Fellow Tarnished and seekers of wisdom, gather at the Site of Grace as we prepare to traverse the Lands Between—not with sword or sorcery, but wielding the sharp edge of Friedrich Nietzsche’s thought. This article has lingered in my inventory for some time, but with the 125th anniversary of Nietzsche’s death just a couple of days ago, the timing feels perfect to finally bring it to light.
In this post, we’re taking the approach we started in some of our previous articles (for example Rising Above Adversity: Lessons from Elden Ring) one step further by examining Elden Ring through the lens of a great philosopher’s work.
Elden Ring has taken the gaming world by storm. Its brutal difficulty, intricate lore, and vast, unforgiving world have captured the imaginations of millions. But beneath the surface of this fantasy epic lies a treasure trove of philosophical concepts that would make even the most stoic scholar raise an eyebrow.
Enter Friedrich Nietzsche, the mustachioed maestro of existential philosophy. Known for his provocative ideas on suffering, power and the human condition, Nietzsche’s philosophy resonates surprisingly well with the core themes of Elden Ring. In this article, we’ll don our thinking caps (or, should I say, our Helm of Knowledge) and explore how Elden Ring embodies Nietzschean concepts like the Will to Power, the value of suffering and the Eternal Recurrence.
So, prepare yourselves, dear readers. We’re about to level up our minds and discover how Elden Ring isn’t just a game – it’s a Nietzschean nightmare (or dream, depending on how you look at it) come to life!
The Tarnished and the Will to Power
Imagine, if you will, Nietzsche donning the armor of a Tarnished and venturing into the Lands Between. He’d likely feel right at home, especially when it comes to his concept of the Will to Power.
But what exactly is this Will to Power? No, it’s not a new type of sorcery or incantation (though that would be pretty cool). For Nietzsche, the Will to Power is the fundamental driving force behind all human behavior – our innate desire to grow, to overcome, to become more than we are.
Now, look at our dear Tarnished. Stripped of grace, exiled from the Lands Between and then called back to face insurmountable odds. If that’s not a setup for exercising one’s Will to Power, I don’t know what is!
Every time we, as players, face a seemingly unbeatable boss (looking at you, Malenia), every time we explore a new, dangerous area, every time we level up or upgrade our weapons, we’re embodying this Nietzschean concept. We’re not just playing a game; we’re enacting a primal drive to overcome, to grow stronger, to impose our will upon a world that seems determined to break us.
The very structure of Elden Ring, with its punishing difficulty and emphasis on personal growth and exploration, is a playground for the Will to Power. Each victory, each discovery, each “YOU DIED” screen that doesn’t make us rage-quit, is a testament to our unyielding will to overcome and grow.
So, the next time you’re facing down a giant dragon or a malevolent demigod, remember: you’re not just playing a game, you’re participating in a grand philosophical experiment. Nietzsche would be proud… or he’d tell you to git gud. Probably both.
Suffering as a Path to Growth
If you’ve played Elden Ring for more than five minutes, you’re probably intimately familiar with suffering. From brutal boss fights to treacherous environments, to that godforsaken chariot in the Hero’s Grave, Elden Ring seems designed to make players suffer. But before you throw your controller across the room, consider this: Nietzsche would probably give FromSoftware a standing ovation.
You see, Nietzsche wasn’t just a fan of suffering; he saw it as essential for personal growth. His famous quote, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger,” could easily be the tagline for any FromSoftware game. Nietzsche believed that facing and overcoming hardships was crucial for developing character and achieving greatness.
In Elden Ring, this philosophy is baked into every aspect of the game. Each death is a lesson, each defeat a stepping stone to victory. The game doesn’t just challenge you; it forges you. Like a blacksmith tempering a blade, Elden Ring uses the fires of adversity to shape players into something stronger, more resilient.
