# Elden Ring Style - Action & Fighting Template | Summer Engine ## About this template Elden Ring proved that Souls combat works in an open world by making the open field itself part of the difficulty curve. Torrent lets players gallop past overleveled enemies and return later. Spirit ashes give solo players a summon for every encounter. Legacy dungeons like Stormveil Castle are full interconnected Souls levels nested inside the open map. Map fragments found at pillars reveal geography the player has already been traversing blind. Stakes of Marika provide mini-checkpoints before difficult encounters without replacing the bonfire system. Guard counters reward shield play with a dedicated follow-up attack. Summer Engine helps you build this hybrid structure without engineering the open world and dungeon systems separately. Describe your overworld zones, your legacy dungeon layouts, and your spirit summon roster. The engine scaffolds the mounted exploration, the map fragment reveal system, the crafting loop from overworld materials, and the stake checkpoint placement so you can focus on world composition and encounter variety. The design challenge of an open-world soulslike is gating without walls. Elden Ring uses enemy density, enemy strength, and environmental danger to signal where the player should and should not go yet. A dragon sitting in a field is a locked door the player can technically open at any time. Designing your world means deciding which dragons sit where and what the player gains from defeating them early. ## Who it's for * Developers who want Souls combat in an open world and need the framework for mounted traversal, open-field bosses, and embedded legacy dungeons. * Solo devs inspired by Elden Ring who want to build a smaller-scale open world with the same combat weight and exploration philosophy. * Designers interested in non-linear progression where the player chooses which legacy dungeon to tackle first based on exploration rather than quest markers. * Teams building a game where open-world freedom and soulslike difficulty coexist without one undermining the other. ## Highlights * ### Open Field Region Prototype Build one open region with a mounted traversal loop, three mini-dungeons, one legacy dungeon entrance, and a field boss. Demonstrate the open-world soulslike structure at small scale. * ### Legacy Dungeon Vertical Slice Build one full legacy dungeon with interconnected shortcuts, a site of grace, and a multi-phase boss. Show how a traditional Souls level fits inside an open world. * ### Spirit Summon Combat Demo Build an encounter arena where the player can summon spirit ashes to assist in a boss fight. Demonstrate the AI companion system and how it changes combat dynamics. ## Highlights ### Open world with Souls combat Full open-world exploration with the same stamina-based combat, death penalty, and enemy design philosophy found in linear Souls games. Freedom does not reduce the challenge. ### Mounted exploration A spectral mount for traversing the open field. Double jumps across gaps, gallop past dangerous enemies, and dismount into combat. The mount defines the pace of overworld exploration. ### Legacy dungeons Full interconnected Souls-style levels embedded inside the open world. These dungeons have their own shortcuts, their own checkpoints, and their own bosses. ### Spirit summon system Collectible spirit ashes that summon AI companions for encounters. Each spirit has different behaviour, from tanking to ranged support. Spirits change how the player approaches a fight. ## Features * ### Map fragment discovery The world map starts blank. Players find map fragments at stone pillars scattered across the overworld. Each fragment reveals the geography of one region, rewarding exploration with information. * ### Stake of Marika mini-checkpoints Small checkpoints placed before difficult encounters that let the player respawn nearby without replacing the main site of grace system. Reduces runback frustration in the open world. * ### Guard counter combat Blocking an attack and immediately pressing heavy attack performs a guard counter, a dedicated follow-up strike that rewards shield users with a stagger-building response. * ### Overworld crafting Players gather materials from the open world and craft consumables, ammunition, and buff items. Crafting recipes are found as loot, gating what the player can create by exploration progress. ## Genre fit * Open World * Action RPG * Soulslike * Exploration * Dark Fantasy * Desktop * Gamepad * Console ## Related Templates [View All](https://www.summerengine.com/templates) [Dark Soulslike Build an action RPG where every death teaches the player something and a world full of secrets rewards patient exploration. Describe your world and combat design and Summer Engine builds the foundation with you. Action & Fighting](https://www.summerengine.com/templates/action-fighting/soulslike/soulslike) [Dark Souls Style Build an interconnected world where every corridor loops back somewhere familiar, bonfires are the only safe ground, and the lore hides inside item descriptions. Describe your world and Summer Engine helps you architect the geography, the combat, and the punishment loop. Action & Fighting](https://www.summerengine.com/templates/action-fighting/soulslike/dark-souls-style) [Hack and Slash Build an action game where melee combat is fast, combo-driven, and deeply satisfying. Players tear through groups of enemies using light attacks, heavy attacks, and special moves. Describe your combat vision and Summer Engine builds it with you. Action & Fighting](https://www.summerengine.com/templates/action-fighting/hack-and-slash/hack-and-slash) Source: https://www.summerengine.com/templates/action-fighting/soulslike/elden-ring-style --- ## Machine-readable resources - Site index for agents: https://www.summerengine.com/llms.txt - Full inlined content: https://www.summerengine.com/llms-full.txt - Porting catalog: https://www.summerengine.com/llms-porting.txt - Structured catalog: https://www.summerengine.com/agent-catalog.json - Sitemap: https://www.summerengine.com/sitemap.xml - Developer resources: https://www.summerengine.com/docs