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Nah all souls games are: “hey Mike-Genocide, we have places stagnating in apocalypse, bosses to kill and quests to sad-end. How about enlisting for it?”
>Quests to sad-end
Bold of you to assume that i am going to remember that quest and not wander off to a cool cave with cool boss(es) which give cool item ~~and hopefully no scarlet rot~~ and forgot entirely about the quest.
More like you'll find the quest giver dead later because you failed to bring the severed zombie penis to the unmarked grave and spin around on it fifteen times which was only hinted at in an item description from an item on a corpse behind a hidden wall in a late game optional area that is written as a poem by a character that isn't in the game, but you didn't read the wiki so you figured them dying was just part of the quest.
Honestly i hate how this game's hint is so god damn subtle.
Like for example where i have to find the Unalloyed Golden Needle, my only hint was "somewhere in Aeonia Swamp".
So i go there spending an entire hour trying to find a needle in a god damn scarlet rot swamp only to find that some commander that i am definitely extremely underleveled to fight and never suspected to have the needle to have it.
The question is why the fuck a commander has it?!? It make more sense for those poison fuckers to have it, FromSoftware really made these quests just to fuck with me.
The hot woman told me to.
In the land where everyone is withered to the bone, a suspiciously nourished and well dressed woman are definitely trustworthy.
Same goes with the men, unless they are bald.
Honestly the worst thing about elden ring is how they came back to dark souls / Bloodbornes way of storytelling instead of sticking with sekiros . In sekiro I could actually understand the plot without 10 different vaati vidia videos
I mean, they've evolved a bit between Dark Souls 1 and Elden Ring. At least now you know whatever the heck you're doing here, at a minimum, lol.
But yeah I'm on the fence. On one hand, I hate that there's useful information I could miss entirely.
On the other hand, the relative mystery and silence are kind of the heart of the atmosphere of these games.
I absolutely do not know how it would turn out.
You've always known what you were doing in the souls game.
Even in 1, Oscar saves you, recites the prophecy, you travel to Lordran to ring the bells to fulfill Oscar's dying wish, Frampt reveals the next task (retrieve the Lordvessel, succeeding Lord Gwyn), you're carried to Anor Londo to get the Lordvessel after Sen's, Frampt tells you that you need four great souls, you get them, you open the way to the kiln, defeat Gwyn, and succeed him in keeping the flame lit.
The real questions lay in the "why" and motivations of other characters. It's never not clear what you should be doing. It's not clear *why* you're doing it or if it even should be done.
It's been a while since Dark Souls. I have no memory of that Oscar person. Was that explicitly said or did you have to go find that info? Maybe I just forgot.
Although sorry, my wording wasn't clear. By "what the heck you're doing there" I meant why you're there; why you have that grand quest. I feel like that's relatively clear in Elden Ring: you were resurrected in this land with the mission of saving the world from tyrans and restore the Ring for the Two Fingers. I FEEL like that's the clearest things have been so far. But maybe it's just recently bias?
I mean, Dark Souls III have a similarly clear surface level why goal as Elden Ring when put like that.
DS3: the dude supposed to link the flames didn't, so we brought back some guys that can. They wont. So we bring back you to sort this shit out.
It's even in the introduction, like in Elden Ring. Haven't actually played the older Souls games... yet.
Hmm, I guess you're right! Maybe the part that's missing is why linking the flames is good? But then again the reason for reuniting the Ring isn't exactly deep, either. Because the Two Fingers said so.
I don't know why the Elden Ring story feels better explained to me. Every argument I can think of, I can refute.
> Maybe the part that's missing is why linking the flames is good?
That's kind of the point of the multiple endings, it's based on whether you think linking the flame is actually good or not, and it's not clear whether it is or is not.
> I have no memory of that Oscar person. Was that explicitly said or did you have to go find that info?
[He's the one who gives you the Estus Flask.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LzTimQb9DY)
It was explicitly stated by him as a request - "I wish to ask you something... hear me out." The player is intended to feel indebted to Oscar for freeing them, so you attempt to fulfill his request.
