20 Shocking Secrets in Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro and Demon's Souls!

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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
00:11 A Familiar Heirloom
01:08 Mind Flaying Fingercreepers
02:11 God's Grave
03:06 Cleanrot Remains
03:43 Bedeviled by Blood
04:52 Kicked Out
05:44 Direction in the Madness
06:12 Shotgun of Yharnam
06:36 Dreaming of 60FPS
08:13 Easter Egg Hunters
09:57 Laurence in Latin
11:08 Duck Hunt
11:46 Dragonslayer
12:32 Pure Fanboy Tendencies
14:08 Prepare to Launch
15:42 The Secret of Frog Rays
16:11 Maneater Mildred Has Invaded
17:29 Magic the Gael
19:10 Like Father, Like Owl
19:57 A Shocking Discovery
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[@VaatiVidya]

Thanks to Factor75 for sponsoring today's video. Go to strms.net/VaatividyaFactorFebYT50 and use code POGVIDYAFEB50 for 50% off your first box!

[@Longnima]

There's a butcher in demon soul's too, the meat cleaver black phantom and it's in a swamp a lot like Mildred.

[@sirephlyrrian6242]

Daadi is getting buff?

[@notimportant768]

Id like to know more about these magic the gathering connections to darksouls

[@awkwardllama0509]

speaking of MTG cards that you may like, theres a Red White elephant historian that you may like. their playstyle involves calling upon spirits of heroes and ancient enchantments to fight with

[@liamrobertson9508]

Technically you can also kill birds in Bloodborne as well

[@Ziostorm]

4:19 Had no idea but apparently a lot of enemies use talisman effects throughout the game such as the cleanrot knights, millicent’s sisters, and others

[@stephenantonsson334]

Actually the cleanrots use rot kindred exultation, same effect but it activates when someone is poisoned nearby

[@six2795]

@@stephenantonsson334 I swear they just have the winged sword insignia effect, never noticed a damage buff effect after getting rotted by their grab attack

[@khamul.9]

The cleanrot knights use the sword insignia, the kindred of rot use the exultation.

[@bolson42]

Those damage buffs make them feel more like, realistic and less like npcs imo, and it connects them more to the lore. It makes sense that they can get buffed from those things and it makes even more sense to know that you can also use that power for yourself.

[@HDdeiu]

Probably this is expected and known but Mohg gets the same buff as the knight in the video when blood loss is triggered.

[@YuviApp]

Thank you Vaati for the shoutout about The Archstones. Ive shared my expereinces about Demon's souls many times, but the game truly meant alot to me back then, and so stepping on board to help revive the game was a no brainer for me. As well I appricate all you do for the souls community too. All your lore videos are a true blessing for me :D

[@Erowid13]

you rule.

[@EpsilonXenos]

Umbasa. From one Slayer of Demons to another, thank you.

[@christianlowman2698]

Thank you for all you've done for my favorite game👍👍

[@wielku]

Switching world tendencies is so amazing, thank you I was able to get second DeS PS3 platinum pretty quickly

[@AmerZAC]

Praise the sun! And also praise you, bro.

[@carlsczepanski]

I swear that FS utilizes real historians and anthropological researchers when making their games. The amount of detail and background in something as simple as a talisman is astounding and a real testament to the amount of time and dedication this team has towards their games.

[@ventuspvp]

Na just history nerds I bet, those details are pretty inspired but it might just be details of things they liked from history or news stories of the time.

[@luctan881]

ok

[@Shayanzass]

They probably have one guy who just goes on Google looking for cool shit lol.

[@CoolAndrew89]

@@ventuspvp yeaaa, like all the armors that had really tall helmets, iirc those kinds of armors were mostly meant for jousting competitions, with the biggest example being Lapp's armor from the Ringed City

[@soundaholixx]

Thesa games are ripe with flaws, but for sure saying that FromSoft is lazy is crazazay

[@Eegor0920]

For MtG inspirations, the whole Innistrad set and setting is basically Bloodborne, down to the predominant style of long-coats and conical hats, the theme of hunts, beasts and blood and even an underlying eldritch secret related to the moon

[@david3de]

The Shadows Over Innistrad block and The Old Hunters DLC both draw inspiration from HP Lovecraft’s Shadows Over Innsmouth and pay homage to several of his other novels :) I loved seeing eldritch horror make its way into mainstream media a few years back, gotta be my favorite horror subgenre

[@golDroger88]

You're right about original Innistrad but Eldritch Moon came out after Bloodborne...

[@david3de]

@@golDroger88 lemme fix my grammar, meant both games were inspired by Lovecraft lol

[@Lix0r]

@@david3de Also, both Bloodborne and Innistrad draw from the film Brotherhood of the Wolf.

