This story is part of Straight Fire, an open-ended love letter to all things dragon. Bring more fire here.

Lightning-like fire crackles from what’s left of Dread Bayle’s wings – where a wing would normally be, just a ghastly bone – flowing like blood behind his armored, scaly body. Not only does Bayle the Dread breathe fire from his owl-like beak, the beast also like that The embodiment of fire, he can draw from the elements and grow ghostly wings that glow and hiss like flames. Bayle the Dread is the enemy of enemies Hand Ring‘s Erdtree’s Shadow expansion. He is a monstrous dragon who betrayed Dragonlord Placidusax, ruler of his species, in a battle so terrible that two of Placidusax’s five heads still hang from Bayle the Dread’s neck. terrorism Hand Ring‘s dragons are unique.

Developer FromSoftware and director Hidetaka Miyazaki (with world-building assistance from A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin) created terrifying monsters to match the rampant brutality of Lands Among; so it’s no surprise that the world’s dragons are among the game’s fiercest. enemies and perhaps some of the scariest and most richly created dragons in video game history.

Of course, there is no shortage of dragons in other video games, whether in medieval fantasy settings or not. The Elder Scrolls 5: SkyrimAlduin may be among the best-known—a powerful dragon capable of destroying and rebuilding the world—but dragons even appear in the following genres: Super Paper MarioCall of Duty’s Zombies mode, in which the paper-based Bonechill, Fracktail, and Wracktail appear as enemies and sometimes task players with feeding zombies to dragons.

Often, especially in high fantasy video game worlds, dragons are an enemy; It is an allegory of cruelty, bestiality or greed. This trope is largely based on Western ancient myths, where dragons are depicted as hoarding and guarding treasures; in the bible, dragons are associated with the devil. (But it’s not all mythology that portrays dragons as evil: Chinese dragons are symbols of luck and wisdom.)

The video game industry has largely perpetuated this stereotype of dragons as villainous figures driven by evil. Martin wrote about this on his blog in July.: “Traditional western dragons mostly bring fire and death… but modern fantasies have played with this a lot as well.” It is more common to see dragons as intelligent, valuable, and trainable companions. game of Thrones, How to Train Your Dragonand Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series. Some of the best-known modern dragons of the last few decades are “dangerous but not evil.” author and Eastern Kentucky University history professor Cynthia Williams Resor said on her blog:.

From your own dragons game of ThronesMartin said he carefully designed them to settle into the world of Westeros like other creatures. “Dragons, like wolves, bears, and lions, can be trained but never fully tamed,” he wrote. “They will always be dangerous. Some are wilder and more stubborn than others. They are individuals, they have personalities… and they often reflect the personalities of their riders through the bond they share (Exactly). “They don’t care a bit about gold or precious stones, not a tiger.” Given Martin’s involvement Hand RingConsidering FromSoftware’s world-building, it’s no surprise that A Song of Ice and Fire drew this kind of inspiration from its creator.

There are a few outliers that change the narrative of dragons in games such as the Pokémon series (Dragonite, Dratini, and Rayquaza are a few dragon-type Pokémon that players can catch) and sims (Burnie, Pyrite and Torch have been added to the pets. sims‘ I’m Casting a Spell expansion). then there is Mistria Fieldsin which players can seemingly romance a dragon statue. But most of the time dragons are enemies; the big bad enemy that a hero must defeat or retreat from. Take Ruined Dragon for example. Super Mario Odyssey or Ender Dragon minecraft. These dragons have little impact on the games or stories and can probably be replaced with other types of monsters; These dragons are agents of destruction and epic bosses that simply must be defeated.

For a dragon to stand out in a crowded field of winged monsters, it must transcend tropes. Hand Ring It’s one of the best in this regard, because the dragon’s past – although not explicit – has a tangible impact on the Lands Between. Its depth adds nuance to what could easily become a plain trope.

Hand Ring‘s complex dragon lore and vicious past set the tone for the game. To summarize: A long time ago, Ancient Dragons ruled the world and used red lightning. Placidusax was the leader of them all. The war between Placidusax and Bayle the Dread began what would become a hierarchical war between dragons, splitting them into Elder Dragons and wyverns; The latter of these were considered lesser dragons – they were the followers and offspring of Bayle the Dread. Placidusax sent his followers to kill the dragons after Bayle’s departure; It was led by a human priestess turned Elder Dragon named Florissax, whose mission was to encourage humans to kill Bayle’s followers and spawn them – later eating their hearts to gain their powers in a practice called Dragon Communion. .

People who eat dragon hearts become increasingly vicious, eventually transforming into a monster called the Magma Wyrm, which is more crocodile than anything else, cursed as cheap imitations of the great dragons of the Lands Among. This is another way Hand Ringits creators channel the dragon war narrative into gameplay decisions; Eating dragon hearts grants powerful abilities, like someone creating an ethereal dragon head that fights for the player. But inside Hand RingNo dragon fight is mandatory, so if we are talking about knowledge, killing them becomes a moral choice. Will you kill this complex beast for personal gain? Death and brutality are everywhere Hand Ringbut it’s still a dilemma, and a unique approach to dragons stands out. Dragons in the Lands Between are not inherently evil, but they are defensive.

And if you encounter one of these dragons, a battle that honors the legacy and history of these strange, destructive creatures awaits. Dragon wars are among the most epic battles Hand Ring and its expansion creates a spectacle and scale befitting ancient beasts. Placidusax’s fight is a dazzling visual and audio masterpiece; It has such a powerful attack. Hand Ring‘s music stops. Are you missing something if you decide not to engage? Hand Ring‘s dragons? Maybe. But that’s given the beauty of the choice and its narrative implications.

Described as the mother of all dragons, Greyoll is the largest living dragon. Hand Ring. She is believed to be the mother of Bayle the Dread’s child, and when you find her in the game, she lies motionless on the ground, too old and worn out to fight back. He is surrounded by smaller dragons like himself, apparently his children, and will only roar, not fight. Instead, the fight is with his children, and the death of each of them weakens Greyoll further. like most Hand RingFighting and killing Greyoll is optional. but it is well known Hand Ring Players say that killing him is an easy way to level up.. The reward for defeating the defenseless dragon is greatly exaggerated due to the combat, making combat a devastating moral decision for the player – one that nails the morality of dragon hunting as a whole. Hand Ring and its world is inherently unforgiving, and developer FromSoftware doesn’t push the player in one direction or another; He leaves these questions to you, if you even want to question them.

Throughout all this, Hand Ring‘s dragon lore is not clear, instead it was found as additional text descriptions for items, spells, and armor. This is a special kind of experience inherent in video games, especially video games. Hand RingPlacing great emphasis on player decision making. There are parts of the world that can only be discovered when you explore; The best of dragon stories can only be experienced, not explained.