Elden Ring and the Art of Knowing Less

[@InfiniteHench]

“If your ideology is perfect and inevitable, why do you have to force it into existence?” Hot damn good question.

[@xenasBS]

Fascism undone in 16 words

[@TheAncientMysteriesBeckon]

Because the struggle is half the fable. And fables are not simply fables, but divine in nature. The Monomyth dictates struggle. The question is, why… and besides, true perfection could very well be nothingness (lack of action completely) or a world beyond our comprehension - in any case, action must be made either in regression or progression to reach such a state. Change and action are necessity… I feel this can be continued, this topic, into entropy and order and paradoxical things… this comment is more for mine own mental catalogue, if a thing at all..

[@milkman9560]

@@TheAncientMysteriesBeckonlove is love. Any religion ever doesn’t think this

[@TheAncientMysteriesBeckon]

@@milkman9560 any religion, that you know of at least.

[@milkman9560]

@@TheAncientMysteriesBeckon including you too. Since u didn’t mention shit

[@acuddlyheadcrab]

"A grafted tree doesn't know it's been mangled. It's just trying to survive" holy shit dude. That is a great line.

[@nutherefurlong]

Best siren in any game. Not some magical effect but it has you, the player, seeking out the voice, possibly to your ruin. One of my favorite moments in any Souls game

[@dogemaester]

That's the moment i realised the effectiveness of singing siren techniques of traps.

[@thisisfyne]

The most bonkers thing I've ever read about Elden Ring is that logically, Godrick the Grafted is only able make the whirlwind attacks because one of his legs is grafted from Commander Niall (the veteran in Castle Sol), who has such an attack and wears a prosthesis where his right leg should be. This shows incredible consistency and attention to detail from FromSoft, and what they do works SO WELL because of the unmatched coherence of their worldbuilding. Even if things are mysterious or don't seem to make sense, it never feels like bs, and we're compelled to venture further, because we know that even if WE don't know, they do. It makes sense to someone, somewhere, even if not to us at the moment. What happened between Godrick and Niall? We'll never know. But there's an implied story there. In Elden Ring, there are implied stories everywhere.

[@gjram8807]

Holy Mother of God!! I never knew this detail!!

[@manjackson2772]

The bestiary/lore codex secretly being your inventory is one of From's great innovations.

[@WAR3600]

As someone who is kinda tired of all the lore videos of souls games on the internet, I found this more reflective video so refreshing, trying to conveying the themes and the feelings of the game and not trying to piece together the story in a objective form is what the Souls series discussion needs more.

[@themorbidzoo]

Thank you! Glad you think I'm contributing :)

[@reubee03]

I think what i like most about how people research and study stuff like the lore of elden ring is that its like uncovering a isolated and completely alien architecture dig site. Just kinda weirds you out but intrigues you more.

[@dayegilharno4988]

@@themorbidzoo :) "Contributing" would be quite an understatement... You opened my eyes!

[@galamotshaku]

100% Feels & Themes over Lore any day

[@kris_wk]

Couldn’t agree more

[@lmno2009]

One of the things that gets me about From games is that, so often, the creatures you fight, especially the bosses, aren't in their prime. They're reduced and broken and a lot of the time it's more like putting down a mad dog than the mighty warrior the game tells you about. I find it really reinforces their giant decaying worlds, and does more than most things to impress the mythological trope of every generation being less than the one before it. The old things of legend are bigger than you, far more impressive, even as wrecks. I always wonder whether I'd be a match for them back when they were whole. By how much trouble I have taking out last generation's trash using their own worn weapons and clad in a patchwork of their own decaying armour, I really doubt it. From's been pulling the "mighty warrior corrupted and mad from curses and time" card since Demon's Souls. All the way from the Old Hero, through Knight Artorias to Starscourge Radahn. Honestly, I don't think it'll ever get old.