[@BarefootBry]

Favorite MTG Plane, favorite MTG sets, and favorite FromSoft game. Yup, this tracks.

[@manedvidales7259]

I always thought Mildred was a callback from the Red Phantom that appeared in the swamp stage of Demon’s Souls (5-2) using the Meat Cleaver

[@ryancarter9270]

I came here to say this. Maybe a synthesis of two things. The 5-2 woman appears in a swamp and uses the Meat Cleaver so I definitely think it's a call back. Maybe the play tester was doing a callback when they invaded.

[@russellhattal3328]

This is exactly what I came to see in the comment section. I feel validated now. Thank you.

[@aurllcooljay]

Maybe acallback, but two different characters. The butcher knife seems inspired by the meat cleaver, especially since later games bring back its healing ability.

[@hollandscottthomas]

I was thinking of Executioner Miralda, but yours seems more likely.

[@ryancarter9270]

@@hollandscottthomas Miralda is more like the Tarnish Hunter

[@Coffeenesss]

Thanks for the shoutout to ONGBAL! He’s a master at perfect, cinematic fights with all fromsoft bosses and is a pleasure to watch. His latest no HUD fights against Elden Ring bosses show that he is a master at these games, using every single weapon, sorcery and incantation you can think of. He deserves more subs.

[@eetfuk3571]

@@bbbbbbb51 my favourite so far is his Elden Isshin fight. that was a very relentless fight I've seen so far. my favourite video of him aside from bullying the Crucible Knight Duo and Malenia with a lvl 1 wretch, is his no death run of Sekiro while he's debuffing himself like base vitality/posture, charmless and with a bell demon on too. he's a God!

[@thithi8793]

ok

[@AutistiCat2406]

​@@eetfuk3571 elden isshin I didn't like because I feel the mod doesn't really preserve sekiro too well but damn he impresses with the ridiculous mod fights

[@vantruongthi9105]

ok

[@kevinoneil5120]

Vaati, if you haven't covered it already, I'd love to hear you talk about how Miyazaki's experience reading the LotR books while learning English influenced his fragmented storytelling approach. One of the coolest things I've ever learned.

[@vitas5333]

This and the story of the multiplayer aspect. Apparently Miyazaki was traveling in a snow storm and everyone was stuck on the hill. Strangers got out of cars and everyone helped push each other over the hill. The idea of these people you never interact with helping you and you can never thank them is very touching.

[@kevinoneil5120]

@@vitas5333 That's awesome!

[@devonfornal3050]

@@vitas5333 I like Seeths interpretation better

[@danhtranquoc3745]

ok

[@TheAngryPothead]

That part of the Soulsborne games is a huge draw for me and it took me a bit to figure out why. I got into dungeon crawlers and RPG games at a very young age, like 4-5. I had the same kind of experience then, I didn't really understand what was happening or what did what but I was determined to see what was over the next horizon or what that dungeon on the other side of those mountains contained. RPG games like Dragon Quest actually helped teach me how to read as a kid.

[@walkerred8220]

FromSoftware went from an unknown to niche, niche to acknowledged, acknowledged to respected, respect to beloved and now they sit at the top of the world of gaming. It's been amazing to watch. All the love

[@TheSeth256]

Especially crazy knowing the story of how difficult getting the original Demon Souls was for them to get approved by Sony. I used to read gaming articles back when press was still good and this story caught my attention back then. I am so happy to see Fromsoft achieve their current level of accomplishment!

[@SaltySeaCaptain]

They really earned it too. The talent at FS is unbelievable. The first time I played DS3 I was completely blown away. And when elden ring first came out I was completely obsessed.

[@Lofirainbows]

It's been surreal witnessing, no experiencing their growing success. I've been playing since the actual Demon's Souls on PS3,

[@_Tzer]

old from's games are prolly still a niche not many people talk about king's field their older games prolly have some hidden secrets too.

[@enfrax]

i consider ongbal an artist at this point. what he is doing in these games is just the peak. there is no one better than him.

[@TimeBucks]

Love this video

[@lavanyaandol284]

👍

[@_Adeeba50]

Nice

[@sona1131]

Nice

[@ayushirajput532]

Nice 👍

[@sanjaychanda1360]

Hai

[@silvervirage2491]

A MTG connection is a card called 'Lantern of Insight'. The art is a lantern that is covered in/made of eyes (like what the Church Servants use at high Insight), and the effect is 'Each player plays with the top card of their library revealed.' In lore, the library is the planeswalkers (the players) knowledge and memories, and having extra eyes to see inside your mind seems very Bloodborne. The fact that is is called Insight as well leans into that.

