00:21.10 Cameron I'm your host for this episode cameron and I'm joined by Leonard and Adam hi guys Leonard how are you doing. 00:36.53 Leonard It's hot. It's California's on fire and it's exceptionally hot the last gasp of summer I did that it would in fact, ah, brutalize us. 00:37.60 Cameron And 50 00:53.70 Leonard Um, the west coast of the United States of America so I've been sweaty and hot and miserable and cleaning out all of the cat hair from my mobile air conditioner unit. But other than that I've been good. 00:54.65 Cameron Button. 01:04.94 Cameron So it it. 01:11.25 Leonard Adam how have you been. 01:13.92 Adam Bucceri You know temperatures here ah have been more tolerable but my office that I work in all day because I work from home as well as the location for which I record from is a solid ° hotter than the rest of the house. No matter what I'm doing. 01:28.34 Cameron Will always hide that. 01:31.77 Adam Bucceri So I've just got a ah like a tower fan that's pointed directly at me at all times. 01:37.17 Cameron Yeah, that's the way to go. 01:41.95 Leonard Well to not instigate a terrible segue. It's going to be clumsy and terrible. Anyway, we are returning to Eldon ring and there is going to be a region. That is not miserable and hot cameron. What is this region that we are returning to. 02:01.76 Cameron Yes, we are returning to the beautiful sunny ice- called mountain tops of the giants in particular castle soul and the the latter half. The mountaintop up towards that that big redhead who's just standing around waiting for someone to talk to? Ah, it's not Jessica Rabbit it's the fire giant. Ah. 02:27.49 Leonard Um, of the the oh the the giant that's like oh you'd be kind of okay if you were covered in frostbite and had bones. 02:42.64 Cameron Um, ah yeah I Love that guys design. 02:43.11 Leonard Lens at the the. 02:45.36 Adam Bucceri The Ah I love the cut scene where the player character goes up and says you have such a beautiful eye. 02:50.83 Leonard You write the most the most beautiful of of eyes because it's the eyes of his entire dead. 02:56.73 Cameron That's good. 03:05.82 Cameron People? Yeah ah mm. Ah yeah, so yeah, last time we were out and ring. We did it. We did a general runaround with the the lower half more or less of mountain top. Um. 03:05.97 Leonard Terribly desiccated drive. Ah. 03:09.73 Adam Bucceri E. 03:22.65 Cameron Went into a couple little tombs experienced lots of frozen Heroes of Xamur just sort of walking around. It was a terrible area and fire monks fire monks everywhere as far as the eye can see and then we went across big old frozen Lake with um, a dragon. 03:35.78 Adam Bucceri E. 03:41.73 Cameron Borealis The frozen fog love that guy and some really annoying invisible pathways. Ah why they got a curve like that in Mida. Ah. 03:50.62 Leonard Um, yeah, yeah, big because because they knew because they're they knew that everyone's expecting a straight path to the goal. 04:02.79 Cameron That is true that is true. Oh goodness. Ah, but there's more there. There's that deathright bird that everyone hates except for Leonard because he adores the design I love the design and I just can't find it. 04:13.84 Adam Bucceri Oh they look amazing. 04:17.56 Leonard Oh yeah, oh a Corvyian a Corvid a cor it but ah enemy in the game that's like kind of secret. Yeah, that's that's my jam I like it I like it. 04:28.48 Cameron So that's always 1 Um, yeah, yeah, um, it does pack at you with its weird bird feed head. 04:30.17 Adam Bucceri It's It's called the death bird like that's extremely metal. 04:35.21 Leonard Um, yeah, and it it and it pecks at you. 04:42.53 Adam Bucceri Yep, Ah, however, this playthrough on my way to castle soul that guy flew down and I was just like absolutely not under no circumstances am I fighting you. 04:43.50 Leonard Um, if the conflict. 04:47.27 Cameron Yeah, no surre fair enough. Um, yeah, and he is indeed on the path to castle soul which is sort of tucked into a relatively discreet. Out of the way ish corner. It's not the main part of progression here, but it is this very large ruined castle sort of 1 of these side areas that's too small to be a legacy dungeon but too big to be a basic ruin. Ah, and yeah, it's. 05:18.30 Adam Bucceri E. 05:23.15 Cameron Mostly important because of a particular item you have to find for an albinoric side quest but it has some interesting implications. Ah as to whos is inhabiting it and why they are there. Ah my initial thoughts were that this was just um. And outpost for Queen America's army when they were campaigning through the mountaintops. Ah, but I might be entirely wrong on that as we'll find out as we sort of talk more about what's actually in here so you run in the door and if I'm remembering correctly. yeah oh yeah yeah yeah 05:55.49 Adam Bucceri The the first thing I want to say before we get into the the castle proper is immediately outside and I want to stress immediately outside. There is a wandering mausoleum with a bell. Ah, and you I I cannot imagine a world where I don't. 06:01.60 Cameron Yeah yep, yep yeah. 06:10.53 Cameron The. 06:12.95 Adam Bucceri Knock that thing down just to just to shut it up because the idea of having that thing ringing throughout the entire dungeon would be a nightmare. 06:19.51 Leonard Oh I love them I Absolutely adore them I I let them stay until the leggged sea dungeon is done because it's just a little bit of flavor and. 06:21.31 Cameron It's It's certainly something. Um. 06:33.00 Cameron Um. 06:36.90 Leonard And reality that exist outside of the hardships that I'm dealing with at the moment and ah, it's it's it's a big dumb turtle mausoleum it once again, it's it's from soft b it's Miyazaki. 06:48.78 Cameron And. 06:48.82 Adam Bucceri Oh yeah. 06:55.15 Leonard Like like let's narrow it down. It's miazaki beat Miyazaians like what if there was a giant turtle with a bell wandering around outside of your dungeon and you know until you shut it up. 06:59.59 Cameron I. 07:14.96 Leonard You have to listen to that I'm like yeah that makes the world feel like a thing outside of the area that I'm currently in. 07:27.56 Cameron Um, yeah, so so Adam took error immediately Leonard left it for as long as possible I died about 4 times in castle soul and then went to shut it up because it was legitimately distracting me is that that one background noise that I couldn't get rid of I'm like come on. 07:36.29 Adam Bucceri See. 07:38.67 Leonard Um. 07:43.99 Cameron Ah, need to focus This is this is a tough area. Um, because yeah, you run in the door and you're immediately assaulted by lions and birds and ghosts oh my it kind of never stops in this in this ruined castle. Um. 07:46.42 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 07:58.16 Adam Bucceri Yeah, this place is tough for sure you know I think the the general consensus is that after Lindell ah you know the game really gets a spike in difficulty and I would say it kind of starts here. 08:02.70 Cameron Um. 08:12.35 Cameron Yeah, yeah, like the the earlier parts of the mountaintop are tough but not insane and then you get into here and it's like okay, tracking up a hundred percent enemy damage up 50% and we'll just throw yeah a couple of lines a few of the flamethrower birds some dogs and um teleporting soldier ghosts. So. 08:35.93 Adam Bucceri Yeah, teleporting soldier ghosts of like really brutal banished Knights that dual wheel swords and have a combination that I think I could generously describe as going on for an eternity. 08:46.16 Cameron Ah, man. 08:53.75 Cameron Yeah, yeah, like I used the spirit ash for um, that form of the banish Knight banish Knight Oleg I think it was and they're they're pretty good on your side as well. But they are way worse to face. They just never stop. You are correct. 08:58.82 Adam Bucceri E. 09:06.80 Adam Bucceri Yeah, they are relentless. 09:13.14 Cameron Um, and you know you you can adjust to um to the physical enemies. But it's a lot harder to adjust to the enemies that once you break the immediate threat range of them. They just teleport about five feet behind you and just get you from the back. 09:27.58 Adam Bucceri E. 09:31.57 Cameron Although it did see did see a clip of someone using that ai pad to their advantage where they alerted one of the nights and then got up on a on a parapet and faced inwards. So their back was to the cliff and the banish night teleports into midair behind them and falls. And apparently ghosts take fall damage in Eldon Ring is the ah is thing to learn from this. 09:52.83 Adam Bucceri Yeah, they'll also drop like armor and equipment the way that ghosts do. 09:56.32 Cameron Written. Yeah yeah. 10:00.15 Leonard Um, and it's also worth mentioning that there are albaorics at Castlesto as well. Ah, the Mel variant because they're disposable because when their lights disappear. 10:03.91 Cameron Yes. 10:07.32 Adam Bucceri I. 10:12.30 Cameron Yes, yes. 10:16.70 Leonard Ah, you don't have to worry about them anymore. They've got a really weird time limit. Um, and I think that's not unintentional because there is the matriarchal aspect to Eldon ring. Um. 10:17.74 Cameron You. 10:30.91 Cameron Yeah, yeah, absolutely yeah. 10:36.20 Leonard Um, because because returning to this area. Once again, we're going to inevitably talk about the ah other half of the mountaintops of the giants I e the consecrateed snow fields in ah, an upcoming episode. But the ah female albanarics are significantly more capable as individual wholes than males. Um, which kind of just once again, highlight highlights this? um. 11:01.51 Cameron Yeah, they are yeah. 11:12.55 Leonard Aspect of the matriarchy in elgon rain we've got queen America as the head of the golden order. Ah we look at the knots with their underground cities. 11:13.99 Cameron Yeah. 11:26.41 Cameron Button. 11:27.90 Leonard And most of the most capable fighters are in fact women I'd argue that the corpses on the throne crips are also women because they once again seemingly reference the albanoric women that will. 11:31.44 Cameron Yeah, yeah. 11:37.11 Cameron Button. 11:46.96 Leonard Talk about when we get to concentrated Snowfields ah and everything else like we've got the the demmi um are water. They demmi fiends demmi humans. Ah they're led by the Queens ah multiple queen. 11:55.97 Cameron Yeah, demihumans yeah Maggie Etc 12:06.77 Leonard Matt Met yeah Maggie and multiple queens and it's just a hey can can this individual produce new life then they're the ones that need to be in charge of what's going on. 12:22.72 Cameron So yeah, yeah, basically ah that that is an interesting philosophical bent in elnerring I hadn't massively considered before but I guess in in the context of a world where the the leading gods. Main action was hey we're going to get rid of death. Um, that focus and veneration of people who can bear life does make a lot of sense I like that interpretation. Yeah. 12:48.91 Leonard Right. 12:54.30 Cameron Um, yeah, there's all sources going in here and this is the the saw Sawre and sorry fate of male albaorx here is that they're used as a mobile alarm system. Um. 13:04.27 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 13:06.13 Leonard Ah, well a hanging alarm system for the majority of them The really bad ones get the get the putting hood as it were. 13:12.86 Cameron Oh yeah, well. 13:18.30 Cameron Um, they get the little albernoric straightjacket they can drag themselves around in. 13:21.56 Leonard All right. 