The zeitgeist of Elden Ring
The lead-up and release of both Elden Ring and its DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, have been some of the biggest moments for gaming in terms of buzz, hype, and excitement. It’s good eating if you’re a fan of FromSoft titles, and inescapable if you’re not. As someone who has only loved a single FromSoft title, Bloodborne, I am both enthralled and sickened by the zeitgeist of Elden Ring.
It ain’t no Bloodborne
I do need to be upfront in that I have a perception disorder. When something becomes massively popular, I tend to shy away from it and actively dislike it. It’s never an intentional decision. Rather, it’s my subconscious railing against…something. I have no idea what.
I don’t want to say that I’m a contrarian, because the same thing happens when something I enjoy becomes more well-known and is embraced by a wider audience. It’s like when a band becomes more popular and some listeners accuse them of “selling out.” Again, I don’t understand why my brain is like this, but it is something I try to work on as it doesn’t make sense to dislike something simply because so many others enjoy it.
Such is the case with Elden Ring. I took an immediate dislike to it, despite the reviews and acquaintances raving about it. So, I put it off. I didn’t say anything negative about it, at least I don’t remember this being the case, as that’s hate for the sake of hating. Instead, I ignored it the best I could.
What made this dislike even more irrational was that I’ve played and enjoyed other FromSoft titles. Bloodborne is one of my all-time favorite games and I thoroughly enjoy Armored Core. Yet, despite my best efforts, I simply could not get into Dark Souls or Dark Souls III. The ingredients are all there: dark fantasy, suits of armor, and cosmic horror. However, I just don’t like the dish they end up being.
One chief consideration is the difficulty factor. I’m not someone who plays games on harder difficulty. I don’t derive pleasure from beating my head against a wall for hours, days, or even weeks in a battle against a single boss. Nor am I fond of losing my Souls or Blood Echoes because an enemy was intentionally placed to ambush me. However, I did giggle when I realized the ploy of the old women at the bottom of the stairs in Hypogean Gaol.
So, how the hell did I get through Bloodborne? Love. Love is what carried me through Bloodborne. Well, that, the Whirligig Saw, and the “Cum” Chalice Dungeon. I was straight-up terrible at Bloodborne. Only by juicing myself up with the Blood Echo farm and running like a scared rodent to secure the Whirligig Saw was I able to finally beat it. Hmm…do I start a NG+ run of Bloodborne? No! Focus!
Now that some time has passed since the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, I’m seeing more and more humorous content being posted as players have unlocked various items and are tinkering with them. That and the incredibly fucked up lore have me all kinds of interested. I want to beat up incestuous gods with a hammer and chill out with the guy who curses people by eating their asses.
I feel left out and want to be included. It’s like going to a dance during middle school and sitting off to the side the entire time. I want to understand the overall appeal that seems to spilled out of the usual Soulsborne container and infected a much larger audience.
Yet, I suck at the gameplay and simply don’t enjoy the difficulty. Maybe the answer is modding it and playing offline until I’m more comfortable with it. That way I get to experience the world and be a terrible little gremlin. Then, maybe, just maybe, I can step into the Lands Between properly.
Being uncomfortable and stepping out of your norm is a part of growth, or at least so my therapist says. Perhaps there’s a lesson to be learned in disciplining myself through a crucible most unforgiving. Or I’m romanticizing a game that I’ll ultimately end up disliking, despite best efforts and never truly understanding the appeal.
Crap. I think I’m going to play Elden Ring.
