Preface As the last DLC before the Scholar of the First Sin edition, Crown of the Ivory King had to juggle its own story with the remaining loose threads the original Dark Souls II had left for it tie up. In contrast to its predecessors, this was met with mostly success. It is the only […]
Preface If Dark Souls III is truly the end of the series, then I am glad that its final swan song was introducing the Ringed City. True, previous games had already set up all the key points for the origins of man and undeath, so the final DLC doesn’t tread much new ground in that […]
Preface If I had to choose one word to describe the School of Mensis, it would be macabre. There is a delightful villainy to the whole faction absent from so much of Bloodborne. They certainly lend themselves to the game’s most iconic imagery, skirting the line between sterile and viscerally grotesque. But more than any […]
Preface Although perhaps the most simplistic larger setting since Demon’s Souls, the wider world in Elden Ring is nonetheless coherent. In some respects, its generic quality helps contrast with the more fantastical experience of the Lands Between. And what sets it apart from our familiar earth is the seminal Long March led by Godfrey. Director […]
Preface I make no secret that I am a huge fan of the Banished Knights. Since the moment I first explored Stormveil, their shining armor battered by incessent winds and dark retinue wrapped in faded reds fascinated me. As I delved deeper into their story, their past absolutely enchanted me. They are the underdogs of […]
Preface One of the benefits to Director Hidetaka Miyazaki expanding his formula for Demon’s and Dark Souls to an open world is the exponential potential for environmental storytelling. While many of the new details offer only vague insights into the general area, the wars impressed me with just how much we can pinpoint over a […]
Preface Up until this point, my analysis of Marika and Godfrey has been rather bullish. Even when fate wasn’t necessarily on their side, the pair still came out on top in the end, with relatively meager impediments. Whatever their personal drama, history had looked kindly on their efforts to build and maintain a kingdom. Not […]
Preface Of all the demigods, Godrick is easily my favorite. Although I hold no particular love for incompetent villains, the Grafted oozes so much personality worthy of his most memorable design. It is a certain awfulness that I don’t think I will ever tire of. You almost want to cheer for this underdog, single-mindedly fighting […]
Preface Rarely are “the good times” the most interesting part of a story, and Elden Ring is no different. Much of this period in the setting’s backstory is simply stacking the building blocks to be knocked down by subsequent events. What little conflict can be mined is narratively flaccid, with hardly many tantalizing secrets to […]
Preface Thanks to the sheer scope of Elden Ring, it has become easier than ever for FromSoftware to hide its history in plain sight. So many crucial events go unmentioned, and none are as consequential as those establishing Marika and Godfrey as queen and king. But while the written narrative might have little to say […]
Lokey Lore 