Interestingly, the first required boss is actually Messmer. You can completely skip dancing Lion, Rellana and the hippo by going through Bonny village to the church district and into the specimen storage hall the back way
Disocvered this too... interestingly you can't get to Rellana the back way, the fog wall at the exit of her arena doesn't let you through - I was hoping to battle her without having to trudge through Castle Ensis but nope! haha
Ive just kinda realised some thing with open worlds. If you say thay a mario game is bad for not having a strong narrative, that just means you dont like that type of game. If you say that a metroidvania should be less confusing, youre not into the genre. But if you say that ER's open world is empty, its valid now, despite it being the most dense of its game type in mainstream media. I feel an open world has the intent of conveing an atmosphere of a big world you can explore. There isnt something around every corner, the world is not made for you to be there. But when there is, it feels special. Personally i think the open world as a style is treated rather unfairly and its strengths are ignored in favour of comparing it to something it isnt trying to be. Its fair if you dont like this style of game, but it should be at least judged for what it is and relatively to others of its kind.
Fun Fact, the flowers in Bayle's Arena are Dragon Calorblooms, left by dead Drake Warriors. Each flower is a dead drake warrior. Goes to show just how many died in the pursuit of Bayle's heart.
Initially, I thought the Abyssal Woods was trying to do what Jagged Peak succeeded at; being more about the visuals and build-up than enemy placement. Then, as I analyzed it more, I think Abyssal Woods did exactly what it meant to do, but it just didn't have the intended effect on the majority of players. It needed more.
Most people that got burned out before finishing their first playthrough of ER did so because they were trying to pull off a first playthrough AND a completionist playthrough at the same time. It's a LOT of content!
Yea, i kept debating who was worse between Marika and gwyn. Before I elaborate, does anyone see any connections between the two? Before I sound crazy lolol
So glad to hear you're an ASOIAF fan! The dynamic between the forces of Messmer/Marika and the Hornsent reminds me so much of the dynamic between the Valyrian and Ghiscari empires in ASOIAF. Ghis was the first to become an empire, with the early Valyrians being enslaved under their rule. Then, having tamed dragons, not only do they manage to break free from their bondage, but they end up founding a far more successful, far more brutal, slaving empire. I also felt like there were some similarities between Miquella and Daenerys. Both are young, charming, but inexperienced rulers. Their unbending sense of idealism, while commendable, leads them to committing many atrocities in the name of the greater good. As a character, Daenerys always felt like GRRM's take on a utopian leader, and Miquella seems to fulfill a similar role in Elden Ring.
I'm glad, that you enjoyed Shadow of the Erdtree so much. Personally, the world design was one of my favourite parts unlike for you. But I also think that Shadow Keep is one of their best levels, so we clearly have different priorities. I enjoyed the complexity of the entire map and it reminded me a lot of the ways the Dark Souls I map winds in on itself. And the bosses really are damn good. Great video, I feel its length does the many subjects being discussed justice and it really felt just like a genuine expression of your opinion after a lot of reflection. I can only recommend playing Armored Core 6 though. As long as you vibe with it, it's another banger.
I would generally agree, on my First Play-through I thoroughly enjoyed how the world looped on itself and was significantly layered-And I didn’t even find the Darklight catacombs or Midra’s Manse! Plus the Shadow keep is a top tier locale. I will however say that the exploration can feel sort of linear on subsequent play throughs, not just in the sense of the same locations-thats a given- but often there is one route to the separate area/regions.
2:19:30 best point so far in an already good video. I really think the reason DS1 is so memorable, besides the world design, is the consistent variety of enemies (besides lost izalith).
Wow. I love all your other videos, and I've seen all of the Fromsoft related ones a multitude of times, but this video really feels fresh. The comedy, and extra attention to editing is really making the difference for me. I'm only an hour in, and I already think this might be your best video yet. Keep it up!
I was pretty late to the "Soulsborne" party so the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC was my first DLC that I was actually able to play on release. I took the day off of work when it came out
Congratulations on your new job ...& prospects!! But fantastic to have you back to bless youtube with that musical vocab and humour in such an videographic barnstormer. Bloody LOVED it 🎉 ❤
I agree so much with your point that a lot of times your initial experience with a piece of art doesn't really determine how much you're gonna end up loving or hating something. Elden Ring is like that for me, I love it much more now than I did when it first came out. I was so jaded by the end of my first playthrough that I just summoned mimic tear for the final few bosses and hated how easy and uninteresting it was once I used the mimic. Ended up not really playing the game again until the DLC and now I can't stop playing, I've done like 4 playthroughs since the game came out and more are coming, I'm so excited to cosplay different builds and maybe one day be bold enough to attempt a level 1 playthrough. I feel like when people rush to judge things, they're not realizing that sometimes the problem isn't entirely with the product. Fromsoft games are hard and they're meant to be hard so you have to be in the right frame of mind to deal with that and I really wasn't by the end of my first playthrough, so glad Shadow of the Erdtree pulled me back in.
Glad to hear you're doing better with the new job. Im excited to come back and finish this video later tonight. Gotta get back to my first playthrough of the Old Hunters DLC for now. It has absolutely blown my mind so far, and I have your videos to thank for me finally buying a ps5 to try it out. Totally worth it 👌
The bit about the teleport to Enir Ilim makes so much sense. It didn't diminish my enjoyment of Belurat but it felt like the staircase to Enir Ilim was there just to tease the player and nothing more. I had the same feeling back in DS3 after killing the ancient wyvern in archdragon peak. To me it felt like the player was meant to explore the first half of the fortress again, as thoroughly as they would any normal souls dungeon, after getting rid of the ambient hazard, and then just walk into the next area. You can still do this, mind you, but the player is immediately transported to the next area and the first one is completely discarded like it was any other empty, circular boss arena.
