“If your ideology is perfect and inevitable, why do you have to force it into existence?” Hot damn good question.
@xenasBS
3 ай бұрын
Fascism undone in 16 words
@TheAncientMysteriesBeckon
2 ай бұрын
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
8 күн бұрын
@@TheAncientMysteriesBeckonlove is love. Any religion ever doesn’t think this
@TheAncientMysteriesBeckon
8 күн бұрын
@@milkman9560 any religion, that you know of at least.
@milkman9560
7 күн бұрын
@@TheAncientMysteriesBeckon including you too. Since u didn’t mention shit
@acuddlyheadcrab
7 ай бұрын
"A grafted tree doesn't know it's been mangled. It's just trying to survive" holy shit dude. That is a great line.
@manjackson2772
Жыл бұрын
The bestiary/lore codex secretly being your inventory is one of From's great innovations.
@WAR3600
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
Thank you! Glad you think I'm contributing :)
@reubenroberts5212
7 ай бұрын
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
7 ай бұрын
@@themorbidzoo :) "Contributing" would be quite an understatement... You opened my eyes!
@galamotshaku
7 ай бұрын
100% Feels & Themes over Lore any day
@kris_wk
4 ай бұрын
Couldn’t agree more
@nutherefurlong
7 ай бұрын
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
7 ай бұрын
That's the moment i realised the effectiveness of singing siren techniques of traps.
@thisisfyne
7 ай бұрын
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
13 күн бұрын
Holy Mother of God!! I never knew this detail!!
@sethdennis2588
4 ай бұрын
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.
@lmno2009
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
Love this, completely agree
@alyseleem2692
Жыл бұрын
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
7 ай бұрын
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
7 ай бұрын
@@craniifer You found her? The one with a woman's face?
@tonoornottono
6 ай бұрын
@@alyseleem2692they wrote the full story right there, read it again
@LemonDemmon
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
SAME I welled up a bit
@pennwardpennington
Жыл бұрын
Yeah. Definitely taking the Berserk inspiration to near perfection
@ronthorn3
8 ай бұрын
Shit it got me too lol
@eternalizerr
7 ай бұрын
SAME
@samuelcampos7442
7 ай бұрын
Same here 😭
@noahwen-li
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
@@themorbidzoo I'd be so excited for that OMG!!!
@OlegLecinsky
7 ай бұрын
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
7 ай бұрын
@@OlegLecinsky Who spit in your breakfast?
@OlegLecinsky
7 ай бұрын
@@kimashitawa8113 The game might not be as perfect as fanboys say, but not at the level of a sludge in a breakfast, pal
@BobcatBlueMusic
9 ай бұрын
"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
9 ай бұрын
It’s definitely cool
@platycorn5301
7 ай бұрын
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.
@katabatic-winds
8 ай бұрын
"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
2 ай бұрын
I just listened to this line like 15 times in a row.
@Solsev
3 ай бұрын
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.
@amandamiller6081
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
Thank _you_ for watching! :)
@Larissa-eo3pt
8 ай бұрын
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.
@FTZPLTC
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
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
8 ай бұрын
@@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.
@MarcoPrevedello92
7 ай бұрын
This was the best video essay on Elden Ring.
@nomattr
Жыл бұрын
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
@Coletrain452
8 ай бұрын
The ending monologue got me crying. That the most awe-inspiring cosmic horror is just looking at our own universe.
@shellgun4636
7 ай бұрын
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.
@fbispecialagentfrancisyork457
Жыл бұрын
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
8 ай бұрын
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
7 ай бұрын
@@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?
@HowToPnP
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
Exactly it! So much respect for the player
@kurtizakcabanilla6534
8 ай бұрын
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.
@lucasgruber8509
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
Gotta play it through at least 3 times, it’s the only way
@Garl_Vinland
7 ай бұрын
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
@icantevenread7512
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
Thank you! Yes, I definitely have to play the others
@TheAgentmigs
7 ай бұрын
10:02 You have to respect Miyazakis creative direction here. And imagine having that relayed to you as a designer?!
@deschain1910
7 ай бұрын
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.
@invaderknive6158
3 ай бұрын
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
@MetalGearCuban
2 ай бұрын
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.