[@themorbidzoo]

Love this, completely agree

[@LemonDemmon]

GOD. i did not expect to almost cry watching this, the speech about beauty in a world engulfed in suffering got to me in a way i was not prepared for

[@Jamie-Keys]

SAME I welled up a bit

[@pennwardpennington]

Yeah. Definitely taking the Berserk inspiration to near perfection

[@ronthorn3]

Shit it got me too lol

[@eternalizerr]

SAME

[@samuelcampos7442]

Same here 😭

[@sethdennis2588]

I am a chaplain at a level 1 trauma hospital. The suffering is unbelieveble in this gate of birth and death. And Elden Ring has been my escape. I wept when you spoke about the gentle things, and the quiet moments of the journey. I stopped trying to make sense of the darkness long ago. Without darkness light has no meaning. And out of darkness comes light. Cohen said it best. It doesn't matter which you heard, the holy or the broken, hallelujah. Thank you for the release you offered me tonight. I needed it.

[@bardnuts]

"Even if we had clear and present evidence for the existence of god, would worship be the right response" and "But it is a warning against abandoning yourself to a god without asking what that god might turn you into: we become what we believe" just rearranged my brain oh my god thank you

[@jbwooten89]

I just listened to this line like 15 times in a row.

[@Solsev]

Not sure how I stumbled onto this video so late, but it was well-thought out and engaging. However, I think you will agree that the most important slice of information relayed in this video ... is that the Turtle Pope must be protected.

[@alyseleem2692]

The first time I heard a Chanting Dame was in the Ruin Strewn Precipice, on my way to Altus, the capital, and the light of the Erdtree. Light was comfort. Light was safety. Light was grace. Light was home. But when I heard her singing, I paused. I had been rendered half-dead with poison, attacked by men who looked like they were carved out of the very stone they were digging, laughing imps who jeered as they leapt at me from every corner and things that should only come out at night but make day their time as well. I thought, for a moment, that I was safe. That I should get closer, listen to this beautiful song. I walked closer, and closer,and closer still.... And then she grew silent, and turned to me, before spitting poison in my face. And when I turned around, a crowd of bats greeted me, all of them waiting just out of sight. The next time, I killed her without a word and went up the ladder as fast as I could, and from that day forward, I learned to listen when there was singing..... Because no matter how empty a place may seem, songs will always have an audience.

[@craniifer]

I looked forever for the singer. Killed some bats on instinct assuming they might be guarding them. Then I spent 10 minutes or so continuing to look for the singer, but wondering why the music stopped.

[@alyseleem2692]

@@craniifer You found her? The one with a woman's face?

[@tonoornottono]

@@alyseleem2692they wrote the full story right there, read it again

[@BobcatBlueMusic]

"All these gentle things" This resonates with me so much. I think I'm going to use this in a song if that's cool

[@themorbidzoo]

It’s definitely cool

[@noahwen-li]

Lovely video, Miyazaki's quote about dignity in his designs I feel like sheds a lot of insight on the games, more so than any piece of fluff or item description. There is a melancholy in all of his work, a mourning of the old, but also a really staunch rejection of the notion that we should stay in it. Its most obvious in Dark Souls where entropy is basically the central theme, and how only the birth of something new can stave off decay. I think its a really fascinating approach to take an apocalyptic fantasy world. By the way, any chance on a video on Nope? Love your take on movie monsters and Jean Jacket is one of my favorite in recent memory, absolutely dying to hear your take on it.

[@themorbidzoo]

Thanks :) he’s an artist, there’s such amazing vision in everything he heads. Me and my producer friend were actually thinking of doing an entire commentary on Nope, maybe through discord. I’ll say so if that happens

[@noahwen-li]

@@themorbidzoo I'd be so excited for that OMG!!!

[@OlegLecinsky]

LOL. Miyazaki's games are basically 1990s arcades moved to 3d ("omg, this is so hardcore!!") with an added ton of stolen anime stories made vague in order to avoid being accused of plagiarism.

[@kimashitawa8113]

​@@OlegLecinsky Who spit in your breakfast?

[@OlegLecinsky]

@@kimashitawa8113 The game might not be as perfect as fanboys say, but not at the level of a sludge in a breakfast, pal

[@platycorn5301]

besides the crowd of people who went for Ranni's ending because they think she's hot, I think this is what makes her ending so appealing and compelling. Her ending is very similar to dark souls' age of darkness, of no longer trying to hold onto everything old and thus stagnating and instead moving into a new age despite how scary it is.