[@Poptartsicles]

For #17, there's a butcher invader in Demon's Souls too! Meat Cleaver Black Phantom of world 5-2! A lady with a large meat cleaver who invades in the toxic swamp! That's the OG female butcher! I'm surprised you didn't mention her!

[@windflier1684]

Well it will go against the claim the butcher lady came from an playtester invaded dev in the development of DS1

[@ChrisS-sn2mt]

I always though of that black phantom as the man-eater of Demon Souls, was pretty sure there was a connection there.

[@CGAA07017]

I loved Elden Ring with my soul, but Bloodborne still gives me the chills. What an outstanding experience

[@MTart96]

Still my favorite From game by a mile. A game so great that it’s technical issues or any other problems are just completely ignored.

[@CGAA07017]

@@MTart96 exactly ❤️

[@House_of_Green]

I gotta quit playing and play bloodborne

[@vaisn]

@@House_of_Green bruh play it immediately

[@LordSleven]

@@House_of_Green same here!

[@AlbinoTiefling]

I can't quite explain it with reason, but watching your videos always gives me that warm, ephemeral sense of nostalgia that can't quite be replicated. Thank you for being you, for some of us (myself included) it's things like your content that help us keep at it. Excuse me while I go make myself a cup of tea and go re-binge the 'Discovering Drangleic' series)

[@gagegrogan4352]

Yes indeed, I always get that warm feeling watching Vaati’s content. I stop everything I’m doing, sit down and just relax and enjoy every second of his videos. Thank you Vaati for helping all of us keep going. ❤

[@nowheresthethangskip]

It's his voice

[@dookcurruff9047]

its not overboard with the editing, i seen too many lore videos with editing that would give a blind person a seizure. This guy just makes an interesting video because he knows he doesnt need to appeal to the terrible meta.

[@rushpatriot2866]

@@dookcurruff9047 idk man some of his videos are way over edited. So far to the point that they look like movies. I don't have the issue with it but guys like smoughtown tend to be the ones I resonate with

[@colossaltitan3546]

​@@rushpatriot2866 ​smoughtown is really good, only issue is he needs to chill with the ads on his videos, Idk if he's the one controlling them or if it's KZbin's decision, but dude has an ad like every 5 minutes in his videos which are now at least an hour long on average

[@jeeBisOkay]

One of the cards you showed at 17:49, Terminal Agony, actually looks like it could have directly inspired the flame of frenzy!

[@thomaspereira1545]

The melting eyes! yeah I can see that!

[@CazadorSlayer]

Reading the description it's effect is even called Madness and it's flavor text sounds like it, too.

[@Accidents41]

Love the vids Vaati! Not sure if anyone has noted this but I noticed the other day in Bloodborne the hunter's tool A Call Beyond shows what clearly looks like Astel from Elden Ring. The item talks about The Choir attempting to communicate with the outer cosmos and failing. Instead creating a small exploding star. Thought it was a really nice addition and made me smile after going back to Bloodborne after completing Elden Ring.

[@JC.Denton..]

Nice catch

[@unclaimedusername6608]

The mindflayers, and that stun+Grab combo, also appear in bloodborne.

[@SolaScientia]

Those brainsuckers made me despise the Upper Cathedral Ward. I'm up to the Research Hall in the DLC, but the Upper Cathedral Ward is still my least favorite area of the whole game. I'm glad it's such a small area, because it sucks. I didn't realize until I was mostly done with the area that the brainsuckers are weak to bolt. I switched to the tonitrus and it made things so much easier for me. I still lost all my insight to those things and the Doll went inanimate until I got insight from finding and killing the Celestial Emissary.

[@SolaScientia]

@@bbbbbbb51 Then don't comment on comments about it. Continue to pretend it's not there by not engaging with content that concerns the game.

[@alfalldoot6715]

​@@SolaScientia You can still level up at the inanimate doll you know

[@SolaScientia]

@@alfalldoot6715 Really? I know you can't starting out, but that changes if you lose/use all your insight and she goes back to being inanimate? Not that I had the blood echoes to level up when I saw she was inactive anyway. I didn't have enough till after the Celestial Emissary anyway even after clearing the area.

[@HishamA.N_Comicbroe]

It's truly mind-boggling to me the amount of things that are hidden away in these games. It truly fleshes out the world & makes it feel lived in.

