Elden Ring softens the blow of defeat with sublime comedy

destructoid.com:

The first thing you’ll usually hear about a FromSoftware or Souls-like game is its difficulty. It’s not an unfair characterization, as you will die many, many times playing these. I know I have. But every death in Elden Ring has felt a little lighter thanks to the absurd comedy it can often be.

To be fair, the tough parts of Souls games have always inspired some laughs. Moments like getting kicked off a ledge by a giant skeleton were always a bit funny, in that “oh you got me FromSoft” kind of way.

Something about Elden Ring just feels like it lends itself well to the humor, though. Maybe it’s the open-world structure, where many more elements can interact than before, and combat encounters are less obviously signposted and cordoned-off. Maybe it’s the actual content itself; Elden Ring is full of enemies who are huge, angry, and able to wallop Tarnished to a pulp.

Bruh are you fr rn? @ELDENRING pic.twitter.com/f6lDBFXMc4

— Moose (@nmoose2) February 27, 2022

Something about the way things can so quickly go south keeps me running back in. Earlier this afternoon, I took a “lunch break” (read: Elden Ring break) to check out a beacon that had been on my mind. When I dropped by, I saw a cart nearby, led by giants and escorted by a host of soliders.

“Easy enough,” I thought, in the same way Wile E. Coyote probably thought a roadrunner dinner would be a convenient snack. I swooped in on horseback, spear and fiery Faith magic in tow, ready to slaughter the lot of them and steal off with their treasure.

In the span of about 30 seconds, it all fell apart. I was running in circles, trying to re-summon my horse Torrent as a giant man on horseback galloped around, his blade whiffing over the top of my head. A legion of otherwise