13:22.97 Adam Bucceri Yeah, they they remind me very much of the oh I don't know what you call it though the patients in ah the Bloodborne dlc. 13:30.78 Leonard Um, oh yeah, yeah. 13:30.94 Cameron Um, yeah, yeah, absolutely yeah, lots of lot of. Weird slightly medical feels in those designs and yeah, the the hanging alarm system albernoric when I first encountered that man I was not prepared. It took I didn't notice it in the dark walked right by and then just this earplitting scream in my headphones I'm like what's happening. 13:54.86 Leonard Right. 13:57.90 Cameron And then and then 3 banished knights appear around me I'm like oh boy. Okay, yes, this is how we're doing it. 14:02.74 Leonard Yeah, that's that's the worst part about it because they they prime you the like the developers prime you to not make their screams a thing because if you've gone through um the. 14:02.87 Adam Bucceri Yep. 14:08.57 Cameron Oh. 14:14.98 Cameron And. 14:20.89 Leonard Castle Town in Volcano manneror then you've encountered them before and you've at the very least had to consider black puddings but you've never encountered them um, summoning ghosts. 14:23.60 Cameron Um, yeah. 14:37.00 Leonard To then smash your face in with their Shields and swords. 14:38.76 Cameron Um, yeah, ah so many wind attacks. Yeah, um, it's kind kind of a kind of a great trick and then one that you get very annoyed with immediately afterwards. 14:56.67 Adam Bucceri Yeah, so ah, do we want to take a moment and just kind of take a step back and give like ah a general impression of like how do we feel about Castle soul as as an area. 15:01.25 Cameron Um. 15:06.40 Cameron Yeah, yeah, absolutely um I like it with the caveat of I didn't have a great time here because I just have trouble fighting banish nights specifically. Apparently they're my little kryptonite enemy. And so I had a lot of trouble especially with the the boss here in Castle Seoul but the the placement of it and the ideas behind it I quite like and that that trick with the albaorical arm is fun like you said it's primed from far earlier in the playthrough for me where I'm like oh yeah, these things scream this isn't a problem and then it. 15:37.79 Adam Bucceri 8 15:42.92 Cameron Very quickly becomes a problem. It's a good area. It some bits feel weird like that elevator that is kind of pointless and this like just gets you from the top back down to the main thoroughfare. But. 15:53.30 Adam Bucceri Um, yeah. 16:00.24 Cameron You don't need that once you've got the grace already up in the upper levels of the of the castles I'm like why we why we doing this if I'm remembering correctly at least it's been a little while since I've been in there. Um, yeah, but what about you 2 16:16.18 Leonard Um, so I like this area in regards to weird narrative stuff because um, that's why I play these games hey hey listener surprise I don't play fro off games. 16:22.38 Cameron So. 16:33.35 Leonard Big Alpha that no hit lady butterfly. That's not what I'm here for I'm here for weird fucked up narratives in really wellreized Worlds and so Castle soul is. 16:48.34 Cameron Select button. 16:52.53 Leonard Hey ah um, meenia millenia is that Millennia yeah, okay, ah hey this area is deliberately ah tied to Millennia. 17:00.18 Adam Bucceri Um I think it's Millennia. 17:01.33 Cameron Um, Mel oh my god what are you doing get off. 17:12.32 Leonard Um, ah, um, wait America is okay and millenia is the young brother right? Okay I America Gladde of meling. Yeah. 17:17.56 Cameron God Queen America Yeah you mean micola. 17:23.80 Adam Bucceri Yeah, what one of oh a La Millenia Blade of Mikela That's the one. 17:31.19 Cameron Oh God George R Martin What have you done there. We go? yeah. 17:31.74 Leonard Okay, there we go. That's all I need a thank you? Yes mcette yes michaelkea ah the um, the weird ah fetus baby genius who is basically the quato of Eldon ring. 17:44.64 Cameron Yeah, yeah. 17:51.90 Leonard Ah, um, ah is is is incredible and I think he was ah making plans to try to resurue wrecked ah godwin the golden because the ah the. 18:04.66 Cameron Okay, yeah, so. 18:11.43 Leonard Mausoleums. The walking mausoleums are specific like gameplay wise they let you duplicate your remembrances of big bosses narrative wise they are hey let's give a soul to this thing that does this dead Demi -god that doesn't have a soul. 18:14.46 Cameron Um. 18:19.58 Cameron Yes. 18:30.12 Leonard There's literally only 1 dead demigod that doesn't have a soul and it's god win the golden so it really feels like hey I made all these things to make my weird gross ah oysure oyure um fish. 18:30.94 Cameron Um. 18:34.87 Cameron Yeah, yeah. 18:49.55 Leonard Half brother not a horrible monster anymore and um, it feels like the eclipse that ultimately never happens is a big part of of fulfilling that because of the the headless nights that. 18:55.52 Cameron Um. 19:08.19 Leonard Patroled areas where um, the walking mausoleums are ah have the ah eclipse crest on their armor and and the eclipse never actually takes place and I. 19:14.67 Cameron Um. 19:17.50 Cameron Okay, yeah, so. 19:18.86 Adam Bucceri Right. 19:26.63 Leonard Feel like that was necessary for ah mikla to achieve this goal of giving godwin his so ah, a new soul ah to to break the curse of. 19:31.97 Cameron So. 19:39.74 Cameron Ok. 19:44.99 Leonard Living death. 19:48.10 Cameron That's really interesting I can get behind that. 19:52.82 Adam Bucceri So I I tend to not dive super into like um like Community lore videos or like get too invested in what other people's theories are. 20:03.47 Leonard No no. 20:05.24 Adam Bucceri Ah, with these games because I like to just kind of go in and like putting the pieces together and speculating is a big part of the fun for me. Ah, but for this area I did look up some community theories just because I I really didn't have. 20:11.33 Leonard Right. 20:11.48 Cameron Yeah, yeah. 20:20.76 Adam Bucceri Very much context for for what we are looking at and it seems that one of the theories is that godwin the golden who was killed on the night of black knives. It was associated with the sun similar to how Ronnie and Renala are associated with the moon and. 20:29.26 Cameron M. 20:40.80 Adam Bucceri With his assassination. The son became eclipsed and so that's why like the eclipse is now associated with him but but I also don't quite understand. 20:50.31 Leonard All right. 20:51.71 Cameron So. 20:57.51 Adam Bucceri What the significance of that is because the sun just doesn't seem terribly important in this world. 21:02.71 Cameron Yeah, yeah, yeah. 21:04.20 Leonard Right? And I That's one of the reasons why kind of settled in on because ah, depending on time of day you can in fact, see the sun depending on where you are in in the world and all of that good stuff. Um, an eclipse is a thing that once again, never occurs. It is a day night cycle with two moons. Ah, ah once upon a time 3 moons. Although that moon might have existed underground but the sun never. 21:28.29 Cameron Um, yep. 21:41.96 Leonard Ah, eclipses in any of the gameplay and I think the going going on on your law Theory Adam um if 21:44.45 Cameron And. 21:55.99 Leonard Godwin is associated with the sun then there can be some sort of narrative interest with the sun becoming eclipsed. It's it's you're still looking at the moon you're still looking at the sun but the sun isn't whole. 22:11.50 Cameron Written. 22:15.13 Leonard And that feels like something that would um, fall in line with a demigod that has is living in body and doesn't live in soul His soul has been obliterated then. 22:29.40 Cameron And. 22:32.81 Leonard The eclipse like the eclipse metaphor kind of makes sense. 22:39.34 Adam Bucceri Yeah I could see that and I've also heard you know, ah fan speculation. Don't think it's any kind of real speculation or like you know a substantiated speculation was that you know Mckella would be a great target for dlc to expand upon. 22:48.54 Cameron No. 22:54.10 Leonard Right? Yeah yeah, maybe hope hopefully the the the mug when Palace is completely obliterated and then there's just a weird gateway that takes you to the dlc because. 22:55.15 Cameron And hopefully that a be good. 22:56.17 Adam Bucceri So maybe we'll get more about that in the future. 23:05.47 Cameron The fit it. 23:13.18 Leonard You don't care her about finding weird Crystal gollums that happen. What happened the key anymore. 23:19.14 Cameron Um, I mean you know what it's going to be.. It's just going to be on one of the random cliff faces in the world behind the shadow of a tree. There's going to be another cave Entrance. That's just been there all along we promise. But if you walk down in there. You'll find some dlc teleporting Gates o. 23:40.62 Adam Bucceri I heard that they were going to lock the dlc behind getting enough core oxeeds. 23:45.23 Cameron Are. 23:45.47 Leonard I. 23:52.50 Leonard Ah I don't even plays older games and even I got that reference I'm a sad sad video game set. 23:58.11 Adam Bucceri Ah. 24:02.67 Cameron Oh man. Yeah. 24:05.94 Adam Bucceri Ah, yeah to to wrap up and give my ah hot take on this area I'm I'm a little bit cool on it like I don't ah actively object to it. But I think that just like the density of. 24:20.54 Cameron Oh. 24:22.56 Adam Bucceri Really tough enemies in this area is like a little unbalanced. It feels a little bit too easy to run from like 1 you know, almost mini boss area enemy into an accidentally kite another one in and then you're just you know. 24:31.57 Cameron Yeah. 24:38.39 Cameron Yeah, yeah, exactly. 24:39.89 Adam Bucceri Pretty pretty tough to get out of that situation especially when they teleport. Ah so it's not. It's not the most hateful area. Ah, but I think that it does maybe ah in in the words of Bloodborne encourage passivity a little bit more. 24:56.25 Cameron Yeah, um. 24:57.14 Adam Bucceri Then I would like because you're you're going around and you're trying to do 1 thing and then all of a sudden god damn hawk shows up and it explodes you with a burst of fire and it's just like all right. 24:59.50 Leonard So so. 25:11.54 Cameron Yeah, yeah, yeah. 25:12.30 Leonard So so I'm going to say as far as the difficulty of of the area goes. You know what it reminds me of it reminds me of dark souls too. 25:24.49 Cameron So. 25:24.52 Adam Bucceri Who in what way. 25:28.94 Leonard It Ah it is what is the um, the fortress area that you get teleported to from the um resting around of the giants. 25:37.76 Cameron Ah, yeah. 25:45.43 Leonard Brave the giants that that area that we with a um prisoner like main Bos five like that area. Yes, yes, the lost best deal. That's what this area reminds me of. 25:53.31 Cameron So yeah, yeah, yeah, the ah the best eel. Yeah yeah I can feel that um yeah. 25:56.70 Adam Bucceri Right. 26:04.24 Leonard Because considering how early you can get here. Um, and you know that's that's that's a feature of it of this game being an open world but the the. 26:19.25 Leonard The level that you can get to this area based on the level of the enemies that you are encountering. It feels like a struggle when you're dealing with one and it feels impossible when you're dealing with more than one of the high level enemies. 26:36.93 Cameron Yeah, right. 26:38.29 Leonard And this area is filled with high level enemies. 26:43.44 Adam Bucceri Yeah, um, we we haven't had an opportunity to hash it out. Ah I am one of those people who does like dark souls too quite a lot. But I think that the comparison is fair. 26:46.61 Cameron E. 26:54.76 Adam Bucceri Ah, what it reminds me of is the iron keep specifically in the scholar of the first sin where there's just like so many tough knights and there are like archers with great bows covering each other and it's very difficult to like snake a path through them without just like camping out and taking them out 1 by 1 very patiently. 