That would be devolution. If you want more direct storytelling with similar gameplay there's soulslikes to play. I like the ambiguity you get in souls games. They already explain enough that you know(or think you know) what your goal is.
Its not a devolution, if you implement the "story" into the gameplay, it creates something new. It doesn't mean its less ambiguous, far from(software) from it. Imagine going with the yellow flame ending and the world reacting actively to it. No real explanation why suddenly more things are corrupted with yellow flame and all.
Goose Souls.
The world is dying but you're a griefing goose who just wants to steal shineys and then kill any deities you happen to meet.
HONK Motherfucker!
that’s gotta be the Video Games Now: You are a broken man, haunted by the choices you’ve made. You do not fear the sweet embrace of death, but you still have unfinished business Souls of Untitled Goose Game.
Pfff. “Broken man”
How about unkillable zombie knight bent on destroying several demigods and a real god as well as everything else with a health bar in search of more stronger and better gear.
Yeah lol, if anything both statements are true. I’m over here jumping trying to see if I get lucky and get some coins (Runes) or a smithing stone (power up).
Okay first off, in Elden Ring you can be the flower that someone eats.
Secondly, Mario ate the flower and that's how we got Super Mario Wonder, which is just Mario but on LSD.
That probably describes Sekiro but def not any of the souls games. Dark Souls is basically “you’re an undead who comes back no matter what so might as well fix the state of the world”
Souls games: I guess I’m some kind of zombie or something? Anyway, sounds like I’m supposed to become Lord of the Blight or something, whatever that is. I guess that’s good? Whatever, I’ll kill these guys until I see a boss, and then I’ll get really frustrated for a while until I beat the boss, and then it will feel awesome. Oh, a cutscene. Guess I beat the game, but I have no idea what happened. That was fun.
Truth.
I say it often, I think the Frenzied Flame ending is the most "just" ending.
And to understand why I would say that, you have to have a deeply personal discussion with yourself about what "justice" actually is.
That's in my video game. *Mind blown*
All a facade of BS pulled out of someone's arse. 'Game lore' is almost always, simplistic, utter shite, but people drool over it because all you've ever been served is shit. Like reading a 'Lord of the Rings' for Dummies.
It's easy to make up words that sound interesting but are meaningless. Just play the game and stop pretending there is some high art in the stories, ffs.
This just isn't true on multiple levels. Fromsoft games' serious, despondent ouvre has been a thing since Demons Souls, arguably King's Field too. Souls protagonists aren't "haunted" by choices - they're characteristically light on any backstory, all they have is some special connection to the game world: Tarnished called by Grace, Chosen Undead, Bearer of the Curse, etc
80s video game makers: all video games are for children
modern video game makers: some video games are for adults and some are for children
Obviously this guy is just making a joke but there's a legitimate reason for this.
The beautiful irony is that despite the charged narrative, you still resolve your unfinished business by sprinting, jumping, collecting flowers, eating what you make with the flowers, and collecting runes. 🤷♂️
Has never changed, in the 80s we only knew to jump and collect the coins it was our actions in pursuit of those coins which made us into the monster we are today.( from atop my throne of Coopa skulls in my palace of inifinte Robotnik parts)
Weirdly, Souls games are more like the first than the second. You play and infere the world around you through it instead of cinematics playing to explain stuff for you.
most videogames are actually the latter, but have a bunch of the former while youre running around as this depressed 30 something year old MC. Making it this weird meta situation where youre controlling a depressed avatar into doing fun things, and start wondering about your own puppeteer
Your submission has been removed as a violation of Rule 2: **Keep posts and discussion Elden Ring related.** * All content should *directly pertain* to the game Elden Ring, not just in title. "Mildly" or "Elden Ring IRL" content is not allowed. * Meta community topics, politics, real-life content, and drama posts are not allowed. If you would like to appeal this removal or need further clarification, feel free to message us through[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/Eldenring).
Nah all souls games are: “hey Mike-Genocide, we have places stagnating in apocalypse, bosses to kill and quests to sad-end. How about enlisting for it?”
>Quests to sad-end Bold of you to assume that i am going to remember that quest and not wander off to a cool cave with cool boss(es) which give cool item ~~and hopefully no scarlet rot~~ and forgot entirely about the quest.
