Back again with even more criticisms for Shadow of the Erdtree! Yes, I said a few days ago I was going to give my review, but I’m not ready for that yet. Or rather, I don’t feel like doing it yet. Not sure why. Maybe because the ideas are still percolating in my brain. I have included a review from a content creator called Scott Jund.
*SPOILER WARNING*
In the last post, I ended by talking about the platforming–which is the bane of all the games. FromSoft are in love with platforming, but they are shit at executing it. They have been since the first Dark Souls (and I’m sure Demon’s Souls, but I have not played that game), and it’s only gotten worse over time. It’s terrible in Elden Ring because they added Torrent, the spirit steed (basically, your horse). In theory, that should have made it better because it gave them freedom to go bigger and better. Instead, it made it worse because jumping on Torrent is a nightmare. It’s as imprecise as ever, but even worse. Why? Because Torrent himself is imprecise. And he’s wider than you are. Which means turning on him is frustrating as fuck. Plus, if you’re on him and do anything related to him, he lunges forward–which can launch you off whatever ledge you’re precariously balancing on.
I love Torrent. He’s my boy. He’s aided me through the Lands Between and the Land of Shadow. Any time I have to do a jump with him, however, I groan, wince, and hold my breath as I grimly make my way up or down. Take, for example, the gravestones that you have to jump down. It’s easier to do with Torrent because of the smoothness–if you don’t ever stop. I have recently taken to hopping down on foot because it’s much easier to control my character minus Torrent. If I jump down to a gravestone on Torrent and then want to turn the other way, it’s 50/50 whether Torrent will stop as I’m turning rather than fall off the gravestone. If I want to jump to another tombstone, again, it’s 50/50 if I’ll land on it or overshoot–or not jump at all as you can’t really jump from a standstill.
Another complaint with Torrent is that horesback combat still feels shitty. I have tried and there are times when it’s necessary (such as when fighting a dragon), but it’s never enjoyable. In the DLC in particular, there’s one time when it’s rage-inducing. There’s a boss, Commander Gaius, who is trucking along on a war boar. Which, fine. I will jump on Torrent and–dead. Ok. Let me try again. I will jump on Torrent and–dead. Either Torrent or I (or both) were killed in an instant because the war boar can run faster than Torrent can.
That’s such bullshit. The whole purpose of fighting on horesback is to make things more even. It’s certainly not to give the player a disadvantage. It made me so indignant that in a rare fight with someone on horesback, the one thing that made it markedly easier was to not use my damn steed.
Shall we talk bosses again? Yes, we shall. I don’t know if I was ever into fighting the bosses, but in the beginning, I at least understood that it was part of the game. And to a certain extent, I accepted it. In order to get the wondrous levels of amazing design, I had to put up withthe crushingly difficult bosses.
Side note: The bosses were hard! I’m not going to alow people to retcon that because of their years of FromSoft game playing. The first time you play any of these games, it’s going to be difficult (for most people). So just STFU about how it’s more ‘puzzlelike’ and you ‘just have to figure out how to do it’. In other words, git gud. Or, even more hilariously, “I was just bad at the game and had to figure out how to play this kind of game.” Yes, that’s what difficulty is. Or can be. Even besides that, the bosses are hard! I am not here for people handwaving that away.
Ahem.
Bosses in the DLC. The balance was off for most of the bosses.
Side note deux: One of the hottest debates about Elden Ring is the addition of spirit ashes. It’s widely accepted that they were added in order to make the game more noob-friendly. And it’s been a consistent gripe amongst those who like to solo the bosses that this addition has ruined the formula.
I have covered how I get that, but also why I think they need to STFU. FromSoft is expanding and changing the formula. I feel like the hardcore fans are all, “I was into the band before they were popular!” If you (general you) support FromSoft when they’re making bosses almost impossibly hard, then you also have to support them when they mitigate that difficulty with helpful aids. I mean, you don’t, obviously. You can just say no to future From games. That’s capitalism, bay-bee! Also, for once there is something that is not for them. Wah, wah, wah.
I do agree, however, with one criticism about the spirit ashes, though. One of the ways they try to balance the inclusion of spirit ashes is by making the bosses have almost infinite stamina, more health, longer combos, and making their poise harder to break. As a base, I mean. Couple that with how From has been making their bosses harder every game since the first, and, well, we’re reaching the point where I’m about to be pushed out of the games.
It’s really frustrating to hear any version of ‘git gud’, no matter how gentle or well-meaning. “Just practice and learn the moves, and you can do it!” It’s also ableist because as I mentioned in the Discord, everyone has a skill cap. Everyone. You can’t ‘git gud’ your way past it. Yes, sometimes the cap is higher than we assume, but it’s there. Obviously. We would not tell someone who was 5’0″ that they could be in the NBA if they just practiced five hours every day. Someone who faints at the sight of blood will not be able to be a phlebotomist.
I don’t understand why this is so difficult for people to grasp. Well, no, that’s not true. I know why, but it’s still frustrating.
The firal boss of this DLC summons up most of my frustartions about the game in general. Buying into the hype of git gud, FromSoft threw everything and the kitchen sink into this fight. The first phase is…not fine, but manageable. The second phase, however, is utter garbage. Unlike most people (it seems), I don’t mind that it’s Radahn and Miquella. It didn’t make sense to me, but it also didn’t bother me (from a lore point of view). It’s solely the combat that made me think the fight was trash.
I could not see anything in the second phase. There is so much visual noise, it’s sometimes hard to even see Radahn. After every attack, there is a holy explosion, and that interferes with the next lightning-fast seven-attack combo. Plus, the meteor crash that Radahn does in the base game is even worse in the DLC because you can’t see at all where it’s coming from (though, apparently, there is a tell), and it will one-shot you absolutely if it hits you. I found out the hard way with that one.
I have heard/seen enough people express how I felt about this boss. There was no triumph in beating the boss–just relief and/or numbness that it was over. In my second playthrough, I am storming through it. I had difficulty with Rellana because she’s just too fast for me, but other than that, it’s not been a big thing. Mostly because I have been avoiding the bosses for now. Why? Because I don’t enjoy them.
There. I said it. I don’t enjoy the bosses and see them as the veggies I have to eat before I get my dessert (exploration). I enjoyed Messmer for the spectacle, but I can’t really think of a boss that I enjoyed fighting.
That’s all for today. More tomorrow.