In the last post, I was talking about (again, *SPOILERS* for the whole second half of the game) the massive underground of Elden Ring, which is, as I just said, massive. In fact, one of the funniest things about the game is the reaction to the lift when you the player is going down for the first time. There are two lifts, and both are pretty inspiring. One is more gobsmacking than the other, though.
You run into this well (in front of one of them is a runebear, which is massive) and step on a lift. You go down…and down…and down even further. And you go down some more. If you look to the outside, it’s purple and ethereal on the way down. There is a starry sky, and it’s just fucking amazing. Like, you think it’s going to be one little room or something at the bottom, and it’s a whole new city. And more. So much more. It is one of those moments that you don’t get often in a Triple A game.
Here’s the thing. You don’t have to go there at all. It’s easily missable–both the entrances to the initial areas. In one case, a big golem is shooting at you. In the other, a runebear is chasing you. So you’ll probably rush into the well and step on the lift, grateful to still be alive. And you’d be forgiven for not paying attention as it starts going down. And down. And, as I said, even further down.
And then your mind is going to be blown when you finally realize that you are in a whole ‘nother city under the areas you’ve already explored. And then later on, when you realize that many of these areas link up in some fashion. That is the part that blows my mind. The map for the underworld is so expansive. Not as expansive as the above-world, but not cheap, either. It’s not just a few rooms here and there. It’s easily half the size of the above-world. I must say that it isn’t nearly as filled, but that’s a plus in my book. One of my biggest complaints about the above-world is that the last third of the game feels like it’s very filler-y.
If the underworld were a game in and of itself, I would pay forty bucks for it. I have said before that for Ranni’s questline itself, I would pay thirty bucks, but that’s because it took me ten a dozen hours or more the first time I did it–and it includes a major boss who is optional, but someone you wouldn’t want to miss. A large portion of Ranni’s questline is in the underground, and it’s absolutely amazing. And necessary for what most people consider is the best ending (but not me).
The first time I did it, I missed the intro to Blaidd. I knew where he was and what I was supposed to be, but I just could not find him. Plus, with the Runebears and the Demi-Humans running around, I just could not get close enough to where you need to snap your fingers to call him. Fortunately, that did not stop me from being able to make progress in Ranni’s questline. Which is such a great questline. And Blaidd is my favorite male NPC by far. It’s not even close.
Very few devs can get away with this or would even try. In Dark Souls, there are areas that you can completely miss and not do at all. This has always been the case with these games. Not Demon’s Souls, I don’t think. I can’t think of an optional area in that game. But in Dark Souls, there are two major ones. The first is in the swamp of Blighttown. There is a huge tree in the middle of it. As usual, there is pressure as you run into this tree because it’s in the middle of a poison swamp with giant leeches trying to whomp you. You have to hit the invisible wall, and there’s a chest. Then you have to hit another invisible wall and it’ll disappear, too. Then you get a bonfire and you have to start hiking down a a massive tree.
The other is in Anor Londo. This one is even more difficult to access. There is a room with a giant painting and a dozen of enemies called Painting Guardians (for obvious reasons). If you just go up to the painting to look at it, nothing. You have to get the Giant Crow to take you back to the Northern Undead Asylum and then go back to your starting cell (probably defeating a Black Knight on the way) where there is a Peculiar Doll. You have to grab that–and by the way, if you fall through the floor of the main area where you fought the Asylum Demon (first boss), there’s another boss–Stray Demon who is a reskin of the Asylum Demon, but does magic.
Get the Peculiar Doll and take it back to the room with the giant painting. Hold the doll up to the painting, and you’re in. Got that?) It’s so simple, right? It really isn’t, and it’s such a different mindset than the usual. With most games, the devs are eager to show you everything they have. They want you to make sure you see evry bit of content. With FromSoft, they’re like, it’s there. You can seek it out. Or not. It’s up to you. In the previous games, it’s one area behind each of those invisible walls (or however you get there). One whole level, yes, what is this game is called a Legacy Dungeon, but it’s still an isolated area.
In the case of the underworld in Elden Ring, it’s so many areas. And each area has more than one Site of Grace. It just keeps on going. It’s wild that you don’t have to do any of this underground stuff to finish the game. This still blows my mind. I spent at least sixty hours in the underground and probably more. As I mentioned yesterday, several endings depend on you doing the underground.
I have said that I wanted a map of the game. That would basically have to be two different maps–the above-ground and the underground. I love it so much. I take for granted certain aspects of the game until I play it seriously again and/or watch videos of the game and the worlds. I’m still in awe at how amazing the environments are and probably will be for some time.