You Might Be Able To Play Elden Ring Without A Console Soon

"Elden Ring" is an incredibly engrossing game, one with a world as unique as its combat mechanics. It's a game that's hard to put down, and thanks to a recent announcement of a collaboration between Bandai Namco and Steamforged Games, turning off the console doesn't mean leaving the world of "Elden Ring." Soon, there will be a new way for super fans to engage with the Lands Between: "Elden Ring: The Board Game."

There is a kind of trend in recent years of video games adapted to the board game format, with exciting results. "Elden Ring: The Board Game" is being developed by Steamforged Games, which also created popular board game adaptations of games like "Resident Evil," "Horizon Zero Dawn," and "Monster Hunter World." Steamforged Games has previously collaborated with Bandai Namco for other projects, namely the well-known "Dark Souls: The Board Game" and its expansions. "Elden Ring: The Board Game" will be the two companies' first collaboration not directly related to "Dark Souls." 

There are very few details known about the "Elden Ring" board game at this time, but considering that "Elden Ring" is a spiritual successor to the "Dark Souls" series, it's likely to be more similar than not. The team will be using Kickstarter to raise money for "Elden Ring: The Board Game," which follows the companies previous efforts. In the past, Steamforged Games has relied on Kickstarter to generate funds for their video game adaptations – "Dark Souls: The Board Game" made headlines when it raised more than $3.5 million on Kickstarter, for example. Here's what we know about the new "Elden Ring" board game so far.

The blog post announcement of the "Elden Ring" board game offered few specifics on what the rules, layouts, and gameplay will look like. The details we do have, though, give a rough outline of what players can expect from Steamforged Games' latest. It can be played with up to four players, though it's entirely possible to take on "Elden Ring: The Board Game" as a singleplayer experience. It will feature a dice-less combat system that reflects the brutal difficulty of "Elden Ring," letting players strategize rather than rely on pure chance. On the subject of fights, the announcement also revealed three enemies: the Godrick Soldier, Margit the Fell Omen, and Godrick the Grafted, referred to as the "Grafted King" in the post.

To realize the intricate world of the Lands Between, the board game will adapt a number of familiar faces and iconic locations from "Elden Ring." The "Dark Souls" board game and its expansions included miniatures of characters like Siegmeyer and Lautrec, and let players explore iconic locations like the Painted World of Ariamis. It's a good bet that the board game's miniatures of iconic "Elden Ring" characters will make it quite the collector's item. 

Unfortunately, one of the things not revealed in the announcement was a release date for the "Elden Ring" board game. The press release states that the team at Steamforged Games will be "sharing much more in the coming months as we draw closer to launch."