I’m a sucker for what you’d call “deep lore” in modern media. The stuff that’s hidden, merely implied, and deliberately obtuse is often the best part of backstories in gaming, and FromSoftware’sElden Ringabsolutely falls into this category. Some people getreallyweird and creative with it, though.
Please note that none of this is meant to be a critique: I myself have gone off the deep endwhen it comes toDestinylore, for example, and there’s plenty of merit to be had in this respect. It’s a fun creative exercise, if nothing else, and what’s the harm in that? Enter Charlemagneffxiv’s phenomenally wacky theory about the true meaning behindElden Ring: not only do the Lands Between exist in the same universe asDark Soulsdoes, but the whole thing is actually just a “fantasy archeology simulator in the guise of an action RPG game.” Suffice it to say, somereallyaren’t vibing with what the author is saying.
Elden Ring itself is an ARG, one lore theory claims
Whether Charlemagneffxiv is truly on to something or not is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. What matters is that this is the kind of stuff that keeps people hooked on franchises and properties over a long, long time. A straightforward story is all well and good, for sure, but true longevity lies in obscure stuff that may or may not be true, especially when it offers a chance to entirely re-contextualizeeverythingyou know about the piece of media itself.
“There is a secret story hidden in the game that explains what is actually going on in the world,” says the author of this particular lore theory. “There are multiple distinct civilizations all descending from one original culture who have, much like the real world, branched off into different cultures and then inter-mixed again. There seems to be a story of repeated conquests, and re-purposing of ruins by adding additional details from the conquering culture. This makes it very difficult, but not impossible, to trace the history of the game’s world.”
Obviously, I highly recommend reading up on what Charlemagneffxiv is saying here, but the TL;DR of it all is somewhat simple:
Do I agree with it? Not necessarily, no, but I’ll admit that it’s extremely tantalizing to imagine a connection betweenDark Soulsproper andElden Ring‘s universes.
The community is also conflicted when it comes to Charlemagneffxiv’s claims, predictably enough. Some feel precisely the same way, while others suggest this whole thing is just video game schizophrenia at play. It’s a toss-up, really. Is it worth the time to go through it and maybe give it some thought? I genuinely believe so. It’s great fun if nothing else, and it speaks to the sheer brilliance of design on show inElden Ring.
