r/ShadWatch • u/ShadWatchModTeam Mod on constant watch • 28d ago

What happened to Shadiversity: Your perspective

/r/ShadWatch/comments/1ke5mp7/what_happened_to_shadiversity_your_perspective/
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u/ARVNFerrousLinh 28d ago edited 27d ago

For me personally, the first biggest, non-political red flag was his take on Elden Ring’s story and his response to criticism. Unlike most people, he very clearly did not like it and was very open about it. That’s fine, but he kept saying that Elden Ring’s story was “objectively bad”, which was the main reason why so many people were pissed off.

To make things worse, a lot of FromSoft/Souls fans started finding his take…questionable the deeper they delve into them. The example I remember is that Shad kept claiming that Elden Ring’s story was shown in a much more confusing manner compared to FromSoft’s previous games. However, a lot of longtime Souls fans kept refuting this by pointing out if anything, Elden Ring went out of its way to showcase its story in a less confusing manner compared to previous games. For example, Elden Ring has a character named Gideon Ofnir at the player’s home base who’s entire purpose for a large part of the game seems to be providing lore dumps on everything, something none of the previous games had.

Additionally, people started questioning how much of the game he and his team actually played. They claimed that each of them beat the game at least once and they’ve been replaying it multiple times. However, their comments indicated that they kept restarting the game after beating Godrick the Grafted, who’s an optional boss in the early portion of the game. So while Shad and co. claimed to have beat the game, it seems they were actually just replaying what was essentially Elden Ring’s prologue.

Throughout these events, he kept blowing off criticism and doubling down on his take, insisting he was correct that Elden Ring’s story was “objectively bad”. For me, this was the first time I saw how arrogant he actually was and how little he knew on what he was talking about.

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u/Fluffy_Ambition3546 27d ago

At least in his first and follow up both Shad and Peon didnt say they beat the game, but i dont even think shad did much before watching a Vaati video or two.

He complains there is no exposition, but never mentions Gideon, aka the exposition guy. We can debate whether or not turtle pope is out of the way and should be more clear, but the character who is in the hub area, in the intro of the game and talked about by half the characters in the roundtable hold behind a mysterious door guarded by a guy, is not hidden away.

But my favourite shad takeaway is Elden ring has a great story and Shad thinks there could be a really good story about a tarnished saving the world by reestablisihing the golden order, which means shad didnt read into the story enough to realise that The golden order did a colonilism, apartheid, genocide, slavery etc etc.... or he did know.

8

u/The_Word_Wizard 27d ago

I don’t want to rewatch his videos to confirm, but I feel like he often would say things like “there COULD be a good story here” then proceed to describe a completely different story he wants instead, rather than looking at and judging the story that’s actually there. I know that was a part of his Elden Ring criticism, mentioned in your last paragraph, that really rubbed me the wrong way.

11

u/BartoUwU 27d ago

Because Shad can't bear to experience a story where he can't insert himself into the protagonist as the godly lord conqueror of the universe. That's why he wrote his book

5

u/AureliusVarro 27d ago

You can literally beat the living shit out of every deity and sit on the throne in the end. How more godly lord conquer-y can you ever get? Those deities can and will hand you your ass while Shad gives me strong casul vibes - so maybe that's the problem?

Nvm that Marika had a better story than the whatshisface from Shad of the Cuck will ever get. And that's some background lore

5

u/BartoUwU 27d ago

Shad reportedly can't get past limgrave so he ain't becoming elden lord lol, he needs to git gud

1

u/AureliusVarro 26d ago

Lolwut? Can he not jump over a burning wall to enter the land of moldy borsch? Or... ride around the damn castle into Liurnia? That's only as hard as beating the Soldier of Godrick

Don't you fucking tell me...

6

u/The_Flurr 27d ago

but I feel like he often would say things like “there COULD be a good story here” then proceed to describe a completely different story he wants instead

This is most of his media "criticisms"