Hidetaka Miyazaki Rediscovered His Love Of Creating Poison Swamps In Elden Ring

If you’ve played one of the From Software action/RPG titles from Souls to Bloodborne, chances are you’re used to coming face to face with an area where the environment itself can feel like a major boss encounter. These oppressive poisonous swamp areas really got their stride in the Valley of Defilement all the way back in Demon’s Souls, but have continued to plague players to various degrees through the notorious Blighttown to other poisonous pits, caves, and muck. Hidetaka Mikazaki, Elden Ring director, shared his enthusiasm for these horrifying environments when he spoke to him.

“In terms of how the player feels when they encounter this area that is a different story,” says Miyazaki. “But when making the game I rediscovered my love for making poison swamps. They are a subject I have a lot of empathy for, but suddenly, as I was making the game, it hit me that I can’t stop. It just happens.”

Elden Ring will be a place where the players can once more face off against titanic bosses in challenging settings. Players have dealt with toxic and poison in the past. Toxic is a stronger and more deadly form of standard poison, which often ticks at players until they die. Elden Ring can be larger than that, so you may need to consider other status effects. 

“In terms of Elden Ring’s story and setting there is something that is especially horrible that exists and persists in this world,” says Miyazaki. “I’ll go ahead and say the name so it’s something that you can look forward to, it’s called the Scarlet Rot this is something that is separate a little bit from poison or toxicity but I hope you look forward to it.”

The Scarlet Rot, a new condition introduced by Elden Ring to players’ lives, is actually a problem. The Scarlet Rot is a new affliction that players must contend with.t’s unknown if players can actually get the Scarlet Rot, but in my playtime with the game it was referenced several times, meaning there’s probably an entire poison swamp zone to splish splash around in. The extensive demo session makes it clear that many characters wear masks to conceal the effects of Scarlet Rot.

We’ll have to see when the game lands on February 25, but I’ll tell you this – the more Miyazaki enjoys making a poison swamp area, the more we probably have to worry about making our way through it. Hopefully, Torrent will see us through but don’t count on our mounted companion to be of any help for any interior areas tinged by the Scarlet Rot.