3:30:46 Hey Candle, some advice for you with the Radagon attack: After each of the slams he places these glowing cracks on the ground. A sure way to avoid every single slam is to run to the side out of the orange glowing danger area after dodging/jumping a slam, because the cracks explode timed to the next hammer slam. So you jump over that slam, then run to the side again. I actually really like that attack, but it took some trial and error to figure out.
I personally think the Shadow Realm's overworld design is more enjoyable, because for base game, everytime i have to reach a new area, all i do is run with my horse while nothing mechanically interesting happens, like from lurnia to atlus. Running through a whole body of shallow lake is incredibly boring almost hope for a "auto pilot" mode for torrent to bring me to the elevator, or mountain tops of the giant is almost all just horse runs. Or having to reach the town before elphael is a whole lot of horse running. the only couple area that doesnt suffer this is all the underground level, and Caelid or Volcano Manor to an extend. As for shadow realm in order to reach someplace like abyssal wood, we have to go to the shadow keep. Go underground, enter the darklight catacomb to slowly descend down to the madness. That's way more fun than "horse run for 5 minutes" to reach the fun part. It might be a bit much in order to reach a new area, but i enjoy an interesting journey that we have to go through in order to get there. Same with reaching Ancient Ruin of Rauh, Scadu Altus, or even Cerulean coast is not all horse runs.
Listened to the whole thing at work. Even with 400 hrs in, I love to hear others experiences in the game. Thank you for your video. Liked and subscribed 👍
The mention of Gorguts was such a curveball. I love Gorguts too, it took some getting used to for me too as I discovered them early into my journey with death metal. If you like them, I strongly recommend Demilich, and Ulcerate as they also have an avant-garde approach to technical death metal, just like Gorguts.
3:28:40 Just FYI, that third strike will always hit you if you're within the three rings rune it creates on the floor. You either need to stay just far enough to be outside the circles, or, what i like to do, stay right up in his face and roll *behind* him on that third strike
Great video. A bit short tho, really missing an 1h segment on weapons. Jokes aside, it's nice to see the work and time you took on this. It really flew by
Is your new job "Professional Writer?"...well, it should be. [Thank you for all your hard work on this video, Candle]...it's very-much noticed and appreciated!
In regards to the NPC quests I agree, but Millicent's quest makes up for it. I still can bring myself to betray Millie and I never will, even though her talisman is the business.
Man, I don't understand why you don't have like 200k subs at least, I've seen dozens of FromSoft RUclipsrs with +100k subs, and their reviews are pretty bland and mediocre compared to yours.
In regards to Miquella's body, he literally shed his cocoon form (like a cocoon). The one in the cocoon is an old body that he left with Mohg, and went into the shadowlands with his new body. He isn't two differant people, his old body is just fully abandoned. It only moves when Mohg was inside it (creepy)
47:30 What you said about W3’s DLCs is half right. The game allows you to access Hearts of Stone as soon as you enter Velen. However, for Blood and Wine, due to one of the potential endings you can get there, you’re required to complete Novigrad and free Dandelion first.
Abysal woods, Manse hall and midra was the absolute peak of the dlc for me. Just wish manse hall was bigger but at least it had the looping level design. The horror aspect was amazing.
WE'RE EXREMELY BACK, We're Cursing bayle and kicking Miquella's twink ass with this one. Wonderful job man You never fail to deliver. I really enjoy your long form content and you simply taking time to develop your honest and out of the treaded path opinion. I think that in particular is sorrily missed for many opinion based videos hence why yours is greatly appreciated. If I'm not mistaken I saw A tarnished Achaeology video 2 days ago (fantastic group of cretators btw) and they brought the translation of Enir-illim from old Sumero-Akkadian terminology that roughly translates as "Temple of the Lord of God"; the name also correlates with the meaning of Babylon, in Akkadian _Babilim_ which means "Gates of heaven" Or "Gate of divinity". Enir Illim can be understod, therefore, as a reference to babylon and its shape is closely related to the Tower of Babel, which is traditionally located in Babylon in the book of genesis from the Bible. So yeah as per usual, Fromsoft cooked Hard. Edit: I got to watch all the video and my god I really love your honesty with the DLC, especially how fair you are with Radahn, probably one of the greatest takes I've heard on the internet, and I probably appreciate it a lot more because it aligns with my vision, thank you thank you.