[@fastbulbous9400]

i love your perspective on elden ring, because it mirrors my own and is one we rarely see on youtube. That is the seeming perspective of someone who didn't dedicate their life to videogame. I am as you are, a "slow gamer", i tend to explore every level, and fromsoft games particulary because... i suck at videogames. I know every knock and cranny of the first dungeon of elden ring because i had no choice than bashing my head against every minor ennemy to traverse it. But if you spend any time on youtube watching elden ring video, you will see very competent gamers who will fly through areas without experiencing many roadblock, even if they want to explore it thouroughly. That is certainly entertaining and informative, but a part of the experience of fromsoft games is lost in that process. One thing you touched upon is the feeling of paranoia that elden ring world forces upon its player. In that regrd, fromsoft games are almost akin to horror games in my mind. But that is a part of the game that is rarely explored on videos about elden ring, due to the extreme competence of youtubers.

[@amandamiller6081]

Creative works can resonate with you for reasons so confounding and complex, it can be difficult to untangle exactly why they live rent-free in your brain for months afterward. That's why I adore these kinds of video essays... the deconstruction of artwork always reveals depth I felt, but was not equipped to fully unpack myself. Thank you for yet another beautifully crafted analysis!

[@themorbidzoo]

Thank _you_ for watching! :)

[@Larissa-eo3pt]

This is precisely how I feel right now too. Oooh yeah, explicate that depth and symbolism, let me just soak in all its profound creative genius.

[@FenrisChosen]

I come back to this essay very frequently. It’s so well done and such a deep well of thought to draw from. Thank you for making it.

[@MarcoPrevedello92]

This was the best video essay on Elden Ring.

[@invaderknive6158]

I love the way your brain views, discrens and interprets the world. You are beyond wise. You must have suffered much or relied on only yourself for so long that you have such a level of clarity and attempt at understanding things. Your perspective is so refreshing and captivating and much needed in this world. You make me hopeful for the critical and overthinkers of this world

[@shellgun4636]

I love the contrast between the golden order and the frenzied flame both having to do with a form of convergence of everything, basically being a reflection of each other on opposite ends of the power spectrum. I only realized this when you mentioned the overall goal of the Golden order.

[@DingleDorffe]

The ending monologue got me crying. That the most awe-inspiring cosmic horror is just looking at our own universe.

[@FTZPLTC]

Based on this analysis, I'm now seeing major parallels between Elden Ring and Disco Elysium, in terms of them showing only a sliver of a vast world and history; and in the way they depict ideology as intoxicating and bad for all the same reasons that intoxication can be bad. Both games involve piecing something together that you should remember, but only being able to rely on what other people tell you. I'd also recommend Melancholia if you ever fancy a bit of depression fantasy.

[@themorbidzoo]

I’ve heard that said, I need to play disco elysium. Video games are a great artistic medium right now, they tackle a lot of issues movies and tv avoid. Except melancholia, which really fucked up my week lol. Beautiful movie though

[@Hawk7886]

​@@themorbidzoooddly I couldn't really get into that movie. I loved it when I was a teen, but I tried rewatching it recently and just found it boring. I dunno, I hated the dad taking the easy way out and welcomed the planet.

[@icantevenread7512]

As a fromsoftware veteran I think you would adore bloodborne which relies on lovecraftian horror and body horror, also this is slowly becoming one of my favorite channels

[@themorbidzoo]

Thank you! Yes, I definitely have to play the others

[@HowToPnP]

As a worldbuilding nerd: There is a mix of hard and soft worldbuilding, that has to do with perspective. There are hard rules the author/GM/Game is following, but they are never stated to the reader/player. The author could have hard rules for their worlds, but they are not communicated to the reader, because the POV we are given is limited and unreliable. Games make this necessary (to a certain extend) because you have to program everything. So players can learn about the rules of a world (Harpies appear by the cliffs, ghouls are weak to fire, lizardmen will ignore you if you stink of blood) but these rules are never explicitly stated, you can infer things, but you can't doublecheck.

[@themorbidzoo]

Exactly it! So much respect for the player

[@Oveyz]

Damn, what a fantastic video! Very well put and very well done. You feel like a Goldmask player. You went around, meditated on it, and this is your rune you gifted us to better understand the world...

[@beneta0312]

bro this is literally the most philosophical elden ring video i had watched. i think i will never see this game the same way again. what a masterpiece of a video.

