From Software's Souls games have been one of the most influential and talked-about games for quite some time now. The studio has shown a knack for developing richly realized fantasy worlds, and its next project, Elden Ring, seems to be the next logical step. Originally announced in E3 2019, Elden Ring quickly became the subject of great fan-hype after learning that George R.R. Martin helped with the mythos of the game.

However, not much was officially revealed since the original announcement. Fans waited out for more than a year for updates with nothing substantial in sight. However, a recent turn of events may have given fans a tease of what's in store for the game. A purported Elden Ring trailer surfaced online, which does give fans a sneak peek of what Elden Ring's gameplay could be, albeit in an unofficial way. There's definitely more in-store, but it seems that the existence of traditional Souls classes is likely for now.

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Elden Ring might have been one of the most-speculated and talked-about games in recent memory, and the game's leaked trailer certainly puts a lot of things into perspective. The first thing that many fans might notice is that the game looks strikingly similar to Dark Souls.

While it may have surprised quite a few fans after hearing about many long-shot speculations, such a thing isn't entirely unexpected. Miyazaki already foretold that Elden Ring would be a similar affair to the earlier Souls games and not a spin-off formula like Bloodborne or Sekiro. It might not be Dark Souls 4, but it could very well fill the void that many players might have for traditional From Software games.

The leaked trailer does show the custom characters to be a similar affair to traditional Souls games, and it seems that classes could work in a similar way. The trailer shows three to four close-up shots of these custom characters which look strikingly similar to the traditional classes found in the Souls games, namely Wanderer, Pyromancer, and the mage seemingly wearing a Crystal Sage armor set.

It may be pure speculation at this point based off entirely on the leaked footage, but it seems likely now. While Elden Ring may feature traditional Souls classes, it could very well make it a little more restrictive in how players choose to go about the game.

Classes in traditional Souls games are just a matter of starting stats, which can then be freely upgraded when players level up using Souls. There's little to no restriction in how players choose to build a character which is one of the greatest attractions for the game. However, Elden Ring could very well make a change to such a formula as seen in the leaked trailer. The trailer shows a thief striking from the shadows and backstabbing enemies in a swift manner, while the mage can be seen equipping Homing Soulmasses at every turn. It might sound silly, but it could very well point to a more restrictive class system.

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The answer to such a question, much like many From Software games, is complex. From what's known about the game via the trailer, it seems that traditional Souls classes could be the best move as it already fits with the other elements of traditional Souls games.

However, this might upset quite a lot of fans who expected something radically different from Elden Ring. It certainly has the potential to be greater than a Dark Souls with an open-world, but such confirmations seemingly nullify such possibilities. The gameplay systems, the world, and the abundance of dragons and giants paint a picture very similar to the settings found in the earlier Souls games.

Featuring a radically different class system could have done wonders here, but From Software could be banking on some other facets of Elden Ring to make the experience unique for fans. Elden Ring's touted open-field concept has been talked about quite extensively, but a lot is still shrouded in mystery until now. Elden Ring's leaked trailer hasn't shown what it might entail and what makes such a system different than an open-world, and it could be the game's redeeming factor that might make it worth the hype. This also ties in back to the original question, as such open-field mechanics might play very nicely with traditional classes as opposed to an entirely new one.

Elden Ring is currently in development.

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