It's curious how people can have totally opposite impressions. For me, navigating the complexity of the land of shadow was my favourite part of the DLC and to such an extent that it's hard to go back to base game and not have it feel a bit "flat" in comparison, both in terms of how engaging traversal is and from an overall aesthetic perspective. For me, the open world itself was a massive improvement on the base game, whereas the legacy dungeons were merely good without really topping either Leyndell or Stormveil. It's interesting how the Shadow Keep acts as a hub to other parts of the map, but on its own it is largely just a less interesting version of the Research Hall with a less interesting version of New Londo Ruins attached to it. It's been a while but I don't recall there being a single meaningful shortcut in the entirety of the Shadow Keep. There is even an "anti-shortcut" when you move the giant specimens around, because you can no longer even traverse the area from top to bottom without fast travel. It's pretty uninventive level design held together by a preponderance of graces to checkpoint progress. The Specimen Storehouse would have been much better if it were designed like the Research Hall with only one site of grace and interesting shortcuts linking the floors together because despite how initially confusing it might appear, progress through the area itself is actually very linear compared with the Research Hall. The section of the Specimen Storehouse that is accessed from the Church District should have had some kind of shortcut you could activate to link the two areas together, because as they are they are isolated (you can jump from the former section to main part of the Storehouse but there is no way to get back after you do). Navigating the Shadow Keep can be confusing not because there are too many shortcuts but because there are too few. It can seem like there is a lot of interconnectivity but in reality it is just a few, relatively short linear levels attached to each other without much meaningful interconnectivity. I should say that despite this I also seem to like The Shadow Keep more than you, but there were a lot of missed opportunities there which prevent it from being at the level of Leyndell or Stormveil. Belurat on the other hand was very interesting aesthetically and featured a lot of shortcuts (however, and this is a general problem with Elden Ring, there are probably too many graces or stakes of Marika to make them particularly useful).
I think one of the biggest weaknesses of the open world genre is after your first exploration you know exactly how much of the world/content is ignorable/useless. It was an issue with the base game, and the dlc being smaller made these sections feel even more pronounced.
I strongly disagree personally in regard to Elden ring soecifically. it took me several playthroughs to really mentally map the game out and I still don’t know where absolutely everything is off the top of my head. Also different builds obviously require vastly different equipment which will naturally dictate what content you’ll need to do in a given playthrough. There is just no way anyone after 1 playthrough is like “ok I know where every item in the game is now and exactly what content to do or not”. Especially considering a likely large amount of people no doubt missed entire areas of the map and numerous hidden areas along with piles of items their first playthrough. It can be an issue sure, but I feel for Elden ring you’d need a god tier memory coupled with a guide your first playthrough for that to be the case imo.
Thats kind of like asking "Whats the point of reading the same book twice?" and using that as a criticism. Why are we judging media based on the 3rd time experiencing it rather than the first? I can play any video game 10 times in a row and claim that I'm becoming bored of it, because duh, of course I am
@@buckyhurdle4776 it’s absolutely a valid criticism. You only get a first playthrough once, and if every run after that is diminished then it’s absolutely something to discuss.
@@Scowleasy You could level this criticism at any optional content in any game. All optional content is ignorable. If you don't like lots of optional content, thats fine. I do, so its not a weakness to me. Ash Lake is one of the most useless, out of the way, empty areas in all of soulsborne and I still like it
@@Scowleasy It's not really valid as like the reply above, this goes for anything in life after you experience it once. If something is sold on the grandness, exploration, revelations of events etc etc, you can't expect that same level if you return to it. Watching a movie for a 2nd time can definitely be enjoyable, but you will never get the same shock from a revelation or a twist as you did on the first watch. If you go to some monument you will be awe struck on the first visit, but once you see it 10 times over, you won't care. Of course the open world feels empty on multiple playthroughs, because you know exactly where to go and avoid. Just by definition, almost all things in life will be diminished after you do it multiple times over.
I think the Scadutree (and the whole veiled realm for that matter) is the "shadow" of the lands between in a psychological sense. Whereas a person's "shadow" is their darker, more repressed base self, the realm of shadow and the Scadutree are the dark and hidden, repressed part of Marika's ostensibly brilliant golden order. Also, if the shadow realm is in fact at the center of the lands between, that would put the Scadutree right beneath or next to the Erdtree, making it kind of a literal shadow in that sense too.
Thank you for being one of the few not showering Shadow keep with praise. I HATED making my way through the storehouse...got lost for literal hours because the multi level, multi bookcase, 1 ladder bullshit. Fuck that place.
there's also death lightning! EDIT also manse and ensis are not legacy dungeons, even the strategy guide mentions only Enir, Belurat and shadow keep as legacy dungeons. The other 2 are more something in between like morne and redmane keep
At 36:38, you're using the backhand blades but I don't recognize the attacks. Is that an ash of war? Or am I missing out on knowledge of the backhand blades moves?
Great video, I really enjoyed it. Couple of thoughts I have: When you mentioned some areas of the DLC have no logical means of accessing them, it made me think of Ash Lake in Dark Souls, an area we can all agree has absolutely no logical placement in the world's geography just by looking at the Great Hollow from the outside. I get the feeling that hiding away entire optional areas of the game is something of a Souls tradition at this point. The main gripe I have with the game as a whole including the DLC is something you've actually touched upon in the video. At one point you admit that some of the DLC bosses can 2 or even 1 shot your character, even at high blessing levels. Imo designing the bosses (and certain pirouetting enemies) in this way destroys the concept of the RPG levelling system, to the point that I would argue it is not worth having in ER. If you can waste hundreds of hours 'levelling up' just to see no meaningful benefit that is a defunct and useless system. I can confirm your character can have 99 vitality and still die in a couple of hits regardless of build. That alone is ridiculous and dwarves any other issue I could come up with for this game. All it had to do was set itself up like Sekiro, with no levelling system and a basic increase in health and attack power to keep you on an even keel with the late game bosses. ER instead has the appearance of the levelling system from the Dark Souls trilogy, DeS and BB but it is a hollow sham that means almost nothing by the late game.
