re excited by what we know of the game’s plot so far. Hopefully From Software won’t keep us in the dark until Elden Ring releases on January 21, 2022.
