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Soulslike Poison Swamps

Soulslike Poison Swamps

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About

Soulslike Poison Swamps refers to poisonous and toxic swamp areas that appear in all soulslike games developed by Japanese company FromSoftware, including Dark Souls series, Bloodborne and Elden Ring. Company director Hidetaka Miyazaki's vocal love for designing swamps and including it in FromSoftware games has been the subject of memes since 2018.

Origin

On February 5th, 2009, action role-playing video game Demon's Souls, the progenitor of the soulslike video genre, was released. In the game, a location named Valley of Defilement is a poisonous swamp that slows down the player and poisons him as they move through the waters.

Poison swamp areas appeared in every soulslike video game designed by FromSoftware since, including infamous areas such as Blighttown in Dark Souls, Black Gulch in Dark Souls 2 and Nightmare Frontier in Bloodborne.

On July 1st, 2018, Facebook[1] page Knight Artorias the Abysswalker posted the earliest notable meme about FromSoftware including a poison swamp in all of their soulslike games, with the "Get Better Material" meme gaining over 1,000 reactions and 770 shares in six years (shown below).


[poisonous swamps B00o/ GET BETTER MATERIAL FROMSOFTWARE annoyina dog enemies an "lore" FROMSOFTWARE POISON SWAMP POISON SWAMP BERSERK REFERENCE MOONLIGHT GREATSWORD POISON SWAMP

Spread

The poison swamp tradition in FromSoftware games became a popular subject of jokes in soulslike communities on Reddit and Facebook in 2019. For example, on December 6th, 2019, Redditor zaid_sabah posted a meme imagining FromSoftware director Hidetaka Miyazaki sitting in the middle of the swamp that received over 580 upvotes in the /r/Eldenring[2] subreddit in four years (shown below, left). On May 8th, 2020, Facebook[3] page Refined Claymore +10 posted an Unsheating the Sword meme that received over 660 reactions and 170 shares in four years (shown below, right).


MIYAZAKI GIVING SOULS PLAYERS WHAT THEY REALLY WANT imgflip.com POIS POISON SWAMP Other Game Leaks There's microtransactions Fromsoft game leaks: NOOOOOOO There will be poison swamps We know

On January 22nd, 2022, Game Informer[3] posted an interview with Hidetaka Miyazaki in which he said that he "can't help himself" when making poison swamp areas (extract shown below).


Speaking with Elden Ring game director Hidetaka Miyazaki, he relays that in this game, he rekindled his love for creating these horrific environments. "In terms of how the player feels when they encounter this area that is a different story,” says Miyazaki. “But when making the game I rediscovered my love for making poison swamps. I know how people feel about them, but you know, suddenly I realize I'm in the middle of making one and I just can't help myself. It just happens.”

The viral spread of the article was followed by an increased number of memes about Miyazaki's love for poison swamps. For example, on January 29th, 2022, iFunny[4] user DaddySolaire posted a meme that garnered over 5,600 smiles on the platform in two years (shown below, left). On February 13th, 2022, iFunny[5] user kasagure posted a "Stop Giving Me Your Toughest Battles" meme which received over 18,800 smiles in two years (shown below, right).


Hidetaka Miyazaki Rediscovered His Love Of Creating Poison Swamps In Elden Ring by DANIEL TACK on Jan 28, 2022 at 02:30 PM POST TWEET EMAIL COMMENT If you've played one of the From Software action/RPG titles from Souls to Bloodborne, chances are you're used to coming face to face with an area where the environment itself can feel like a major boss encounter. These oppressive poisonous swamp areas really got their stride in the Valley of Defilement all the way back in Demon's Souls, but have continued to plague players to various degrees through the notorious Blighttown to other poisonous pits, caves, and muck. Speaking with Elden Ring game director Hidetaka Miyazaki, he relays that in this game, he rekindled his love for creating these horrific environments. 00000 www Rediscovered Love Of Creating Poison Swamps What? יוון please stop giving me your most poisonous swamps you are my darkest soul

Poison swamps remained a popular subject of memes and jokes among soulslike fans in 2023 and 2024.

Various Examples


Dark Souls level designers after hearing about how much people hate poison swamps I am going to create an environment that is so toxic, I LOVE YOU, HIDETAKA MIYAZAKI I LOVE YOU, POISON SWAMP SUP sual MMMPH ار کر کر رہی u་ MMMPH Elden Ring has multiple poison swamps because 'I can't help myself, Miyazaki says By Tyler Colp published 7 days ago Bring your Purple Moss Clumps. (Image credit: FromSoftware) COMMENTS
Sussy Matt @MattApocaalypse Rumor: Elden Ring DLC leaks find Miyazaki self inserts himself as the hardest final boss in from software history. His dungeon is guarded by a battalion of barefoot assassins surrounded by the biggest poison swamp yet. (real) 10:21 PM Dec 1, 2022 SAFELY ENDANGERED Get away Hidetaka Miyazaki, you carrier of poison swamp areas I also carry Elden Ring made with mematic Awww God Dammit It has poison swamps Other Game Leaks There's microtransactions Fromsoft game leaks: NOOOOOOO There will be poison swamps We know

Search Interest

External References

[1] Facebook – Knight Artorias the Abysswalker

[2] Reddit – Rare image of Miyazaki in his office

[3] Facebook – Refined Claymore +10

[4] iFunny – DaddySolaire

[5] iFunny – kasagure

Related Entries 4 total

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