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Noah Caldwell-Gervais compares and contrasts FromSoftware's Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Elden Ring, highlighting how each game builds upon, modifies, or diverges from the core elements established in the Dark Souls series. He discusses their distinct gameplay mechanics, thematic explorations, and artistic visions, arguing that despite surface-level differences, they form a cohesive trilogy by pushing the Dark Souls formula to contrasting conclusions.
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Introduction:
Bloodborne:
Sekiro:
Elden Ring:
Conclusion:
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This video explores the evolution of FromSoftware's "Souls-like" games, specifically focusing on Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Elden Ring as successors to the Dark Souls trilogy. The speaker, Noah Caldwell-Gervais, argues that these three games, while distinct, form a "loose trilogy" of their own, each pushing the core Dark Souls formula in different directions.
Introduction and the Souls Formula: Caldwell-Gervais begins by noting that after the definitive ending of Dark Souls 3, FromSoftware released Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring. He emphasizes that these games are "variations on a theme," each finding its unique voice by either adding or subtracting elements from the established Dark Souls mechanics. Bloodborne is presented as a "laboratory for fast combat," Sekiro as a further refinement of tightened, demanding combat, and Elden Ring as a shift towards an open-world structure while retaining the core combat loop. He contrasts this with the iterative sequels of other studios, like Infinity Ward or Rockstar, suggesting that FromSoftware's approach leads to more distinct and artistically driven experiences.
Bloodborne: Speed, Aggression, and Cosmic Horror: The video dedicates a significant portion to Bloodborne, highlighting its core design philosophy of speed and aggression, a departure from the more methodical combat of Dark Souls. Caldwell-Gervais points out the removal of shields as a key design choice that encourages players to adopt an offensive stance, further emphasized by the "rally mechanic" which allows players to regain health by damaging enemies shortly after taking a hit. He describes the initial hours of Bloodborne as particularly challenging and hostile, noting the lack of traditional checkpoints until bosses are defeated and the consumable nature of healing flasks, which can lead to frustrating resource management.
The world of Yharnam is praised for its dense, interconnected level design, reminiscent of Dark Souls 1's verticality, and its gothic, cosmic horror aesthetic inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. The game's narrative is noted for being more concrete than Dark Souls, while still retaining elements of cryptic lore, particularly concerning the Healing Church's experiments with "old blood" and the influence of eldritch entities like the Dream Mother, Ebrietas. Caldwell-Gervais highlights Bloodborne's exceptional creature design and boss encounters, arguing that they contribute significantly to the game's themes and atmosphere, acting as dramatic climaxes that unify gameplay, mood, and storytelling. He also touches upon the divisive nature of the Chalice Dungeons, acknowledging their repetitive structure and the frustrating grind they can entail, but also their role in expanding the game's lore and boss roster, particularly their connection to the deeper cosmic horror elements and characters like Queen Yharnam. The combat's emphasis on trick weapons, which transform between modes, is celebrated for adding depth and versatility, allowing players to adapt their playstyle mid-combat.
Sekiro: Precision, Narrative, and the Blade: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is characterized by its intense focus on precise, unforgiving combat. Caldwell-Gervais explains that the game strips away many of the RPG elements found in Dark Souls and Bloodborne, such as customizable stats and varied weapon builds, to concentrate on a core loop of attacking and parrying. The protagonist, Wolf, is a fixed character with a defined personality and narrative, which the game uses to create a deeper player-character connection. Every action, from movement to combat, is tied to Wolf's identity and struggle, aiming to reduce the gap between player and protagonist to "absolute zero."
The video discusses how Sekiro's difficulty is intrinsically linked to its storytelling, with the posture system acting as a narrative device that punishes hesitation and rewards aggression. This rigidity, while artistically impressive and crucial for the game's thematic coherence, is also noted as a potential source of frustration for players who prefer more flexibility or are less adept at mastering its specific combat rhythm. The game's limited toolset, primarily the Katana and Prosthetic Arm, emphasizes a focused approach to challenges, with each tool often serving as a counter to specific enemies or bosses. Caldwell-Gervais highlights the "hesitation is defeat" philosophy, explaining how the posture mechanic and the game's deliberate pacing force players to remain engaged and aggressive. He contrasts this strict adherence to its core mechanics with the more forgiving nature of Elden Ring and the customization options of Dark Souls, suggesting that Sekiro's lack of adjustable difficulty can alienate players who don't mesh with its demanding style. The game's narrative, focused on Wolf's quest to protect Kuro and sever the ties of immortality, is praised for its tight, character-driven plot, drawing inspiration from samurai epics and Japanese folklore, with a particular nod to Akira Kurosawa's films.
Elden Ring: Open World and Player Agency: Elden Ring is presented as FromSoftware's most expansive and player-agency-driven title. Caldwell-Gervais argues that the open-world format, while seemingly a departure, is actually a way to distribute the familiar FromSoftware gameplay loop across a much larger canvas. He contrasts this with the more structured, linear design of previous titles, explaining how the open world allows for a more flexible approach to progression and build customization. The game's initial areas are noted as being more forgiving, acting as a "tutorial region" that allows players to acclimate to the systems before encountering the steeper challenges.
The video highlights Elden Ring's vastness and the player's freedom to explore and tackle objectives in almost any order. This decentralization of content, while offering immense player agency, also means that narrative exposition is more fragmented, relying heavily on item descriptions and environmental storytelling. Caldwell-Gervais notes that while the core combat remains familiar, the open world allows for greater experimentation with builds, spells, and spirit ashes, which he sees as a key accessibility feature, offering a way to manage the game's inherent difficulty without fundamentally altering its challenge. He discusses the controversial "Spirit Ash" system, particularly the Mimic Tear, as a deliberate tool to help players overcome difficult encounters, contrasting it with Sekiro's rigid, non-adjustable difficulty. The game's artistic elements, from its stunning visuals and enemy designs to its lore, are praised, though Caldwell-Gervais expresses a slight disappointment in the more concrete narrative compared to the allegorical nature of Dark Souls. He points to specific bosses like Margit and Malenia as examples of challenging encounters that are designed to test player adaptability, but also acknowledges that Elden Ring's open-endedness and abundance of options can make some of these challenges more manageable through exploration and strategic build choices. The game's success is attributed not just to its open world, but to its ability to retain FromSoftware's unique design identity while making it more approachable through pacing and player freedom.
Conclusion and FromSoftware's Legacy: Caldwell-Gervais concludes by reiterating that Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring represent significant evolutionary steps for FromSoftware. Bloodborne refined the combat for aggression, Sekiro mastered narrative integration through its mechanics, and Elden Ring expanded the scope to an open world, balancing player freedom with challenging gameplay. He emphasizes that FromSoftware's strength lies in its ability to adapt its core formula while maintaining artistic integrity and pushing boundaries, lessons learned from decades of game development. The video highlights the shared "family tree" of these games, all stemming from Demon's Souls, and how each entry, while taking risks, ultimately contributes to a larger, evolving vision. The speaker expresses his personal journey with these games, moving from initial intimidation to deep appreciation, and credits the developer's willingness to trust the player's agency and curiosity as a key to their enduring appeal.