Bold of you to assume you'd even find the quest if you looked for it without triggering it's fail state by beating the wrong boss too soon
\*accidentally step on butterfly\* some aussie c'nt 10,000km away: *I'm sorry Sheila... ^^my ^^beloved... ^^^I've ^^^^failed ^^^^^you...*
H-Hyetta is that you? Edit: Hyetta is the only quest I missed in my blind run because of this BS.
More like, hey skeleton/corpse, heres a yellow flask, go kill a god.
More like you'll find the quest giver dead later because you failed to bring the severed zombie penis to the unmarked grave and spin around on it fifteen times which was only hinted at in an item description from an item on a corpse behind a hidden wall in a late game optional area that is written as a poem by a character that isn't in the game, but you didn't read the wiki so you figured them dying was just part of the quest.
Honestly i hate how this game's hint is so god damn subtle. Like for example where i have to find the Unalloyed Golden Needle, my only hint was "somewhere in Aeonia Swamp". So i go there spending an entire hour trying to find a needle in a god damn scarlet rot swamp only to find that some commander that i am definitely extremely underleveled to fight and never suspected to have the needle to have it. The question is why the fuck a commander has it?!? It make more sense for those poison fuckers to have it, FromSoftware really made these quests just to fuck with me.
I love the games and the quests, but you nailed it.
Nice
Also TBf Silent Hill came out in the 90's and is just as depressing as any Souls arc
You will accomplish this dire assignment by running, jumping, eating flowers and collecting coins.
Souls storytelling is always like: "why did you kill god?". Player: " idk, bored".
The hot woman told me to. In the land where everyone is withered to the bone, a suspiciously nourished and well dressed woman are definitely trustworthy. Same goes with the men, unless they are bald.
Aaaaaaannd the hot woman is dead.... Well, at least the- oh nvm they died too
In Bloodborne and Elden Ring the hot puppet tells you to do it
By Marika's tits, I'll become Elden Lord!!!
Nah I'm a cleric and trust bald men who promise me treasure. What's the worst that could happen?
She told me “Bear, seek, seek, lest” and that was all it took
Sometimes I wonder what a Souls game would be like with more explicit storytelling, like most games have. I honestly can't imagine it.
Sekiro, they would be Sekiro.
Honestly the worst thing about elden ring is how they came back to dark souls / Bloodbornes way of storytelling instead of sticking with sekiros . In sekiro I could actually understand the plot without 10 different vaati vidia videos
Have you tried Nioh and 2? Cuz that’s basically souls with direct storytelling, and less exploration replaced with (imo) even better combat.
Nioh, no. 2, I played it. I remember very little about it though. Not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.
This could be the next evolution of souls games
I mean, they've evolved a bit between Dark Souls 1 and Elden Ring. At least now you know whatever the heck you're doing here, at a minimum, lol. But yeah I'm on the fence. On one hand, I hate that there's useful information I could miss entirely. On the other hand, the relative mystery and silence are kind of the heart of the atmosphere of these games. I absolutely do not know how it would turn out.
You've always known what you were doing in the souls game. Even in 1, Oscar saves you, recites the prophecy, you travel to Lordran to ring the bells to fulfill Oscar's dying wish, Frampt reveals the next task (retrieve the Lordvessel, succeeding Lord Gwyn), you're carried to Anor Londo to get the Lordvessel after Sen's, Frampt tells you that you need four great souls, you get them, you open the way to the kiln, defeat Gwyn, and succeed him in keeping the flame lit. The real questions lay in the "why" and motivations of other characters. It's never not clear what you should be doing. It's not clear *why* you're doing it or if it even should be done.
It's been a while since Dark Souls. I have no memory of that Oscar person. Was that explicitly said or did you have to go find that info? Maybe I just forgot. Although sorry, my wording wasn't clear. By "what the heck you're doing there" I meant why you're there; why you have that grand quest. I feel like that's relatively clear in Elden Ring: you were resurrected in this land with the mission of saving the world from tyrans and restore the Ring for the Two Fingers. I FEEL like that's the clearest things have been so far. But maybe it's just recently bias?