This is astonishing content CANDLE. Thank you for such an in depth discussion about what I consider to be a brilliant piece of DLC. It was rage inducing at times, but it was never boring and at it's best it was downright captivating. The final boss was however a massive blunder by Fromsoft IMO. Far too overtuned and sadly a symptom of From trying to one up themselves when it comes to bosses. I think Midra was the best boss overall, a proper DS3 type boss and very fun to fight. I loved the abyssal woods too.
I haven’t seen this talked about much and I know I’m being picky, but an issue I had is the lack of remembrance boss cutscenes. Cutscenes add a huge “WOW” factor and I wish there were more of them. Kind of makes boss designs feel rushed
Great vid mate! My only real critique of Elden Ring as well as SotE is that the plate (game world) is too big for its meat and potatoes. This is especially apparent on a second playthrough as plenty of areas feel unexiciting and you encounter the same enemy types and bosses too many times. I'd love to see a future FromSoft game that attempts a stricter balance between open world exploration and high density of fun and unique experiences.
I think death or some distorted form of it is the only way to reach the realm of shadow. And Miquella being the genius he is managed to figure out the spiritual mechanism for the same. Thus he uaed the death of his body in the lands between to reach the land of shadows. I think the spiritual mechanism needed involved the crucible. Think about it. The Crucible was a primordial primordial chaotic mix of features. A soup if u will. Then from the soup emerged light (Erdtree) and Dark (Scadutree) like yin and yang. This differentiation is the birth of order. Then it stands to reason that crucible aligned creatures can traverse the veil that separates. So Miquella may have used Mogh's omen blood and his own knowledge to create the transport to land of shadow. Sir ansbach followed Miquella into the land of shadow where they dueled and Sir Ansbach was charmed.
I didn't look up anything and I got level nineteen scadu fragments. I was Scadu level 3 when i beat Bayle he was my 5th boss in the DLC. 1 Nameless mausoleum guy in solitude armor. 2 Ancient dragon man 3 The dragon just outside of the cave . 4 The double dragons. I skipped the ancient dragon. 5 Bayle
Man, I was waiting for this! I didn't watch it yet but I am super exited! I hope you will not share the opinions of some awful critics that just thinks about rewards and don't care about art.
Since you like A Song of ice and Fire, I think you would probably also enjoy The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie and The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
miquella is able to abandon his flesh in the land of shadow because through his accursed death at the hands of luminary mohg his body was physically transported to the land of shadow (all manners of Death wash up here, only to be suppressed) at least that’s my interpretation of it :)
I think the size of the game took a toll on people used (souls players especially) who were used to playing right through most games in a weekend really burned out that first play through . Lucky for me being a “completionist” and Lore/story driven player thus game is 600 + hours in for me and its still satisfying to play . I have a pile of new games cases getting a pretty good layer of dust on them because I can only give 5-10 hours a week to gaming and Elden ring has just become my “soul” reason I turn my PS5 these days . I even have a few downloads I have barely even accepted as done . Now they added more land mass for me to play archeological professor with so it’ll be January before I start something new finally ! lol
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Interestingly, the first required boss is actually Messmer. You can completely skip dancing Lion, Rellana and the hippo by going through Bonny village to the church district and into the specimen storage hall the back way
I haven't even heard of that village or or the church district and I'm at the end
@@Izak_Klarkyou should explore the moorth ruins area a bit
Disocvered this too... interestingly you can't get to Rellana the back way, the fog wall at the exit of her arena doesn't let you through - I was hoping to battle her without having to trudge through Castle Ensis but nope! haha
@@VioletOrbWeaver I haven't heard of Moorth Ruins either
@@Izak_Klark the ruins that are in Scadu Altus just after you defeat Rellana and go a bit to the right from the path
Ive just kinda realised some thing with open worlds.
If you say thay a mario game is bad for not having a strong narrative, that just means you dont like that type of game.
If you say that a metroidvania should be less confusing, youre not into the genre.
But if you say that ER's open world is empty, its valid now, despite it being the most dense of its game type in mainstream media.
I feel an open world has the intent of conveing an atmosphere of a big world you can explore. There isnt something around every corner, the world is not made for you to be there. But when there is, it feels special. Personally i think the open world as a style is treated rather unfairly and its strengths are ignored in favour of comparing it to something it isnt trying to be. Its fair if you dont like this style of game, but it should be at least judged for what it is and relatively to others of its kind.
Jokes on you. DLC OW is better than vanilla OW.
You’re right
@@5chneemensch138the dlc OW is the big boy OW ain’t no weeping peninsula here if you get stomped you gotta get good
To me open world has always been a first time novelty. Good level design lends itself much more readily to repeated playthroughs.
Fun Fact, the flowers in Bayle's Arena are Dragon Calorblooms, left by dead Drake Warriors. Each flower is a dead drake warrior. Goes to show just how many died in the pursuit of Bayle's heart.
Initially, I thought the Abyssal Woods was trying to do what Jagged Peak succeeded at; being more about the visuals and build-up than enemy placement. Then, as I analyzed it more, I think Abyssal Woods did exactly what it meant to do, but it just didn't have the intended effect on the majority of players. It needed more.
Most people that got burned out before finishing their first playthrough of ER did so because they were trying to pull off a first playthrough AND a completionist playthrough at the same time. It's a LOT of content!
That's what I did and it was after the dlc released
One of my favorite things about From Software, ever since the Artorias DLC, is that sometimes... the lore is a *lie.*
Yea, i kept debating who was worse between Marika and gwyn. Before I elaborate, does anyone see any connections between the two? Before I sound crazy lolol
Just wanted to say how thrilled I was to see this pop up in my feed. Absolutely love your content, always happy for more.
