I noticed in my blog I covered a lot of gaming materials these past few months, and I enjoyed documenting my thoughts about them as well. It’s considered brain exercise to me. But after completing Elden Ring with a 92 percent trophy completion and obtaining the majority of the loots (I’m sure there are still some items I missed), I decided to move on once I finished my 3rd playthrough to get the Flame of Frenzied ending which will give me the platinum trophy. Then I can brag to other gamers that I have skills! I am just kidding. Bragging was never my cup of tea. Maybe it’s just my upbringing, I have always found it difficult to talk highly of myself. You see, the game is not easy but I managed to complete it. So, I should give myself some credit. I think it’s pretty amazing how patient and determined I am, but I wish I was a bit more competitive. I didn’t enjoy invading other’s people world and conquering them. As a result, I failed to see through some questlines in Elden Ring. If I am not enjoying it then there’s no point.

New people who come across my blog recently might think this is my first entry to the Souls games because I don’t like PVP. Truth is I started off with Demon’s Souls (2009). I have always played for the atmosphere. And one thing I noticed from all of the Souls games is the lack of feminine armors. I wish the Souls games had more of them. There weren’t many pretty armors. I know in real life wearing a pretty dress would attract predators, but this is fantasy. Why not? The armors in the game look so intimidating. I suppose it made sense in a world where dogs eat dogs. This is a battleground after all. There’s no time to be soft like a jellyfish, although I learned that being a “jellyfish” (soft) does not make a person weak as we see in the character Roderika, a spirit tuner who is afraid of getting her limbs pulled apart like her fellow men who have crossed the sea to the Lands of Between and got grafted in her place. Roderika may lack courage, but she compensates it through other form. You see, the spirit cannot be crushed. She makes them stronger. I like how the character’s weakness is turn into strength. Also, I just realized I wore Roderika’s armor this entire time. It’s the Noble’s Traveling Garb set as you can see from the picture below. It’s one of the few nice feminine gears I could find in the game.

I know that I am rambling a bit in this blog post. I did warn readers that I want to be more casual and less structured for my mental health. It does take a lot of revising to get my point across. Anyway as I was searching for a picture of the Jellyfish, I realized something beautiful. According to the description of the Spirit Jellyfish Ashes which was given to me by Roderika, the Jellyfish spirit’s name is Aurelia and she is in search of her distant home. Well, it just dawn on me that the stars can be found underground in a place called SIOFRA RIVER. These beautiful creatures are indeed dead. It’s bittersweet and sad because before Aurelia reunited with her sister, her sister was hauntingly calling out for her in the Stargazer Ruins. I found this little aha moment quite delightful. It’s a lovely artistic composition.

Speaking of the characters, they are all quite interesting and balanced. It’s a theme I notice quite often. Perhaps, that is the thesis of the story that Hidetaka Miyazaki the director, and George R. R. Martin the writer want to express. That sounds like another blog post idea. There is so much to dive into in this heavy-loaded game. When gameplay is combined with a good story, it just blows my mind. I never thought I’d see something as grand as this. It got me obsessed for two months all because I want to escape from the prairie’s heat. However, I don’t know if that is a good thing. My mind can’t find rest. I have to piece the story myself but I am also curious about other people’s interpretation.

Because this game is so massive, it will probably be the last game I play for the remainder of the year as I have upcoming major plans in the coming months. Plus, I want to give more attention and love to the book department. Playing Elden Ring made me realize how much I miss reading a good book.