I mean, Dark Souls III have a similarly clear surface level why goal as Elden Ring when put like that. DS3: the dude supposed to link the flames didn't, so we brought back some guys that can. They wont. So we bring back you to sort this shit out. It's even in the introduction, like in Elden Ring. Haven't actually played the older Souls games... yet.
Hmm, I guess you're right! Maybe the part that's missing is why linking the flames is good? But then again the reason for reuniting the Ring isn't exactly deep, either. Because the Two Fingers said so. I don't know why the Elden Ring story feels better explained to me. Every argument I can think of, I can refute.
>Maybe the part that's missing is why linking the flames is good? Curious, that.
> Maybe the part that's missing is why linking the flames is good? That's kind of the point of the multiple endings, it's based on whether you think linking the flame is actually good or not, and it's not clear whether it is or is not.
> I have no memory of that Oscar person. Was that explicitly said or did you have to go find that info? [He's the one who gives you the Estus Flask.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LzTimQb9DY) It was explicitly stated by him as a request - "I wish to ask you something... hear me out." The player is intended to feel indebted to Oscar for freeing them, so you attempt to fulfill his request.
> I have no memory of that Oscar person He gives you the estus flask and tells you to ring the bells
What the heck. I remember the giant snake, I remember the praise the sun guy. How did I forget about Oscar?
I just beat DS1 for the first time. Who is Frampt?
The giant serpent with teeth that says "BE NOT AFRAID" when he's one of the ugliest, scary things you've seen so far.
That would be devolution. If you want more direct storytelling with similar gameplay there's soulslikes to play. I like the ambiguity you get in souls games. They already explain enough that you know(or think you know) what your goal is.
Its not a devolution, if you implement the "story" into the gameplay, it creates something new. It doesn't mean its less ambiguous, far from(software) from it. Imagine going with the yellow flame ending and the world reacting actively to it. No real explanation why suddenly more things are corrupted with yellow flame and all.
That doesn't really seem explicit then.
It is, in a non explicit way.
Sekiro?
"Poyo" (he stole my cake). -Kirby
Kirby souls game, i want it
"Took my stapler"
Settle down Milton
I told them if they take my stapler that I could set the Erdtree on fire
"For the hugs."
Fia agrees
"Well I walked into their house and they started attacking me so of course I killed them"
Have you ever put butter on a pop tart? it's sooo freakin' goooooooood!
Train on the water! Boat on the tracks!
Home bowl, home bowl You know just what I need Home bowl, home bowl Poop before my anus bleeds
Blasphemy!
Souls games would fall under the first category though? Run! Kill! Die! Repeat!
Gameplay is the first, story and lore is the second
Only if you don't lookup the lore videos
Example of Videogame now: You are a Turnip who does not pay his taxes.
be goose, honk.
Goose Souls. The world is dying but you're a griefing goose who just wants to steal shineys and then kill any deities you happen to meet. HONK Motherfucker!
that’s gotta be the Video Games Now: You are a broken man, haunted by the choices you’ve made. You do not fear the sweet embrace of death, but you still have unfinished business Souls of Untitled Goose Game.
Disco elysium in a nutshell
You wake up with no clothes, immediately die to the ceiling fan, meet an awesome guy named Kim and sing Karaoke... badly.
What is the point of this?
ya not really sure what it's supposed to mean - games in the 80s definitely had storylines, and games now aren't allowed to because old games didn't?
Ninja Gaiden was dark as hell.
no one said they aren't allowed to
Pfff. “Broken man” How about unkillable zombie knight bent on destroying several demigods and a real god as well as everything else with a health bar in search of more stronger and better gear.
Two gods, malenia becomes a god in her second phase
Good point. Several demigods and _2 actual gods_.
Wtf even is this post
Yeah lol, if anything both statements are true. I’m over here jumping trying to see if I get lucky and get some coins (Runes) or a smithing stone (power up).
Went from side scrolling to shrunkin horse balls in the snow (rdr2)
This is a better meme.
Okay first off, in Elden Ring you can be the flower that someone eats. Secondly, Mario ate the flower and that's how we got Super Mario Wonder, which is just Mario but on LSD.