[@EtherealNature]

18:50 I have a theory that the world design of Dark Souls 1 was inspired by the color wheel in Magic the Gathering. If you aren't familiar, MtG has 5 colors: white, black, blue, green, and red. Each color has a specific theme and most cards are a single color. But some cards can have two or more colors, too. If you analyze the elements of each area of DS1, they tend to overlap with the themes of the color wheel. The catacombs seems the most striking, being clearly black (for necromancy and undeath), but also white due to the religious iconography and cleric items/miracles. This sort of pattern occurs a lot in the other games as well, inspiring the Sword of Night and Flame. This could be a reference to A Song of Fire and Ice by GRRM (who worked on the game's lore) and because moonlight, a symbol of nighttime, has now acquired frost status. But it could also be a reference to the cycle of cards in MtG known as the "Sword of..." This cycle (a set of cards linked thematically) feature two colors and have appropriate effects. For example, the Sword of Fire and Ice lets you deal 2 damage to any target (a red effect) and draw a card (mostly a blue effect). Thus, the sword of night and flame could be an homage to this cycle of MtG cards.

[@vitas5333]

Beautiful take I love this

[@papaalex4961]

It's actually more or less confirmed that Elden Ring is indeed inspired by the MtG color wheel. One simple example is how the Golden Order is an amalgam of the different "colors" of the world and is, thus, gold (like the gold-bordered multicolor cards). Wouldn't surprise me if the rest of the FROM games draw the same inspiration. Oh, and give Hawkshaw's video on Elden Ring Color Theory a watch. He describes it all in detail and it's extremely easy to draw parallels to MtG (I think he even mentions it directly).

[@EtherealNature]

@@papaalex4961 heck yeah! I'll have to check that out

[@_knightskye_]

A little fun detail I noticed while playing in a group is that the text for someone finishing the game changes, my guess is depending on what ending the person got. I says that someone became "Elden Lord" if they got any of the four Elden Lord endings. Or just "Lord" if they got either the "Age of the Stars" ending or the "Lord of Frenzied Flame" ending. Please upvote so Vaati might add this in a future video.

[@The_Custos]

Dung eater ending?

[@_knightskye_]

That is a part of the "Elden Lord" endings

[@DonutHolestien]

So grateful for this community we have all built. So many different people's seeking so many different bits of knowledge, and they are nice enough to curate that knowledge for us! Thank you to all the diggers and modders, without you we would be in an age of dark

[@boardiesboi]

Thanks for the shoutout to ONGBAL! He’s a master at perfect, cinematic fights with all fromsoft bosses and is a pleasure to watch. His latest no HUD fights against Elden Ring bosses show that he is a master at these games, using every single weapon, sorcery and incantation you can think of. He deserves more subs. ❤

[@golDroger88]

Magic cards I know of: - Scourge of Geier Reach and The Watchdog of the Old Lords - Brothers of Fire and the two blacksmiths brothers in Demon's Souls - Mikaeus the Lunark might have been the inspiration for the Deacons of the Deep - Kuro's Taken for the premise of Sekiro - the entirety of the Innistrad block has influenced Bloodborne, check out cards like Silent Departure, Laboratory Maniac or Forbidden Alchemy - Reflecting Pool was on Miyazaki's desk in a documentary

[@annythekettle7031]

16:02 I have never ever seen these enemies before! I guess you learn something new even after years of playing the game

[@danoGracia]

Waiting for this man to end his breakfast and proceed to create a 2 hour long video analyzing one picture

[@ethanrobbins9401]

In a similar vein to the MTG inspirations, I remember reading through berserk very recently to find a panel containing a man wearing clothes that look nearly identical to the Hunter’s Garb in Bloodborne, especially the hat. In chapter 250, He reveals that his name is Irvine, and he describes himself as a hunter, and as a man who is trying to prevent himself from becoming a beast, like those around him. While I knew that Miyazaki had taken lots of inspiration from berserk for Dark Souls and Elden Ring, finding that character and making that connection felt special.

[@sliversplayingslivers9856]

For MTG references I can see a link between Miquella's Needle and the card Pithing Needle, in short Pithing Needle let's you disable the abilities of another card and Miquella's Needle let's you disable the power that the Flame of Frenzy has over your character

[@pseudo148]

That is so tru with the pithing needle, it fits so well 🤯🤯🤯// I just found one today, the artefact ‘bone saw’ looks exactly like the reduvia dagger

[@lolyou1220]

Love this video, got really excited when u mentioned Ongbal. The man is a Souls god. His recent Elden Ring videos are so mesmerizing to watch.

[@matiastarantino5851]

Also the binding spell animation is the same one that the Witches of hemwick use in Bloodborne :D.

[@chester1882]

Hey Vaati - on the topic of magic cards: Cragganwick Cremator’s art could have been inspiration for the Fire Giant and his bowl

[@cletokings4302]

Charred Thermos has the best theories about bloodborne lore I have ever heard. He finds real life stories from the Victorian era that may have inspired the game. I don’t want to spoil any of his videos because if you like bloodborne, they’ll probably be the best content since the first Vati lore explanation.

