RETRY: Elden Ring Trailer & How We're Tackling It (Patreon)

RETRY: Elden Ring starts next Saturday, July 15th. We can’t believe it’s finally here – our biggest-ever adventure.

Hopefully you’ve now seen the full trailer we just posted.

If not, what are you doing? Go watch that first...

We’ve been getting a lot of questions about our Elden Ring playthrough and how we’re going to tackle it. If you’ve not played the game, it’s far bigger than anything we’ve ever taken on so we thought we’d talk about how we’re going to approach it and answer some of the recurring questions we’ve been getting.

How many episodes is it going to be?

Krupa: I’m just going to tackle the first couple of questions, as Gav and Rory have somehow avoided all spoilers for over a year now, and I'd like to keep it that way.

Honestly, I have no idea how many episodes this is going to be. After our first week of filming, we were already behind schedule – but in the best way!

It’s likely we could finish with more episodes than all of our previous FromSoft series put together. It’s really hard to gauge these things, and I’ve given up trying to predict what Rory’s going to find challenging or not.

But the scope of Elden Ring presents us with an amazing opportunity unlike anything we’ve ever played before. If Elden Ring is Miyazaki’s fantasy epic, drawing on everything he made before – well, RETRY: Elden Ring has the potential to be ours. And like all good epics, we’re going to release it as a trilogy.

Yes, RETRY: Elden Ring will be broken into three parts. The current plan is for Part One to run from July until the end of the year. I have an ending in mind for each part, but this all depends on how our story goes. That’s what will make RETRY: Elden Ring different to our other series, and it’s something we want to embrace.

Are you going to do everything?

Krupa: Yes and no.

I’ve thought about this a lot while we’ve been planning and prepping the series. I’ll definitely ensure we see all the most important things, experience as much of Elden Ring as we possibly can, and connect the lore coordinates as we go. But I don’t want to be constantly dragging Rory back to the critical path if something on the horizon catches his interest – that’s what makes this experience different.

What was it that Gandalf said, “Not all who wander are lost”? Well, based on two weeks of filming, I can reveal we do get lost, often, but I agree with the wizard: wandering is essential to the journey. I don’t want us to mainline the story and miss out on all the things that could happen to us and make our playthrough unique.

The idea of clearing out every catacomb before moving into a new area sounds arduous to me. I don’t want our playthrough to be exhaustive, but we’ll try our best to make it definitive.

I can also see us playing this game even after we’ve finished the main story – so maybe one day we’ll get around to every catacomb and mine. The Lord of the Rings had appendices, after all.

How far ahead are you filming?

We’ve had six filming sessions and just reached Stormveil Castle, and most of those sessions were 2-3 hours.

When we first started Prepare To Try, we were up against a deadline, which was the hook of that first series. It was great, and we loved doing that for a few weeks. Later series were usually up against a tight deadline because of our actual jobs at IGN.

Working under that kind of deadline constantly is not healthy or sustainable. It’s also not compatible with the standards we’ve set ourselves and how we want the show to look and feel.

We also film a lot when working on a FromSoft title. To illustrate the difference, the entirety of the first 5 episodes of Elden Ring is made from as much footage as SPOOKIES: Dead Space, which was 12 episodes! It’s because we really do edit extensively to ensure each episode is as good as it can be.

We want to find a good balance, where it feels like you’re on this epic quest with us as it’s unfolding, but we’re not cutting corners because of looming deadlines.

We’re also going to try and make new episodes feel more current through our new companion shows on Patreon, Roundtable Hold and Lore MasterClass (details coming soon). Both shows will echo the progress we’re making on the show, if you want to experience more alongside us.

How can I be involved?

There’s loads of ways for you to be involved, whether you’re subscribed on YouTube or pledge on Patreon.

• We know not everyone can or wants to pledge to Patreon, but we still really value your support. We want you to watch and enjoy the episodes, share them, like them, and leave us a comment. We’ll be in those comments sections after new episodes go out, and we frequently respond to messages people leave. Reading comments after an episode goes live has always been one of our favourite things to do.
• We’ll be offering RKG patrons – the people who make the entire series possible – the opportunity to have a deeper experience and explore more aspects of the game with us through two companion shows.
• We posted about Roundtable Hold earlier in the week, but it’s worth repeating here. On Roundtable Hold we’ll never syphon off content that should appear on RETRY. The point of Roundtable Hold is to cover aspects of the game or have conversations in more detail than would be appropriate for an episode of RETRY. Often these are the conversations we’re having off camera anyway, and we want to share them with you. Think of them as Extra Features on a Blu-ray of your favourite film – they’re not essential to understanding or enjoying the film, but if you want to dig in a little deeper, you can.
• For those  who want an even deeper and more involved experienced, we'll be offering another brand new show, Lore MasterClass. More on that next week.
• Finally, all patrons – no matter what tier you pledge at – get access to our Elden Ring Group Password. So if you’re on PlayStation you can leave us a message and maybe we’ll find it in a future episode. Finding these has already been a highlight of filming.

I’m a Producer. When will I see my names in the Credits?

RETRY: Elden Ring is going to be massive, and as we’ve said above, it’s going to be a trilogy. We’ll be attaching end credits, featuring the names of our Producers and Posh Slugs, to the last episode of each part.

If you are either a Producer or Posh Slug, or have been during the time the show has been going out, you’ll find yourself in the end credits for Part One of RETRY: Elden Ring.

Can I watch early and how?

Yes, RKG patrons on our Extra Features tier ($10) and above can watch one week ahead. When a new episode debuts publicly on YouTube, we’ll send you a private YouTube link to the following week’s episode via Patreon. So you can still watch it wherever you like to watch YouTube. It’s the exact same experience. You can even leave comments early.

The first Early Access episode will be available on July 15th alongside the premiere of RETRY: Elden Ring.

When can I watch the first episode of RETRY: Elden Ring?

The first episode of RETRY: Elden Ring will premiere on Saturday, July 15th at 8pm BST | 3pm ET | 12pm PT | 5am AEST (July 16th)

We’re just uploading the first episode today and will be sending out a link for the YouTube Premiere very soon.

If you’ve never watched a YouTube Premiere before, it's a bit like watching something on TV back in the day. The first episode will debut at a specific time, along with a livestream-style chat, so you’ll be able to watch it for the first time with other members of the RKG audience and us, too. Once it finishes, it’ll then be available to watch as normal (with or without the live chat).

When will future episodes of RETRY: Elden Ring come out?

New episodes of RETRY: Elden Ring will debut every Saturday morning on our YouTube channel at 10am BST | 5am ET | 2am PT | 7pm AEST

This is when patrons pledged to our Extra Features and above tiers will be sent the link for the next episode.

Right, we think that covers most things. If you’ve got any more questions, put them down below and we’ll get back to you shortly.

We’re just really excited to get going, for you to see the first few episodes of the new show, and meet the new Finchy. There’s more to talk about but we don’t want to spoil anything right now.

Elden Ring presents us with an incredible opportunity to make something truly special, and we can’t wait to set off on that adventure together.

RKG x