So glad to hear you're an ASOIAF fan!
The dynamic between the forces of Messmer/Marika and the Hornsent reminds me so much of the dynamic between the Valyrian and Ghiscari empires in ASOIAF. Ghis was the first to become an empire, with the early Valyrians being enslaved under their rule. Then, having tamed dragons, not only do they manage to break free from their bondage, but they end up founding a far more successful, far more brutal, slaving empire.
I also felt like there were some similarities between Miquella and Daenerys. Both are young, charming, but inexperienced rulers. Their unbending sense of idealism, while commendable, leads them to committing many atrocities in the name of the greater good. As a character, Daenerys always felt like GRRM's take on a utopian leader, and Miquella seems to fulfill a similar role in Elden Ring.
I'm glad, that you enjoyed Shadow of the Erdtree so much.
Personally, the world design was one of my favourite parts unlike for you. But I also think that Shadow Keep is one of their best levels, so we clearly have different priorities.
I enjoyed the complexity of the entire map and it reminded me a lot of the ways the Dark Souls I map winds in on itself.
And the bosses really are damn good.
Great video, I feel its length does the many subjects being discussed justice and it really felt just like a genuine expression of your opinion after a lot of reflection.
I can only recommend playing Armored Core 6 though. As long as you vibe with it, it's another banger.
I would generally agree, on my First Play-through I thoroughly enjoyed how the world looped on itself and was significantly layered-And I didn’t even find the Darklight catacombs or Midra’s Manse! Plus the Shadow keep is a top tier locale. I will however say that the exploration can feel sort of linear on subsequent play throughs, not just in the sense of the same locations-thats a given- but often there is one route to the separate area/regions.
W video for not complaining about Consort Radahn being too difficult.
Candle Type is back with 4 hours of long-form content! I'm happy to see you back and I can't wait to dig into this video over the next few days
We are so back
Still haven't played Erdtree.... Making myself pay off my credit card before I buy. Just another couple weeks and I'll be balls deep
2:19:30 best point so far in an already good video.
I really think the reason DS1 is so memorable, besides the world design, is the consistent variety of enemies (besides lost izalith).
finally you're back 😭😭
Wow. I love all your other videos, and I've seen all of the Fromsoft related ones a multitude of times, but this video really feels fresh. The comedy, and extra attention to editing is really making the difference for me. I'm only an hour in, and I already think this might be your best video yet. Keep it up!
WE'RE BACK! Saved the best long form review for last.
I was pretty late to the "Soulsborne" party so the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC was my first DLC that I was actually able to play on release. I took the day off of work when it came out
Best video yet! Well done Candle and super glad you're still doing videos but in a fulfilling way
The Return of the King.
Lovely accent. Will watch this for my unending affection for feature length deep dives❤
Congratulations on your new job ...& prospects!! But fantastic to have you back to bless youtube with that musical vocab and humour in such an videographic barnstormer. Bloody LOVED it 🎉 ❤
I agree so much with your point that a lot of times your initial experience with a piece of art doesn't really determine how much you're gonna end up loving or hating something. Elden Ring is like that for me, I love it much more now than I did when it first came out. I was so jaded by the end of my first playthrough that I just summoned mimic tear for the final few bosses and hated how easy and uninteresting it was once I used the mimic. Ended up not really playing the game again until the DLC and now I can't stop playing, I've done like 4 playthroughs since the game came out and more are coming, I'm so excited to cosplay different builds and maybe one day be bold enough to attempt a level 1 playthrough.
I feel like when people rush to judge things, they're not realizing that sometimes the problem isn't entirely with the product. Fromsoft games are hard and they're meant to be hard so you have to be in the right frame of mind to deal with that and I really wasn't by the end of my first playthrough, so glad Shadow of the Erdtree pulled me back in.
Fell asleep and woke up to this playing lol
52:08 he did what ranni did with her body I’m guessing or something along those lines. He was in a cocoon so
I really appreciate your work and I’ll watch this as soon as I play the DLC ❤
laughed out loud at the failed sandwich analogy. so good. your sense of humor is perfect.
Glad to hear you're doing better with the new job. Im excited to come back and finish this video later tonight. Gotta get back to my first playthrough of the Old Hunters DLC for now. It has absolutely blown my mind so far, and I have your videos to thank for me finally buying a ps5 to try it out. Totally worth it 👌
The bit about the teleport to Enir Ilim makes so much sense. It didn't diminish my enjoyment of Belurat but it felt like the staircase to Enir Ilim was there just to tease the player and nothing more.
I had the same feeling back in DS3 after killing the ancient wyvern in archdragon peak. To me it felt like the player was meant to explore the first half of the fortress again, as thoroughly as they would any normal souls dungeon, after getting rid of the ambient hazard, and then just walk into the next area. You can still do this, mind you, but the player is immediately transported to the next area and the first one is completely discarded like it was any other empty, circular boss arena.
3:30:46 Hey Candle, some advice for you with the Radagon attack:
After each of the slams he places these glowing cracks on the ground.
A sure way to avoid every single slam is to run to the side out of the orange glowing danger area after dodging/jumping a slam, because the cracks explode timed to the next hammer slam.
So you jump over that slam, then run to the side again.
I actually really like that attack, but it took some trial and error to figure out.