[@milkman9560]

One of my fav videos on the internet, abt a video game that made me hate gaming several times

[@deschain1910]

What I really love about Elden Ring is that, while the world seems so far beyond hope, the ending that is portrayed as the worst is the one that embraces nihilism. It's so interesting how Miyazaki creates these worlds where so little hope is shown on screen, yet it's a central value of the theme.

[@fbispecialagentfrancisyork457]

Highly recommend the other FromSoftware games, they also deal with many similar themes. Dark Souls 1 in particular deals with choosing whether or not to light a fire that powers the gods and the natural order of things or let the world fall into “darkness”. Whether that darkness is good or not is still hotly debated, as it is revealed that the “darkness” is literal humanity.

[@MW-zz3sy]

I think ds3 highly challenges your belief that linking the flame is a natural order of the world. There are suggestions about it in DS1 too.

[@thisgoddamusernamestoodamnlong]

@@MW-zz3sy yeah, but I think Bloodborne asks the biggest, most existential, and moreover: most relevant question of all fromsoft games... Wouldn't it be fucked up if If the British invented god?

[@slimbingi1470]

"Magical Post Apocalypse" is a really really good way to describe most of the fromsoft souls games

[@Garl_Vinland]

This is why I love Demon’s Souls so much. People say it’s the weakest because it has a lack of lore and story, but the themes are so pure and strong, you cling onto the shreds of info they do give you like lost pieces of an ancient text

[@nomattr]

I met a traveler from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert…. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed: And on the pedestal these words appear: 'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away. Ozymandias by Percy Shelley

[@ManiCavalieri]

This video was a beautiful ode to the interplay of monster design and world design in video games. In a sea of lore videos, this was still insightful and fresh. Awesome work.

[@themorbidzoo]

Thanks so much :)

[@chanwooksook]

I completely agree. This was also the first game from Froms. My sacred (one of them) moment happened like this: I found myself in the forest in the fog at night with these crying black things. I was super scared and I rushed from there like crazy going in circles with minimum of life left. and then I see the rays of the sun and I run out into the field to the mills on the cliff where the witches are dancing. it was such a strange feeling of relief that I got out of the fog, the beauty of the dawn and some kind of calm madness.

[@jonsadler3013]

Killer video. Some of the best analysis work on the internet. If you had a graduate class on this, I'd enroll today.

[@themorbidzoo]

Thanks so much :)

[@trevorzhang1508]

I’m glad I’m not the only one who had such a emotional reaction to finding the harpy.

[@lucasgruber8509]

I had the exact same experience with the harpy. It gives me chills every time I hear them sing. I’m thankful to have seen it in video form, too. I often feel like I want to appreciate the world of elden ring for it’s aesthetics, but struggle to switch my brain from video game mode when in the moment. It’s hard to consider all of the aspects present in scenarios like that when you just squeezed by with an enemy and are thinking about where the next site of grace is.

[@themorbidzoo]

Gotta play it through at least 3 times, it’s the only way

[@thebriguy4079]

I found this on accident and ended up with the heaviest feeling in my chest. This commentary was beautiful and I'm so happy to have watched this. I can't wait to see what's next!

[@themorbidzoo]

Thanks so much 😊

[@thebriguy4079]

@@themorbidzoo p.s. I finished the district 9 video and OKLAHOMA GANG!

[@themorbidzoo]

@@thebriguy4079 OKLAHOMIES 🌪❤️

[@SpacemanSpraggz]

As someone whose spent way too much time in fromsoft's worlds, I really appreciate the fresh perspective and couldn't agree more with your analysis! I think its rare to find any piece of media so comfortable with maintaining ambiguity in story/design/mechanics as Fromsoft's games, and their confidence in their own choices really shines through because of that. I suppose its just nice to play something that treats the player like an adult. Anyway, I had to make sure to subscribe and leave a comment before your channel popularity skyrockets haha

[@themorbidzoo]

Video games are really really great at this these days, it’s cool to watch a medium gain that kind of sophistication in real time. Thanks for watching!

[@DisgruntledPeasant]

Great video. I always felt that those who endlessly dig at the lore to find a definitive answer to all the mysteries were missing something. Every fromsoft game has a character who encapsulates this missing of the point. Eldenring has Gideon, the all knowing. A man who seeks to know everything about the entire world, to the point that he is willing to butcher entire villages just to figure out a few more secrets... And he doesn't DO anything with the knowledge, he just collects it and fails to come to any true understanding about his life.

