this post was submitted on 16 Jul 2023
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Also doing Elden Ring, but I've also done every souls game up to it. This game is Dark Souls through and through, but with the open world and a few slight mechanical additions. Otherwise it's the same.
The thing with souls games is the world kind of tells the story, and gives you bits and pieces to puzzle together along the way. The idea is to just do the damn thing and soak it all in along the way.
I'm about 60hrs in and also don't totally know what's going on, but can see more pieces coming together. But remember, souls games are very much journey over destination.
If you want to see a master class in environmental storytelling, though; play Bloodborne.
I don't know. All I am thinking is that games like Fallout do a much better job with environmental story telling. Also many blanks are filled by diary entries, manifests, dialog etc. You can learn a lot about most locations and the people that lived or worked there. Literally nothing even close to that was to be found in any of the locations I visited in Elden Ring.
Same for the Witcher where you figure things out and learn about the monsters. Every enemy feels so much more impactful than random monster 164 in Elden Ring.
I have a feeling that it is partly a very intended different style, but it is also an excuse to skip writing much lore. Just hint at some stuff and people will fill the blanks for you in hour long explanation videos. The world does not feel alive though or real. It is hollow.
Otherwise it seems to be a great game, it is just the storytelling aspect which is pretty bad for RPG standards. The world is interesting, but my curiosity is never rewarded.
Not trying to be funny, but the characters motivation feels the same as Pokemon Red/Blue. Just become the very best just for the sake of it. I really really hope I am wrong, because that would be an absolutely disappointing conclusion or rather lack of it.
Fair assessment. Though I'm not all the way through yet, I do know there is a massive amount of lore in the game, and a lot I've already personally read through in game. One big place a lot of people seem to miss with Souls games as far as the lore is item descriptions. Each item has a basic description, then a way more detailed description on a separate menu (PS5 you hit the square button to get the detailed description). The items you get along the way are a huge part of the lore.
Between that and talking to Gideon and a few others, I feel like I have a good baseline. I expect a lot more to come in the areas I'm about to tackle.
All that said: I'm a huge RPG fan and love a story-driven game. But that is not at all my motivation for playing any Souls game. It's all about the gameplay; that super rewarding game loop that they have mastered.