#3: Shadow of Shadow of the Erdtree
#3: Shadow of Shadow of the Erdtree
He said the major key is to be strong on your own
Lose your other half, you’re never off balance…
We need to talk about Elden Ring. (concerned YouTube thumbnail face goes here)
In case you live under a rock, this week sees the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, the DLC for 2022’s award-winning Elden Ring. It’s going to be huge in the gaming content space for weeks, if not months. There’s been 1 (one) negative review and the buzzards are already flocking, so we’re in for another one of…those times on the internet. As always, play nice, don’t rise to bait, and don’t read the comments unless it’s your job (and sometimes not even then). I’m not equipped to fully explore all that, but I am equipped to talk about what it’s like as a small creator on Twitch at a time when there’s a mega-release that’s not for you.
Everyone says it’s tougher to grow as a variety content creator, but times like these are one of the things they don’t tell you about. When a big new release takes over the purple app, something akin to a gold rush occurs, though there’s not as much gold in them thar hills than you’d think. It seemed to start this time with Kai Cenat’s playthrough of the game, and the DLC is hitting at the perfect time for a lot of content creators facing a potential drought of, well, content during the summer months. If you’re a single-game streamer, you truck on and play your Warzone or Fortnite or whatever you’re havin’ yourself. But if you’re not, this often leads to many streamers thinking to themselves “Could this be a thing for me?” In a time when Twitch is contracting and a sub price rise is imminent in many territories, a lot of people are looking for something to boost their chances. I have in the past been guilty of hopping on these trains, but it’s something I try not to do anymore. For one, it’s expensive to keep up with every new release, and everyone including me is broke these days. So I have tried to limit my spending and have even considered, gasp, a niche to make it easier!
It’s a real struggle for me to not be perceived as a contrarian. Being autistic can lead one to be blunt, which often leads to hurt feelings for me and others. I’ve been there last year with Baldur’s Gate 3, where in the end I abandoned my Spider-Man 2 playthrough because there was nasty stuff going on between both groups of fans that I wanted no part of. I never want to be the type of person that spouts the popular opinion just to keep the peace and line my own pockets, but at the same time, I do want my friends and fellow streamers to genuinely have a fun time and share that excitement about a big event with their communities. The announcement at this week’s Nintendo Direct of a Marvel vs. Capcom collection for modern systems only solidified this for me. People who are into Souls feel like this the way I feel about that, and I want to encourage it, while having the confidence to do my own thing. It’s a thin tightrope to walk on the modern internet.
But, given that this is the internet and this debate topic is everywhere, we must also talk about this DLC and…The Game Awards.
My own feeling, strictly talking about The Game Awards (or “The Geoffs” if you prefer) as there are hundreds of GOTY gongs at this stage, is that I think the only locks so far are Balatro, Helldivers II and the arguable current frontrunner Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. I call Rebirth the frontrunner because despite sales being lower than expected, it fits the general mold of what wins GOTY at this show, barring Overwatch in 2016. I do hate slippery slope arguments in general but this is one for sure. If Erdtree gets nominated, should Dawntrail be up there as well? We’ve had the debate on Early Access games and Baldur’s Gate 3 winning last year despite releasing in Early Access three years before that has closed the book on that for good. I also don’t think Hades II should be nominated this year for the same reason (and to let Supergiant cook).
Without wanting to be too doomer about it, this is a weak year after last year’s cavalcade of video game riches. A year where a mainline Zelda not only doesn’t win but isn’t even the frontrunner on awards night says a lot. And the Game Awards, ultimately, is more about money and eyeballs, way more than something like an Oscars or a Grammys. If Elden Ring getting nominated again will draw more debate which leads to more viewers for the show, I think a nomination will happen.
As always, I reserve the right to be wrong, the worst thing anyone can be on the internet.
Now, time for Short Trips:
The Boys Season 4 - It took me a long time to appreciate this show. I read the comics when they were first released and I felt like how I feel about a lot of Garth Ennis’ work. Well constructed overall yet a bit too eager to roll in its own filth. I was skeptical when the show got announced, didn’t engage with it at first, then found it irritating when Twitch flooded us with promo for it. What made me interested was the casting of Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy, who I didn’t really like in the comic but the show’s take was so different aesthetically that I had to know what was going on. And now, I’m a fan, and this is the first season where I’m fully invested as the show is happening. Obviously Antony Starr’s Homelander is the, well, star, a truly incredible performance that pulls at my nerves every time he’s on screen. My favourite of the newcomers is Sister Sage. Her being the typical “world’s smartest person” superteam member but focused more on emotional intelligence is a really neat twist. And I’m sorry, but I couldn’t hold in my laughter at Transformers Revenge of the Fallen getting mentioned as “the one with the racist robots”. My apologies to anyone who was waiting for Studio Series Skids and Mudflap but I think you’ll be waiting even longer now.
Euro 2024 - This has been a FUN tournament so far. There’s a lot to enjoy about the lazy days of three group games one after the other. Storylines are already starting to develop, from the permutations of who will make the last 16 despite finishing third in their group to Kylian Mbappe’s smashed nose. The first few games being one-sided made me a bit worried, but we’ve had a lot of competitive games, with more to come. And hopefully, it won’t be coming home. (Apologies to my English friends, it’s not you, it’s your tabloids…and TalkSport)
Preparing to stream again - I actually really love the planning and prepping part of streaming, sometimes more than doing it itself. My love of the weekly schedule graphics is a meme in my community at this stage, but it’s one of the most relaxing times of the week while also making me feel productive. I compare it to setting the table or even just writing the menu before the week’s entertainment, even though in the time since I’ve moved I’ve been way more erratic than I would like. I played my first video games in about three weeks on Tuesday. I tried to play Fortnite Zero Build but in the two games I played, the first one I couldn’t jump at all so I had to use Nitro to get things out of my way, and the second one I lagged out to the point my console crashed and locked up until a hard reset. Not great!
I played Festival for the evening instead, and sometimes DMCA kills me because the Metallica songs are SO FUN to play. I’m rockin’ out to Fuel like I’m in the RDS at 16 years old again. To tie in Metallica to the ongoing football, at the end of the second time I saw them Lars rushed out on stage and said “GREECE ONE FRANCE NIL!” We thought it was a troll, because it was Lars. Greece not only won that game but the whole tournament in one of the all-time great underdog stories.
As far as actually being on stream this week, the Spider-Man playthrough finally begins..again! I’ve also added Sunday for the next few weeks to check out some indie games and try some new things to get out of my Fortnite-shaped comfort zone a little. This week, we’ll be playing Cult of the Lamb, and next week I’d like to try Still Wakes the Deep (not the one from The Boys). I actually forgot about the Metallica concert in Fortnite this weekend when I made my schedule. I do want to see it live but I’m not sure if I’ll risk a copyright strike. Maybe I’ll Discord stream it after my regular stream.
Thanks for reading! Enjoy the DLC if you’re partaking. My stream is there if you need a break to de-salt. This week was a bit different but I tried to give my honest take without being combative, and if you know me, you know how hard that is for me!
I’m SeanShards, and I can do this all day.