Before Elden Ring launched, I wrote about how deserving of a great game the Elden Ring community was. In a world where video games invest heavily in keeping the hype train rolling, Elden Ring basically told fans it existed then went dark. Every showcase, every award show, every industry event, there was a palpable sense of anticipation. This time, finally, we'll see some more of Elden Ring. Every time, fans were left disappointed. But still, the hope remained. It became a community of dogged determination, of gallows humour, of self-deprecating pity. We're too ready these days to fall in love with games (or any media, really) based on hype alone, and that can quickly turn toxic, but Elden Ring's community managed to maintain its charm. 'Let Me Solo Her' is the community reaping what they tirelessly sowed.
There was an initial spike in this toxicity. Elden Ring reviewed incredibly, quickly taking its place amongst the greatest games of all time - but anyone who pointed out that this score might be inflated because reviewers were all Soulsborne fans equipped to explore the infamously difficult game in the scant review window, and therefore had bought into the abstruse menu functionality and 'dropped in at the deep end' attitude was met with backlash. Elden Ring just isn't for me, and I'm not sure I want open world games to swing so far in its direction, even as I recognise they badly need to change. Still, despite the tidal wave of toxicity of the community in the week or so after release, things seem to have settled down to pre-launch levels, and are all the better for it.
Many of the most toxic post-launch people had not been in the community prior to launch. They may, in their own way, have been waiting for Elden Ring only to come away from each stream empty handed, but they were not involved in the collective disappointment, the community spirit, and the endless array of self-flagellating memes. They were not part of the Elden Ring community.
They may have been part of the Dark Souls community, which seems to have always been slightly less 'in it together'. I'm sure a lot of you who made it through the initiation process have your own anecdotes about how the Dark Souls community is actually bros for life, but that's only after they've slapped your ass with a wooden paddle and made you run around campus naked, or whatever it is US fraternities do. 'Git gud' was never a message of encouragement, but instead a taunt. It was not 'get better at this game so you can unlock its splendour for yourself' it was 'ha u suk get wrekt'.
In Elden Ring, possibly because of the ordeal the community went through before launch, possibly because everyone had the same starting point (unlike Dark Souls, which most hardcore players discovered after the initial launch), or maybe just because Elden Ring's open world and exploration-heavy philosophy encourages teamwork, there is a greater sense that you're all in it together. That's why a hero like 'Let Me Solo Her', a real-life player who joins other games and essentially beats boss battles for you, is so revered. They're actively trying to help players have a better time of things, ignoring the whole 'git gud' philosophy to instead say 'I will deal with this hard part so you can keep having fun'.
They are, in many ways, the antithesis of what you expect a Soulsborne mascot to be - but that's because Elden Ring's community is not like that of any other Soulsborne. Everyone is on the same team, and there is no better proof of that than 'Let Me Solo Her'.