In the vein of its predecessors like Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne, Elden Ring lacks a clear-cut story where the narrative is told through cutscenes and plot points. Instead, the lore and story are communicated through cryptic hints in NPC conversations and item or creature descriptions.
As such, it can be difficult to say with any certainty what the problems in the Land Between are. From a cursory glance, all that is known is that the world is in some type of poor way. But with some digging into the lore the player can learn the tale of misery that afflicts the Lands Between and their inhabitants.
8 The World Is Being Fought Over By Corrupt Gods And Demigods
The shattered collection of world-maintaining runes known as the "Elden Ring" is central to the game's plot, kicking off much of the backstory. The opening cutscene reveals that after the titular ring was destroyed, the deities of the Lands Between began to fight one another.
After several of the more honorable were slain in the "Night of the Black Knives," the survivors are unable to find peace. Fighting for control of the shards of the Elden Ring, the gods and demigods hoard whatever power they can, too concerned with threats to their positions to attempt to improve the larger world.
7 Undeath Has Spread Across The Lands
Echoing a theme from Dark Souls, Elden Ring deals with disparity and imbalance, in this case regarding life and death. In the world of Elden Ring, the goddess Marika – long before the shattering of the Ring – removed the rune of Death so that she could become immortal.
Marika's actions have prevented anything in the world from truly dying. Exacerbated by the shattering of the Elden Ring, Death appears to be forgotten by the game's start. Many enemies are undead and decaying, and nearly every grave is open. Similar to Dark Souls, the world is slowly decaying without death.
6 Most Civilization Is Rotted And Fading
A common trend in FromSoftware titles is for the player to step into the story after the world has already ended. In Elden Ring, the player explores ruins, wastelands, and the last remaining artifacts from an age that is close to ending.
Most of the Lands Between are dotted with ruins. Even many of the castles and townships are ramshackle or crumbling. For those still lucid and trying to survive in Elden Ring, there are few safe or comfortable places to do so much as sleep.
5 Some People Are Enslaved – And May Believe It's Good For Them
In addition to the Lands Between's massive overworld, there is a vast subterranean landscape with hundreds of miles of catacombs, tunnels, underground clearings, and several mines. In each of these mines, enemies are seen toiling away endlessly, usually separate from tougher foes who patrol the territory like overseers. The description for these miners says that they "know no life but their toil." They are not neutral, however, and many will join in attacking the player, with the description itself saying that they will fight fiercely for their masters.
4 There Are Monsters Everywhere
Elden Ring is by no means unique by RPG standards in having its world full of monsters, but it is an essential quality that adds to the misery of the Lands Between. To provide the player the robust challenge FromSoftware games are known for, terrifying beasts and worse linger around every corner in Elden Ring.
For the people living in the Lands Between, any moment could see an unimaginable horror strike down upon them. Even the soldiers roaming the land are no match for the monsters the Tarnished comes across – and things must be even worse for normal people.
3 The World's Destiny Lies Solely On The Tarnished
In Elden Ring's lore, the Tarnished lack Grace and are not blessed by any of the setting's deities. Initially banished from the Lands Between, the Tarnished return after the shattering of the Elden Ring. Despite the protagonist being one of their kind, their motives are not necessarily moral – they are primarily driven by a desire to regain Grace and even become the world-ruling Elden Lord.
There are multiple endings to the game, largely dependent on the whims of the Tarnished. They can simply attempt to make themselves the Elden Lord – ruling over a broken world – but other options include making the world whole again, corrupting it with filth, or scouring the whole thing in fire. For inhabitants of the Lands between, they simply have to hope that the Tarnished feel benevolent.
2 Very Few People Have Any Real Protection
It is implied that the Lands Between were once a peaceful place, with states and cities that could keep people safe. With the shattering of the Elden Ring and disruption of the world order, these states weakened and began to crumble.
That isn't to say that no safe places are remaining in Elden Ring; there are numerous castles, keeps, and other fortifications dotting the map. However, most people are forced to exist outside of these, and even those who remain inside are not wholly safe. Castles can fall, as Castle Morne has been overrun by Begotten.
1 The World Is Simply Broken, And It Is Near-Impossible To Repair
The sorry state of things doesn't come about by unfortunate accident or by grand design, but simply because the shattering of the Elden Ring and the bickering of the deities means the world cannot get better. In other settings, there is the possibility of hope that a hero, or even common people, might be able to change the world for the better. In Elden Ring, the people who live in the Lands Between can expect to be subjected to the whims of quarreling gods.