From Software Elden Ring - From Software's new game with writing by GRRM

[Lambach]

... It's either DS2 or Bloodborne. You can disagree, but it'd be objectively wrong. Elden Ring's pretty sweet too, fools.

The interesting thing is, I like them all for different reasons. I think this really speaks to this:

To me these are all stellar games, each one reaching great heights in certain areas but lacking in others. This is why I find it hard to rank them objectively as a whole and only feel comfortable doing so with respect to a specific aspect.

I consider all of them masterpieces, with only DS3 lagging behind. But even then, that game has some of my favorite bosses in the series (Lothric and Lorian, Gael, the Dancer, Sulyvahn, Midir...).

What's that great standout that makes you like DS2 so much?

I barely even remember it, it's the only FromSoft game I've played only once.

 

[mediocrepoet]

... It's either DS2 or Bloodborne. You can disagree, but it'd be objectively wrong. Elden Ring's pretty sweet too, fools.

The interesting thing is, I like them all for different reasons. I think this really speaks to this:

To me these are all stellar games, each one reaching great heights in certain areas but lacking in others. This is why I find it hard to rank them objectively as a whole and only feel comfortable doing so with respect to a specific aspect.

I consider all of them masterpieces, with only DS3 lagging behind. But even then, that game has some of my favorite bosses in the series (Lothric and Lorian, Gael, the Dancer, Sulyvahn, Midir...).

What's that great standout that makes you like DS2 so much?

I barely even remember it, it's the only FromSoft game I've played only once.

Yeah that's fair. DS2 is the one that felt good in terms of RPG mechanics and different feeling build variety. It also had fun pvp (as far as Souls PvP goes, if you hate it it wouldn't change your mind). It wasnt full weebfoo like DS3 and there was a trade off for Dex vs. Strength. You couldn't be a master pyro for free, you had to invest stats in it. It also introduced a number of weapons and options like twin blades, power stancing, etc.

 

[KIss My Ass]

The only consolefag on this entire site thinks DS2 is FS's masterpiece, so... go figure

Dark Souls 2 won the poll

... It's either DS2 or Bloodborne. You can disagree, but it'd be objectively wrong. Elden Ring's pretty sweet too, fools.

The interesting thing is, I like them all for different reasons. I think this really speaks to this:

To me these are all stellar games, each one reaching great heights in certain areas but lacking in others. This is why I find it hard to rank them objectively as a whole and only feel comfortable doing so with respect to a specific aspect.

I consider all of them masterpieces, with only DS3 lagging behind. But even then, that game has some of my favorite bosses in the series (Lothric and Lorian, Gael, the Dancer, Sulyvahn, Midir...).

All well said. As much shit as I give Dark Souls 3 and Sekiro I still enjoyed them both. They may be Soulsborne's ass lickers but they are still better than most.

 

[Modron]

Welp, i'm actually starting to find those lore videos kinda interesting:



Am i turning into a weeb now?

R.I.P.

 

[Lambach]

^
I could be wrong, but I feel like these YouTubers pumping out Elden Ring "lore" and "character analysis" videos are putting a lot more thought into these things than Miyazaki himself did.

Reminds me of that one dumb joke:

Student reading a poem in class: "The curtain was blue"
What the English teacher said it meant: "The curtain was blue because it symbolises the author's deep melancholy and sadness"
What the author meant: "The curtain was fucking blue"

I mean, there's no way Miyazaki actually came up with most of this and decided to portray it through vague symbolism that YT nerds have successfully deciphered through months and months of careful study.

 

[S.torch]

Elden Bros, don't forget to vote in the Codex poll for 2022 GOTY: https://rpgcodex.net/goty_vote.php

That's the poll, here's the thread: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/rpg-codex-2022-goty-vote-now.146225/

Vote!

 

[Elttharion]

^
I could be wrong, but I feel like these YouTubers pumping out Elden Ring "lore" and "character analysis" videos are putting a lot more thought into these things than Miyazaki himself did.

Reminds me of that one dumb joke:

Student reading a poem in class: "The curtain was blue"
What the English teacher said it meant: "The curtain was blue because it symbolises the author's deep melancholy and sadness"
What the author meant: "The curtain was fucking blue"

I mean, there's no way Miyazaki actually came up with most of this and decided to portray it through vague symbolism that YT nerds have successfully deciphered through months and months of careful study.

Miyazaki remembers me of Yoko Taro when people teorized a lot about why 2B and the other androids were sexy woman and when someone asked him he just said 'its because I really like hot girls'.

