Let me get this out of the way first and foremost: Elden Ring is damn near perfect. It's one of those games where finding faults feels almost disrespectful, like nitpicking brushstrokes on a masterpiece. And yet, when a studio like FromSoftware drops something monumental, it's impossible not to start wishing for more, for better, smarter, cleaner, and bolder.

I'm not talking about side projects like The Duskbloods, which, although technically FromSoft's next big project, is a Switch 2 exclusive and doesn't really count as a new mainline Souls game. I'm talking about a true, full-fledged, next-gen Souls game, built across all platforms, and designed to surpass Elden Ring's reach, impact, and cultural dominance. If FromSoft ever decides to make a real sequel, or even a new, honest-to-goodness next-gen Souls title, there are a few areas where tightening the screws could turn something legendary into something downright untouchable for the ages.

The story needs better delivery, not less mystery

Much of the game's best lore never reached newcomers

Elden Ring has one of the richest worlds and mythologies ever put into a video game, and yet, a staggering number of players never saw most of it. In fact, the same goes for most of the Souls games. A significant minority of players never got past the first boss fight against Margit, The Fell Omen, and that alone means vast swathes of George R.R. Martin and Hidetaka Miyazaki's work went untouched, unread, and unfelt. That just hurts.

Some of the deepest lore in the game is locked behind optional NPC quests, obscure item descriptions, and interactions you can permanently miss by walking too far in the wrong direction. In fact, even piecing together those pieces is a Herculean solo effort (or something you outsource to VaatiVidya at 2 AM). And while that's charming in its own way, it's also a problem.

Sometimes, a compelling and comprehensible narrative is what can keep players pushing forward, willing and curious to see what's next. The next Elden Ring doesn't need to hold players' hands through the story at all. However, it does need to give the bulk of the normal players, those for whom the next FromSoft game might be their first, a reason to care enough to keep walking.

I want Elden Ring's sequel to ditch the open world

It should keep the scale, though, or improve it

The best parts of Elden Ring do not come from its open world. Let me say that again — it's a fantastic, near-perfect open-world game, and yet, the best parts of the game are only the legacy dungeons. Farum Azula, Raya Lucaria, The Haligtree, Stormveil Castle — these are the parts where the game truly shines brightest, and what they all have in common is that they are just regular Souls-style levels. The rest is filler. The Lands Between are breathtaking to look at and take in, but they're also just filler that keeps the set pieces at certain distances. Outside of a handful of memorable moments like Agheel the dragon ambushing you in Limgrave, all my best memories and moments from the game came from its dungeons and a couple of brilliantly-designed catacombs.

The open world was Elden Ring's boldest gamble, and it definitely paid off, but it's only when you enter a legacy dungeon that you know the next few hours will be unforgettable. The open-world format here serves as a connective tissue. It's beautiful, yes, but essential? Maybe not. A sequel could return to the Dark Souls philosophy and give us huge, interlinked sandboxes again. In fact, make them bigger than ever, seeing how the next game would be the first true next-gen Souls game made only for newer hardware. FromSoft knows a thing or ten about sandboxes with multiple routes, secrets, and build-specific paths. If they triple down on that, using new-generation hardware, and give us denser dungeons than ever before, we'll forget about the game not being an open-world title. If exploration becomes authored instead of vast for the sake of it, the next Souls game could truly flourish and become a definitive way to experience FromSoft firing on all cylinders.

Proper parkour would change everything

Not Assassin's Creed, but dedicated animations, at least

Elden Ring's movement works pretty well... until it doesn't. During the 300 hours I've spent in The Lands Between, I've fumbled next to hundreds of ledges, done thousands of awkward double jumps, and prayed a million times that Torrent doesn't betray me mid-platforming. These platforming sections are... charming, but they're also stressful, and the good kind — this stress comes from friction instead of fear.

The one thing I hope the next mainline Souls game gives us is dedicated parkour animations. Ledge grabbing. Intentional climbing. Clear physical language in movement that lets players trust their input instead of fighting them. No, I'm not asking for Assassin's Creed-style yellow painted ledges everywhere, but there's a middle ground that FromSoftware could definitely explore, which it hasn't yet.

This would shine brightest in a more curated world structure. When every vertical route is deliberate, spaces feel larger and smarter, and certainly more replayable. Multiple approaches wouldn't just be about combat builds, either. They would become so much more focused on movement mastery, too.

Stats still scare people away, and they don't have to

Why is YouTube more helpful than the games themselves?

Elden Ring is the most approachable Souls game ever made, and its success proves that. But even now, stats remain opaque, unintuitive, and borderline hostile to newcomers, as I experienced first-hand when I tried to take my partner to The Lands Between. Vigor memes exist for a reason, after all. No matter what the zealots and veterans may say, it is always a good thing when a Souls game becomes more popular and mainstream, just like what happened with Elden Ring.

So, the sequel must set its sights on bringing in more new people — the kind who would pick the game up off the shelves for the first time. For that, the game will need better stat explanations and clearer breakdowns with real-time previews. When your character selection stage and stat distribution process almost always include the player pausing the game and going over to YouTube to figure out what's what, that means there's something lacking in the design itself.

Wanting more is the highest compliment

None of my wishes for the next mainline Souls game come from a place of dissatisfaction. They come from love. Elden Ring raised the bar, and also changed what people expect from Souls games entirely. That's exactly why a sequel can't afford to play it safe.

FromSoftware is the last company that needs to reinvent itself, but it does need to refine what it already does better than anybody else in the business. A future where the next Elden Ring eclipses its predecessor is a future worth dreaming about.