Yesterday, I was going to talk about why I don’t do brand loyalty when I veered into my dissatisfaction with the newest Elden Ring Tarnished DLC. I’t was only five dollars, but it should have een free. All the spoilers here–it was two new classes with base weapons from the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, two invasions that give you a set of armour and a weapon each, and three skins for Torrent, my best boy. Unlike any other company, FromSoft does not just give you the skins–oh no. They make you work for them. I detailed all of that in yesterday’s post, and I’m still not ok with this DLC costing actual money.
Just because they’re my favorite developers, it doesn’t mean that they get a free pass. This is something I’ve never understand–total brand loyalty. Or team loyalty. I don’t find it admirable to be loyal to something no matter what. To a person…well, to a certain extent. I am very loyal to my close friends, and I have a hard time imagining a situation in which I would walk away.
On the other hand, we are talking about less than a handful of people in that group. Other than them, I am loyal to other friends to a lesser degree. But I have walked away from friends in the past, and I could see m e doing it again.
Here’s the thing. Outside that handful of people, I don’t love anyone else to extent that I would be willing to help them bury bodies, so to speak. I listen to a content creator who makes it very clear that he considers loyalty no matter what one of the most important things in a friend. He’s got that “I’m joking, but I’m really not” tone when he talks about it.
Side note: I’m getting a bit tired of hipster whatever-ism. It just seems like a way to be able to say really shitty things with a veneer of ‘just kidding’ wrapped around it. You’re still getting to say that shitty thing with your full chest. I’m not ok with that. As someone who is besieged on all sides from the current administration of my country, I don’t need to hear the ‘jokes’ from people I’m giving money to.
Side note to the side note: I’m done with cishetwhitemen when it comes to content creation. I’m tired of it, and I need to expand my universe. So from now on, I will only watch people who are minorities and preferably in more than one way. I’ve talked about this in the past with friends. In my personal life, I am not against banging someone in that category, but they would have to be pretty exceptional. Like, really fucking (no pun intended) exceptional. I was talking to a friend who did not have much experience with people in that category, and she was all about it.
I did not blame her. She was new to the charms of men, and if I were in her shoes, I would be all up in it as well. But, for me, I’ve dated them all my life, and I was done. Not only because they exepcted certain things from Asian AFAB people, but just because…how do I put this politely…I’m tired of them.
I love the ones I know who are my friends and precious to me. But Now, I jsut do not want to seek them out. I’m pragmatic, though. I live in a state that is the vast majority white people.
How the hell did I get here? This has nothing to do with traditions or brand loyalty. Ah! I was talkinig about loyalty and it devolved from there. Ok. Back on track.
I can see being loyal to a person (to a certain extent), but not a brand, a team, or anything else that is not sentient. They can’t love you back, so it’s really a one-way relationship. Yes, you can get a sense of belonging from, say, cheering for the Vikings. I never did, not even when I wsa into sports. I remember the year the Vikes crushed the regular season and were widely favored to win the Super Bowl for the first time. Instead, they had a shocking loss to the Falcons in the first game (I believe) of the playoffs.
I watched the game and was both disappointed and wildly amused because of course the Vikes would choke and lose by missing a field goal. I think? I don’t remember the details exactly, but they definitely choked. I got over it in a week or so. At the beginning of the next season, the local news interviewed a fan dressed in Viking regalia. He was still crushed and could not get over it. He kept talking about how ‘we’ had lost and how bad he felt.
I remember thinking, “Dude. It’s not like you played in the game.” He was taking it way too hard, and I was slightly scornful. I understand that many people feel that way (belonging, identity, and whatnot), but it’s not something I’ve ever felt. I’ve never been in a group that I felt was my people. I always have to modify myself to a large degree because I’m just not palatable the way I am. Too weird for the normies and not weird enough (or in the right ways) for the weirdos.
Back to FromSoft. I have known for years now that my time with them is limited. I hear the clock ticking louder and louder, and I’m fine with that. When the day comes that I can no longer play their games, I’ll silently thank them for the games they’ve made in the past that I can play and move on. Or if they start making only mulitplayer games or exclusives or whatnot.
The thing is, as much as I like them, they are still a mega-corporation. They are still out there to make a buck, and they are offering a product to me. As long as that product is to my liking, I will continue to buy it. Now that it’s starting to not be to my liking, well, let’s just say tht I’m not as eager to pre-order their games any longer. Some journalists are insisting that there’s nothing to worry about, that they’ll bring new energy to their next action adventure game. Sure. Or they will make it way too much for me. At this point, it could be either/either.
My point is that if Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree is the last game by FromSoft that I’ve loved playing, so be it. I’ve made my peace with it, and I’m ready to thank them and move on. What I’m not ready to do is keep paying them for games I do not enjoy. That would be Armored Core VI and Nightreign. And, while I’m huffy that The Duskbloods is a Switch 2 exclusive, a small part of me is relieved. Why? Because it doesn’t look like my jam at all, but if it were on PC, I would feel compelled to buy it. And play it. And hate it like I hate Nightreign.
I don’t need to like every game that FromSoft puts out, but I’m worried if I’ll ever like a game from them again.