Why start something that you know you’ll never finish?
An hour intoElden Ring, I already knew I’d be chipping away at this game for years.
I’ll never finish Berserk either, though not for lack of trying.
The author Kentaro Miura died last May at the age of 54.
His manga, which ran for over thirty years, was never completed.
I’ll be frank: Miura’s death hit me like a truck.
Unfair doesn’t even begin to cover it.
There’s something very teenager-ish about early Berserk.
It’s a whole lot of angst and blood and frustration splattered willy-nilly on the page.
And it’s possible for you to quote me on that.
It’s also a hard manga at times.
Some pages are a total ordeal.
Many people bail out early, and I can’t blame them.
The world of Berserk is barren, violent and meaningless.
This is a universal problem.
Yes, I am thinking about the Iron Giant cameo in Ready Player One.
No, I don’t want to talk about it.
The verybestthing a thoughtless tribute can hope to be is an easter egg.
And look, I don’t want to poo-poo easter eggs.
Elden Ring is full of little easter eggs and they’re very fun to find.
But I just don’t think that ‘Huh, neat!’
or ‘I remember that!’
is the best emotional response an artist can hope to inspire when conveying their own inspiration.
Here’s a quick rundown of my first twenty hours in the Elden Ring.
I’ve got a big sword and no real plan.
I’ve also ignored almost all of my real life responsibilities.
It feels that way sometimes.
I feel so much kinship with these players.
Elden Ring does not justreferenceBerserk.
We will never see the ending of Gut’s story.
Miura’s loved ones will never see him grow old, properly old, like he should have.
I’ll probably never roll credits on this endless bloody game.
