You are 100% correct there. Elden ring is definitely more power fantasy focused I think

Hopefully this dlc restores some git gud in the bosses at least. I definitely think there is something to be said for that experience.

I steamrolled 95% of Elden ring bosses in the main game

Elden Ring is definitely a lot easier than I would’ve liked. You can keep your character purposefully underleveled but that’s no fun and impossible to figure out accurately. If you explore at all most of the game will be easy. I really do like the game but that’s the downside of the open world imo and previous souls games are superior

I agree. I always felt going open world did not make the souls formula “better” in any ways. Elden ring is my second to least fave from soft game I have played.

Still amazing experience but yeah the linear focused more curated and controllable scenario design makes for better souls games imo

I know people can be hit or miss with vaati but he cooked with this one, I’m even more hype now fully buying in that miquella will be our guide/ally through this new journey

The way Miyazaki also talked about it having its own completed story makes me think of the painter and ringed city.

If we go by that Ranni and Melina seem to give us torrent and the spirit summons for Miquella makes me think he working in a complete sideproject similar to the painter creating a new world.

I can imagine we get an ending to this DLC that doesnt interfere with the main story but at the same time kinda overwrites it. The way the painting is basically the more important ending to ds3 than the base game

I disagree I think it made the souls formula better and allowed them to fully realize a world instead of magic hand waving their beautiful world design with “space and time are convoluted.” First of all I think their world design peaked with DS1 and they never reached those heights again, but I think if they had more time and tech DS1 would’ve been open world too.

The journey in ER from the capital down to deep root depths/Eternal City, for example, is an open world realization of the journey from undead burg through blight town and down into great hollow/ash lake.

Overleveling was and is a common tactic in all of the souls games. ER just made it more engaging by allowing you to naturally over level by exploring other places where previously most people would just farm enemies in an area to sufficiently level up. Though technically even in DS1 you can explore a whole lot of the world before fighting the gargoyles, to the point that you can even have a +15 weapon before them, though it’s uncommon.

I won’t argue that souls had harder bosses than ER though, but that’s mostly a consequence of having so many abilities and powers. Nameless king would probably be easy too if I had a +10 mimic, all the lightning buffs and a crazy ass incantation like fortissax’s lightning spear.

you're spot on, I love that we're gonna be going to another physical world and not just a moment in the past/future like their other dlcs

we already know that miquella is there waiting for us so it makes sense that he would have been the one to set our players' story in motion can't wait to uncover this mystery, June is too damn far away

They really leaning into the Berserk thing lmao

wicker man

from's history with berserk goes back for days, I love how they've incorporated Miura's designs into their games over the years. someone needs to make a book about that relationship one day

Wym

The dude from the comic looks like a modern version of guts from berserk
The claymore and everything
Plus iirc berserk has been a huge influence on miyazaki but this really feels like an overt nod to it

Its a black haired guy with a sword. Coming from Japan thats really not that crazy.

Im all for giving Berserk its flowers but it didnt exacrly invent dark fantasy medieval settings or black haired knights.

Like guys we all love berserk and there is no way of knowing where Miyazaki got the inspiration from but Kentaro Miura didnt invent the Wicker Man or the masked prisoner or even the field of blades which are inspired by a story from the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru

I feel like I talked about this before but like this stuff is popular. Berserk is goated but attributing everything to it will just take away from the moments when Miyazaki and From Software really pays tribute to him.

I have no idea why it suddenly became such a common thing to just point at every single thing in From Software games and immediately say thats Berserk. Its dark medieval fantasy they both draw from the same inspiration

Maleina still kicking my ass even with an insanely op build

why did it take me this f***ing long to realize what a riposte was and how to hit it. it changed everything completely

True but the masked dude is pretty blatantly Griffith

griffith is blatantly the man in the iron mask

Both can be true lol

I do agree tho that the berserk influences are overstated, although miquella, especially after DLC trailer is very Griffith coded

Yeah but Miyazaki added that cause of Griffith

thats my point

430 hours I don’t think I’ve ever found this boss before wtf
eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/Necromancer+Garris

Yeah hes behind a hidden wall in the cave where you get the raptor cape

His lore is crazy too. Bro killed his family and uses their skulls as a weapon