@slimbingi1470
Жыл бұрын
"Magical Post Apocalypse" is a really really good way to describe most of the fromsoft souls games
@jonsadler3013
Жыл бұрын
Killer video. Some of the best analysis work on the internet. If you had a graduate class on this, I'd enroll today.
@themorbidzoo
Жыл бұрын
Thanks so much :)
@Davis_237
9 күн бұрын
About half way through Shadow of the Erd Tree, looking forward to a potential sequel to this!
@Oveyz
7 ай бұрын
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...
@SpacemanSpraggz
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
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!
@dereklewis8914
3 ай бұрын
As a fellow slow player, I loved exploring locations in Elden Ring and soaking them in. I scouted out Caelid before even knowing Stormveil Castle existed. Admiring the environments and watching creatures live their lives or fight each other. They are not waiting for the player, but will react to us. The creature designs hold details that imply a past, that there is a reason why they are there and look like that. Dark Souls was the first time I noticed and I'm so glad Elden Ring nailed it.
@ManiCavalieri
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
Thanks so much :)
@Yoshimitsu4prez
3 ай бұрын
I got the ending with the weird star witch lady, I had no idea what the hell was supposed to be happening, and I loved every second of it
@mysticjuicer01
Күн бұрын
This was awesome! Beautifully written and wonderfully performed. Genuinely had me laughing out loud, and made me tear up more than once.
@themorbidzoo
Күн бұрын
Thanks so much ☺️
@mu9284
5 ай бұрын
Just imagine what great satisfaction and delight "reading" a good novel or story book brings , now imagine you "living " or experiencing it yourself . Elden Ring , the game feels just like that. The painstakingly made world design which is just mind bendingly vast and beautiful is something that you have to give the developers massive credit for...
@sonjaquan5775
3 күн бұрын
I cannot express how much I love this
@DisgruntledPeasant
7 ай бұрын
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.
@UberNoodle
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
@@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
8 ай бұрын
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
7 ай бұрын
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
7 ай бұрын
@@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.
@mohawkan423023
6 ай бұрын
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.
@ADreamingTraveler
7 ай бұрын
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.
@ultra824
7 ай бұрын
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.
@Ocrilat
Жыл бұрын
Good horror is mystery. My favorite horror film is the Kubrick classic The Shining...and the film 'tells' you almost nothing. There is no hand-holding. Since you have to decide for yourself what is happening and why, you can't help but put your own fears and beliefs into it. There is a reason people are still talking about...and arguing about...what the film means, and what actually happens. “Never Explain Anything” - H.P. Lovecraft “If you really want to communicate something, even if it’s just an emotion or an attitude, let alone an idea, the least effective and least enjoyable way is directly. It only goes in about an inch. But if you can get people to the point where they have to think a moment what it is you’re getting at, and then discover it, the thrill of discovery goes right through the heart.” - Stanley Kubrick
@milkman9560
2 ай бұрын
One of my fav videos on the internet, abt a video game that made me hate gaming several times
@BathedInMilk
7 ай бұрын
FINALLY. A video talking about what Elden Ring is _actually_ about and not more endless LORE. This is excellent. Thank you.
@elevatorman7945
Жыл бұрын
"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."
@kalebcalhoun9583
6 ай бұрын
just me screaming "you have a shield" at my laptop while watching your well put together video.
@GoldenAgeMath
6 ай бұрын
I've seen dozens of videos discussing Elden Ring--this one is the best by far! Kudos!
@moralreef8331
2 ай бұрын
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.
@FaeQueenCory
2 ай бұрын
Most people seem to overlook the hope at the core of Elden Ring. Good for you picking up on it. I look forward to exploring the failed hope of Miquella in the DLC.
@xthatghomiex2939
7 ай бұрын
This is one of the most thoughtful, intelligent videos on a Fromsoft game I've seen
@ProjektBurn
4 ай бұрын
Hory sheet this is effin gorgeous! Ty for such an awesome insight into one of my favorite games. Much love and respect. Stay spiffy and never go hollow
@donkey_croc
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
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.
@thebriguy4079
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
Thanks so much 😊
@thebriguy4079
Жыл бұрын
@@themorbidzoo p.s. I finished the district 9 video and OKLAHOMA GANG!