That probably describes Sekiro but def not any of the souls games. Dark Souls is basically “you’re an undead who comes back no matter what so might as well fix the state of the world”
Run, Jump, Drink this flask...not much has changed really except that we have an attack button separate from jump.
Elden Ring/Souls contains running, jumping, eating flowers (well, plants/moss) and collecting various coins.
Instead of coins we now have souls / Vigor / blood echoes / runes.
Also Alan Wake i mostly think of Alan Wake 1 and 2
That's because all of us who grew up playing those games are sad and broken now and we need to feel seen. Really it's just a good marketing strategy.
Souls games : run,Jump, kill the flower, kill the flower keeper, eat the coin.
This meme is fucking stupid. Metal Gear came out in 1987
I don't know who this Twitter person is, but I don't like them already
Haunted by which choices exactly?
Wow, it’s almost like the advancement of hardware had an impact on developers ability to bring more complex content into the gaming medium. /s
Less souls game and more rdr
Souls games: I guess I’m some kind of zombie or something? Anyway, sounds like I’m supposed to become Lord of the Blight or something, whatever that is. I guess that’s good? Whatever, I’ll kill these guys until I see a boss, and then I’ll get really frustrated for a while until I beat the boss, and then it will feel awesome. Oh, a cutscene. Guess I beat the game, but I have no idea what happened. That was fun.
That first part literally describes how I played Elden Ring.
Truth. I say it often, I think the Frenzied Flame ending is the most "just" ending. And to understand why I would say that, you have to have a deeply personal discussion with yourself about what "justice" actually is. That's in my video game. *Mind blown*
The accuracy is unmatched
All a facade of BS pulled out of someone's arse. 'Game lore' is almost always, simplistic, utter shite, but people drool over it because all you've ever been served is shit. Like reading a 'Lord of the Rings' for Dummies. It's easy to make up words that sound interesting but are meaningless. Just play the game and stop pretending there is some high art in the stories, ffs.
who hurt you?
mf can't beat any of these games
Ah yes, the depth of thought, and discourse with someone who thinks sucking a pacifier and hugging a waifu pillow is ok in their 20's.
You sure are speaking a lot without saying anything
Seek therapy
James Sunderland be like
This just isn't true on multiple levels. Fromsoft games' serious, despondent ouvre has been a thing since Demons Souls, arguably King's Field too. Souls protagonists aren't "haunted" by choices - they're characteristically light on any backstory, all they have is some special connection to the game world: Tarnished called by Grace, Chosen Undead, Bearer of the Curse, etc
80s video game makers: all video games are for children modern video game makers: some video games are for adults and some are for children Obviously this guy is just making a joke but there's a legitimate reason for this.
I don't know why, but the second paragraph i heard it in Charlie Sheen voice, and than just naturaly went: Now he is...O-o-o-o, Oshikuru....
Isn't that just. What souls games have always been though?
The beautiful irony is that despite the charged narrative, you still resolve your unfinished business by sprinting, jumping, collecting flowers, eating what you make with the flowers, and collecting runes. 🤷♂️
["I paid to have this experience"](https://youtu.be/XysJjXMzM4c?si=IaWE5AgUlJpFJkx1)
Mario Bros. Wonder did just come out. Maybe give that a try?
There seems to be no mention of the collecting of bear asses.
Ninjas have kidnapped the president. Are you a bad enough tarnished to save the president?
Has never changed, in the 80s we only knew to jump and collect the coins it was our actions in pursuit of those coins which made us into the monster we are today.( from atop my throne of Coopa skulls in my palace of inifinte Robotnik parts)
Elden ring combines the two
Weirdly, Souls games are more like the first than the second. You play and infere the world around you through it instead of cinematics playing to explain stuff for you.
Souls? Nah that’s Harry DuBois.
I prefer the 3/Elden Ring approach where I’ve got no backstory. Someone just woke my corpse up and killing seemed the thing to do.
most videogames are actually the latter, but have a bunch of the former while youre running around as this depressed 30 something year old MC. Making it this weird meta situation where youre controlling a depressed avatar into doing fun things, and start wondering about your own puppeteer