[@mohawkan423023]

Found this video late, but it's such a refreshing take on Soulsborne analysis. I never could be bothered actually piecing together the thousands of item descriptions, environmental storytelling, etc. in these games, but the VIBES stayed with me long after each playthrough. The ideas and atmosphere they conveyed mattered to me much more than the exact events in the story.

[@romario_pashtet]

This is an amazing video essay. Can't even say anything particular, I just loved it from the beginning to the end.

[@kurtizakcabanilla6534]

There is a monumental exception to the notion that the urge to classify and analyze new horrors robs the aura of the strange. I think this exception is found most clearly in the works of Lovecraft. What I like about Lovecraft is how the protagonists arent some stupid teenagers, in fact they are not just average scholars but rather specialists trained for the supernatural and the esoteric. Most lovecraft stories have these scholars spend a great deal of time researching on the many horrors they face and yet always come up short and that even their most advanced tools of reason eventually crumble into the inexplicable. So the trope of studying and classifying horrors does not necessarily imply that it will ruin the sense of awe. The opposite can happen.

[@ADreamingTraveler]

For years now I've basically tried going blind into most of the games I've played instead of watching trailers and playthroughs/streams beforehand. It's made the experience that much better for me. There are some games like Tunic and Souls games that really do benefit on you knowing absolutely nothing about the games. That feeling of mystery and intrigue feeling it for the first time on your own with absolutely zero guidance or knowledge is truly special.

[@ABBCoffical]

Reluctance is the answer but do not relent under systems previous, systems of control. A mistake I made when I was younger was a neglect to change, if it needed to it would, yet it must and did not. Relinquishing oneself to nature and whimsy is a luxury only manipulation can win. We must then seek to form a world of self determination that naturally deters control.

[@KenobiStark1]

“Golden one, at who were you so angry?”

[@enoch2562]

I have difficulty focusing and thus my attention is rarely captured in its enterity but I have watched this video in its enterity 3 times now because of how moving your words are. Spectacular. 10/10

[@themorbidzoo]

Thank you so much, that’s a huge compliment :)

[@TheAgentmigs]

10:02 You have to respect Miyazakis creative direction here. And imagine having that relayed to you as a designer?!

[@ninevoltair2285]

“And sometimes, if you happen to show up at the right time and place… there is singing.” Has stuck with me ever since I first watched this video. Thank you so much for this 💚💚💚

[@beyondxhorizon4992]

Thank you for this. Thank so so much. I just discovered your channel. Fan for life

[@themorbidzoo]

Thanks so much :)

[@FruityBasket99]

Such a wonderful way of thinking about the game

[@elevatorman7945]

"This isn't a story about adversity and overcoming, it's not a story about sacrifice; it's not exactly a story about the purpose of suffering, it's a story about becoming, and that overcoming adversity through sacrifice is how you become all that you could be. Paradoxical that one must sacrifice their potential, transmuting it into ability and experience. This is how you become all that you could be."

[@kimho6236]

This really floored me. You're an exceptional video essayist goddamn

[@themorbidzoo]

Thanks :)

[@ultra824]

this video is beautiful. i love the exploration of the story on a thematic level. Also, I had my first encounter with the singing bats in the same exact place. I also heard her long before seeing her and spent quite a while looking around before finding her, so this is very relatable to me personally. the bat creatures are among the most enigmatic in the entire game, with very few things that even hint at their origin.

[@beniron5807]

This had the same existential thoughtfulness that Tarnished Archaeologist puts in his videos and what I love about them the most. Well done.

[@bivitoVtuber]

When I was younger, I always thought of some greater purpose to it all, why things happen the way they do, but I never questioned the nature. To simply be, was my answer. Put with state of neutrality being the answer, the more I began to appreciate the beautiful things around me, as if what's supposed to be the ultimate creation in the end is what was in front of me the entire time. When you talked about the nice turtoise, that fragile looking goblin or whatever, and those quiet moments in life, it reminded me about that life lesson.