27:04.54 Cameron M. 27:14.26 Adam Bucceri Which also ah yeah, that's ah, that's a sticking point in that game. 27:17.53 Leonard That that's actually like we're going to hey listener we're going to take a little side path into darkhills too just for a little bit if you really like if you really like dark schools too. You you can skip this. 27:17.95 Cameron Yeah, yeah. 27:27.88 Cameron 5 minutes 27:28.54 Adam Bucceri Just for a little bit. 27:34.88 Adam Bucceri I Really like dark souls too. So I'm on your side listener. 27:36.79 Leonard Hard right? and and and as somebody that played dark souls to on release I don't like dark souls too. Um, and I think that's for perspective that we're going to address this as um. 27:37.21 Cameron On a oh no. 27:44.99 Adam Bucceri E. 27:55.59 Cameron Um. 27:56.36 Leonard Just because ah it's they're the like the enemy placement and the enemy quantity in darksels too. It feels like desperately unfair for more most of the game like the fact that there's an air. 28:06.46 Cameron Yeah, yeah. 28:14.36 Cameron Um. 28:15.57 Leonard In an original non-scholar version of darkrk souls. Do there is like a third level area where you get to a bonfire and you sit down and if you sit there long enough. Somebody's just gonna hit you with a crossbow while you're sitting at a bonfire and I'm like okay. 28:29.40 Cameron So. 28:34.99 Leonard And I know they fixed a lot of that with dark and light scholarpherson. But that's what I remember from that game I Just remember it I remember dark Soul's to being unfair and to be honest I do actually want to. 28:43.81 Cameron So. 28:53.42 Leonard Visit it. But I don't want to do scholar because that's not the thing that I played so I'm looking to revisited like straight 3 sixty day one release of darsel's do. 28:59.97 Cameron Ah. 29:05.88 Cameron Ah, that'd be beautiful. 29:09.20 Adam Bucceri I Know that that's a specific thing that you value like you like that original unpatched version but scholar does a lot of really cool things. 29:17.51 Leonard And and and I believe that but I like just for myself I need to know that whether or not I was unfair to this game because I'm totally willing to admit that I was unfair to. 29:21.00 Cameron Um. 29:36.42 Leonard Dark souls too and you know I needed to grow as a person and a video game consumer to appreciate what it was doing but I needed to be as close to my experience with it when I played it in order for me to actually make that judgment because. 29:43.21 Cameron Um, yeah. 29:54.20 Cameron So. 29:55.81 Leonard You know a better version of the game and once again scholar is a better version of the game is not the game that I played when I bought it on release and ran through it like desperately hoping to like it and once again. 30:05.65 Cameron Um, yeah. 30:14.13 Leonard The main thing I will say about darksylls too is I played through darksylls to onrelease not scholar 3 times before the it year was up and I said I don't like this game but it's. 30:21.20 Adam Bucceri A. 30:23.59 Cameron Um, oh yeah. 30:28.78 Cameron A. 30:32.17 Leonard Still better than 97.3 of the other games that I played this year so this is in fact, my game of the year so I it it is a fantastic game. It is not what I wanted from a darrsel sequel so you know and. 30:35.21 Cameron Um, yeah, yeah. 30:47.90 Adam Bucceri In. 30:49.38 Cameron Yeah, that's fine. Yeah, ah I'll just say Yeah, yeah, yeah. 30:51.59 Leonard That's our 5 30:54.90 Adam Bucceri I'm gonna I'm gonna throw 1 more thing in which is that um I also played it on release and so it's really fascinating to me to compare and contrast like the original version with scholar because I've talked about this before but I really love the process. 30:58.88 Leonard Um, and if. 31:11.95 Adam Bucceri Of adaptation and seeing like how 1 group will take something that already exists and then change it or modify it or put their own values into it see what survives the process and see what gets changed. You know you can see their values in that which I think is really interesting to me. 31:29.80 Cameron Um, yeah. 31:31.31 Adam Bucceri Um, and I think that scholar makes a ton of cool and interesting changes both to like environmental storytelling and like ah the way that they change encounter designs and especially like the exceptional Npc invaders which are unmatched in the series and I. 31:42.15 Cameron Oh yeah. 31:51.30 Adam Bucceri I Don't know why like they're so cool at Darrk souls too and they have not brought them back in a meaningful way. But if the thing that bothers you is like unbalanced encounters and like some areas or stretches that feel like real bullshit. 32:05.65 Cameron Um. 32:06.45 Adam Bucceri Ah, they also kind of double down on that in a way that I don't entirely appreciate. So it's the scholar is still a very uneven experience. But I think it's a more interesting uneven experience and that's my that's the end of my take. 32:09.31 Cameron Yeah. 32:16.25 Cameron Um, yeah, um, yeah, yeah. 32:18.76 Leonard All right I will I will definitely take that into consideration because I do 1 revisit like my least favorite dark souls because I you know how how long ago was it that that game was released. 32:34.90 Cameron That's like 201314 32:35.17 Adam Bucceri 24 2014 twenty thirteen Twenty Fourteen right around there. 32:38.76 Leonard Yeah, okay sure that game deserves a revisit from somebody that was still willing to call it game of the year but didn't like it that much compared to the first. So yeah, that's that's something that I'm more than happy to take into consideration. 32:51.60 Cameron Yeah. 32:57.70 Cameron Yeah, that's fair, yeah, my my dark soul's too hot take is that between original release and scholar the first scene and I have about twice as much time in that game as all other from software games combined. So so. 32:58.61 Adam Bucceri In. 32:59.39 Leonard Ah, re-examining it. 33:10.39 Leonard Yeah, that sounds about right actually. 33:14.37 Adam Bucceri Yeah, weird, Weirdly it is like um, it's It's not my favorite but it is the one that I go back to the most often. 33:14.79 Cameron It's It's my cup of tea. 33:20.00 Cameron Yeah, say. 33:22.74 Leonard Ah, that's interesting. Ah and hey hey listener to shift it back to Elton ring. ah ah elvedden re is the first from soft game that I played the starting from dark souls. 33:28.64 Cameron Can can. 33:40.10 Leonard Original release of that I have created 3 alt characters in like I made my main character is the one that I went unppersented and then I decided that I would do a weird. 33:42.15 Cameron Um. 33:48.43 Cameron And. 33:49.14 Adam Bucceri E. 33:55.76 Cameron Um, yeah. 33:59.49 Leonard Gibick Virgil from devil may cry character seeing if that would I can make that work and hey guess what you can and then I got bored of that and decided to do a pure arcade a nearly pure arcane blood build and. 33:59.83 Cameron A pp. 34:14.61 Cameron 14 34:18.44 Leonard I have been having a ball with that one so going back to Eldon ring and it's it's it the the number of classes and the pla builds that you get and you can get into I've done I'm i. 34:19.31 Cameron M. 34:30.55 Cameron Oh yeah. 34:38.31 Leonard Done Castle Soul 3 times now and it's been a different experience based on my build every single time and I think that's kind of a testament to how the smaller like like because Castle Soul is ah essentially. Ah, catacomb but made into a pledge of sleep legacy Dungeon right. 34:59.41 Cameron Yeah, yeah, yeah. 35:00.79 Adam Bucceri Yeah I think that's a fair perspective. 35:08.34 Cameron So fair enough if it. 35:10.26 Adam Bucceri Ah, in regards to your ah comment about like oh I just love like going through with all these different builds and stuff. Ah the the other thing that I say about dark Eldon Ring is just like oh man, there's so much dark soullls to Dna in this? yeah. 35:22.38 Leonard Um, yeah. 35:23.32 Cameron Yeah. 35:26.19 Adam Bucceri And and that's a big part of it is just like huge build variety and just huge wage to approach it. So okay I've officially did talk about dark souls too. But. 35:30.99 Leonard Um, I think that's I think just just real quick. Um I think that's actually the reason why I've been willing to um, revisit to because um of the bill variety and that's something that I've heard. 35:31.79 Cameron A. 35:51.81 Leonard Years and years and I I want a new from soft game right now I want to go to I want to go to C Crusty land right right now um so ah, the only thing that I have other than like starting on. 35:57.24 Cameron And. 36:10.59 Leonard Dance play through a blood born is this and so I'm just like oh man. Ah, let me because I've never done the the um build experience with with these games. There is a bill that I use to get through these games. 36:25.42 Cameron I. 36:26.50 Adam Bucceri Um. 36:30.30 Leonard And then when I'm done I might revisit them for a video but that my first experience is my only experience with them and this one makes me want to engage the world and I think that's part of the. 36:38.67 Cameron I. 36:50.19 Leonard Um, open world aspect because once again returning to Castle soul. You might not even be on the path to getting the secret medallion and wander upon Castle soul. 37:03.17 Adam Bucceri Yeah I mean similar to getting the the first half of the minute allion. You know it can be something that you just kind of bump into without any additional context like. 37:03.17 Cameron And. 37:21.14 Adam Bucceri You you you find the the halves of these medallions which ah spoiler lead to the Halig tree. Ah you know, kind of the optional super boss area of the game. Yeah, ah, which is extremely cool like um. 37:25.92 Cameron Super dungeon. Yeah, super boss Super dunson super everything. So. 37:39.86 Adam Bucceri You know the the more and ah just the context the the the visuals like everything about that Place is really neat. Ah, but it is pretty hidden. Um, you know it definitely feels a piece with something like the um, the. 37:48.99 Cameron Um. 37:59.80 Adam Bucceri I my brain immediately went to dragon roost to island and I'm like that's not it from dark souls 3 where you have to do like the the gesture to access it or something like the painted world where it's easy to miss and easy to to pass up unless you're really paying attention. 38:05.46 Cameron Um, yeah, yeah. 38:18.99 Adam Bucceri Ah, but if you are ah your road will take you here because the the second half is at the end of this branch. 38:23.45 Cameron Yes, yes. 38:30.16 Cameron Yep, and all you got to do is fight 1 teeny little boss is just not a problem. You just walk in and out 5 minutes you're done it's commander Neil oh boy. Um. This this guy kicked my ah so bad. 38:49.90 Adam Bucceri This guy. Um, you know adding to my to my minor list of complaints is so difficult he's He's a really challenging fight. Um. 38:57.84 Cameron Um. 38:59.97 Cameron In. 39:02.76 Adam Bucceri But I have very little context for him. You know I kind of walked into the fog gate and was like I don't know who this guy is ah which is a little bit of a shame I Really like having like that sense of anticipation building up as you see like um, you know how the area ah reflects on the person who's kind of in charge of it. 39:05.39 Cameron And yeah, yeah. Click m. Yeah, yeah. 39:22.80 Adam Bucceri And he is interesting looking. He's fighting with like frost lightning and he has this prosthetic leg which he does some wacky bullshit with um but I didn't really have much of a sense of him as a character or like how he fitted to the context. 