Tune into The Truman Show.
Kai Cenat got into one of FromSoftware's Elden Ring rather recently, with the popular streamer beating the base game early last month after 1,700 deaths and a 24-hour battle with Malenia. And now, after 1,070 deaths and just under 100 hours, he's gone and done it again, beating the DLC in what could be boiled down to an emotional Truman Show-like stream.
Kai Cenat takes an impressively brutal approach to his streams, instead of just starting and stopping them whenever he wants to jump on and off the game he's playing, he streamed for almost 100 hours straight, gaming, sleeping, and all. The setup is also pretty tough, with what looks like an Iron Throne straight out of Game of Thrones and a life-size Melania statue as well as red drapes, golden candelabras, and stone pillars. In the darkest moments of trying to fight the final boss, Kai Cenat even had to result to a quick therapy session.
"Don't let it put you in a defeated headspace because then you'll continuously feel defeated," the therapist says. "You're going to get outside, you're going to hang out with your friends." The conversation continues on with a few positive affirmations and a some good advice to contextualise that situation, knowing that eventually he will beat the game. Honestly, in my darkest moments playing FromSoft games having a therapist talk to me for a much needed reality check would definitely be helpful.
This kind of reaction to Shadow of the Erdtree isn't unusual at all: plenty of players have had a rough time with the DLC, with some complaining about its difficulty as its Steam reviews drop to Mixed status.
The DLC is definetly a step up from the base game, with less forgiving boss fights that, in some cases force players into specific builds as certain tactics and weapons start to clearly outshine others. Many may find that using shields is almost essential in the DLC, while they don't play as big a part in players success in the base game.
So beating Shadow of the Erdtree is a great achievement, and something that Cenat's fans clearly respect. "I probably died to [Radahn] at least 40-50 times, and I'm a Souls veteran. I can't imagine how much of a trial by fire that is for someone completely new," one player says in a Reddit thread. "This also why I love souls games cause it shows as long as you don’t give up you can always do what you aim for," another player adds.
FromSoft games definitely teach resilience and dedication in some brutal ways, but after a recent patch for Shadow of the Erdtree, it looks like the DLC won't be as difficult as it once was. Plus there's always mods to make the game easier to deal with if you're really stuck. Or, to quote Kai Cenat, "put your big boy pants on, go out there, and go fight."