I personally think the Shadow Realm's overworld design is more enjoyable, because for base game, everytime i have to reach a new area, all i do is run with my horse while nothing mechanically interesting happens, like from lurnia to atlus. Running through a whole body of shallow lake is incredibly boring almost hope for a "auto pilot" mode for torrent to bring me to the elevator, or mountain tops of the giant is almost all just horse runs. Or having to reach the town before elphael is a whole lot of horse running. the only couple area that doesnt suffer this is all the underground level, and Caelid or Volcano Manor to an extend.
As for shadow realm in order to reach someplace like abyssal wood, we have to go to the shadow keep. Go underground, enter the darklight catacomb to slowly descend down to the madness. That's way more fun than "horse run for 5 minutes" to reach the fun part. It might be a bit much in order to reach a new area, but i enjoy an interesting journey that we have to go through in order to get there. Same with reaching Ancient Ruin of Rauh, Scadu Altus, or even Cerulean coast is not all horse runs.
Listened to the whole thing at work. Even with 400 hrs in, I love to hear others experiences in the game. Thank you for your video. Liked and subscribed 👍
glad to see you back and doing all good boss, another great review and intriguing insights as always 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Much love from the US! Thanks for this video, and all the hard work you put into it!
Whats is going on brotha it's good as hell to see your back and at again and with another BANGER AT THAT 💯🔥🔥🔥
Really loved this analysis. So thorough! And the FFX music slaps ☺️
The mention of Gorguts was such a curveball. I love Gorguts too, it took some getting used to for me too as I discovered them early into my journey with death metal. If you like them, I strongly recommend Demilich, and Ulcerate as they also have an avant-garde approach to technical death metal, just like Gorguts.
Ad Nauseam is a really good band in that style too. More long form and wierd, but very cool.
@@EnergyChasms Absolutely. I love their music, and their latest album is so sick
Ulcerate are incredible. New album is sick
Fighting yoda was one of the more memorable parts for me, it was nice seeing fromsoft making a nod to the little dude.
You sound a lot better without the stress on your shoulders, gained a sub for sure
I'm glad you're feeling better and I hope you can find a good balance between work, free time and video making
3:28:40
Just FYI, that third strike will always hit you if you're within the three rings rune it creates on the floor. You either need to stay just far enough to be outside the circles, or, what i like to do, stay right up in his face and roll *behind* him on that third strike
I smashed the like button before I even watched this lengthy treat of a video
Still playing elden ring . Its endless . Favorite game ever
14 playthroughs or so later
Good to see you Candle!! - Johnny
Great video. A bit short tho, really missing an 1h segment on weapons.
Jokes aside, it's nice to see the work and time you took on this. It really flew by
Glad ur back brother
33:29 😂 Seems like being able to put out videos on a more relaxed schedule is paying off. This and "pico boss" *are* gold!
Is your new job "Professional Writer?"...well, it should be. [Thank you for all your hard work on this video, Candle]...it's very-much noticed and appreciated!
Congrats on the new job. 💪🤘
In regards to the NPC quests I agree, but Millicent's quest makes up for it. I still can bring myself to betray Millie and I never will, even though her talisman is the business.
Man, I don't understand why you don't have like 200k subs at least, I've seen dozens of FromSoft RUclipsrs with +100k subs, and their reviews are pretty bland and mediocre compared to yours.
In regards to Miquella's body, he literally shed his cocoon form (like a cocoon). The one in the cocoon is an old body that he left with Mohg, and went into the shadowlands with his new body. He isn't two differant people, his old body is just fully abandoned. It only moves when Mohg was inside it (creepy)
Absolute banger of a video mate , still funny af lol
Having lower level smithing stones in land of shadow is the backbone of shadow realm only runs
47:30 What you said about W3’s DLCs is half right. The game allows you to access Hearts of Stone as soon as you enter Velen. However, for Blood and Wine, due to one of the potential endings you can get there, you’re required to complete Novigrad and free Dandelion first.
Abysal woods, Manse hall and midra was the absolute peak of the dlc for me. Just wish manse hall was bigger but at least it had the looping level design. The horror aspect was amazing.
Better get my lighter ready for this new candle!!!
🕯 I looked it up, and it's actually better for the environment to use matches! 😅
The Obscura mention at the end was a pleasant surprise, it's also one of my favourite albums 🤘
Awesome band. Seriously hard to play lol
WE'RE EXREMELY BACK, We're Cursing bayle and kicking Miquella's twink ass with this one. Wonderful job man You never fail to deliver. I really enjoy your long form content and you simply taking time to develop your honest and out of the treaded path opinion. I think that in particular is sorrily missed for many opinion based videos hence why yours is greatly appreciated.
If I'm not mistaken I saw A tarnished Achaeology video 2 days ago (fantastic group of cretators btw) and they brought the translation of Enir-illim from old Sumero-Akkadian terminology that roughly translates as "Temple of the Lord of God"; the name also correlates with the meaning of Babylon, in Akkadian _Babilim_ which means "Gates of heaven" Or "Gate of divinity". Enir Illim can be understod, therefore, as a reference to babylon and its shape is closely related to the Tower of Babel, which is traditionally located in Babylon in the book of genesis from the Bible. So yeah as per usual, Fromsoft cooked Hard.
Edit: I got to watch all the video and my god I really love your honesty with the DLC, especially how fair you are with Radahn, probably one of the greatest takes I've heard on the internet, and I probably appreciate it a lot more because it aligns with my vision, thank you thank you.
am i the only one who thinks that something unique should happen at the start of placidusax if you have killed bael?
