George R. R. Martin Praises Elden Ring as Looking “Incredible;” Premium Collector’s Edition Preorders Were Halted Due To High Demand
Author George R. R. Martin praises Elden Ring as incredible, after Premium Collector’s Edition preorders were halted due to high demand.
Winner of The Game Awards Most Anticipated Game for the second year in a row; Bandai Namco had to pause preorders of the Premium Collector’s Edition.
Along with a 40 page hard-cover art book, digital soundtrack, a 9″ statue of Malenia, Steelbook, game, and box (all in the standard Collector’s Edition), the Premium Edition features a 1:1 replica helmet- all for $259.99 USD.
Shortly after the preorder launch on December 16th, Bandai Namco announced there were issues with Bandai Namco store account creation (most likely due to the high volume of sign-ups), and soon after tweeted that they had to pause preorders.
“We appreciate your patience with the new account creation issues on the Store this morning,” Bandai Namco stated. “Given the limited availability of the Premium CE we have paused reservations and will notify here again when we will make it available for pre-order.”
However, by December 17th they revealed the Premium Collector’s Edition was available again.
Bandai Namco US tweeted, Thank you again for you continued patience. Additional units of the ELDEN RING Premium Collector’s Edition will be added to the Bandai Namco Entertainment Store at 6pm PST today.”
The hype has been building for this game as it is the latest action RPG from FromSoftware who created the subgenre dubbed by fans “Souls-like.” Games such as Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne all feature challenging combat that demand quick reflexes, and careful observation of the environment to avoid ambushes and traps.
Elden Ring promises to continue the affair in an open world; and it’s story will be penned not only by Director Hidetaka Miyazaki (also Bloodborne’s director), but Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin.
So far we know the game is set in the Lands Between, ruled over by Queen Marika the Eternal and her demigod children. After the Elden Ring was broken, Marika’s children wielded the shards- the Great Runes- corrupting and empowering them. This led to a terrible war among them called The Shattering- causing the Greater Will to abandon the lands.
Players- who had previously been banished from the land while the ring was whole- must now reunite the Runes, reform the Elden Ring, and become the Elden Lord to save the land.
The official description reads, “Rise, Tarnished, and be guided by grace to brandish the power of the Elden Ring and become an Elden Lord in the Lands Between.”
“In the Lands Between ruled by Queen Marika the Eternal, the Elden Ring, the source of the Erdtree, has been shattered,” it continues.
The description goes on, “Marika’s offspring, demigods all, claimed the shards of the Elden Ring known as the Great Runes, and the mad taint of their newfound strength triggered a war: The Shattering. A war that meant abandonment by the Greater Will.”
“And now the guidance of grace will be brought to the Tarnished who were spurned by the grace of gold and exiled from the Lands Between. Ye dead who yet live, your grace long lost, follow the path to the Lands Between beyond the foggy sea to stand before the Elden Ring. And become the Elden Lord,” it concludes.
Speaking on his “Not a Blog” blog, Martin explained how Miyazaki reached out to him to help create the game’s backstory and history. “Now, video games are not really my thing” Martin admits. “Oh, I played a few back in the dawn of time, mainly strategy games like RAILROAD TYCOON, ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS, and MASTER OF ORION — but this offer was too exciting to refuse.”
Impressed by FromSoftware’s “groundbreaking stuff with gorgeous art,” Martin was happy to do “just a bit of worldbuilding: a deep, dark, resonant world to serve as a foundation for the game.” Years passed after Martin submitted his work, and now Martin says it “looks incredible.” He also shared the game’s earlier story and gameplay reveal trailers.
It seems fans really can’t wait. Dataminers looking into the game’s Closed Network Test in November have discovered the game’s various weapon classes, infusions, and in-game models. All obtained from a now deleted Discord server, the reposted content was shared on Reddit, and promptly deleted there as well.
That content reportedly included the names of the blacksmith and the six Elden Lords players will have to fight, as well as character dialogue.
Elden Ring was recently delayed to February 25th, 2022; and will launch for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
Do you plan on checking out Elden Ring?
More About:Video Games
Read this Next