[@goozbaghali]

Yeah if anyone is reading this check out his series. You are in for a treat. It is a complete fresh take on Bloodborne inspirations

[@grantopo]

Completely agree you eat through the entire series in a blink and it helps fleshing out a lot of lore

[@krishnansubramoni7801]

An Onbal shoutout! Nice! I love his fights, not because they are simply efficient, but because they are beautifully choreographed and use all the tools available to the player, while ALSO being perfectly executed ❤

[@rainbowkrampus]

One of my current theories is that Radagon is partially inspired by William the Conqueror as well as his father, Peter d'Aragon. My guess is that Weeping Peninsula is where Radagon is from and Castle Morne was the seat of his family's power. Which would mean that the grave guarded by the Leonine Misbegotten is most likely Radagon's father or possibly Radagon's own grave. A sort of monument to whoever he was before he became fused with Marika.

[@okage6219]

Radagon is marika

[@rainbowkrampus]

@@okage6219 True. But was Radagon always Marika? That's something we can't say definitively

[@alfalldoot6715]

​@Rainbow Krampus He was definitely always Marika, he appeared out of nowhere one day with no one knowing his origins and he had a shard of the elden ring that he gave to Rennala before he left her.

[@alfalldoot6715]

Godfrey most likely owned castle Morne, the sword monument mentions someone trying to get revenge on him for destroying their tribe (probably when Godfrey was still Horah Loux). That revenger was the guy who originally owned the grafted blade.

[@devoidofvoltz2562]

The part of the Blood Knight having the effect of a talisman is really interesting. Ive wondered if any of the npc's in the game have talismans equipped like in previous dark souls games.

[@dynamicflashy]

Cleanrot Knights have the Winged sword insignia, and Kindred of Rot have the kindred of rot exultation

[@NickC_222]

Man, I just love the style of art in your "10 secrets" thumbnails, like this video's thumbnail. It's like FromSoft art interpreted in a modernized version of oldschool Final Fantasy sprites or something. Such a great fusion of great art styles.

[@akicauchemar7286]

Shadow of Yharnam just calmly storing the sword and pulling out a shotgun is incredible, it's lik,e he is done fucking around and just has decided to shoot you lmao

[@colorgreen8728]

Man eater Mildred being in all the games is so cool to me. Demon’s souls in a way as well

[@Zayl1016]

For the sword sticking into the undead in the Dark Souls 3 part, IIRC in an early magazine I read, Fromsoft said you would have to make your own bonfires to rest at. I wonder if that's what it was related to.

[@KomradeKrusher]

Makes sense. I also remember that I read or heard about that somewhere. It would also serve to explain the abundance of bonfires in the final game. Maybe they just turned every possible placement area into an actual bonfire when they abandoned the mechanic.

[@MrPronGogh93]

Yep, I heard about this as well, but in the end they left the mechanic only for the central hub bonfire

[@MrPronGogh93]

@@KomradeKrusher probably, every post bosses bonfire have no sense in ds3

[@plaguedoc9797]

I thought the same, but it also reminded me of when you get Anri dark signs for the hollow ending

[@MdMasum-co9fs]

I love the magic connection to dark souls. One of my favorite early arts (and artists) was Richard Kane Furgeson’s “Dakkon Blackblade”. And I see that same style in so much of what drew me to dark souls as a game.

[@ymirRon]

ONGBAL and all other creators getting a well deserved shoutout/praise for their work in the fromsoft games. Thank you Vaati for all your work/dedication for this community !!

[@knoblauchscharfkeinmaiskei4834]

The man himself blessed us with a new video. Thanks for giving us some content to make waiting for the dlc easier.🗿👍

[@drgnnfrn]

Man I’m loving these consistent Vaati vids !

[@TheEvilHumanist]

16:12 Why did he leave out the Meat Cleaver Black Phantom and Executioner Miralda. 🤧 This concept has its roots in Demon's Souls.

[@danny18894]

Everytime a Secrets video appears I'm ready to just let my ears soothe in Vaati's voice

[@HeyTarnished]

Man I’ve been obsessed with Elden Ring, I can’t believe how From Software tops themselves with every game they make.

[@zeroattentiongaming820]

Well Elden Ring is somewhat of a special case, as they already tried and failed to make something of that scope and scale with DS2 before realizing it wasn't feasible with the hardware of the time. They had the big open world idea on the backburner for a long time so I'm very curious to see how they plan to top ER

[@Consumstra]

The research given for the games is always so fascinating and I wanna know more!

