Dark Souls, Sekiro, Elden Ring
The game invites you on a journey full of struggles, it promises to reward every step you take, yet it will not let you take those steps easily (Self Love Isn’t Enough - Benefits Of Bootcamp). It says “this won’t be easy, you’re insignificant. But… You can do it if you will it so.”
We find motivations and reasons to care and desire. To realize those desires we need to:
- believe that they really really are possible - trust in the external
- believe that we have the strength, skills, capacity to realize those desires - trust in the internal (self-efficacy)
With soulslikes and games in general the first prerequisite is guaranteed by definition, games are meant to be played and finished. Not only do you know that, but you know that games reward you with cutscenes, loot, XP, etc for every success.
Self-efficacy is a little more complicated, it comes from within and this is where most of the weight of soulslikes come from.
Cycle of samsara: each rebirth you have new knowledge and skill to overcome what you couldn’t before. Failure is growth. You either embrace the cycle for itself or you use it to exercise your agency towards desire. (“Ride the snake” Getting Over It with Bennet Foddy)
This cycle is kind of a given in gaming in general (checkpoints, savepoints etc), yet in fromsoft it is not punishment. In other games its like a slap on the wrist “do not do this” in a kind of “you were supposed to notice something that you did not, try again.” For fromsoft its an integral part of the experience. There is no other way but to die and gain experience from death itself, kind of like “death is not punishment, it is the experience itself.”
There is an inverse correlation between existing self-efficacy and how much one likes soulslikes. If trust (and maybe even knowledge, certainty) in the internal already exists then soulslikes become more annoying than anything. If trust in the internal is shaky or low, then the games teach self trust, bolster grit and efficacy in significant ways and through that it becomes a personal and transformative experience.
Progression is gradual and slow. Can create the illusion that you haven’t done that much, since all struggles will scale with your growth in skill and equipment, insignificance is always with you, haunting you. You really understand how far you’ve come once you start the game again or go back to starting areas.
Can be transformative because while it mirrors struggles of life itself, life does not have a lot to trust in the external, especially if you believe there is no inherent meaning or reasons for existing. Thus trust in others and the self becomes paramount.
Other notes
kohatunnetus - sõnumid ja emotid teiste mängijate poolt + mängijate kummitused (tontoloogia, hauntology)
tunnetus ka päris elu kohtadest (kes siin enne olid, mida nemad tegid või tundsid)
nagu teistes mängudes asjad/kogemused/tunnetused mida mujalt ei saa:
- kolmanda isiku vaade (sõidad autoga ja tunnetad kolmandast isikust seda)
- kolmemõõtmeline tunnetus, kujutus kohtadest ja asjadest
- orienteerumine (seotud eelmisega)