39:23.64 Cameron Yeah, yeah, yeah. 39:39.50 Cameron Yeah, yeah, well it's but it's because he was lifted whole cloth from a very fantastic game metal gear solid 5 phantom pain this is just big boss I'm not particularly joking about that. Um, in the description. 39:51.99 Adam Bucceri Um. 39:55.66 Adam Bucceri Punished Nile. 39:57.60 Cameron Um, just now basically um, no in in the description for the Veteran's prosthesis which when you defeat him you take his bladed peg leg and strap it to your arm as a fist weapon. Um, yeah, ah he he's a he's a veteran commander of the castle who to. 40:06.55 Adam Bucceri Yes. 40:15.48 Cameron Get his men back when they were captured prisoner gave up his leg to the people holding them and then went on to lead them as an army with no nation. You've secretly been doing the the mother base invasion mechanic from metal gear. Solid 5 going through Castle Sol ah 40:32.78 Cameron Yeah, it's just just an unaligned mercenary company chilling out in the mountain top of the giants. Yeah exactly I would I would to be fair. 40:34.30 Adam Bucceri Yeah, ah. 40:40.95 Adam Bucceri Banished Knights without borders. 40:50.51 Cameron Kill to see kajima do a metal gear game just in the elder ring setting with all that entails I think it would be absolutely hilarious. Okay. 40:57.70 Adam Bucceri But you're still, you're still playing a snake and you still got guns. It's not like this is a sword combat game now. 41:02.55 Cameron Oh yeah, no, no, no absolutely you know you you. 41:07.31 Leonard Hey hey hey, here's here's I'm not going to say one better cameron. But here's something achievable by Moderns Ah what if it's just death stranding with the El ring back. 41:11.99 Cameron Yeah, yeah, yeah. 41:22.51 Cameron Oh I would kill for that I would kill for that. Oh my god. 41:23.73 Adam Bucceri Oh with the map. Oh like trying to hoof it around like volcano manner and stuff like oh. 41:33.14 Leonard Um, yep, that's what I may eat. 41:33.91 Cameron I Think that that's how to improve death stranding like there's already hostile terrain but get areas where the floor randomly explodes from Volcanic activity get areas where there's frogs chasing you with deadly breath. 41:45.57 Leonard I. See it. 41:53.13 Adam Bucceri And you have a yet you have a baby strapped to your chest that cries if a hawk with Swords for legs comes close. 41:53.40 Cameron Oh and that'll be so good I want to play that. 42:01.90 Leonard Hey hey hey and guess what all you need to do just to make a dlc is a Sam gets sucked up into a vortex in the sky that has wells and fish and nonsense and then you're in the len between tada. 42:09.28 Cameron Um, yeah, yeah. 42:16.38 Cameron Yeah, oh absolutely. 42:16.44 Adam Bucceri Oh yeah, at minimal explanation is required. 42:20.49 Leonard But oh man I would kill to to play that stranding on the Eldon Ring map like that sounds like. 42:22.49 Cameron I Would believe it as canon. 42:32.70 Cameron Um, I mean ah I mean Listen Death death. Yeah yeah, Golden sea creatures. 42:37.95 Leonard So watch forgotten. 42:39.62 Adam Bucceri Genuinely. Yes. 42:43.52 Cameron That are the mysterious source of the strange power afflicting the lands golden hands that just appear everywhere. It is an Eldon ring setting game clearly. 42:54.88 Leonard Um, and it's a what is it the the tree spirits What are they called? No no, not the the weird worm ones that are clearly. 42:59.81 Cameron Yeah, they ulcerated Tree spirit. Yeah yeah, the ulcerated ones? Yeah yeah, oh man. 43:00.49 Adam Bucceri The tree avatars. Oh yeah. 43:09.16 Leonard Us some man from dark souls could be that. 43:13.48 Cameron The um the the frenzied flame acceptance cut scene but it's just a big beaty hand that covers you in oil instead of fire. 43:23.70 Leonard Um, the the the rough the run up to the frenzy flame Tower by the lift but you're sad with be b. 43:25.88 Cameron Oh. 43:34.58 Adam Bucceri You're it's exactly the same and you're going through the capital of linddell and you have to fight you know Omen King and morgot but you've got your dead mom strapped to your back. 43:42.90 Leonard Um, yeah, ah, you've you've got to make sure that when more got vomits in phase two at the start of phase 2 You throw a blood crenade directly into its. 43:43.50 Cameron Your dead Mom straped your back and you've got a rope made out of your own blood and piss. 43:53.63 Cameron M. 44:01.58 Leonard Oh yeah. 44:03.87 Adam Bucceri Um, this is a good video game. 44:04.88 Cameron Ah, oh no, that's a good video game by dear. Just yeah, just fantasy death stranding I'm I'm there. 44:08.51 Leonard Um, ah. 44:13.58 Leonard Oh man, it's so good. You did the audience. You just heard me last north So that's a good video gate mine. Ah. 44:17.94 Cameron Sam We need you to deliver these strabreary grapes to the maiden quickly while they get cold. 44:20.44 Adam Bucceri Um. 44:28.51 Leonard I Also want her to ask you what they are when you get there as well. But but you hope but. 44:33.93 Adam Bucceri Yeah, she starts like vomiting her guts out. You know she's just like oh that's the gross bluh 14 likes. 44:42.91 Leonard But you won't yeah you only see yet right? you you right? If you give her if you lie to her you get more lights. But if you tell her the truth get less lie. Okay, all right? sorry. 44:51.81 Adam Bucceri Truly gaming citizen Kane has arrived. 44:55.58 Cameron Wow Yeah, yeah, okay, no. 45:00.32 Leonard Sorry to distract from this wildly brilliant idea Hey Moderns just take it I don't care just it's yours I I willd it into existence my words go have it make it make death stranding in elton. 45:04.54 Cameron Yeah, yeah, go for it as long as I can play it. 45:12.35 Adam Bucceri Um, yeah, ah this the world's second strand type game. Ah. 45:20.87 Cameron Ah, yeah, yeah, you know it's yeah yeah, absolutely he's a mean bastard. Um, yeah, yeah. 45:26.79 Adam Bucceri Do we want to do we want to talk about Commander Nile as ah as an actual boss fight. 45:32.45 Leonard I hate him I was over I was over leveled for the legacy dungeon and I was still under leveled for Neil the first time in my first but I was just like I what what are you doing like no. 45:43.25 Cameron Oh yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 45:49.86 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 45:51.46 Leonard You You don't kill. You don't kill me like this no one in this game kills me like this and this is beginning to become a problem and nothing has been a problem for like the last. 46:03.57 Cameron Mm. 46:06.57 Leonard 25 hours and I don't appreciate what you're bringing to the table. 46:12.19 Adam Bucceri Yeah, so ah, you you enter the boss room and he's standing there and he's um, one of the knight commanders with the giant banner and the first thing he does that he waves it and summons 2 banished knights ah. 46:12.95 Cameron Yeah, um. 46:20.30 Cameron Yeah. 46:26.84 Cameron Yep yep, yeah no, it's not it's it's absolutely not. Ah. 46:28.69 Adam Bucceri Because you know it's not enough on its own. Um it it does feel to me like he ah gets more aggressive Once you kill the Knights because like I usually have enough room to like to deal with them. 46:40.10 Leonard Oh yeah. 46:42.65 Cameron Um, ah, um, yeah, because um, he he he actually has 2 phases but phase 2 starts at half health or when you kill the 2 knights whichever comes first. 46:46.70 Adam Bucceri Before I turn my attention. Um, but. 46:59.50 Adam Bucceri Maybe that was my problem is that I would always go for the nights before targeting him directly. 47:00.70 Cameron So um, well because because the trick it because the trick is if you target him directly and get him to phase 2 his face 2 involves him banishing the banished knights in order to power himself up. Essentially so. 47:14.24 Adam Bucceri Oh. 47:18.29 Cameron I Guess the context is maybe he's summoning them and that takes some level of concentration or power and then he gets more aggressive and does more of the lightning stuff when they're gone. Um, but the yeah the trick is you can ignore them and just fight him good luck I I won this fight I'm not ashamed to admit. By ah, searching for a summon sign that looked like they were a mage build and then standing in front of them with a shield why they laser beamed him to death. 47:41.70 Leonard Um, he. 47:41.11 Adam Bucceri They're sure. 47:47.19 Adam Bucceri Yeah I can't imagine doing this without spirit ashes at the very least although I was not able to find one that like really was effective because um. 47:50.42 Cameron Yeah. 47:58.91 Cameron Um. 47:59.80 Adam Bucceri You know he's got his his spear and he does regular tax but he also is constantly spinning it around creating these huge frostbite whirlwinds which are you know inflicting. 48:07.46 Cameron Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, kicks see the dust. 48:12.53 Adam Bucceri Not only the frostb bite status effect but also cold the damage and then he also pivots to to lightning he imbus his prosthesis with lightning So as a result he's just doing a lot of elemental damage which made um you know, kind of my go to spear ash. 48:23.97 Cameron M. 48:28.85 Adam Bucceri Ah, for this playthrough was the the 5 little great shield guys and and those guys are great, but um, but these huge elemental aoes were just like able to knock them out real quick. 48:32.81 Cameron Ah, yeah, but that doesn't help them. Yeah. 48:43.00 Cameron Yeah, yeah, true, right? throne? Yeah um, he's He's a tricky fight I Fought him again on another character that I was more more experienced in dealing with faster moving enemies like this because my initial playthrough was a big. Heavy strength faith build and then I went through with it with a dexin build and I had an easier time just because my attacks were faster so I was doing less damage but I was able to get in attack and still dodge whereas with my howard or Colossal Gradesor I'd be. 48:59.44 Adam Bucceri In. 49:15.11 Cameron I'm gonna run in I'm gonna try and hit him once and halfway through the animation. He's go to spear kick me in the face. Ah, he's very cool I wish his arena was like 30% larger 49:21.24 Leonard Um, if you. 49:23.75 Adam Bucceri Yep. 49:28.97 Adam Bucceri Yeah, um, this guy is shockingly mobile like for his size and yeah, um for his size and like his expected reach like you're like okay I kind of know how far away from him I should be. 49:31.28 Cameron For an old man with one leg. So. 49:42.75 Cameron Um. 49:45.36 Adam Bucceri And then he does his you know crazy cyclone and then he s spprints all the way across the the map with ah a giant spear thrust and then he jumps thirty feet into the air and then impacts you in a aoe of lightning which like. 49:49.79 Cameron Yep. 49:53.70 Cameron It is it. 50:01.31 Adam Bucceri I I have never been able to get far away from that to avoid it just by distance I always have to roll through that. 50:06.20 Cameron Um, yeah, yeah. 50:10.32 Leonard Ah I've never been able to roll through it I cannot I cannot get the timing of it's maybe 1 of the only timings in the game that I have teflon off of every single fight. 50:15.36 Adam Bucceri It's tough. 