Elden Ring’s bomb-wielding birds are out of control

polygon.com:

Elden Ring is certainly a tough game, but after defeating Margit, the Fell Omen in Stormveil Castle, I was feeling pretty good about myself. I had done it in under a dozen tries; I was rocking a sweet halberd from the Tree Sentinel, and I felt like I had this whole “FromSoftware game” thing down. My hubris led to an immediate, inevitable fall at the hands of Stormveil’s other enemies. What made it really sting was that my new nemeses weren’t bosses — or even minibosses. Instead, I have been continually thwarted by Elden Ring’s tiniest foes, like wolves and birds — and it’s become clear to me these little guys are some of Elden Ring’s toughest enemies.

The first time I died to a bird in Stormveil Castle, I chuckled sensibly and shook my head in chagrin. “You certainly got me there,” I told Elden Ring. The second time, I frowned. Someone — I don’t know who, but I’m not happy about it — made the executive decision to give these large birds explosive barrels that they hucked at me from the skies. Not great!

The game is clearly cheeky about it, too. After downing the first three birds with explosive barrels, I was back to feeling pretty good about myself. I assumed my past death, at their claws, was just a momentary hiccup. Then, I spotted the distinctive glow of treasure nestled amongst barrels and ran for it, only for a fourth bird to come out of nowhere and detonate the whole mess of explosives, disintegrating my armored Tarnished and causing me to gnash my teeth and rend my garments.

This is a continual pattern with Elden Ring, and it makes me feel less like a legendary hero and more like Wile E. Coyote. I am continually thwarted by the smallest enemies in these games, like dogs and birds. I look online and it seems like