[@HardCodedGaming]

Shadows of Yharnam pulling out a shotgun might be the funniest thing I've seen in a while. Someday, a From boss needs to have a second phase that's just "and now he has a gun"

[@schnozgaming989]

This is literally Isshin

[@Fraustyy]

ONGBAL is one of the Sekiro GOATs, was awesome to see you shout him out!

[@gozzito]

Been playing Magic for like 15 years and never saw any references. I will pay more attention to everything when I play to see something that could come across. Thank you for the awesome content, incredible that today you can still find secrets in these games.

[@jonathangrover3176]

Regarding the grave in Castle Morne, I do remember that Eygon from DS3 was associated with a character named Morne, iirc an archbishop’s apostle, and had a shield called the “Moaning Shield,” right? The site of grace for the boss area in the castle is called the Morne Moangrave. Not sure what this means, but perhaps they repurposed something of the ideas from that whose lore nugget. For reused assets, something I don’t see anyone talking about is the statue of Pontiff Sulvyvahn behind Miriel. Once again, no idea if it’s significant at all, but it is an odd inclusion

[@scp05-redacted42]

Was not expecting the "Shutgun of Yarhnem" But I couldn't help but smile. Love these little gold nuggets of the process

[@luisyanez6261]

Zullie already pointed it out, but the Scarlet Aeonia is inspired by the OG artwork of Sunpetal Grove

[@thegreatmike6132]

Another magic card is Lantern of Insight, if you have enough insite the lanterns the church servant enemy carries look almost identical

[@grilledeel6042]

In regards to the shock animation on the Sakura bull, it could be because you can use puppeteer ninjutsu on the Okami warriors, who in turn are capable of using lightning attacks as well.

[@tobymcgroby8967]

13:45 I love this so much.. I adore Demon's Souls, even the laggy lava area outside the mining tunnels. The character creation music still gives me butterflies when I hear it used elsewhere. That game is special to me, it was the reason I bought a PS3 in 2010. Seeing the red eyed Knights in Boletaria, feeling genuine fear, losing a fortune of souls for being too greedy, all of it. So I appreciate what he did for us all👍👍 I hope we can help him if he needs us someday

[@mossball3129]

Vaatividya’s voice is so comforting. I love watching his videos

[@TWilko234]

Really cool to see you mention the MTG inspirations. As a mega fan of both games I would love a video all about that stuff if you'd be up for it There's a land in MTG called Sunpetal Grove, it has a couple of arts but the art used in core sets from 2010-2013 I feel heavily inspired Malenia's Scarlet Aeonia attack in Elden Ring

[@legendaryfist186]

I can't explain it with a rationale, but watching your videos always gives me that warm, fleeting feeling of nostalgia that can't quite be replicated.

[@addabledragon515]

3:00 I believe that the graves are to commemorate the fallen tribe that is mentioned in the grafted blade item description.

[@AntoniusTertius]

Bloodborne uses Latin to enhance the gothic experience of the game, but the producers focused on musicality at the expense of grammar rules. I confirmed Latin lyrics in other songs, some lyrics are more disjointed than others. I will keep investigating them. The composer Ryan Amon explained to me how Sony created the lyrics, it is good content for those interested. Thank you, Vaati, for another shoutout and amazing Souls video \[T]/

[@Unch0sen1]

Pithing Needle is a somewhat (in)famous MTG card. The unalloyed needles used throughout Elden Ring seem to reflect pithing needles. In the past those needles were used on animals before experiments by inserting the needle between the base of the neck and skull severing their connection with their brain. Rendering their bodies inert and preparing them for surgery or examination. Now we see in certain characters that the influence of the outer gods is evident visibly. Quelaag has a video that talks about and displays the Kindred Rot insects have a small spike on their neck when they're "devoted" to the Rot. This is the exact spot where the needle would be used. With that in mind, perhaps Gowry used the needle to prepare Millicent for a lord as well? When we use Miquella’s needle we get a somewhat generic animation but it’s clear that we use the needle to sever our connection with the frenzied flame and that the change is permanent. So a spiritual pithing at the very least. I think Miquella's association with these needles also implies that Miquella might have known the side effects of using the needles (i.e. permanently being cut off from the Gods).

[@rosshollywood7398]

I recently played through most of elden ring through the 1.00 version (a fair nightmare btw) and the cleanrot knight does appear after the radhan fight but he doesn't seem to stay permanently (being he hasn't respawned after death) and seems to only appear sometime after the cutscene and seems to be looking for the war dead catacombs for his fellow cleanrot

[@claireblake6289]

For the MTG portion of the video: I don't know if it was mentioned on this channel or a different souls KZbinr, but multiple arts of the card "tormenting voice" I know has been compared to different animations related to frenzied flame spells. I'm sure there is more but as a lover of both souls games and mtg that section made me so happy !