50:27.55 Leonard I'm like yeah yeah, if he does it I'm just gonna get hit because I don't know the tying on it. it's it's amazing it's it's 1 my favorite attacks in in a souls game just because it's a kind of ridiculous and b I'm bad at at avoiding it. 50:32.47 Cameron M. 50:46.25 Leonard So I'm just like that's that's real pretty with that lightning and that for us that's gonna hit me right? The faces is it. 50:50.30 Cameron And yeah. 50:53.91 Adam Bucceri Yeah, yeah, um, I'm also just going to mention that at this point in the game when I was dying to bosses. Um, it was almost exclusively because. I wasn't finding like the openings and I would get sloppy and you know a boss would kill me while I'm trying to attempt to heal or or something of that sort. This is the first boss in a long time where I would just straight up run out of estis. Um. 51:23.95 Cameron I. 51:28.66 Adam Bucceri Where where you know either through chip damage or something else like it became a war of attrition that I just didn't have the resources to power through rather than simply being one about discipline of of I don't know you know the the rhythm of combat. 51:34.67 Leonard Um, ah. 51:44.55 Leonard Ah, gameplay right? I will agree. Um I will agree with that because once again on my very first run. Yeah I was finding that I was between me not being able to dodge that face to attack. 51:45.70 Cameron And. 51:46.45 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 52:02.80 Leonard I was just running out of heels and it was it I wasn't good enough I I think it was that and you know ah hey it's embarrassing to admit. But. It was one of the first fights in a really long time in playing the game where I was like oh I'm just not mechanically good enough to beat this. 52:24.77 Adam Bucceri Yeah of which like I feel there are a couple in in Eldon ring like this is this is a tough game and especially because Leonard you usually play offline so you're you're not even summoning people to to give you a hand which I'm pretty sure is how I beat them. 52:29.78 Leonard And if. 52:35.78 Cameron E. 52:42.65 Leonard In. Okay. 52:44.68 Adam Bucceri The first time as well similar to cameron like ah this this was a boss that I did not feel bad about summoning help for. 52:46.30 Cameron So. 52:53.77 Leonard Oh yeah I was more than happy like spear dashes are a game play mechanic I'm gonna play around with them I played with the the demi you impact I played with ah the um, what is it the battle made with the big hammer who was. 52:58.10 Adam Bucceri Me. 53:01.50 Cameron Um. 53:08.30 Cameron Yeah, so. 53:10.20 Leonard My favorite for like 20 hours and then I and then I gave into the dark side and it was just like you know what? the best player is. It's just me. It's another me mimicked here. It's only mimicked here from here on ah hook and guess what. 53:22.73 Cameron I. 53:24.83 Adam Bucceri Um. 53:29.00 Leonard It it. It was in fact, the best sum and that I could hope for any given situation. So don't be ashamed to use meicare. It's there because developers said hey you know what's better than one two 53:38.29 Cameron Um. 53:45.44 Adam Bucceri Yeah, it's in the game. Not an accident. 53:46.10 Cameron So yeah, yeah. 53:54.70 Cameron Ah, all right I think that about wraps it up for Command andial. But we've still got to talk about the rest of the mountaintops of the giants. So plenty to talk about. Um so so far it's been. 53:54.71 Adam Bucceri Cool. Do we have any more thoughts on ah Commander nile. 54:02.80 Leonard Yeah. 54:06.17 Adam Bucceri Um, move that. 54:09.25 Cameron Ah, standard mountain experience. There's been cliffs. There's been views. There's been a lot of snow and as you get up to the the upper half. Suddenly there's a lot of trees and especially a lot of trees growing out of enormous corpses of giants. Um, this is. Yeah, it's like it's like the permanent graveyard of America's war against the giants and it starts getting pretty eerie. 54:37.59 Adam Bucceri Yeah, um, so we'll yeah I jumping ahead a little bit. Um, you know these giant corpses I didn't quite realize what I was looking at until I reached phase two of the fire giant boss and then. 54:42.52 Cameron M. 54:50.35 Cameron Um, yeah. 54:55.15 Adam Bucceri Like it was really great to like go back and just be like oh yeah, look at them. They got the little faces ah because the fire giants in this game have an additional giant cyclops face on their tummy which is a really. 54:59.65 Cameron M. 55:09.35 Cameron Um, yeah, yeah, yeah. 55:14.21 Adam Bucceri Interesting ah design choice. But then I also was able to go back and realize that the fire monks who are in the earlier part of the area. Also their breastplate ah bears the same ah kind of image and just so just like seeing this motif and seeing how like. 55:22.80 Cameron I mean. 55:32.28 Adam Bucceri It was reflected in culture and armor and you know ah kind of perpetuated in multiple different ways. Ah was really cool and like seeing all of these corpses um was definitely a big part of that. 55:37.61 Cameron And. 55:47.78 Cameron And yeah, it um really starts setting the stage for what you're going to encounter at the end which you know, um, you don't know for certain. There's a giant coming up. But. You certainly get the um, get the feeling that they definitely used to live here. Ah and man. Yeah, um, it feels very lonely up here. It's sort of darker in general compared to the rest of the mountaintop which feels a little weird. It's It's essentially high enough. Ah, light of the Earth tree is not always falling directly down onto it. Um, and it yet it feels Lonely. There's basically nothing up here except the occasional very hairy troll and the roaming hands. Um, otherwise it's. Abandoned it's dead. It's quiet. Um, it's yeah I said I said eerie earlier and I think that's the best word for me to describe it at least it's it's off-putting as an area of. 56:51.86 Leonard So I want to point out that they're aside from the weird rechard hands which is what they they are I'm not saying officially but like they they're covered in rings in there. There is. 56:59.32 Cameron I. Yeah, yeah. 57:10.16 Cameron Yeah, yeah. 57:11.63 Leonard He's so weird ever regenerating Snake man. Um, we also get like the freak dogs from callid and at the gross crows from Cale and one of the things that I thought about coming back here is like. 57:18.40 Cameron Yeah. 57:29.20 Leonard Oh this is an area that's kind of like locked in time. Um, before the err tree. Ah and and the golden order was established like before the war with the fire giant which seems to be like the first thing on. Ah um. 57:34.27 Cameron Um. 57:42.50 Cameron Yeah, so. 57:48.24 Leonard Um, the the theocracy that is the the religion of Eldon ring. Um so I was like oh the weird dogs. They're not new. They're not original like they're associated with. 57:55.80 Adam Bucceri 8 57:58.52 Cameron Um. 58:07.80 Leonard Rot But there's nothing here to indicate that Rot doesn't exist like this is before the attempt to establish order like this is this is the age of the crucible. The the tree that became came to Eldon rain like when everything like. 58:17.56 Cameron Yeah, yeah. 58:26.68 Leonard Ah, misbegotten you that they once were venerated and now they're maligned and it's like oh like none of this is new. None of this is original which is kind of a theme in in from soft games really of. 58:33.28 Cameron Um, um. 58:39.53 Cameron So yeah, yeah. 58:43.66 Leonard And I think it like that aspect of this is really highlighted because it's all of the weird things from different regions that you've seen kind of commingling and coexisting with each other naturally and it's like oh this is. 58:59.00 Cameron And. 59:02.54 Leonard This is the way that it used to be like I'm only seeing part of the picture with all of these different individual pieces. 59:12.43 Cameron Yeah, yeah. 59:16.50 Adam Bucceri Yeah, like I don't know if you guys share this feeling but like um, kind of the sense I get is that you know they brought the war here. They brought the war to the fire giants and while they have a couple of like military outposts. It isn't colonized. 59:27.81 Leonard Um. 59:32.58 Leonard Well. 59:33.36 Adam Bucceri And the same way that the other areas are you know it remain it retains much more of its um, let's say old identity than um than other places like America's reach here is limited. 59:35.52 Cameron Yeah, yeah, yeah. 59:42.38 Leonard In it. 59:52.22 Leonard Um, it's green. It's like fresh and new like this is this is the starting point. 59:57.91 Adam Bucceri In. 01:00:04.99 Adam Bucceri Ah, but it could also be that you know, ah maybe the interpretation is more that it's like arrested you know that it's ah frozen. You know both literally and metaphorically so. 01:00:16.70 Leonard Right. 01:00:20.36 Cameron And. 01:00:22.34 Adam Bucceri I Don't know I am interested to hear more theories about like how this fits in to the to the gri to the Grand scheme of things. 01:00:33.22 Cameron Yeah, pretty much. 01:00:38.90 Leonard So do we want to talk about the fire giant. 01:00:39.98 Cameron So um, yeah, we do um this is yeah yes, true. 01:00:48.13 Adam Bucceri Let's ah, let's let's talk about the the run up to them because the the geography that like immediately elites up to them is is pretty cool to me. 01:00:58.15 Cameron And yeah, yeah, ah you can see up in the distance this giant it's It's a bowl is this this? um obviously artificial smooth curved shape sort of built. 01:01:07.72 Adam Bucceri In. 01:01:14.89 Cameron Into the very peak of the Mountain. Um, and you can see that it's sort of this mountain peak is Cracked and separated from the rest of the mountaintop by this ravine basically and the only way to cross is via a couple of enormous chains. That are literally holding the mountaintop together. Um, which is which is really wild. Um, you can get ah you can get a pretty good look at it with um, there's a jump pad near a near a nearby grace that you can sort of get a nice overview as you spring up and over. 01:01:35.51 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 01:01:52.28 Cameron And enormous skull buried into the mountainside. Um, yeah, yeah, it's it's It's some wild end of the world imagery going on and it it does again is got that that lonely eerie feeling and now it's sort of coming literally to a peak. Um. 01:01:53.95 Adam Bucceri Love it. 01:02:11.52 Cameron And yeah, it's It's also geometry wise you know it's definitely a boss areno but they they let you feel it out for for a few seconds there you you know you go through a crack in this surrounding Cliff wall and a gate doesn't immediately spring up. You know, immediately little locked in as far as you can tell you sort of walk forward and just through the tree line you can see this hint of red and then it starts moving and the music kicks up and the boss namesprings are like oh that's that's a real giant. 01:02:30.70 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 01:02:36.92 Adam Bucceri Yes. 01:02:45.40 Adam Bucceri Um, yeah, the arena that ah that this fight in is a contender for like the largest single boss Arena in the series I Think the only thing that. 01:02:47.67 Cameron What. 01:02:59.49 Cameron Um, oh it's huge. 01:03:01.50 Leonard Um, yep. 01:03:01.20 Adam Bucceri Compares with it is is probably the fight with Gail um, because yeah, like when I first crossed that area I was like oh this is still the lead up to the boss arena and like I I was surprised that I stumbled into it just because like yeah you know a boss arena kind of has a look. 01:03:12.18 Cameron M. Um, yes, um. 01:03:19.68 Adam Bucceri Has ah a kind of size and a scale that you're used to and this is just such a wide openen field that it really ah did catch me off guard. 