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NPCs in Elden Ring don't laugh nearly as much as I'd like

They're a serious bunch

A close-up of Melina, an NPC character in Elden Ring.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

Some things are synonymous with Soulsborne games. Approachability, which Alice Bee thinks is a very relative term. Nail-biting combat, intricate worlds, a story that's drip-fed through it all. But it's the littlest bits that round off their identity. The dong of their menu sounds (I love a good menu noise) and their elevators operated by pressure plates.

There's also one other big thing that Soulsborne games deliver on. As any seasoned player knows, it's not a FromSoft game without the laughs. While there's plenty of humour in the cliff falls and silly invasions, I'm talking in a more literal sense. The NPCs often round off their sentences with a chuckle. But so far, Elden Ring lacks the despairing "hahaha" of old. And it makes me sad.

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Ed Thorn avatar
Ed Thorn: When Ed's not cracking thugs with bicycles in Yakuza, he's likely swinging a badminton racket in real life. Any genre goes, but he's very into shooters and likes a weighty gun, particularly if they have a chainsaw attached to them. Adores orange and mango squash, unsure about olives.
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Elden Ring

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