To this day, the Hornsent Grandam beseeches her precious divine beast to unleash its wrath upon Marika’s “children” — the entire tribe she rules — for betraying her people, cursing them even with her dying breath. What she doesn’t realize is that her prayers were already answered long ago. Among those bearing vestiges of the […]
Preface One of the three pillars to my methodology is psychoanalysis, because a story is, ultimately, defined by its characters as much as its world or plot. It is not just about knowing what the characters do or when, but why that merits any discussion. In this respect, Elden Ring has the most effort put […]
Although now defined by Erdtree civilization, there was a time when Altus Plateau was rife with barbarians. A scarab rolls up Barbaric Roar at the base of Liurnia’s waterfall streaming from Altus. Another, invisible scarab stamping along the Altus highway amusingly collects Earthshaker, which uses blunt or otherwise inelegant weapons like large hammers and axes […]
Preface After analyzing Dark Souls for so long, I can’t deny that a conflict between dragons and gods feels familiar. But like so much of FromSoftware‘s lean on callbacks, the similarities end with the outline. The nature of both parties in this war and the worlds they exist in makes Elden Ring‘s crack at the […]
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 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 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 […]
Even if beckoned by the guidance of grace, war between the Erdtree kingdom and the fire giants was inevitable. The description for Fire’s Deadly Sin explains how burning the Erdtree is, naturally, the first cardinal sin — what greater sin is there than to destroy the divinity which your kingdom was built around? For Godfrey […]
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 […]
Preface I often joke about needing another decade before finishing an exhaustive analysis of Elden Ring. For a world as broad as in this game, getting a grasp on everything is a trying task. There is so much history, so much cosmology, that sifting through it can feel like a never-ending abyss. It is just […]
Lokey Lore 