01:03:27.77 Leonard I think the other interesting aspect is this is one of the few major boss fights like you know we we've got the tree sentinel like right out the gate but like an actual boss fight where you can use Torin like. 01:03:46.42 Cameron And. 01:03:46.46 Adam Bucceri Yes. 01:03:47.40 Leonard RaDon is the only other one that I can think of and I think that is kind of important to understanding like how this boss fight works mechanically because you can um debt ah roll through. That um, snow Dis storm shockwave attack that he does that covers the entire arena with his bowl. But if you are on a horse you can you can dodge that significantly easier and I think that. 01:04:13.10 Adam Bucceri E. 01:04:13.26 Cameron Um, yeah. 01:04:23.20 Cameron Um. 01:04:23.25 Leonard Like understanding the actual mechanics and realizing that you can ride your horse during it kind of adds a lot of brandeur and spectacle to this fight. 01:04:36.19 Adam Bucceri Yeah, the the added mobility. You know this is not a fight that I I fight on horseback but being able to transition on and off torrent to um Maneuver especially out of the way of some of his like. 01:04:40.46 Leonard In here. 01:04:41.20 Cameron In. 01:04:51.79 Adam Bucceri Attacks that have such huge area like that. Um, that attack that you just described where he slams his giant bull of fire because we we didn't mention it but he's also carrying this enormous brazier um that he uses as a weapon very similar to father ariendel actually um. 01:04:52.80 Cameron M. 01:05:01.67 Cameron E. 01:05:04.19 Leonard Um, and. 01:05:06.57 Leonard Yes. 01:05:07.13 Cameron Yeah, yeah. 01:05:11.49 Adam Bucceri But he'll slam it down and create this shock wave of snow that like basically goes across the entire arena and you have to um, get out of the way or the trick that I found was if I knew I was going to get caught in it I would jump off of torrent. 01:05:16.38 Leonard And hit. 01:05:28.79 Adam Bucceri Ah, as the the snow was coming towards me and kind of use that to to vault over it because I think you get iframes as you jump off of it and that's a pretty swag move. 01:05:30.00 Cameron Yeah. 01:05:34.53 Leonard Um, yeah, yeah, oh yeah, they're like I'm I'm I'm not ashamed of Usings and iframes I love it. It's my favorite thing in the world I'm like oh yeah, give me all those mechanics. All those weird mechanics that I have to act. 01:05:35.57 Cameron Either? yeah. 01:05:43.84 Cameron So. 01:05:43.98 Adam Bucceri Oh yeah. 01:05:51.72 Leonard Typically try to engage with in order to ah to not take damage in this game. 01:05:58.40 Adam Bucceri Me. 01:06:02.82 Cameron Yeah. 01:06:07.52 Adam Bucceri Yeah, did you guys have any um strategies for dealing with this this first phase of the fire giant. Um, if we didn't paint an adequate word picture of fire giant stands conservatively a hundred feet tall 01:06:13.74 Cameron Um, I Yeah yeah. 01:06:21.70 Leonard Yes. 01:06:22.69 Cameron That feels about right? Yeah yeah. 01:06:24.55 Adam Bucceri Um, just about the biggest boss that's ever been in a from soft game I think only rivaled by like maybe the storm King um, but you know you're definitely engaging it much closer and much more personally than a lot of these other spectacle bosses. 01:06:31.20 Leonard Um, in here. 01:06:31.86 Cameron Um, yeah. 01:06:40.40 Cameron You. 01:06:44.40 Adam Bucceri Um, yeah, standing huge with a mane of flaming red hair. Um, flaming not being a metaphor ah like ah looks incredible like ah as a spectacle. 01:06:49.27 Cameron So no. 01:07:00.24 Adam Bucceri And ah carrying that brazier and also kind of a notable part of his design is he has this um would you call it like a wooden bracer around one of his ankles. 01:07:07.30 Cameron And it's not wood. It is a another giant's thigh bone I'm pretty sure it's tied with a braid of his own hair which I love the do it yourself. 01:07:15.88 Leonard Um, yes, yes. 01:07:16.28 Adam Bucceri Oh yes, that's right. 01:07:26.30 Cameron Um, spirit he's got going on here. Yeah. 01:07:33.89 Cameron Yeah, um, he's He's a really cool design and I've I really enjoyed fighting him I've watched a lot of people not enjoy fighting him because they seem not to take in visually. Um, all the information there because that that braced leg which he limps around on pretty heavily is his initial weak point. Um, you'll do normal damage there and you'll do like 15% damage if you hit him anywhere else. It feels like um. And ah, it's It's important to focus the leg Down. It's the traditional from Software Giant Monster fight but they've encoded it into the actual mechanics now. 01:08:18.20 Adam Bucceri Yeah, ah that makes me curious now is it possible to defeat the fire giant by doing damage to other parts of his body would that prevent his phase transition. 01:08:26.64 Cameron It is um, it doesn't prevent the phase transition. It just makes it seem less like correct like the the phase transition makes sense if you've been wailing away at one of his legs this entire time and then I've watched someone wail away at. 01:08:34.74 Adam Bucceri Right. 01:08:44.33 Cameron Literally just the other leg the entire time and then get confused when the left leg breaks in the cutcene and yeah. 01:08:51.38 Adam Bucceri Right? Interesting um, so yeah, ah you you're fighting him. He's constantly rolling around constantly doing like little somersaults and today. 01:08:57.17 Cameron No. 01:09:05.87 Leonard He's is's so cute. He's so cute when he does his little role out of the way is little Dod roll which is a thought giant dodge roll and you're like oh do I look that goofy when I roll up the way from like a big boss attackg. 01:09:06.46 Cameron Ah, he's so mobile. 01:09:09.37 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 01:09:19.52 Leonard Because that's what it kind of feels like. 01:09:21.10 Cameron Yeah, yeah, there's some great footage where you get gets stuck in that loop and the player takes a single step forwards and he just rolls you know fifty meters off to one side and you turn around you take 1 step 40 rolls back the other way. 01:09:21.18 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 01:09:27.29 Adam Bucceri Are. 01:09:29.89 Leonard Um, it is. 01:09:39.90 Leonard Um, don't look at me I'm shy and. 01:09:40.31 Cameron Just never stops. Yeah yeah. 01:09:49.72 Cameron And. 01:09:50.54 Adam Bucceri Yeah, ah so you ah fight with him. He's mostly doing Melee attacks. At this point he's got a couple of fire attacks that he also does where he's condering flames and throwing them. 01:09:58.54 Cameron Written. 01:10:04.49 Adam Bucceri Ah, but he's mostly doing Maylee attacks or trying to hit you with his big ah Brazier or you know ah throwing snow at you in that way but ah, eventually you wail on his one ankle which ah. 01:10:09.12 Cameron And. 01:10:15.60 Cameron Yeah. 01:10:21.66 Adam Bucceri Again, he's kind of hobbling on it's clearly wounded and um when you do that you're able to transition into the second phase where you see um his ankle like snap in a pretty gnarly ah animation. 01:10:23.58 Cameron E. 01:10:33.26 Cameron E Oh it's horrendous. Yeah. 01:10:40.58 Adam Bucceri Ah, and he falls down and the fire giant like bellows with pain reaches down and then using the fire like severs his own leg and then holds it up aloft. 01:10:50.60 Cameron Yeah. 01:10:57.63 Adam Bucceri Birding it? ah seemingly as a sacrifice to imbue himself with more power and then the central eye on his stomach opens kind of revealing this element of the design that has been there all along but like throw all it it into sharp relief that he has this. 01:11:03.92 Cameron Um, yeah. 01:11:14.51 Cameron Um. 01:11:16.37 Adam Bucceri This face in the center and the eye that opens I mean how would you even describe it. It's really wild looking like it's got these swirling irises. 01:11:16.56 Cameron Yeah. 01:11:25.90 Cameron Um, oh what was it. It's like yeah, it's like looking at Jupiter's magnetic field through a particular spectrum or a telescope someone on the elder ring subreddit because this shot was in of the eye specifically opening was in one of the trailers. 01:11:41.19 Adam Bucceri Yes. 01:11:42.66 Cameron Went hey this really looks like this shot from from a planet's like magnetic field or whatever. It's like space and the the answer is actually space. Um, yeah, it's it's a central pupil and the the iris is swirling flame. And there are like 7 other smaller pupils circling around the main central pupil. Um, it's wild looking. 01:12:08.70 Leonard I'm I'm such a sucker that when I saw that I was like and I don't even like narato but I was like oh that's a sheengan and I was like why do I Even know that Why do why I. 01:12:16.92 Cameron Ah, yeah. 01:12:17.57 Adam Bucceri Um. 01:12:23.60 Leonard Never watched an episode that Joe why do I even know that that is a thing but that's what that looks like and it it I'm every single time that that cut scene plays I'm like oh that's assuring again and I'm like god that came in. 01:12:39.79 Cameron Um, yeah, um, yeah, this is a really cool feature and it's a really interesting again when we sort of tap into mostly item descriptions and things you don't get a whole lot direct here. Um, because throughout. Eldden ring weave understood that there is the greater will which is this this god power above god because America is the god of the lands between and the greater will is what sort of empowered her and placed her in power. 01:13:06.75 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 01:13:08.45 Cameron But there are there are hints and there are secretcres. You can find emissaries of these other outer forces these outer gods. Um, for example, Mogue is the lord of blood. He's he's in direct service to this this unseen bloody mother or something like that I believe it is the formless mother. 01:13:23.67 Leonard The formless mother. 01:13:28.33 Cameron Yeah, um, there is the the flame of frenzy which not 100 % sure on exactly what's going on with that whether it's like this this conscious outermotive force or if it's just a natural burning of everything but then there is the fell god. Which is the the outer god of the fire giants and this this scene is specifically the fell god sort of coming and empowering and inhabiting the remaining last giant to defend the ah the fire that it's left here at the top of the peak that the the flame here is sort of like. 01:14:03.96 Leonard Um, yes. 01:14:05.80 Cameron It's urd tree if that makes sense. It's it's its way to connect and bring and spread its power throughout the lands between which is why America and the golden order went to war against the fire giants because it's literally an opposing deafic force trying to grab. What they consider to be their land. Um, yeah, and and this this is god coming down and going. Oh yeah, we should probably deal with with this golden order lackey coming coming up our mountain and. 01:14:24.40 Leonard Um, and. 01:14:35.60 Leonard So that's something that I think is really interesting about this which is I don't think the Earth tree taking the shape of a tree was an accident and when you you think about nature in general, you're like. 01:14:36.30 Adam Bucceri Jeff. 01:14:45.74 Cameron No. 01:14:54.50 Leonard Hey what burns wood Oh fire. Yeah, let's get rid of that like immediately because and because they like even and I think this like concept even extends to like the main game because all of the forms of death. 01:14:57.63 Cameron Um, yeah, absolutely. 01:15:02.61 Adam Bucceri Um, yeah. 01:15:12.95 Leonard Looked like fire like you've got destined death which is red flame. You've got ghost flame which is like this pale white Bluish Black flame. You've got the godskin flame and they're all just variations of death. But they're all portrayed as fire and it's like. 01:15:15.24 Cameron Um, yeah. 01:15:20.76 Cameron M. 01:15:28.90 Cameron Yeah, um. 01:15:32.39 Leonard Oh yeah, because this is in direct opposition to the status quoil that the Earth tree and the Golden order is trying to be. 01:15:38.91 Cameron Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. 