Elden Ring director says he can't help making poison swamps: "It just happens"

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Miyazaki knows you don't like the poison swamps, but it's out of his hands

Dark Souls
(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

Flagrantly defying pleas From GamesRadar's Austin Wood, FromSoftware added not one, but several poison swamps to Elden Ring, and apparently it's because director Hidetaka Miyazaki simply can't help himself.

Miyazaki sat down with GameInformer for an interview and the subject of the Souls series' infamous deadly swamps came up. Even though he says he's aware of public opinion about the swamps, he admits to a newfound passion for making them. "When making the game I rediscovered my love for making poison swamps," Miyazaki said. "I know how people feel about them, but you know, suddenly I realize I'm in the middle of making one and I just can't help myself. It just happens."

So, FromSoftware isn't just reluctantly keeping poison swamps around just to be franchise faithful, it's doubling down on them. In fact, Miyazaki says there's a whole new deadly substance in Elden Ring you'll have to worry about called Scarlet Rot which he describes as "something that is especially horrible." Oh, he also hopes "you look forward to it." To be fair though, if you're a big FromSoftware fan you're probably already somewhat used to especially horrible things in games.

Despite all this, you needn't be too put off if you're a newcomer to Souls games, as Elden Ring producer Yasuhiro Kitao recently said the upcoming adventure is "perfect" for folks that get stressed about by games like Dark Souls. Miyazaki also said recently that he expects more people will finish Elden Ring compared to Dark Souls.

Here's Miyazaki talking about how Elden Ring was influenced by Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.