Elden Ring's director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, says it's "quite fun" watching fans try to piece together the action RPG's complex lore in theory videos, even if, admittedly, he "can't watch all of them."
There's no doubt that the intricacies of Elden Ring's story are rather complicated – as was the case in the Dark Souls games, a lot of details are tucked away in places you might miss, like in optional conversations with NPCs. Even with all of the pieces obtained, putting them together is another matter, and the Lands Between still holds many secrets that fans have been speculating about since the game's launch. In a new interview with GameSpot, Miyazaki says this storytelling style was used to "encourage people to explore and have their own adventure," and allowing fans to theorize is both a "huge, fun point, or value-add" in itself, and something he personally enjoys seeing.
"I watch them," Miyazaki responds when asked if he watches fans' theory videos. "Of course, I can't watch all of them, but I do like to watch them and I actually enjoy that process. I think it's quite fun to see how people piece together their own theories or working theories based on a lot of fragmented information that the game provides. Some can be derived from hints in the game, others are completely theorized. But regardless, for me, I find it quite enjoyable to see the different interpretations that the fans and audiences have."
Elaborating on this, Miyazaki says Elden Ring was purposely designed so that fans could try to fill in the gaps in its story, and "regardless of whether they're correct or maybe not, it doesn't change the way I watch those videos." Rather, he says, he views them in a "very objective" way, and sees them as "an interesting way to piece together all these fragments."
There's no doubt that there'll be plenty more theory videos to come once everyone can get stuck into Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree expansion on Friday, which is set in a new area and home to more bosses which will surely kick our butts. It certainly sounds like Miyazaki will be watching to see what we all make of it.
Ahead of its launch, be sure to check out our guide on how to start the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC in Elden Ring so that you're ready for your next adventure.