01:15:43.49 Adam Bucceri Yeah, yeah, so I think you kind of really touched on it where it's like you know the story of Eldon Ring Functionally um has a lot of bloodborne dna in that it is like the world is this proxy war for these. 01:15:56.60 Leonard In here. 01:15:57.22 Cameron So m. 01:15:59.65 Adam Bucceri For these great ones for these outer gods. Um, and so like the fire giant is kind of the last holdout for this outer God That's that's time has passed like this is the the last remains. 01:16:15.13 Leonard Um, the lgad. 01:16:15.56 Cameron Um, yeah, yeah, essentially like there there are human worshippers of the giants fire out there. That's what the fire monks are up to. 01:16:18.42 Adam Bucceri Of it. 01:16:27.45 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 01:16:29.50 Cameron But they don't have that same level of connection to the fell god itself like there's there's 1 guy out there who knows how to use the incantation flame of the fell god and they locked him away immediately in an ever jail they went that guy not down. He goes. Um, yeah, and it it is um, sort of the first if if you're running the main story like the the basic way you go through you running through this is like you've done a bit aside exploring here and there this is the first real. Outer force that isn't the greater will that you're more directly interacting with um if if you yeah if you've done. Yes, yeah yeah, you can get some stuff with formless mother if you go do the the moguyn d dynasty. 01:17:07.89 Leonard Um, yeah I had a degree. 01:17:11.16 Adam Bucceri And I think the only other one that's on the critical path as well. 01:17:15.22 Leonard Um, yes. 01:17:24.68 Cameron Quest stuff before this. There's stuff with the flame of frenzy if you follow that path before this but this is yeah the direct critical path other outer influence. So you're always introduced to at least 1 opposing viewpoint to the golden order I guess um. 01:17:41.14 Adam Bucceri A. 01:17:43.18 Leonard Um, in here. 01:17:44.50 Cameron If you're if you're completionist like many of us are you will have seen a lot more obviously? um, but yeah, ah. 01:17:52.70 Adam Bucceri Yeah, so um, so phase 2 of the fire giant fight. Ah, he's now removed his leg. He now exclusively moves by rolling around like a dip shit which I really like um. 01:17:55.43 Cameron Yes, yes yep. 01:18:07.56 Cameron So yeah. 01:18:08.34 Adam Bucceri And the the face on his stomach. Um is now like alive and moving not just the eye but the mouth and the mouth is constantly spewing fire. Um. 01:18:13.89 Cameron Va man. Yeah, the start of this phase is incredible because there's that cut scene. You're placed a little while back. He takes damage from the cutscene. 01:18:29.85 Adam Bucceri Which is cool. 01:18:31.65 Cameron When he removes his leg. He actually does take damage to the boss life bar. Um, and then yeah, he's kneeling there sort of back in reverence and then you see that enormous eye on the chest Swivel and it locks onto you and then he just leans back into a yoga pose and starts vomiting out like. Meteorites of fire and it's the wildest thing it. It is beautiful and terrifying and phase two is a bit of a nightmare. Um so many aoes. 01:18:52.20 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 01:19:03.36 Adam Bucceri Yeah, the the attack where he's like bending over backwards and the stomach on his mouth is just spewing like a volcano into the air like looks really incredible. Um. 01:19:09.31 Cameron Um, yeah, oh man, it's why yeah and yeah, then it's wall fire all the time. No more hitting you with the bowl. 01:19:20.43 Adam Bucceri Ah, yeah. 01:19:25.78 Cameron Ah, no more swipes with the hands. It's shooting fireballs shooting out the tracking fireballs doing the um the the chaos flame bursts that pile up out of the ground and yeah vomiting flames either directly down onto the ground as an aoi or up into the air as that volcano. Kind of explosion become all his moves and the weak points have switched to his wrists which you can tell because that it's areas where the skin has been sort of seared off and the the rotting flesh is exposed underneath. Um, they're way harder to hit than his leg. Yeah. 01:19:56.29 Adam Bucceri Yeah, and the and the transition cut scene draws focus to that. So like it it wants to bring your attention there. ah ah I will say that the 1 melee attack that he has left. 01:20:03.33 Cameron Yeah, yeah, ah they they want you to at least have it figured out for the second half. 01:20:14.25 Adam Bucceri In phase two ah is that he'll do the people's elbow like he'll just like rear up and that just like elbows slam the ground which also like another one of the Zeldin ring goofy little touches that I that I love. 01:20:15.10 Cameron Um, yes. 01:20:25.96 Cameron Oh yeah, yeah, so. 01:20:34.97 Adam Bucceri Yeah, but ah, you know you you focus on them try to aim for the wristss as much as possible but you know take them down. However, you can and eventually he'll fall and then ah you can make your way up the the gigantic chain. 01:20:42.82 Cameron Um, yeah. 01:20:50.75 Adam Bucceri To the the bowl at the top. The ah I wanted to say crucible. But that's a proper Noun in this game. So let's say the ah the giant brazier. Ah. 01:20:55.10 Cameron Um, yes, it is the Lord's e extraordinaire yeah 01:20:58.12 Leonard Um, that just just call it what it is. It's the board vessel. So it's a giant or vessel. 01:21:06.87 Adam Bucceri Um, it's going to let you teleport like you won't believe. 01:21:10.50 Cameron Yeah, the oh yeah, that mean that's true. Yeah. 01:21:11.57 Leonard Yeah, exactly Oh yeah I mean get is getting cabinet just said. Yeah, actually it'll let you tell a pair to a place that you otherwise wouldn't have been able to get to but we. 01:21:25.42 Adam Bucceri Yeah, ah, real quick before we get into the the main thing I from Soft has done this a couple times I love traveling up a gigantic chain. Um I Just like yeah Broom Tower has. 01:21:25.51 Cameron Um, yeah, um. 01:21:29.70 Leonard Yes. 01:21:34.41 Cameron Oh it's so good this this art of the Iron King Dlc Room Tower is so good. Yeah, not what the dark souls Do again. 01:21:42.92 Adam Bucceri That amazing vista. Um I I don't know something about just like I know it's there's so much dark souls to Dna in this game like. 01:21:50.64 Cameron M. 01:21:52.78 Leonard Um, it's it's unironically made me once again that this is like seeing all the stuff that I didn't like in Darel's do like executed in a way that I like like I'm willing to admit that. 01:22:01.35 Cameron E. 01:22:08.96 Leonard Like there is a ton of darels to Dna in elder ring and that's the reason why I really want to go back and reexamine it because I'm just like did I actually was I just not mature enough to appreciate what this game was doing at the time and I will. 01:22:14.67 Cameron M. 01:22:22.95 Cameron Yes. 01:22:28.12 Leonard Completely willing to like make that decision as a forty year old man who played darcels too. So yeah, it's It's the fact that there is so much of that game in this game really makes me want to like naxels too. 01:22:33.39 Cameron Hey that's all good. 01:22:47.35 Leonard And. 01:22:48.53 Cameron Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's it's gorgeous and um, yeah, there's ah, there's a lot going on here. This is sort of like it's the pre-climax of the game like everything has been in terms of literal geometry building to this height. 01:23:05.46 Adam Bucceri E. 01:23:05.80 Cameron Um, this is this is the this is basically the tallest point you get to in the game. Um, you come up, you traverse the the rim of this bowl which is named the forge of the fire giants. It doesn't look like they could forge anything in there. But um, it's got a pile of barely flickering coals. 01:23:19.87 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 01:23:25.34 Cameron Sort of heaped in the center of it. This is again sort of the I imagine before the golden order was fully established here. This would be like a big blazing beacon of light filled with burning fire. But with 1 giant left and now just dead. Um. To tend to it. It's sort of died down over the centuries Millennia however, long, it's been. Um, yeah, and you you get to a grace and melaner appears and says hey um, you ready to burn the earth tree. That's cool. Um, just hold my hand for a second. We'll do this together and she knocks you out so she can do it herself just just for your safety I'm gonna I'm gonna listen will get you down there and then just completely forces you to pass out and you get to watch the little cut scene where she. Essentially what I'm assuming is like um incants to the fell god and says hey it's time for the earth tree to burn down I know you've been waiting for this. Let let me channel the power of this forge through me and the urge tree shall burn and it does. It does indeed catch a light and melana begins to burn away and the last thing is that you know fire shall reveal the path forwards and you get teleported away in a beam of fire. Essentially um, which. 01:24:55.93 Cameron You know it's open to interpretation exactly what's going on here like is melaina guiding the flame to get you to where you need to go is the fell god itself going like hey okay, these guys are actually all right. My bad. Let's get them where they need to go to get rid of the earth tree. Um, finally, someone's doing something about it. Is it. Something else going on. We're not 100 % sure um but you wake up in the middle of a hurricane in the sky and we do actually get a floating sky temple which I didn't get the preview for this. Um that exists in in game. So I was really surprised and really excited to get to pharrama's all. 01:25:37.45 Adam Bucceri Ah, it it looks amazing. It ah you know feels like a pastiche of some other areas. You know it's got a little bit of Arch Dragon peak ah it's got a little bit of via. 01:25:40.46 Cameron Um. 01:25:47.21 Cameron E. 01:25:53.36 Cameron Um, yeah, yeah, yes, yeah. 01:25:53.77 Adam Bucceri Also the dragon area from Dark souls to ah dragon area. That's the one. Ah, but yeah, just surrounded in these um, incredible looking swirling storms as you're like basically in the eye of a hurricane and if you do the thing that I do. 01:25:57.35 Leonard Um, yes. 01:26:10.12 Cameron And. 01:26:13.43 Adam Bucceri Which is immediately check the map to go where the hell am I You are once again, just like ah you can't keep doing this. 01:26:19.30 Cameron Ah, every time. Yeah, they just throw you like another few kilometers out from the Eastern edge of the mouth and be like yeah here now and you're like okay I guess this is an explanation why we couldn't It's it's. 01:26:27.85 Adam Bucceri I Can't keep getting away with this. 01:26:33.35 Cameron It's their explanation for why you couldn't see it with a telescope is it's way out there beyond the draw distance. Just. 01:26:39.22 Leonard It's It's literally out beyond the edge of the world because they're the weird waterfalls that lead to nowhere even though the map says it's the sea and it's like oh is literally outside of the map outside of time is that. 01:26:42.26 Cameron Yeah, yep, yeah. 01:26:55.86 Leonard How ah right? it. 01:26:57.10 Cameron Um, it kind of is um, we'll we'll get more into it when we cover farramizola in own episode but like the storm here is a storm outside of time as we as we see with a particular side quest that requires you to be to. At a different point in time to use a particular item that's broken in the present but was fine at another point in time. So come to this place that's in between and outside of all time to use it? Yeah basically. 