[@donkey_croc]

I'll recommend Noah-Caldwell Gervais' video essay on Dark Souls 1-3. Both his video and yours give great perspective on the games as relative newcomers to the series, and therefore are freed from the head-down lore crunch that longtime fans inevitably fall into. He makes a point that Souls games can be delved into as hard fantasy, but are just as valid as "tone pieces." It's not necessary to scrounge every item description to understand broad strokes and broad themes about the games, which usually feature a slow decay from former grandeur. My personal interpretation is that From consistently presents the in-game religions as noble attempts to create order and purpose in the world, even though they are ultimately built on "noble lies." The Abyss is the opposite extreme, and it also shows up in most games (though interestingly not in Elden Ring). It represents utter darkness, depravity, and hopelessness. It's also the true origin of humanity. I think From characterizes religions as a fleeing of this primal origin and of nihilism. The fact that the Abyss shares a name with Nietzsche's metaphor for nihilism is in my opinion no coincidence. These religions, in fighting a monster of the abyss, became monsters themselves.

[@themorbidzoo]

Nice, I'll watch it. I think that's an excellent interpretation. Humans just can't help trying to make ourselves important. I'm very interested in the gray area between understanding what a pointless effort that is but continuing to care and make shit anyway.

[@astronautical1060]

I feel like the cause for our society’s recently preferred existential mode of horror is a consequence of postmodernism/poststructuralism. Given the critical nature of these two ideologies, our monolithic institutions are, as you put it, “no longer impervious.” This, I feel, is especially felt in the listlessness that characterizes the daily existence of many people in the 21st century. As art imitates life, Elden Ring has shown us a darkened reflection of our reality (cloaked in layers of mythology and esotericism) where we question our erstwhile purpose-giving organizations and the world descends into chaos (as it must from time to time) for a better world to emerge anew.

[@yaboyswiggity]

Incredible video, like seriously gorgeous writing

[@BayaRae]

"He meets some fragment huge and stops to guess, What powerful but unrecorded race, Once dwelt in that annihilated place."

[@FreddoFilms]

Love this analysis of ER. I think we often get caught up in the 'lore' of games and forget what they're really about - what feelings they convey. The most powerful thing about Dark Souls games to me is the obscurity, i.e. not knowing exactly what's going on (in the world, or even in your character's head). The amount of times I've killed a boss and thought 'oh god, who did I just murder?,' lol. I also had a similar experience to yours with the singing siren when I encountered the flute player in Leyndell. Was very disconcerting to see an enemy playing the flute with his back facing toward me, I think I sat there for a good few minutes debating whether or not to kill him. One of the most memorable moments of the game for me.

[@themorbidzoo]

Exactly ✨

[@dylanehooverlibrarian7026]

The beauty of the Harpy Matriarchs is so heart-aching. The way I stumbled upon them, surrounded by animalistic bats, made me pause -only to find myself accosted by those same creatures as the music stops and their violence comes about. I wish I could do something for them -gift them items, play music to compliment them - but the world's logic won't allow it. I sincerely hope they get an ending in the DLC which makes them comfortable. Miquella's age of flourishing, where even the Misbegotten Children of the Crucible can have a place. While i had more of a fascination with the lore than you did, the agree that it is fundamentally unknowable - and there the true beauty arises. An essY, Bloodborne as a writerly text, conveys a recurrant thing about FromSoft titles - how the players co-create the meaning of the game through the experience of learning it's systems. I'm so glad you had this experience, too!

[@austins.2495]

Awesome video, great writing 👍

[@MetalGearCuban]

You are an excellent writer. Several lines in this video essay moved me to the point of tears. In particular "The way this grotesque old woman copes with her existence is through a senseless act of beauty." God damn, that was a beautiful sentence and idea.

[@lival2381]

This perfectly summarizes the reason I loved Elden Ring so much. I've never even played it, I just consumed a bunch of hours of Lore videos, but it's just so immersive and deep

[@silly-rm7ub]

Lovely video. You're such an underappreciated youtuber.

[@themorbidzoo]

Thank you! 😊

[@shmuelhoit7118]

Haven't even seen the video yet but the fact that the monster queen has not played bloodborne is the scariest thing you've ever shown on this channel dont @ me

[@themorbidzoo]

Lol it's pretty off-brand for me, the algorithm gods won't like that

[@ladyvader3173]

"This is not a Lore video." *proceeds to deeply analyse the Lore and its themes* In all seriousness, I'm glad you enjoyed the game so much. That is probably why it did not hit the spot for me, I could not connect to the world as much as I hoped. Dark Souls did that for me though, it affected my life profoundly at the time.

