Dark fantasy is a subgenre of great popularity, especially when it comes to video games. The genre combines the fantastical and horrific, bringing about creatures such as werewolves and vampires. Famous examples of dark fantasy include manga such as Berserk and Attack on Titan and movies such as Pan's Labyrinth.
However, it is video games that have some of the most examples of dark fantasy. This is the genre of Dragon Age, Darkest Dungeon,Castlevania, Drakengard, NieR, Sunless Sea, The Witcher, and more. FromSoftware games like Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne do this too, though it is Elden Ring that is the most rooted in dark fantasy out of the FromSoftware games. It plays into the tropes of the dark fantasy genre in many ways.
The Setting
The setting is a huge part of dark fantasy, and Elden Ring plays into a dark fantasy setting in every way. The major website for understanding genre tropes, TV Tropes, describes dark fantasy as a "standard fantasy setting meets crapsack world," and Elden Ring does just that. The standard fantasy in its in the dragons, the castles, and magic, but it is all in an oppressive world where safety and sanity are in short supply.
Every place in Elden Ring has darkness and danger. Even the Roundtable Hold, a place known for the Tarnished to rest and be peaceful has its moments of danger. Volcano Manor is practically a torture museum, underground there are giant ants and piles of corpses, and the capital city is in utter ruins. Many places that were once settlements are flooded, abandoned, and/or filled with monsters.
The Creatures
Nature itself is not kind in Elden Ring. Most Elden Ring animals attack the player on sight, including Runebears, wolves, giant ants, crabs, dogs, giant bats, giant dragonflies, giant octopi, lobsters, rats, and hawks. Even plants such as giant miranda sprouts can be dangerous, as they release damaging spores. While standard fantasy typically shows such creatures in a neutral or friendly light, dark fantasy like Elden Ring makes these animals horrific and dangerous.
There are also creatures that seem against nature itself. These are those created by magic and supernatural means such as skeletons, putrid corpses, skeletal slimes, marionette soldiers, revenants, grafted scions, scarlet rot zombies, burial watchdogs, and ulcerated tree spirits. These horrors are seen all over the place when players are out exploring the Lands Between.
The Gods And Demigods
Gods are not kind in dark fantasy. They often hunger for more power, have no empathy, and are to be feared. This is very true for all the gods of Elden Ring, the Outer Gods, and the demigods. The Outer Gods act very much like Eldritch influence upon the Lands Between. They are unknowable with no physical presence but are oppressive nonetheless. None of them want anything charitable or good. The Frenzied Flame has the cynical idea that life itself is suffering and so life itself should be undone. The Formless Mother is known to crave blood and wounds. The God of Scarlet Rot is basically a god of biological devastation. Then, of course, the Greater Will itself is all about order to the point that those against its laws and those that want to make their own choices are killed or enslaved.
The demigods are a different breed, but very much part of dark fantasy. Their morals are either hard to pin down or they have become abominations of some sort. Most of them are greedy, desiring to replace Marika and rule the Lands Between. Many of them have committed genocide, abduction, theft, mass murder, and abuses of power. Rykard is a man whose tortured hundreds if not thousands and hopes to consume the very gods. Ranni murdered Godwyn, stole from Maliketh, and plans to sacrifice even more to replace Marika. Malenia committed genocide with her rot when she fought with Radahn. Mohg kidnapped Miquella with the hopes to control and brainwash him. Godrick has killed hundreds to graft their body parts to himself. Radahn may have been good once, but became a monster due to Malenia's rot.
The Fate Of Characters
"Happily ever after" does not exist in dark fantasy. In Elden Ring, that is especially so for its characters. Many do not have happy endings and are lucky to even survive the game or get to the end with their sanity intact. The player has to kill many demigods and creatures, but even friendly NPCs often have unfortunate fates. For most endings, Melina sacrifices herself to set the Erdtree aflame. Rogier dies in the Roundtable Hold. Bernhal betrays the player in Crumbling Farum Azula. Sir Gideon also betrays the player and has to be killed. Boc can die depending on how his quest is completed. Nepheli can turn into a puppet. D is killed by Fia.
The list goes on: Fia either sacrifices herself or is killed. Corhyn can lose his faith in the Goldmaks and Goldmask can die. Millicent can die if her quest is completed. Irina is killed while waiting for her father and her father goes insane. Iron Fist Alexander dies if his quest is completed. All of Ranni's contacts die when her quest is complete. Rya either is killed or has her memory erased depending on the player's actions. All of these NPCs are friendly, and yet they meet terrible fates. It shows that in the Lands Between, morality does not bestow characters any mercy. The bottom line is that the world is unforgiving, and even good people can have moments of weakness and madness.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: TVTropes