The Psychology of Powerlessness in Elden Ring and the Souls Genre

A video essay on how the psychological theme of powerlessness is used throughout the souls games to empower players.
Referenced Videos:
Game Theory - • Game Theory: Hard Mode...
Daryl Talks Games - • How Souls Games Save You
Thumbnail by Deirdre: www.deirdre-illustration.fr/
Most clips from the video were from channels who upload the major cinematics of these games, including:
RetroGAMEz
Boss Fighter
Gameplay clips and music were used to support the concepts discussed in the video.
Royalty free songs were used from Bensound.com
Songs from Dark Souls and Elden Ring belong to the original copyright holders.

[@Fallen-Asura]

Hey everyone, this is a reupload from my psychology focused channel. I wanted to have a channel dedicated to these types of essays so I am in the process of moving a few videos like this one to this channel. I hope to make more over the coming months, thanks for watching!

[@Soulute367]

"To embrace pain is to embody excellence"

[@zombienationz2939]

I start up the game not thinking "you Died" but rather team four star pops up got picolo screaming in my ear DODGE!!!

[@heaventohades]

ive been teaching my roommate's seven year old how to play elden ring. from being unable to kill the beastman of farum azula in his cave and exclaiming "i can't do it!" to now having beat him and a few other minor dungeon bosses, i've seen his attitude improve a lot. i told him "don't go in trying to win, because you'll have a harder time. go in trying to play a little better than your last run, and you'll get closer every time." and "see, you want to have played the game, which is different from wanting to play the game. enjoy the road up, man." by now, the "i can't do it" is much less frequent and when he wins he says "that was me." what other game can do that fr?

[@16maze]

Tree sentinel helped me overcome the giant sized enemy and dodging. I’m finally on the last boss of today and it is amazing how far I’ve come getting stomped on by the tree sentinel for 6 hrs.

[@christianbaker3564]

The minion thing you brought up is super interesting. In the Asylum in DS1 Oscar really would be the hero in most mainstream games, and you really are no one special. Its random chance that you end up on your journey at all.

[@tristanneal9552]

One thing I've never liked about the Soulsborne easy mode discussion is that advocates of an easy mode always come across as a bit - insulting? - to the people they're arguing on behalf of. The cycle of failing and improving is the point of the game; it's a bit infantilizing to say that some people are somehow less capable of improvement than others. I feel it echos a larger problem in the world today, where many people seem unable to accept hardship as a part of life and feel that it's a bad thing if they're ever made to feel uncomfortable. Soulsborne games don't have an easy mode, but neither does life. In a Soulsborne game you're going to fail again and again, and you have to learn from those failures to improve, just like life. And sometimes, a task may simply be beyond your capabilities, in which case you may need to call upon the help of a support structure, which is something the Soulsborne games allow for in their gameplay with summons. Saying that all of this is beyond the capabilities of some players is like saying they're incapable of growth or improvement, which is really damn insulting to those people's capabilities. And if they're talking about themselves, it demonstrates a really sad lack of belief in their own abilities; I believe those players are capable of more than they know.

[@duvetboa]

At its core these games are reducible to a small handful of individual skills: positioning, timing, game knowledge, and perseverance (or rather the ability to learn from your mistakes). Sure, you could do even better if you have good reflexes, but it isn't at all a necessary skill. It definitely takes a long time to get good at, but like you said I absolutely believe that literally anybody can succeed in these games if they simply have the right mindset.

[@cptquick3766]

I always questioned if by playing all the souls games from the age of 20 years old(I am now 28) and conquering them on my own, without any use of wiki or external information have actually affected my personality. I now think it really did. I grew up gritty, I understood my potential and remained firm in the face of adversity and I know that the dark souls games had something to do with it, even if by a small margin. I absolutely love what these games represent to me, alongside demon souls, sekiro and elden ring. They make you want to be a better person, a more skillful character, learn new things and utimately, survive.

[@jarlwhiterun7478]

Lololol!