[@mg7977]

This is the first thing to make me actually interested in playing Elden Ring.

[@jfranks1295]

Wonderfully written essay! You really have me thinking with your thoughts on it’s popularity and the matching societal upheaval. All of Miyazaki’s have such great themes of nihilism, existentialism, the cycles of life, acceptance, and defeat. All portrayed beautifully, with such intent.

[@GoldenAgeMath]

I've seen dozens of videos discussing Elden Ring--this one is the best by far! Kudos!

[@TheMightyNovac]

I only cried once whilst playing Elden Ring. What happened is that I had killed Radagon, I had put this dark age in its grave, and just as I thought that I had won, the Erdtree--the world itself--emerged to challenge me. That alone I could anticipate. What I couldn't anticipate is that the Elden Beast, this monument to a failed, decayed natural order, would be beautiful. That the grandiosity and chaos of the game's soundtracks would revert to this simple, poignant rhythm--like marking towards the a manifested destiny. That this all-encompassing, God-like tree was only one of a myriad. That this world full of rot, and flooding, and monsters, was beautiful. And that I finally understood what Radagon was trying to protect.

[@SpencerFoustLovesYou]

I'm glad you ended up in my recommended tab! It's great to see video essays that understand editing and brevity.

[@shamansummer381]

Binged Elden Ring at launch for 300hrs over a few months. I love this game. This is hands down the best retrospective I've ever seen about it, thank you.

[@trop3848]

"Tell me what the monster is called" is so real because almost every time they put a monster in front of you that actually has a name it's something cool.

[@Anna464]

I am absolutely here for this style of video and am so glad to have discovered this channel! Time to binge every single video on the channel!

[@dustyveilplays]

Excellent video, as someone who's been playing since PlayStation 3's Demon Souls you wrapped it in a beautiful package. This series has changed my life because it forces you to go beyond your dogmas and realize it's getting through life while appreciating it, because "You Died."

[@mose3775]

Ok wow. This has made me realize that I’ve been going about playing Souls games with the wrong mindset; looking for a concrete story or set of rules written out to me without considering context clues of the environment or the themes of the games. Beautiful video. I think I’ll go replay Elden Ring.

[@ClaymoreM18]

I am supriesed, this is one of the best, if not the best Elden Ring video I have seen

[@xthatghomiex2939]

This is one of the most thoughtful, intelligent videos on a Fromsoft game I've seen

[@thecreepythecozy8891]

Wow, I loved this! I know I am late to the party, but it's refreshing to see more Elden Ring analysis as opposed to lore videos. Love those too, but find myself wanting more in-depth explorations on the game's themes. Love the consideration and emotion put into this video.

[@KYDONSHADOW]

I'm sad there arent years and years of videos of yours to go and watch but the quality is worth waiting for 💜

[@themorbidzoo]

Thanks 😊💜

[@franciscolomeli8931]

Pretty good videos you really put into words all those cool feelings we all felt when we found a beautiful desolate place in the Lands Between.

[@themorbidzoo]

Thanks for the watch :)

[@franciscolomeli8931]

@@themorbidzoo np I'll eagerly await the next video

[@deskinem_rooted]

What a beautiful video both in concept and execution. Thank you so much. I always love finding amazing new creators!

[@out5tarr]

Congrats on the 10k subs

[@themorbidzoo]

Thanks! :D

[@Gio_Panda]

I found your channel this morning while having coffee and I spent the whole day binge watching your videos. How have I not found this before? Incredible job.

[@themorbidzoo]

The algorithm is still unsure of me. 😁 Thanks, glad you're here!

[@Gio_Panda]

@@themorbidzoo After 4+ years it’s really a crime!

[@UberNoodle]

Great point about horror movies often having that revelation moment in which the monster is completely "understood" by the protagonists, and thus they have the key to vanquishing it. I can see how this would tie into Western viewpoints on superstition and science. But like you said, the monster, creature, alien or ghost is then externalised and intellectualised so that is robbed of all its mystery and existential threat. I've always loved how Japanese horror tends to do away with that, or at least did, and in certain genres. Often, even if protagonists do come up with theories or facts about the nature of the monster, it's typically irrelevant to the monster anyway, and thus to the protagonists' their fate. There's a poignant poetry to that and an opportunity for the viewer to reflect. There was something similar in Western horror, particularly in the 90s, when it was fashionable to have the protagonist brutally lose or die, usually in an epilogue after a triumphant ending, and typically in a completely unearned way. It came across as very cheap, and the only reflection it prompted in the viewer was how they might get their money back.