[@Gakusangi]

Willing to bet that Shadow of Yarnham pulling out a gun has something to do with them being somewhat based on that sniper enemy who pulls out a sword when you get close to them. Thank gawd for people like Yuvi who work hard to preserve video games when they're long abandoned by their publishers. Don't forget that Mildred was likely inspired by the mad phantom in the second stage of the Valley of Defilement, the one that wields the Adjudicator's Cleaver weapon.

[@Rubbish_]

Yesterday I was reading through Soul Arts and was in awe of the entires for the 6th archstone. It’s fascinating how fan recreations of it have a striking similarity to Elden Ring’s mountaintops, showing that they never really leave an idea dead.

[@andrewmcclean823]

Innistrad was a magic the gathering set that took place in a world with a strong gothic horror vibe that likely inspired Bloodborne. In turn when Magic The Gathering returned to that world in the set "Shadows over Innistrad" cosmic horror elements were added as a nod to Bloodborne.

[@Amascut]

I wish this was true, but Magic sets tend to be developed too far in advance of release for this to have been the case.

[@fujubop3966]

The kick was also probably removed in Bloodborne due to the addition of transformation attacks, switching weapon form mid combo makes the attack especially effective against enemies that are blocking

[@mamboonthetube7652]

It’s not just Laurence’s music. In his video for Ludwig’s OST MarcoMeatball also pulled up the Latin lyrics for that one too

[@usamimi-no-majo]

I've only tried MTG a few times, but I remember being able to equip machetes onto my hawks. So imagine my surprise when I saw the Warhawks in the Elden Ring network test.

[@toastghost9145]

Birds wielding swords, multiple swords, even, was actually central to one of the most dominant competitive decks in Magic history. There was a hawk that when you played it, you got to grab its buddies, too, so you'd have backup birds. Then there were a set of powerful swords that protected and empowered the birds, and those swords could be found with another card, if you didn't draw them on their own. The decks using blue and white mana even matches the storm theme, because those are the colors most associated with wind and sky.

[@usamimi-no-majo]

@@toastghost9145 Incredible, I love it :D

[@Knimbleyx]

The shotgun. 😭😭

[@Elerra303]

Literally said parry this

[@keonhenderson9624]

6:23 Shadow of Yharnam really said "You know what now I'm mad, get out my swamp!" 🤣🤣🤣

[@swordrush]

Laurence and Ludwig's OSTs received official translation. Ludwig's was quite interesting too. While those may be the only songs from Bloodborne with real words, I'm hoping to hear that Lady Maria has lyrics too.

[@archmeridian8334]

Can't get enough of your videos man, been a huge fan for years and I always jump out of my seat when I get a notification of a new video to dive into. You're a true scholar, and your dedication is appreciated. I attribute Elden's Rings' success partly to your videos.

[@thekbot1155]

I hope Fromsoft keeps making games with different names so Vaati’s video titles just get progressively longer and longer

[@cloudbloom]

Shoutout to the Archstones it's been around for years so it's nice to see you finally talk about it

[@LeftSinkHandle]

I would love to be friends with Vaati. But I would also be wary of his habit of exposing deep, dark secrets 😅

[@jamesharrison658]

counter point; getting gossip from vaati would be amazing his dulcet voice explaining how Paul and Barry fell out over trying to get stuck into Melissa who works at the nightclub

[@mightyarbokking7197]

The Demon’s Souls community keeping the online of the game thriving is the type of thing that restores my faith in the gaming community

[@samuelsterchak3848]

So excited for this series the sekrio secrets and bloodborne secrets were amazing keep up the good work my guy!❤️

[@bobdobbz9334]

My son and I watch Vaati together. Elden Ring is his first Souls game (he's hooked), and these videos are just quality ER content. Keep up the good work!

[@zebporser8159]

Always crazy how people find new stuff after all these years

[@B1GCRAB]

As soon as you showed the Painter's Servant card I made a different connection to the Painted World: The Peculiar Doll. Looking at the item sprite now, it definitely isn't identical but the inclusion of a doll in unlocking the Painted World could be another riff on the same card. I always thought it was kind of a weird item for that mechanic ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@BMi-lf1gk]

On the same topic, we could also mention "blood artist" as an inspiration from MTG

[@marcuslewis9701]

MTG References I've noticed: SunPetal Grove = Malenia's Flower, Sol Ring (original) = Dark Sign/Cinder Flame, Rise of Eldrazi & Innistrad sets align with BloodBorne's release schedule and share many tropes.

[@Shellslime]

It's always so nice to see Sekiro content, I'm always starved for more videos about that game!