[@devondutchmaster]

Awesome comment I feel the same way

[@joelledbetter2926]

Elden ring was my first souls game and the sheer satisfaction I felt on becoming elden lord the first time was like nothing else I've ever played...havnt felt that way about a game since I started playing super Mario when it came out and I was little

[@Eizengoldt]

Did you use summons tho

[@mercury3352]

@@Eizengoldt getting help when you feel hopeless is a necessary part of growth

[@mattmarrin8457]

Myself ASD late diagnosis. CPTSD from decades of abuse. Always had others speaking for me. Making my decisions for me Saying I couldn't or shouldn't. Then one day I realized it was all a big lie. Just in my head. And those saying those lies were just manipulating me. My point...Late to the party in Elden Ring. Started in Feb this year. Always wanted to play. But for 2 yeats in my mind thought it was too difficult for me to enjoy or fell. Like it was a bad thing. Or I would rage quit. I'm almost 500hrs in. Dlc ready. Probably the longest and best gaming and personal experience from Elden Ring. The game has taught me a lot about myself. My identity. Fear and to overcome. To look at things in many ways. Come at beauty and pain from different perspectives. If too much. Put down and try again come back later. To be knocked down and killed over and over to just to be made stringer and wiser. Such an enlightening exp besides being a top notch game in many aspects.

[@aTragedi]

I loved this video. Can’t wait for more!

[@ggggg9676]

Man this is so good we need more

[@SmemoryTOMOrrow]

I love the topic and your focus on video games! More please! 👍🏻

[@jfranks1295]

Very enjoyable and thought provoking. You do a great job of tying the theme of perseverance in their as well. Thank you!

[@ironbadger8985]

Good God this is such a good video! The entire Helldivers 2 community needs to see this.

[@cameron3044]

7:58 bro was spittin lowkey

[@NIDIM68]

Was an enjoying watch! The Soulslike genre is a genre i've always been fascinated with, this video was very informative and enjoyable. You've earned a sub, Can't wait for more!

[@00strode]

really well structured video. you are very well-spoken and knowledgeable on this subject. I loveeeee dark souls and i love the themes that you explained

[@LilEssTeeDee]

Dope vid 💯

[@Bo-my5bn]

Very well said my perspective on Elden Ring has changed and even life!

[@12DAMDO]

interestingly enough, i am currently writing a story about this concept, mainly inspired by my and my friends' experiences in the Souls games

[@desolated99]

need more teaching from soulborne absolutely loved this content

[@CozyCoffeeLofi]

With power comes responsibility

[@brkbtjunkie]

Subbed to get you closer to 1K

[@reaty05]

I think this has alot of truth I bought elden ring in the first month or 2 it was out after 4 months of struggling and did beat malania but I took a 6 month break than played 1 month than another break 6 months to a year just on one character and I finally beat every boss waiting on dlc now doing co op

[@SuperiorZeeko]

Just 699 subs? Didn’t feel like that

[@argirissgr4448]

Quote "Seek strength ...the rest will follow" some random npc in dark souls ...

[@RustyShackleford9000]

Tell that to my level 140 spellsword build lol

[@lumeronswift]

knock knock who's there? hoarfrost stomp

[@elsoul7204]

"Yes, indeed", Dark Souls has saved me from going hollow. At that time (damn already 15 years ago!), video games were too easy, but also shallow. They didn't bring me as much joy as before. I was just a powerless, rageful, teen. Dark Souls has taught me perseverance in gaming, patience in real life. So many years later, even if i find Miyazaki's games too easy (especially Elden Ring), the atmosphere is still enchanting. Thanks to dark Souls, i got a tiny bit gudder Instant sub. Also, you have such a smooth voice

[@Fallen-Asura]

Thanks! Awesome to hear how the souls genre impacted others positively. A few more videos like this will be dropping this week that are transferring over from my old channel and I am hoping to make more in the coming months.

[@TheToma305]

Well Done MF, subbed!

[@eluherrahaz1165]

Anyone else here who wants to pay this game now? 14:00

[@amoron2162]

it looks and sounds like shit

[@phollie801]

“It’s not who I am underneath, but what i do that defines me.”

[@DuplicitousDark]

You start out as a nobody in most RPGs. Killing rats in the basement or cellar.

[@PiethagorasTearem]

Dmc3 power fantasy? Bro dmc3 was hard as fuck

[@xPandaaaah]

It's a power fantasy still. The difficulty is done differently than the souls series

[@theskorpio1]

This games are not that hard except sekiro 😐

[@jarlwhiterun7478]

People who shoehorn Sekiro into the Souls genre make me laugh. That's like saying Resident Evil is a fighting game because it's made by the same company that made Street Fighter. It's a simple action game, nothing more.

[@lumeronswift]

Sekiro is a rhythm game