[@themorbidzoo]

I've been wanting to do an "Eastern Ghosts vs Western Ghosts" video for a while, that's the main difference I see too. Western horror, especially American horror, has a long tradition of explaining the monster. We aren't very primed culturally to accept the idea that there might be bigger things than ourselves.

[@UberNoodle]

@@themorbidzoo I also love the fact that even though many Japanese ghosts have some kind of grudge or trauma to play out, they are often more like a force of nature. I'm sure that this has changed a lot due to the popularity of Western ghost stories in Japan, and the fact that many of these movies are made on a shoestring budget, so that can attract simplistic writing, but in terms of the classics, there are so many examples of this "once human but now incomprehensible (and often insatiable)" archetype of supernatural entity. Some are more literal than others, but a few are almost like cosmic horror, like the ghosts in Kairo (Pulse).

[@kurtizakcabanilla6534]

There is a monumental exception to this notion I think. What I like about Lovecraft is how the protagonists arent some stupid teenagers,in fact they are not just even just average scholars but rather specialists trained for the supernatural and the esoteric. Most lovecraft stories have these scholars spend a great deal of time researching on the many horrors they face and yet always come up short and that even their most advanced tools of reason eventually crumble into the inexplicable. So the trope of studying and classifying horrors does not necessarily imply that it willl ruin the sense of awe and strangeness. The opposite can happen.

[@katierasburn9571]

It always comes across so goofily too, like no way in the vastness of the internet will you find exactly what you’re looking for on a monster no one believes exists and it definitely wont tell you everything you need to know

[@KnjazNazrath]

@@katierasburn9571As an internet OG I can guarantee you that with sufficient Google-Fu you will be able to find an Angelfire page about any monster ever, including instructions on how to cuddle, banish, and enthrall yourself to it alongside recipes and personal experiences of the above that will appear to have been constructed by a ninety year old nineteen year old which will actually tell you *more* than you needed to know and simultaneously not what you *wanted* to know.

[@CPSPD]

Yesss what a good video. Instantly when I saw the thumbnail and title I knew what you were gonna be talking about, it’s just so evocative. The connection to natural and beauty-embracing nihilism also stuck the landing rly well.

[@atlasthebeloved]

this may be the best elden ring video i have ever seen; and possibly one of the best videos i have ever seen in general. gorgeous and awe-inspiring. my hair was on end multiple times, fr. thank you

[@theghosty99]

As someone who has studied SO much of the lore of this game, as well as the real world historical analogies it draws directly from, who played it through many many times, got every ending, beat every boss and miniboss, got every item... I didn't think it was possible before now to actually convey all of what makes the world of this enormous, palimpsest of a game so goddamn special in the span of 17 minutes, and then you go ahead and do it. No notes. Subbed immediately.

[@Ghorum]

This is the kind of content that every artist dreams of receiving. Truly amazing video, you've got a new fan

[@milkman9560]

My favorite video online

[@Yesnomu]

I've been checking out your old videos ever since finding your channel, and this one really struck a chord with me! It's too easy to play games only looking for achievements and numbers going up, and the simple pleasures of exploration and discovery without mechanical bonuses is really important.

[@anguswylie2453]

Thanks for this video, well made :) Does anyone know what the music playing between 15:00 - 16:00 is? Getting Stars of the Lid vibes

[@kalebcalhoun9583]

just me screaming "you have a shield" at my laptop while watching your well put together video.

[@almirmak4247]

I am so happy to have been recommended one of your videos. I have been looking for this, exactly this, amount of quality and insight on horror for a long time. Thank you so much for sharing your hard work ❤

[@benjaminduval6054]

Thanks for sharing. I purchased the game awhile ago, but haven't found the motivation to tackle it. Your video put some wind beneath my wings.

[@moralreef8331]

You're really good at this, felt like you had more to say of substance than a lot of video essayists. Would love to see more content like this for other games.

[@Porjil09]

Honestly one of the best elden ring videos I've seen so far.