I was previously intimidated by the reputation of games by FromSoftware, a company which is most famous for its production of the Dark Souls series (all of which are known for their difficulty). Before playing for the first time, I was given multiple warnings by FromSoft veterans: let go of expectations, do not worry too much about the story, and be patient. Elden Ring follows a formula which is unlike many other games I have played in the past. This blog post is a personal exploration – a short essay – on these differences, as well as the reasons why I have become so enthralled with The Lands Between.

A lot of people complain that Elden Ring weeds out players who are looking for a more casual experience, as the player must pay extra attention if they want to understand what is happening beyond killing various enemies. Although Elden Ring is not a story-driven game, there is a world of lore waiting to be discovered. It tailors the perfect balance by providing a deep story should the player want it.

Although I am not a linguistics fanatic, I am a literature lover, and FromSoft have a development team that love to utilise the intricacy of language. With very few visual cutscenes, most of Elden Ring’s lore is revealed through item descriptions and written dialogue. This lends to the open world game design, by emphasising self-discovery and adventure. One example of this is the use of Dickensian-esque nomenclature. The Limgrave region (limb + grave) is governed by Godrick the Grafted, an evil ruler who severs and transfers the limbs from his subjects to himself.

This kind of analysis is useful in garnering a deeper understanding of every area, enemy, boss etc in the entire game. A more complex example of this is the boss, Praetor Rykard. Rykard’s tragedy is one of a man who turned his back on his mother and father’s beliefs, only to be overtaken by the ambition of an evil Serpent-Lord, whom he eventually sacrifices his followers – and himself – to. His name is a derivative of Richard, drawing comparisons to Shakespeare’s Richard III, another ruler with good intentions who descends into madness. The Praetor Rykard fight is only discoverable behind a hidden wall after engaging in a dialogue exchange with one of his old followers, introducing themes of secrecy and betrayal before the player even meets him. The player can only damage him with a specific weapon, which is held by a corpse (seemingly a sacrificed follower) in the boss arena. The description of The Serpent Hunter weapon reads as follows…

“Weapon that serves as both greatsword and spear. Thought to have been used to hunt an immortal great serpent in the distant past, it manifests a long blade of light when facing such a creature. When their master’s heroic aspirations degenerated into mere greed, his men searched for a weapon with which they might halt their lord.”

While Rykard’s lore is not fed to the player in a traditional sense, the information is readily available.

The “tarnished” narrative lends well with this inherent learning curve, both in fighting and discovering/interpretating lore. You begin the game as a “lowly tarnished”, who enters The Lands Between with a lofty goal. In order to become Elden Lord, you, as a player, must die countless times in order to understand enemy mechanics and improve. You also must get lost, confused, and turned-around countless times before you grasp any semblance of lore. Much like many things in life, you get from Elden Ring what you want from Elden Ring.