i found a simple joy in it despite its bare bones at the cost of a cup of coffee. as someone with an affinity for eroticism in the mundane as well as the uncompromising machine, the framing device of the clicker and the reactions it elicits from the clickold were endearing, and while i wish they were more evenly spaced across the ten thousand presses i acknowledge the eventual shift in his scope. i simply enjoyed acquiescing to his little requests and leaving him hanging, the ambience and general sound design added to the small thrills.

there's some overarching dialogue that paints a picture of our client as he sheds his layers in front of a stranger fulfilling him psychosexually, though i don't feel any of it was really interesting enough to warrant "playing" this, nor do i feel watching a video provides the same experience, placing it in this nebulous no gamer's land; the meta concept of becoming a clickold yourself as a viewer shouldn't be overlooked. a warning, i actually faced a glitch that barred me from further postcredits content and regret chasing up a video online as it has curdled my interpretation and small enjoyment of this game.

i had a few conversations with friends and made dinner between clicking and i guess that helped me stay attentive. i don't care at all for the "streamability" of a game, i like things to be unique in their unflinching unpalatable ways, and i valued Clickolding for that. once a clicker exceeds its limits, it all returns to zero.

the paintings on the walls are The Healing of Tobit by Bernardo Strozzi, Rabbits on a Log by Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, and Tiger in Repose by Antoine-Louis Barye.

[vague narrative discussion/spoilers]

fromsoft's most evocative environmental and narrative exploit which easily cracks under the weight of a decade spanning combat formula, a spellbinding companion conjuring a vivid world wreathed in well guarded shadows of the past. it's my belief it is incomparable to previous "souls" expansions not in such petty arguments of ranking one product over the other, as these are campaigns that are dear to me too, but in that SotE's scope of vision reiterates and expands on the esoteric yet realistic higher themes of Elden Ring. fromsoft's excellency in symbology and storytelling has only blossomed in its execution.

the verticality of the map is frankly astonishing with the new open areas and smaller locales maintaining a strong visual identity to every corner. i feel map design and exploration related challenges have been improved upon in very tangible ways, once monotonous catacombs have become exciting and varied. while it is large, the main game dwarfs its size and i feel this focused approach leads to exemplary item placement and unspoken worldbuilding typical of this title, yet manages to still surpass this expectation. the use of scale reveals is unmatched, with areas so intimate and secluded and so deeply emotionally significant, your very footsteps are an invasion. you were never meant to be here.

i'm not a "build" or "meta" person. i use weapons, armor, and incantations or sorceries that i find aesthetically or narratively compelling, or sometimes whatever works. though i strayed little from my affinity for twinblades and greataxes, i admire the diversity seen in the new weapon types, especially the addition of actual perfumer bottles(!!!), and heavily anticipate reaching ng+ and experimenting with rebirth when my heart yearns for this game again. which it will.

i do feel a loud majority of players of ER/fromsoft's library view them merely as Prepare To Die torturefests of gruelling difficulty and a purely practical source of gamer adrenaline and preening (no thanks to the official branding and advertising, which has admittedly improved in later releases), searching for black/white dichotomies and a hero to fight for, a villain to blame. to me these boss encounters are vehicles to tell a story with a gorgeous spectacle to go with it, and i could never fathom exploring a game as textually rich as this solely within the confines of combat. SotE is plain in its portrayal of this endless cycle's futility, found in the main cast of new characters' squabbling as well as a great violence of the past begetting Messmer's, themes present in the original game but hammered home within a history writ in genocidal slaughter from which Grace would emerge.

while the final word is ultimately disheartening following the core moral of ER, as well as the dashed potential of Castle Sol's existence which i have reinterpreted further, it's in the immaturity of childish reverence that stagnation within the divine prospers. a certain appearance transforms from bitter hatred to a deeper understanding following extended dissection with a fellow ER scholar and unpacking within my own mind. Miquella was truly miserably cursed.

☙ ❧

spoken words of Queen Marika linger here, as well. shall i share them with you?

   Ⓨ I'm interested
   I'm not interested

in Marika's own words. hear me, Demigods.
my children beloved. make of thyselves that which
ye desire.
be it a Lord.
be it a God.
but should ye fail
to become aught at all, ye will be forsaken.
amounting only
to sacrifices