Stanning statues with Elden Ring and others.
Of the myriad objects in games, statues seem to be among the most frivolous.
you could talk to or fight with beings of flesh and blood.
you could explore buildings.
you’re free to climb or cut down trees, maybe even build a house with its timber.
A fancy sport car is well and good, but a giant jewel or a triumphal arch is better.
No practical value doesnt mean, of course, that these things have no use in a broader sense.
It is precisely the void of any practical purpose which opens up spaces for meaning.
Grand but useless things talk; they convey social and cultural importance.
What is this doing here, in this particular spot?
Who put it there, why, and how long ago?
InDivinity: Original Sin 2or Metroid: Dread, statues indicate waypoints and save points.
The goddess statues ofBreath of the Wildallow us to exchange orbs for upgrades.
Another related function of statues, especially the really big ones, is as unique landmarks and guides.
Two statues flanking a door is a certain sign that this is the direction youre supposed to be headed.
And if the giant statue is climbable, like in Sable, it also doubles as a lookout.
Statues can also point the way.
Some games find ingenious uses of statues.
Statues, however, do more than just point or guide.
Theyre also expressive works of art rooted in their respective worlds and their stories.
Rime,GrisandSea of Solitudeall make use of metaphorical landscapes punctuated by abandoned and broken statues.
If statues can evoke empathy, it only makes sense that they can also threaten and disconcert.
Elden Ring is especially fond of blurring the lines between statues and living beings.
It questions the very assumption that there are clear distinctions to be made at all.
The Forgotten City uses its statues in similar ways.
The city we explore is scattered with countless and very lifelike golden statues.
The world around them, however, usually doesnt indulge them for very long.
One of the last vestiges, it turns out, of our long forgotten human world.