By that I mean that Miyazaki just thought a wrestling barbarian with a lion on his shoulder was cool, so he just did it and made him a boss.

 

[mediocrepoet]

I mean, there's no way Miyazaki actually came up with most of this and decided to portray it through vague symbolism that YT nerds have successfully deciphered through months and months of careful study.

Miyazaki remembers me of Yoko Taro when people teorized a lot about why 2B and the other androids were sexy woman and when someone asked him he just said 'its because I really like hot girls'.

By that I mean that Miyazaki just thought a wrestling barbarian with a lion on his shoulder was cool, so he just did it and made him a boss.

Pretty much this. I started laughing the first time I got powerbombed. Great moment.

 

[Silverfish]

Sometimes I try to give people who shit on BB a chance, but then their talking points literally are "DS3 has viable shields allowing for different defensive tactics" and I just can't

I'm sorry your gay dollar store Lovecraft game has fewer options than the worst Dark Souls.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Remember to vote Elden Ring for RPG Codex Game of the Year 2022!

 

[ferratilis]

Thanks for the reminder! Gave 5 to Elden Ring.

 

[Lyric Suite]

^
I could be wrong, but I feel like these YouTubers pumping out Elden Ring "lore" and "character analysis" videos are putting a lot more thought into these things than Miyazaki himself did.

Reminds me of that one dumb joke:

Student reading a poem in class: "The curtain was blue"
What the English teacher said it meant: "The curtain was blue because it symbolises the author's deep melancholy and sadness"
What the author meant: "The curtain was fucking blue"

I mean, there's no way Miyazaki actually came up with most of this and decided to portray it through vague symbolism that YT nerds have successfully deciphered through months and months of careful study.

Yeah it's like that pdf i linked to earlier. LMAO Sephiroth my ass come on now. I mean sure it's possible that some well known religious concepts may have served as inspiration, the Greater Will maybe being derived from something like the Atman, but those are obvious superficial influences and may not even be direct (I.E., it's possible that Myazaki took the idea from some other fantasy setting which in its turn was inspired by some of those religious concepts who knows). There's a lot of Buddhist ideas that ended up in Torment too doesn't mean suddenly one should look for actual spiritual meaning in whatever bullshit Avellone came up with for that game lol.

That said, those visual corrispondences are too on the money to just be accidental. The statues of Malenia and Miquella embracing each other. The fact the child Miquella is holding what looks like a tiny tree in his hands obviously points to the Haligtree. Or the fact everybody in that area looks either expectant or dejected is clearly intentionally trying to portray the fact Miquella is missing etc. So those visual corrispondences are in many cases intentional and i kinda like those.

The written clues i find to be more of a problem, mostly because they are nonsensical the first time i read them and by the time i discover the clues that would allow me to make sense of them i've long since forgotten about them. This is why i'm kinda of enjoying those videos since my memory is shit and it's neat somebody else is doing the work for me lmao.

 

[Bloodeyes]

I just killed a phantom at level 32 +5 and got 325278 runes. That makes him level 691. He did all that rune farming and I didn't even notice he was over levelled until afterwards. I thought they were just a couple noob co-oppers without PVP builds and gave them a bow and everything.



Sometimes the downscaling works too well. Not that he doesn't deserve it, playing that character at level 32.

 

[MajorMace]

Sometimes I feel the need to ask BB fans why so many of them think it's FromSoft's best game, but then I remember it's a PS exclusive and think to myself "lol, consolefags".

You better think it to yourself since it's the dumbest fucking take one could read here.

Not like the whole series spawns from Demon's Souls, another console exclusive, and still to this day is designed from the ground to be played with a pad.
Liking FromSoft gameplay and shitting on console gives real strong "closeted consolefag" vibes.

 

[Lyric Suite]

I think his point was that the consolefags think it's the best BECAUSE it is on "their" platform only.

 

[Lambach]

My point was to make a quick throwaway joke, but MajorMace took it seriously for some reason. Guess he figured he's the only one aware that FromSoft games always have been designed with consoles (PS specifically) first and foremost in mind, as if that was some great secret. The initial version of the PC port of DS1 was notoriously shitty and I remember it well.

Still, playing shitty PC ports is still a better option than playing on a console like some unwashed filthy savage.

 

[Nathir]

He might, since he has mentioned a possible "mistranslation" at one point.

To be honest though, the most interesting part to me is how the lore is portrayed visually in the game itself. Like, it's undeniable that the art in the Haligtree follows the narrative he is presenting.

In a way, those games are like the Silmarillion in game format. Just myths and legends and past events all prefigured in the art and those tibits of writing. No real story to speak of.