@themorbidzoo
Жыл бұрын
@@thebriguy4079 OKLAHOMIES 🌪❤️
@lazybill5830
Ай бұрын
Thank you for taking your time to read this. In the spirit of the video I recommend anyone who's curious the book Outlines of Pyrrhonism by Sextus Empircus. A philosophy based on doubt to find inner peace . The Pyrrhonists live by culture for everyday life, everything that is up to speculation they doubt. You listen to all sides of an issue and you don't make a choice, you keep doing this over and over again to quiet your mind. American Pyrrho has most of the book on here if anyone cares to listen.
@enoch2562
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much, that’s a huge compliment :)
@ShantanuMukherjee4
7 ай бұрын
Wow, this is one of the best videos on Elden Ring I've ever seen.. Thank you for making it..
@dylanehooverlibrarian7026
4 ай бұрын
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!
@shevanz1589
Ай бұрын
Ive been playing a lot of Cyberpunk 2077 and even in that game theres a deep sense of existentialism and constant need to distract yourself with the environment, technology and drugs that i see throughout the game. They could have made the city a utopia but its actually a dystopia and there is a lot of suffering that happens in that city. The only reason i have an enjoyable time in the city is because im playing a character who is exempt from the reality i would have to face if i lived in that city. I dont think i would live in Night City if i was offered the choice. The fact that there are kids in the game (unlike GTA) really adds to the depressing quality of the game and asking yourself, what we are doing to the younger generations.
@almirmak4247
8 ай бұрын
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 ❤
@deskinem_rooted
7 ай бұрын
What a beautiful video both in concept and execution. Thank you so much. I always love finding amazing new creators!
@Anna464
7 ай бұрын
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!
@austins.2495
11 күн бұрын
Awesome video, great writing 👍
@alexanderwizardjar9540
7 ай бұрын
This made me cry quite a bit. Hauntingly beautiful writing. I hope I'll be thinking about this for years to come
@Killerbee_McTitties
7 ай бұрын
fantastic analysis, especially the comments on dignity in death and contasting suffering to beauty in the world.
@chanwooksook
6 ай бұрын
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.
@shamansummer381
7 ай бұрын
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.
@BayaRae
Жыл бұрын
"He meets some fragment huge and stops to guess, What powerful but unrecorded race, Once dwelt in that annihilated place."
@Yesnomu
2 ай бұрын
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.
@morganrosenfeld5917
Жыл бұрын
Something I loved about Elden Ring had to be the tone I took away from it; Optimism. Unlike Dark Souls and Bloodborne, Elden Ring took this appraoch of "Yeah the world sucks, so get out there, kill every demigod on the planet, and make it better how you see fit." Regardless of right or wrong choices, you're not seeing the world slip into madness on the night of the long hunt, or seeing the age of fire come to a close, you're fighting against impossible odds, brick walls on every level but physical, and you keep going until you've said your two cents and done what you could to help or further fracture a broken world.
@themorbidzoo
Жыл бұрын
Kind of like life that way
@redlegionnaire1879
Жыл бұрын
Amogus
@morganrosenfeld5917
Жыл бұрын
@@redlegionnaire1879 I'm going to put you in a meat grinder
@redlegionnaire1879
Жыл бұрын
@@morganrosenfeld5917 okay Jerma
@SuzumeMizuno
Жыл бұрын
This video hit me hard. I love your humor, the compelling way you transmit the message, and the poetic narration. Seriously, thank you so much for sharing this amazing work
@benjaminduval6054
7 ай бұрын
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.
@lucypalacios1364
9 ай бұрын
GIRL YOUR CHANNEL IS AMAZING!!!! LOVE YOUR TAKES 🙏❤️
@dustyveilplays
6 ай бұрын
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."
@darthsydi0us
7 ай бұрын
Incredible video, I can’t believe I haven’t come across your channel before! You perfectly described the reasons why ER captured me so quickly and has kept me captivated for so long. Just an absolute masterpiece.