I can totally see Tom Cruise's face in the dancing lion
It's curious how people can have totally opposite impressions. For me, navigating the complexity of the land of shadow was my favourite part of the DLC and to such an extent that it's hard to go back to base game and not have it feel a bit "flat" in comparison, both in terms of how engaging traversal is and from an overall aesthetic perspective. For me, the open world itself was a massive improvement on the base game, whereas the legacy dungeons were merely good without really topping either Leyndell or Stormveil. It's interesting how the Shadow Keep acts as a hub to other parts of the map, but on its own it is largely just a less interesting version of the Research Hall with a less interesting version of New Londo Ruins attached to it. It's been a while but I don't recall there being a single meaningful shortcut in the entirety of the Shadow Keep. There is even an "anti-shortcut" when you move the giant specimens around, because you can no longer even traverse the area from top to bottom without fast travel. It's pretty uninventive level design held together by a preponderance of graces to checkpoint progress. The Specimen Storehouse would have been much better if it were designed like the Research Hall with only one site of grace and interesting shortcuts linking the floors together because despite how initially confusing it might appear, progress through the area itself is actually very linear compared with the Research Hall. The section of the Specimen Storehouse that is accessed from the Church District should have had some kind of shortcut you could activate to link the two areas together, because as they are they are isolated (you can jump from the former section to main part of the Storehouse but there is no way to get back after you do). Navigating the Shadow Keep can be confusing not because there are too many shortcuts but because there are too few. It can seem like there is a lot of interconnectivity but in reality it is just a few, relatively short linear levels attached to each other without much meaningful interconnectivity. I should say that despite this I also seem to like The Shadow Keep more than you, but there were a lot of missed opportunities there which prevent it from being at the level of Leyndell or Stormveil. Belurat on the other hand was very interesting aesthetically and featured a lot of shortcuts (however, and this is a general problem with Elden Ring, there are probably too many graces or stakes of Marika to make them particularly useful).
I think one of the biggest weaknesses of the open world genre is after your first exploration you know exactly how much of the world/content is ignorable/useless.
It was an issue with the base game, and the dlc being smaller made these sections feel even more pronounced.
I strongly disagree personally in regard to Elden ring soecifically. it took me several playthroughs to really mentally map the game out and I still don’t know where absolutely everything is off the top of my head. Also different builds obviously require vastly different equipment which will naturally dictate what content you’ll need to do in a given playthrough. There is just no way anyone after 1 playthrough is like “ok I know where every item in the game is now and exactly what content to do or not”. Especially considering a likely large amount of people no doubt missed entire areas of the map and numerous hidden areas along with piles of items their first playthrough.
It can be an issue sure, but I feel for Elden ring you’d need a god tier memory coupled with a guide your first playthrough for that to be the case imo.
Thats kind of like asking "Whats the point of reading the same book twice?" and using that as a criticism. Why are we judging media based on the 3rd time experiencing it rather than the first? I can play any video game 10 times in a row and claim that I'm becoming bored of it, because duh, of course I am
@@buckyhurdle4776 it’s absolutely a valid criticism. You only get a first playthrough once, and if every run after that is diminished then it’s absolutely something to discuss.
@@Scowleasy You could level this criticism at any optional content in any game. All optional content is ignorable. If you don't like lots of optional content, thats fine. I do, so its not a weakness to me. Ash Lake is one of the most useless, out of the way, empty areas in all of soulsborne and I still like it
@@Scowleasy It's not really valid as like the reply above, this goes for anything in life after you experience it once. If something is sold on the grandness, exploration, revelations of events etc etc, you can't expect that same level if you return to it. Watching a movie for a 2nd time can definitely be enjoyable, but you will never get the same shock from a revelation or a twist as you did on the first watch. If you go to some monument you will be awe struck on the first visit, but once you see it 10 times over, you won't care. Of course the open world feels empty on multiple playthroughs, because you know exactly where to go and avoid. Just by definition, almost all things in life will be diminished after you do it multiple times over.
I think the Scadutree (and the whole veiled realm for that matter) is the "shadow" of the lands between in a psychological sense. Whereas a person's "shadow" is their darker, more repressed base self, the realm of shadow and the Scadutree are the dark and hidden, repressed part of Marika's ostensibly brilliant golden order.
Also, if the shadow realm is in fact at the center of the lands between, that would put the Scadutree right beneath or next to the Erdtree, making it kind of a literal shadow in that sense too.
A lawrence of arabia length sote review ... We will be popping kettle corn for this
Thank you for being one of the few not showering Shadow keep with praise. I HATED making my way through the storehouse...got lost for literal hours because the multi level, multi bookcase, 1 ladder bullshit. Fuck that place.
there's also death lightning!
EDIT also manse and ensis are not legacy dungeons, even the strategy guide mentions only Enir, Belurat and shadow keep as legacy dungeons. The other 2 are more something in between like morne and redmane keep
At 36:38, you're using the backhand blades but I don't recognize the attacks. Is that an ash of war? Or am I missing out on knowledge of the backhand blades moves?
I kinda thought of the Rauh Ruins as a legacy dungeon as well, and it was definitely one of my favorite parts of the DLC.
Great video, I really enjoyed it.