Personally I can't watch Vaati anymore. Not that I hate him or anything, but he is making these videos very slowly and I bet he is just scouring the internet for other peoples research that he then uploads and gets easy views. And the way he talks is like he is trying too hard to make a story out of every detail. If you are interested in background details, a good channel I found is called the "Tarnished archaeologist". In one of his videos he even explains why there is a giant crater behind the gate in Leyndell, something which bothered me a lot and I thought From were just lazy and skipped a whole section of the city.

Spoiler

At the exact part on the map where the crater is, you can find an eternal city underground. Which means at one point, before the greater will banished them all underground, there was a Nox quarter right in Leyndell.

 

[mediocrepoet]

He might, since he has mentioned a possible "mistranslation" at one point.

To be honest though, the most interesting part to me is how the lore is portrayed visually in the game itself. Like, it's undeniable that the art in the Haligtree follows the narrative he is presenting.

In a way, those games are like the Silmarillion in game format. Just myths and legends and past events all prefigured in the art and those tibits of writing. No real story to speak of.

Personally I can't watch Vaati anymore. Not that I hate him or anything, but he is making these videos very slowly and I bet he is just scouring the internet for other peoples research that he then uploads and gets easy views. And the way he talks is like he is trying too hard to make a story out of every detail. If you are interested in background details, a good channel I found is called the "Tarnished archaeologist". In one of his videos he even explains why there is a giant crater behind the gate in Leyndell, something which bothered me a lot and I thought From were just lazy and skipped a whole section of the city.

Spoiler

At the exact part on the map where the crater is, you can find an eternal city underground. Which means at one point, before the greater will banished them all underground, there was a Nox quarter right in Leyndell.

I can't watch Vaati because he sounds like a depressed homosexual giving you ASMR to slice your wrists to as he ass pulls about Souls games and dickheads give him money for it. Not my thing.

 

[Dadd]

Vaati's loreing ruined a whole generation of Souls games

 

[Ravielsk]

Vaati's loreing ruined a whole generation of Souls games

His lore videos are usually little more than him reading off of the wiki and what little seems to actually come from him tends to be wrong.

 

[Dadd]

Vaati's loreing ruined a whole generation of Souls games

His lore videos are usually little more than him reading off of the wiki and what little seems to actually come from him tends to be wrong.

His most considered lore video that I've seen was on Bloodborne and much of that video seems to have been plagiarised from a redditor.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Vaati's loreing ruined a whole generation of Souls games

His lore videos are usually little more than him reading off of the wiki and what little seems to actually come from him tends to be wrong.

His most considered lore video that I've seen was on Bloodborne and much of that video seems to have been plagiarised from a redditor.

Plagirized how? Did he stole the script from someone else or just the lore? Because if it's the latter that's a pretty wierd complain. I thought discovering the lore was supposed to be a community effort by design.

 

[Ravielsk]

Plagirized how? Did he stole the script from someone else or just the lore? Because if it's the latter that's a pretty wierd complain. I thought discovering the lore was supposed to be a community effort by design.

Yes, but the difference is Vaati rakes in a couple thousand bucks from patreon while the reddit crowd does it for free. So him just paraphrasing reddit without even acknowledging that is what he is doing is essentially a scam on his patrons. They are paying for Vaatividya content not for "xxxjebb95xxx content as paraphrased by Vaatividya".

 

[Dadd]

Vaati's loreing ruined a whole generation of Souls games

His lore videos are usually little more than him reading off of the wiki and what little seems to actually come from him tends to be wrong.

His most considered lore video that I've seen was on Bloodborne and much of that video seems to have been plagiarised from a redditor.

Plagirized how? Did he stole the script from someone else or just the lore? Because if it's the latter that's a pretty wierd complain. I thought discovering the lore was supposed to be a community effort by design.

If I remember correctly, he presented an interpretation of Bloodborne lore using the same examples and the same order of argumentation as the redditor, in a way that seemed very unlikely to be coincidental. The relevant document is called "The Paleblood Hunt" by Redgrave. Searching something like "vaatividya plagiarism" should return results on this.

 

[covr]

I was thinking about buying this game. I've played some DS game in the past, didn't like it because of difficult combat with lots of dodge rolls and manual agility I don't posses. However I love good exploration with actual rewards, like Gothic/Myrtana/Might&Magic games.

So, how is exploration in ER? Is it meaningful? Does it have any secrets? How's itemization? I don't like finding new pieces of stronger equipment every couple of minutes.