To paraphrase a legendary tweet about what FromSoftware games have done to modern videogame narratives: A story can just be some guy with a big sword who says, “Zanzibart… forgive me,” in his dying breath, and a bunch of YouTubers will make hour-long videos about it.
And by “a bunch of YouTubers,” they mostly meant VaatiVidya, the YouTuber everyone goes to for FromSoftware lore explanations. He’s been doing it since Dark Souls and still isn’t finished picking apart Elden Ring. And he’ll be taking this cycle to its next step with a book that includes all the scripts he’s written over the past three years.
Lore Bound: Elden Ring Explained will include the text from 20 hours of video crammed into a gigantic tome full of original art—some of which you’ve seen in Vaati’s most popular videos. It’s not licensed, but it’s probably as close as you’re going to get when it comes to a breakdown of the Elden Ring story.
“This book will bind together everything I’ve learned from Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree, and Nightreign into one single volume,” Vaati says in a post on YouTube. “My old video scripts will be updated, new illustrations will be commissioned, and every effort will be made to ensure each page is clear and engaging.”
All of the major events and characters of Elden Ring and Nightreign will be discussed by not only Vaati but also other YouTubers who have alternative perspectives on the story. Vaati adds that the book will be a “huge motivator” for finishing the Elden Ring videos he still has plans to make because the goal is for it to be as comprehensive as possible.
You can read a sample chapter about Nightreign on the publisher’s website, but Vaati doesn’t expect the full thing to be done until next year. You can preorder the fancy Deluxe Edition with a magnetic clasp on the cover for $95, the softcover version for $42, or the digital version for $18.
“This book will be my final take on everything, and I promise to bring you something beautiful,” he says.
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