Remember that Grafted Scion at the beginning of the game that absolutely wrecked you? That was your first lesson in Nietzschean suffering. By the time you face it again later, you’re not just stronger in terms of stats – you’ve grown as a player. You’ve learned to read enemy movements, manage your stamina and time your attacks. You’ve transformed your suffering into strength.
This principle extends beyond combat. The cryptic nature of the quests, the labyrinthine level design, the sparse checkpoints – all of these elements create a kind of intellectual and emotional suffering that pushes players to grow, to become more observant, more patient, more determined.
So the next time you find yourself screaming at the screen after your umpteenth death, take a deep breath and channel your inner Nietzsche. Embrace the suffering, learn from it, grow through it. After all, what’s a little pain on the path to becoming Elden Lord?
The Eternal Recurrence in the Lands Between
Picture this: You’re fighting Margit the Fell Omen for the 50th time. You’ve memorized every attack, every voice line and you’re starting to see his staff-swinging patterns in your sleep. Congratulations! You’re not just experiencing gaming frustration – you’re living Nietzsche’s concept of Eternal Recurrence!
But what exactly is Eternal Recurrence? It’s not just gamer déjà vu. Nietzsche proposed a thought experiment: imagine if you had to live your life over and over again, for eternity, with every detail exactly the same. Would you embrace this idea or be horrified by it?
In Elden Ring, we’re not just imagining this concept – we’re living it. Every time we die and respawn at a Site of Grace, every time we start a New Game+, we’re essentially experiencing a miniature version of Eternal Recurrence. The world resets, enemies respawn, and we begin our journey anew.
But here’s where it gets interesting. Nietzsche saw Eternal Recurrence as a way to affirm life, to embrace every moment – good and bad – as essential to our existence. In Elden Ring, this idea is manifested in the way we approach the game’s challenges.
Think about it: when you finally defeat that boss that’s been giving you trouble, it’s not just because your character’s stats improved. It’s because you, the player, have grown. You’ve learned from each death, each recurrence of the fight. You’ve turned repetition into mastery.
This concept even extends to the game’s narrative. The cycle of the Erdtree, the repeated attempts to mend the Elden Ring – these all echo the idea of Eternal Recurrence. The Lands Between is caught in a loop, and it’s up to the player to either perpetuate this cycle or break it.
So, the next time you find yourself facing the same boss for the umpteenth time, don’t despair. Embrace the recurrence. After all, you’re not just playing a game – you’re participating in a grand cosmic cycle that would make Nietzsche nod approvingly (before telling you to dodge left, not right, you fool!).
Becoming the Elden Lord: The Übermensch?
Alright, Tarnished, it’s time to ask the big question: Is your journey to become Elden Lord actually a path to becoming Nietzsche’s Übermensch? Spoiler alert: It just might be!
But first, what in the name of the Two Fingers is an Übermensch? No, it’s not a new type of spirit ash. The Übermensch, or Overman, is Nietzsche’s concept of the ideal human being – someone who has overcome human limitations, created their own values and embraced life in all its chaotic glory.
Now, let’s look at our journey in Elden Ring. We start as a lowly Tarnished, stripped of grace and exiled. But through sheer will (there’s that Will to Power again!), we overcome godlike beings, reshape the very fabric of the world, and potentially ascend to the position of Elden Lord. If that’s not a zero-to-hero, rags-to-riches, Tarnished-to-Übermensch story, I don’t know what is!
But it’s not just about gaining power. The Übermensch creates their own values, and in Elden Ring, that’s exactly what we do. Think about the choices we make throughout the game. Do we follow the guidance of the Two Fingers or forge our own path? Do we seek to mend the Elden Ring or usher in the Age of Stars? These choices aren’t just about different endings – they’re about imposing our will on the world, creating new values in a realm where the old ones have quite literally been shattered.
Moreover, the Übermensch embraces life in all its pain and joy – sound familiar? That’s exactly what we do every time we venture out into the Lands Between, facing both the beauty and brutality of this world with equal resolve.