@Thaelyn1312
Жыл бұрын
Welp, I cried lol
@themorbidzoo
Жыл бұрын
Aw, thanks. 😊💗 Play it! There's a map, it's like the only useful thing. It's a game that kind of asks you to sit with your discomfort for a while and vibe with the world around you, which if you have the patience for it is neat, and also kind of a good life lesson ha.
@thecreepythecozy8891
7 ай бұрын
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.
@callMeK0H
7 ай бұрын
This was an awesome video. Made me think a lot about a game I’ve already thought a loooot about
@kellenboyle86
6 ай бұрын
I will watch elden ring videos forever. An absolute masterpiece of a game. And a masterpiece of a video essay. Well done 💪
@mg7977
Жыл бұрын
This is the first thing to make me actually interested in playing Elden Ring.
@enzoamaral7721
7 ай бұрын
Your videos are some of the best I ever saw in my entire life. Thanks for making them
@rollingr0ck
Жыл бұрын
While the debate rages on whether ER is a 9/10 or a 10/10, one thing that cannot be debated is Elden Ring's internal consistency. All of From Soft's games, really; they are astutely aware of what things represent, and dutifully construct a world that seems to respect all of the fictional characters it encompasses.
@CPSPD
7 ай бұрын
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
7 ай бұрын
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
@lorecumi7141
7 ай бұрын
The quality of this script is superb! I got charmed into your exposition, with the editing perfectly carrying it. Amazing ❤
@SpencerFoustLovesYou
Жыл бұрын
I'm glad you ended up in my recommended tab! It's great to see video essays that understand editing and brevity.
@combatwomb1
2 ай бұрын
Your videos are so good they somehow always make me tear up 🥹
@astronautical1060
Ай бұрын
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.
@dickswanee9501
7 ай бұрын
I can’t wait for your channel to get into the algorithm and it grows massively! Keep up the great vids!
@okanieba267
Жыл бұрын
I am supriesed, this is one of the best, if not the best Elden Ring video I have seen
@franciscolomeli8931
Жыл бұрын
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
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the watch :)
@franciscolomeli8931
Жыл бұрын
@@themorbidzoo np I'll eagerly await the next video
@MarKarda
Жыл бұрын
Love it. This is exactly how I experienced it. By half the playtrouhg I spoiled my run by trying to control the outcome of it. Badtiming quest triggers prevent me to reach the end I wanted. So yeah, I was cheating a little, cause you dont know the end until you reach it. But fuck it, it´s a game and a hard one and I want my satisfaying outcome... pitiless, insignificant and sadest it could be. I want that beauty. But never finished it. So I told a friend of mine. Dont read nothing, just experience it. The constant narrative of the game in it design is superb. You get lost in the lands between, but if you are an active player, you can find yourself, little pieces lying and broken here and there on that great digital stage. Thats whats make Elder Ring a masterpeice. Frenzied Flame ending, girl?!?! come oooooon!!! I was trying to get the flame, destroy it, and then end the game with Ranni´s quest line. Too complex. I failed. You should play darkest dungeon 2. I think you gonna enjoy the narrative. Dont watch a gameplay, it´s all about the experience and overcome adversity and failure. With fucked up lovecraftian cosmic beings beating the shit out of you. Check the teaser, it´s just epic: kzitem.info/news/bejne/029m13emhoWHan4 You are the flame. A bonfire to gain respite. Love you, cheers and keep it up!
@themorbidzoo
Жыл бұрын
Whee, I love fucked up lovecraftian cosmic beings, I’ll check it out! :D ha, I’m doing another runthrough now trying ranni’s ending instead, it seems a lot more my speed. Awesome description of how the game makes you feel, that’s exactly it, little pieces of yourself. thanks for watching as always!
@AndrewWhite_Arts_and_Projects
7 ай бұрын
Brilliant. Thank you, you've completely changed the way I've been thinking about the game and I'm going to give it another try
@Agatosh
Ай бұрын
Such a beautiful game. I'm glad I got to finish it. Words for the algorithm.
@mothweb8088
7 ай бұрын
this is a fucking amazing video essay. not often i finish a video and think "god i wish that was two hours long." i would literally do ANYTHING to hear your thoughts on the other fromsoft games, they're all just amazing, dense, sorrowful, dignified, and beautiful.
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