Haters Be Damned: Elden Ring Summoning Leads To Shadow Of The Erdtree’s Best Moment

Igon is the best character in

Beating Bayle was one of the best moments of Shadow of the Erdtree for me, and at least half of it was because, as Igon screamed in the background, he and I did it “with a hail of harpoons!” This is the stuff I love about Elden Ring–the stuff that expands the world, that makes it feel like more than just you wandering a dead civilization, killing whoever’s left. Fighting Bayle with Igon was phenomenal, with him screaming his head off, contributing almost nothing but hype the entire time, and heightened the danger and intensity of the battle all the more. The fight wasn’t diminished because I had help; it was enriched and expanded because fighting Bayle meant something to Igon, and thus, it meant something to me. He has more personality than most From Software characters, and I hope they take a page from his ludicrous bellowing and overbearing obsession to make more memorable folks like him in future games.

It’s pretty clear that fighting Bayle with Igon is the way From Software meant it to be experienced, and I’m glad some weird gatekeeping and purity testing didn’t keep that from me. Beating a challenging boss is cool, but I’ll remember Bayle a lot longer because of Igon.