So, as you journey towards becoming Elden Lord, remember: you’re not just aiming for a fancy title and a cool chair. You’re on a path of self-overcoming, of creating new values, of embracing a chaotic and beautiful world. You’re on the path to becoming Nietzsche’s Übermensch.
And hey, if Nietzsche were here, he’d probably agree that “Elden Lord” sounds way cooler than “Übermensch” anyway.
God is Dead: Slaying Demigods in the Lands Between
“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.” These haunting words from Nietzsche’s “The Gay Science” might as well be plastered across the loading screens of Elden Ring. But instead of just pondering this philosophical bombshell, FromSoftware lets us enact it – over and over again.
In Elden Ring, we don’t just kill one god; we’re on a deicidal rampage. From Godrick the Grafted to Malenia, Blade of Miquella, we’re systematically dismantling a pantheon. Each demigod we fell is another nail in the coffin of the old order, another step towards Nietzsche’s proclamation.
But what did Nietzsche mean by “God is dead,” and how does it relate to our Tarnished’s bloody path to the Elden Throne? For Nietzsche, the death of God wasn’t just about literal deities, but about the collapse of traditional values and moral frameworks. Sound familiar? That’s exactly what’s happening in the Lands Between!
The shattering of the Elden Ring has thrown the world into chaos, much like how Nietzsche saw the decline of traditional religious belief leading to a crisis of meaning in the modern world. And here’s where it gets really interesting: In Elden Ring, we’re not just witnessing this death of gods and old values – we’re actively bringing it about. With every demigod we slay, every fragment of the Elden Ring we collect, we’re dismantling the existing order of the world. We’re doing the killing that Nietzsche metaphorically attributed to society.
But remember, for Nietzsche, the death of God wasn’t just an end – it was also a beginning. It created a void that needed to be filled with new values, new meaning. And isn’t that exactly what we’re doing in Elden Ring? As we tear down the old order, we’re given the choice of what to replace it with. Age of Fracture? Age of Stars? Age of Duskborn? The choice is ours.
So, the next time you’re facing down a god-like being in Elden Ring, remember: you’re not just playing a game. You’re enacting a core tenet of Nietzschean philosophy. You’re bringing about the death of gods, and with it, the opportunity to forge a new world order.
Nietzsche would be proud. Or terrified. Probably both.
Conclusion
And so, our philosophical journey through the Lands Between comes to an end – or does it? In true Nietzschean fashion, perhaps it’s just beginning anew.
We’ve seen how Elden Ring, beneath its fantasy veneer, pulsates with Nietzschean ideas. The Tarnished’s journey embodies the Will to Power, driving us to overcome and grow stronger against all odds. The game’s notorious difficulty isn’t just sadistic design, but a crucible of suffering that forges players into more resilient, skilled versions of themselves.
We’ve experienced the Eternal Recurrence in every respawn, every New Game+, learning to embrace the repetition as a path to mastery. And in our quest to become Elden Lord, we’ve walked the path of the Übermensch, overcoming our limitations and shaping the world according to our will.
But here’s the real mind-bender: Elden Ring doesn’t just illustrate these philosophical concepts – it allows us to live them. In this virtual world, we can experience and embody these abstract ideas in a tangible way. We’re not just reading about the Will to Power; we’re exercising it with every boss we defeat. We’re not just contemplating the value of suffering; we’re transforming it into strength with every challenge we overcome.
So, the next time someone tells you you’re wasting your time playing Elden Ring, you can confidently reply that you’re actually engaging in an interactive philosophical exploration of Nietzschean concepts. That ought to impress them – or at least confuse them long enough for you to get back to your game.
In the end, Elden Ring isn’t just a masterpiece of game design – it’s a virtual philosophy classroom, a digital playground for some of the most profound ideas in existential thought. It challenges not just our gaming skills, but our perspective on life, growth, and the human condition.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with the Lands Between. After all, that Elden Throne isn’t going to claim itself. Time to put some Nietzsche into practice!
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