[@rengg1441]

yea, seems like it's the least favorite game for fromsoft fans

[@matttheaxolotl5224]

Souls games and Elden Ring take quite a bit of inspiration from the nightmare artist - Zdzisław Beksiński. A lot of his paintings are eerily similar to Caelid and Bloodborne settings. Notable drawings: "the tree of Eden" which is a large tree with the scarlet moon in the background, another with a redheaded woman who looks like she's rotting alive, one with a skeleton in robes on high throne, another with hooded figure over a cradle, and many of burning, hellish towns.

[@JC.Denton..]

His Art looks really cool , reminds me of the game Scorn aswell

[@a-stranded-rusalka7534]

​@@JC.Denton.. funnily, Scorn also takes a lot of inspiration from his works

[@LeBeren]

I remember when my friend told me me about Bloodborne after my Dark Souls obsession. Bloodborne became a blueprint for me for what a game should be. It truly holds a special place in my heart.

[@McBehrer]

I've been avoiding your videos since Elden Ring came out, since I wanted to be able to appreciate it blind, and now that I'm finally getting through the game, I feel like I can go back and catch up on the videos I missed

[@madspet9106]

The cut shotgun moveset for the Shadows of Yharnam is hilarious to think about. "Well the horrific snake monsters from beyond the veil of time and space don't seem to be cutting it, let's give my ol' double-barrell a try"

[@HoboScalper]

Nice, keep em coming vaati!

[@crowstakingoff]

The god-grave headstones are probably used in reference to Godwyn, since they are found in the area of Altus right above the corpse in Deeproot Depths (in the section with the Godwyn-crabs, Godwyn's minor erdtree, etc.) Also, it would be fitting for a character with the word 'god' in his name.

[@DrBusiness9]

Man what a great and nostalgic video! The professional quality and little section jokes on the scroll bar are always appreciated, I always look forward to these!

[@jamesgarland410]

Those big tombstones are everywhere in Altus Plateau.

[@trenthackenberry574]

If nothing else, I assumed Miyazaki was heavily inspired by the Innistrad setting, once I heard about the MtG connection. It's completely Gothic horror themed.. and would eventually include "Lovecraftian" elements, much like Bloodborne.. there is an MtG artbook dedicated to that specific setting, might be able to still grab it off Amazon or somewhere...

[@DJFluff3]

Is it weird that I love watching your videos because of your voice. It’s so calming and makes story telling so much more interesting.

[@Rocky-oq9cy]

1:20 The Cemetery Shade actually has nearly the same spell as the Mind Flayers. The enemy also looks extremely similar to a Mind Flayer, having the tendrils emanating from it's head. The spell it uses fires off an extremely fast and nearly undodgeable bind attack that uses the same stuck animation as the one in Demon's Souls. Even more, the grab attack that always comes after, has them grab the player with the tendrils on it's head. Unfortunately for players, the Cemetery Shade's projectile has NOT been slowed down. The only real difference is the fact that it is green instead of purple for the hands, and cyan/green for the Mind Flayers

[@frankiefromky]

Magic: the Gathering has Runeclaw Bear (common from the 2010 core set) wich is almost a 1:1 for the Rune Bears of Elden Ring. Also, the Magic set "Innistrad" seems to be a heavy influence for the entirety of Bloodborne... also, the debut years kind of line up too; Innistrad debuted in 2011 while Bloodborne's development started shortly after in 2012.

[@bugwrld8891]

The return to innistrad was in turn inspired by Bloodborne featuring a mystery which concludes in full eldritch horror!

[@makesquash]

As soon as I saw the bear in Elden Ring I was "oh dang its Runeclaw Bear!"

[@Runescythe9852]

One card from MTG reminded me of a boss. Our own Star Scourge Radahn seems to be inspired by Kardur Doom Scourge, a card that looks heavily like the moment the general pulls his blades from the ground before fighting Malenia in the opening cinematics

[@positivecontacts]

There is a striking resemblance but the closeness of release from each other makes it less likely. Then, the similarity of the name actually weighs in favour of.. good spot.

[@AstonishingRed]

Years later and the community is still finding new things. These games are the best!

[@LLTehSaltShakerBlOD]

2 Vaati vids WITHIN 2WEEKS???? WEVE BEEN BLESSED

[@FreedomAndPeaceOnly]

I would like the Soulslore-God's opinion on how the "Black Flame" and the "Destined Death" flame are actually different? 😎 Since they do exactly the same but the weapon-art or incantation versions we get, just do more dmg than the blackflame versions in general? _" Cause its more evil & destructive if reds burns within it too, he he heeeeh. "_ 😏😈