Couple of thoughts I have:
When you mentioned some areas of the DLC have no logical means of accessing them, it made me think of Ash Lake in Dark Souls, an area we can all agree has absolutely no logical placement in the world's geography just by looking at the Great Hollow from the outside. I get the feeling that hiding away entire optional areas of the game is something of a Souls tradition at this point.
The main gripe I have with the game as a whole including the DLC is something you've actually touched upon in the video. At one point you admit that some of the DLC bosses can 2 or even 1 shot your character, even at high blessing levels. Imo designing the bosses (and certain pirouetting enemies) in this way destroys the concept of the RPG levelling system, to the point that I would argue it is not worth having in ER. If you can waste hundreds of hours 'levelling up' just to see no meaningful benefit that is a defunct and useless system. I can confirm your character can have 99 vitality and still die in a couple of hits regardless of build. That alone is ridiculous and dwarves any other issue I could come up with for this game. All it had to do was set itself up like Sekiro, with no levelling system and a basic increase in health and attack power to keep you on an even keel with the late game bosses. ER instead has the appearance of the levelling system from the Dark Souls trilogy, DeS and BB but it is a hollow sham that means almost nothing by the late game.
I can't wait to coax my friend into buying elden ring with the dlc, and see how long they take to find the dlc entrance
This is astonishing content CANDLE. Thank you for such an in depth discussion about what I consider to be a brilliant piece of DLC. It was rage inducing at times, but it was never boring and at it's best it was downright captivating. The final boss was however a massive blunder by Fromsoft IMO. Far too overtuned and sadly a symptom of From trying to one up themselves when it comes to bosses. I think Midra was the best boss overall, a proper DS3 type boss and very fun to fight. I loved the abyssal woods too.
I haven’t seen this talked about much and I know I’m being picky, but an issue I had is the lack of remembrance boss cutscenes. Cutscenes add a huge “WOW” factor and I wish there were more of them. Kind of makes boss designs feel rushed
Euporia with a basically maxed character feels insane
Great vid mate! My only real critique of Elden Ring as well as SotE is that the plate (game world) is too big for its meat and potatoes. This is especially apparent on a second playthrough as plenty of areas feel unexiciting and you encounter the same enemy types and bosses too many times. I'd love to see a future FromSoft game that attempts a stricter balance between open world exploration and high density of fun and unique experiences.
Candle, please can you tell me whether or not Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them was, in fact, a terrible answer? I'm losing sleep about this
yay! I was hoping for this!
just been stalking your profile wondering if i’d missed uploads or you’d quit or something. patience rewarded
You did a fine job with your lasagna analogy 😅
All I did for Senossax was stay on Torrent and chuck Messmer spears at the head. Tedious but weirdly fun 😂
Tell me why I fell asleep and woke up to this???
Todd Howard licking his chops about horse armor
I think death or some distorted form of it is the only way to reach the realm of shadow. And Miquella being the genius he is managed to figure out the spiritual mechanism for the same. Thus he uaed the death of his body in the lands between to reach the land of shadows.
I think the spiritual mechanism needed involved the crucible. Think about it. The Crucible was a primordial primordial chaotic mix of features. A soup if u will. Then from the soup emerged light (Erdtree) and Dark (Scadutree) like yin and yang. This differentiation is the birth of order.
Then it stands to reason that crucible aligned creatures can traverse the veil that separates. So Miquella may have used Mogh's omen blood and his own knowledge to create the transport to land of shadow. Sir ansbach followed Miquella into the land of shadow where they dueled and Sir Ansbach was charmed.
So where would the areas of SotE rank in your 147 areas ranking?
Fire knights are trivialized by using a shield and guard counter setup
Somehow i missed this, thanks algorithm!
what's the song name that starts around 2:16:00 till 2:26:00 ?
The candle is lit!
I didn't look up anything and I got level nineteen scadu fragments.
I was Scadu level 3 when i beat Bayle he was my 5th boss in the DLC.
1 Nameless mausoleum guy in solitude armor.
2 Ancient dragon man
3 The dragon just outside of the cave .
4 The double dragons.
I skipped the ancient dragon.
5 Bayle
Great to have you back mate.
I would say the final boss is a failure but the DLC is marvellous otherwise.
Man, I was waiting for this! I didn't watch it yet but I am super exited! I hope you will not share the opinions of some awful critics that just thinks about rewards and don't care about art.
58:28
Beautiful music.
55:25 anybody know the song playing in the background here?
Since you like A Song of ice and Fire, I think you would probably also enjoy The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie and The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
Huh? Shadowkeep is probably the best video game dungeon made by from. How did you even manage to get a headache from it?
miquella is able to abandon his flesh in the land of shadow because through his accursed death at the hands of luminary mohg his body was physically transported to the land of shadow (all manners of Death wash up here, only to be suppressed)
at least that’s my interpretation of it :)
3:07:13 I beat the DLC with malikeths black blade. I brought destined death to the shadow realm.
Is ur name like a standard candle in astronomy?
Loved the video mate dropping a sub
I think the size of the game took a toll on people used (souls players especially) who were used to playing right through most games in a weekend really burned out that first play through . Lucky for me being a “completionist” and Lore/story driven player thus game is 600 + hours in for me and its still satisfying to play . I have a pile of new games cases getting a pretty good layer of dust on them because I can only give 5-10 hours a week to gaming and Elden ring has just become my “soul” reason I turn my PS5 these days . I even have a few downloads I have barely even accepted as done . Now they added more land mass for me to play archeological professor with so it’ll be January before I start something new finally ! lol