01:27:21.38 Adam Bucceri Or. 01:27:25.34 Leonard Um, kind so but it's the end of Bioshock infinite. 01:27:30.58 Cameron If if you just turned a little to left. You'd see the tarnish drowning themselves. Yes. 01:27:35.82 Adam Bucceri I. 01:27:37.10 Leonard Ah, wait, no no, no, it's the it's the it's the finger. Great maiden that it's 4 versions of her all tracking po. 01:27:46.60 Cameron Yeah, all drowning the tarnished perfectly. 01:27:47.14 Adam Bucceri You see you see different versions of tarnished writing a message that says try jumping and then other versions of him jumping off. 01:27:56.27 Cameron Um. 01:27:59.78 Cameron Ah, oh man, the infinite Tarnished theory. 01:28:04.55 Adam Bucceri Um, the the last thing that I want to say about um the the cut scene at the end because Melana ah catches fire and burns as part of that and and that's the end of of your you know, ah stand in Maiden. 01:28:06.10 Cameron Yeah. 01:28:14.90 Cameron Button. Yeah yes, so. 01:28:22.25 Adam Bucceri Um, however, in the previous episode There was talk about meeting um that this I don't know avatar of Shaviri who says like hey it would suck if she died right? You'll want her to die. Well. 01:28:27.54 Cameron Um. 01:28:31.55 Cameron Yes, yes. 01:28:39.35 Cameron Um, yeah, yeah. 01:28:40.42 Adam Bucceri I've got an alternative path which is um, of course the path of the frenzied flame where ah you can do it your own damn self. Ah she however is not thrilled about this idea. 01:28:44.63 Cameron Yeah. 01:28:53.68 Leonard You know she immediately abandoned you the first time you sit down after giving the the frenzy flame. She's like yeah no, this isn't what I signed up for by e. 01:28:54.10 Cameron But no, it's it's the bad path. 01:29:05.64 Adam Bucceri Yeah, thanks for saving my life I will now dedicate it to destroying you. 01:29:13.55 Cameron Essentially I mean from from her perspective you're trying to destroy the world just to save her which she's not into. Um yeah I'll see this is the bad path that you have chosen. 01:29:20.23 Adam Bucceri Yeah, and I'm glad that she so thoroughly rejects it. You know there's no ambiguity to it. She's just like yeah. 01:29:32.91 Cameron Yeah, um, but yeah, you can absolutely do it Your dang self. Um the the same thing essentially happens you you get set on fire this time. The Earth tree lights on fire and then you teleport away in a blaze of light. Ah, but. Yeah, there there are there are alternate paths here. Um, which even again link into farammazoola because you can you can do it your dang self and then not burn the world to pieces with the correct with the correct order of operations. Which feels weird but is technically the way to save melaner and still get a not not apocalypse ending She doesn't acknowledge it but say. 01:30:09.89 Leonard Yes I I I was going to say that it really actually bumgs me out that there isn't a separate secret ending for for this because a lot of completionist people like me. 01:30:11.51 Adam Bucceri Yes. 01:30:20.94 Cameron So. 01:30:28.70 Cameron Yeah, yeah. 01:30:29.42 Leonard Are going to do who are going to damn themselves and then get you know a tone for it. So the fact that there is a ah secret ending for for damnming themselves but not for a toning really kind of bums me out. Maybe they'll they'll add it in. 01:30:35.30 Cameron Undammed. 01:30:42.27 Cameron M. 01:30:49.10 Leonard Whatever Dlc's coming out for this game. Please make see. 01:30:51.40 Cameron So maybe. 01:30:51.14 Adam Bucceri Yeah, that's a really good point I hadn't considered that as like because I kind of didn't really consider you know saving Melana as I don't know a meaningful motivation. 01:31:04.99 Leonard Bright. 01:31:05.42 Cameron M. 01:31:07.59 Adam Bucceri Ah, up until this point. But if you wanted to do that and if you you know, kind of moved heaven and earth to do that like it really does feel like it should be acknowledged. Um. 01:31:10.96 Cameron You can? Yeah yeah, it would be it would be better. Maybe maybe hey maybe there'll be a deal C and it'll come into there somewhere because I mean I imagine they would gate dlc to be pretty late game I don't know if it would be. 01:31:23.66 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 01:31:29.99 Cameron As late game as melliner has to have abandoned you either way, but it would be interesting if you did that and then rescued her She could come back in the dlc or if you did that and didn't do it specifically just to rescue. But you were really doing the frenzy flame she could come and hunt you down. 01:31:32.47 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 01:31:47.53 Cameron Ah, she promises when you accept it? Yeah yeah. 01:31:48.65 Adam Bucceri Yeah I mean stranger things have happened you know scholar of the person added a new ending to the game. 01:31:55.40 Cameron It did. 01:31:56.64 Leonard I Want the dlc to be you get through the tutorial grave site and then you lift open that door and right next to you is a teleport window stone that just says the dlc. 01:32:04.31 Cameron Yeah, yeah. 01:32:11.39 Cameron Ah, yes, beat travel to a far distant land is what it would say. 01:32:20.45 Leonard And you and and you cannot return until the deal C is complete. Ah, that's what that? No no none of that they don't They don't came in like that. 01:32:27.27 Adam Bucceri Um, boy. 01:32:28.10 Cameron Recommended for tarnished of level 60 or higher. 01:32:32.29 Adam Bucceri Um. 01:32:36.64 Leonard Now Just let them let them make decision to go there and not be able to return. 01:32:37.79 Cameron That's true I mean that was my blood born experience that was my bloodborn dlc experience of what the hell was going on. Why do you let me do this like level 40 Oh man. 01:32:44.72 Adam Bucceri Um. 01:32:51.87 Adam Bucceri Yeah I've had many bloodboard and runs that fizzle out because I'm like I'm just going to speed run to the dlc in order to get like a cool weapon and then I'm going to play the game with that and then like the deal sees just a wall. 01:32:55.70 Cameron Yeah, um. 01:33:00.10 Cameron Thank you. 01:33:06.44 Cameron Yeah, it is oh man. Um, but I think that's more or less. It does anyone have anything else. Add for mount tro of the giant fire giant and Castle Salt 01:33:21.66 Adam Bucceri Um, I'm a little bit warmer on this than I think I may be let on like ah castle Soul I think is pretty tricky but I think the the whole mountainside of the the mountaintops of the giants is like pretty neat and it's also not too big. 01:33:26.11 Cameron Oh. 01:33:33.14 Cameron Okay. 01:33:39.49 Adam Bucceri I don't think it overstays its welcome too badly um, you know I think that the game maybe is a little bit too long I think like the the climax feels like it goes on a little bit too long. Um, but I feel that fatigue more in Farmazoula than I do here at the the mountain top of the giants and. 01:33:42.60 Cameron Oh. 01:33:58.53 Cameron Yeah, um, yeah. 01:33:58.60 Adam Bucceri The fire giant is also just like a really cool and striking boss that feels like something that they've done attempts at but never quite executed it ah to this level. 01:34:05.61 Cameron Um, yeah, yeah I will say the fire giant is one of the few bosses where every single attempt I felt I made definite progress. 01:34:17.92 Adam Bucceri Yes. 01:34:20.15 Cameron Which to me is a sign of pretty good overall design like I never felt dispirited after getting smashed by a giant bowl um compared to some of the some of the other bosses both in elder ring just in previous titles where it can feel like slamming your head against a wall no matter what you do. 01:34:27.85 Adam Bucceri Yeah. 01:34:37.47 Adam Bucceri Yeah, yeah. 01:34:40.12 Cameron Click Len it anything to add. 01:34:41.48 Leonard And as yes as far as pharmazola which we will get into in a later episode goes I'm going to make this um controversial potentially controversial opinion pharmazoula is. The shrine of Amada but with flatforming. 01:35:03.81 Adam Bucceri I can see that. 01:35:05.10 Cameron That's a good way to put it. Yeah yeah, yeah. 01:35:08.15 Leonard Um, and that's all I'm going to say about Barma Ah, that's might or have played dark souls too. But. 01:35:10.51 Adam Bucceri Um, that's your teas. What does he mean? you'll have to wait until next time but ah specifically play darksylls 2 at launch. 01:35:19.82 Cameron Um. 01:35:24.25 Leonard We Yeah yeah, That's all I've got to say um, it's great. It's yeah this is this is the part where the game starts ah funnel you down a path to completion and that's this becomes the least interesting part of the game. Because then it becomes less about exploring the world and finding you things and then just completing the thing that ends the narrative and I Love this game's narrative but the fact that it funnels you so hard down this path to completion. 01:35:43.80 Cameron Um. 01:35:51.83 Cameron Martin. 01:36:02.10 Leonard Is where I'm just like yeah there's some cool stuff but it doesn't feel the same when you can just go like you could lift up that door and you could go to callib if you sit at three bond. You've sit at three sides of braces and and the rest of the game doesn't have that it is. 01:36:06.18 Cameron And. 01:36:12.19 Adam Bucceri This. 01:36:18.43 Cameron Um. 01:36:21.41 Leonard Hey this is the narrative. Let's wrap it up. 01:36:22.77 Cameron I written yeah all right I can argue with that. Well we'll leave it here then we'll finish up with some admin and then we will send off and see you in the next episode first things first. 01:36:27.14 Adam Bucceri Yeah, can argue. 01:36:42.63 Cameron Finding people online Adam Web can people find you online. 01:36:47.55 Adam Bucceri Yeah, you can follow me on Twitter at adambu cherry ah I also make games and you can find those at boo cherry that's boo like ghost cherry like fruit dot itch I o. 01:36:49.81 Cameron Oh. 01:36:55.59 Cameron Excellent leonard. How about you and your works. 01:37:02.38 Leonard And yes, you can find me on Twitter at Dr Fast is dead. You can also find me on Twitter at Umbernots productions and if you want to subject yourself to my videographer work as an editor. You can search for Dr. Faustus's dead on Youtube and at Umbernots Productions at Youtube and Cameron where you keep find on the internet. 01:37:29.67 Cameron And excellent. You can find me primarily on Twitter at night underscore Twitter that's night without okay I'm in the last leg of my lead up to my wedding. So. It's probably not going to be massively active for two weeks and then there's going to be a bunch of photos of me dressed up all fancy and stuff. Um, so if if you want to see that log back in on Saturday the seventeenth of September probably more like Sunday the eighteenth I don't think I'll be doing it doing any. Interneting the Saturday night. Um, if you want to check out what our other host Dave is up to at the moment I'm pretty sure he's asleep but you can find him on Twitter at sentinort underscore. Plus. Um, and you can find the podcast on Twitter at Mon Underscore demonster if you want to message us with feedback suggestions or anything else that strikes your mind. We love to hear from listeners all right thanks for listening everyone and we hope to see you in the next episode. Goodbye. Thank you. 01:38:38.77 Leonard Dubai. 01:38:40.35 Adam Bucceri Um, goodbye that Goodbye was weirdly aggressive. 01:38:40.81 Cameron And cut.