You Didn't Beat the Game

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gamers in the 90s: damn bro, you having trouble with that boss? dont worry, there's this item that you can get that makes the boss way easier to defeat. VIPER gamers now: IF YOU USE SUMMONS, SHIELDS, BLEED BUILDS, THEN YOU DIDN'T BEAT THE GAME!!!!!! POWER

You didn't beat the game. Ummm, what's supposed to be wrong with these? They're literally in-game mechanics. Is using game mechanics considered "cheating" now?

Justin Whang @Justin Whang If you used mushrooms you didn't really beat Mario 7:30 AM Jul 3, 2024 44.1K Views

Johann @LookAtMyMeat1 >he paused You didn't beat the game Mutahar @OrdinaryGamers Jul 2 She's asking for a pause button. Not the wildest thing to implement. Also as a pc gamer who had to pause during Elden ring here's a pro tip.... 4:01 PM - Jul 2, 2024 · 596.1K Views

Jim Caddick @Caddicarus If you beat Elden Ring with ashes, you didn't beat it. If you beat Elden Ring with magic, you didn't beat it. If you beat Elden Ring with a weapon, you didn't beat it. If you beat Elden Ring by moving, you didn't beat it. If you beat Elden Ring by launching the game, you didn 7:47 PM Apr 16, 2022

evil deadman @Orbitaldropkick You didn't beat her. You used summons. You used ... bleed. You spammed ranged attacks. You used ashes of war. You upgraded your weapon. You leveled up your character. You used a controller. You turned the screen on. You used electricity. You used the concept of time. • 4:44 PM Apr 3, 2022

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About

You Didn't Beat the Game and You Didn't Beat the Boss are catchphrases referring to the argument that using a certain in-game mechanic, such as summons or bleed in Elden Ring, disqualifies the player from being considered to have beaten the video game. The argument has inspired counter-arguments, memes and parodies online since it was first discussed by hardcore Soulslike players in 2018.

Origin

The sentiment that using summons in Soulslike games such as Dark Souls took away from the achievement of beating them has been spread online since at least mid-2010s. For example, on April 19th, 2016, an anonymous 4chan user wrote, "You may only reply to this thread if you beat all the bosses without summons. If you used summons on this game then you are a scrub lol" in a /v/^[1] thread that garnered over 320 replies in eight years.

On March 12th, 2018, an anonymous 4chan /v/^[2] user created the earliest notable thread that specifically argued that using summons in Dark Souls games made a completion of the game ineligible (shown below, left). In the same thread, users replied^[3] with comments that ridiculed the argument by exaggerating it (shown below, right).

131 KiB, 1361x720, 54544554.jpg View Same Google ImgOps SauceNAO Anonymous Mon 12 Mar 2018 13:15:06 No.409622307 View Original Report [83/11/?] Quoted By: >>409622765 >>409622868 >>409622886 >>409622970 >>409622982 >>409623009 >>409623039 >>409623073 >>409623086 >>409623216 >>409623241 >>409623394 >>409623608 >>409627639 >>409628742 >>409629094 >>409631325 >>409631516 >>409631598 >>409634839 >>409635920 >>409637030 Daily reminder that if you used summons you didn't cleared any of the souls games.

Anonymous Mon 12 Mar 2018 13:16:11 No.409622404 Quoted By: >>409622765 >>409622868 >>409622886 >>409622982 Report Daily reminder that if you used your eyes and didn't played blindfolded, you didn't cleared any of the souls games. Anonymous Mon 12 Mar 2018 13:20:21 No.409622765 Report Quoted By: >>409622868 >>409622886 >>409622948 >>409622982 >>409623005 >>409622307 >>409622404 Daily reminder even if you never played dark souls, you didn't cleared any of em Anonymous Mon 12 Mar 2018 13:21:33 No.409622868 Report Quoted By: >>409622886 >>409622982 >>409636197 >>409622307 >>409622404 >>409622765 Daily reminder that if you did not plat the game in 10 days or less blind, you didn't cleared any of them.

More similar posts were made on /v/ in the following years about Dark Souls and other games such as Nioh, as well as posts that made counter-arguments (examples^[4]^[5] shown below, left and right).

186KiB, 1920x1080, 2577720-024776.jpg View Same Google ImgOps SauceNAO Anonymous Mon [5/1/?] 07 Jan 2019 11:50:46 No.445853754 View Original Re port Quoted By: >>445853851 >>445854290 >you didn't beat Dark Souls if you used summons! >you didn't beat Devil May Cry/Bayonetta if you used healing items! What's wrong with these "hardcore" game fans and their need to police everyone who wants to play games for fun?

NICH 仁王 66KiB, 616x353, 1618891121014.jpg View Same Google ImgOps SauceNAO you didn't play the game. Anonymous Tue 20 Apr 2021 16:14:45 No.552634264 View Original Report [8/3/?] Quoted By: >>552634419 >>552634740 >>552635104 >>552635253 >>552635370 >If you used Soul Core abilities, you didn't play the game. >If you use Onmyo Magic, you didn't play the game. > If you used any Ninjutsu skills besides the backstab (Which admittedly is stupid in being an unlockable skill rather than default) then you didn't play the game. > If you used Yokai shift even once ignoring accidents, > If you used the Feral Burst Counter for anything but Burst countering, you didn't play the game >If you used the forge before NG, you didn't play the game. >If you used the canon, you didn't play the game >If you used summons for a boss, you didn't beat that boss. >If you used broken weapon types (Odachi, Dual Swords, Spears), then you didn't play the game. >If you used more than 5 elixirs for a boss, you didn't beat that boss. >If you take advantage of a bosses weakness (Shooting Osakabe in the eye, Hitting Yomi's skulls, etc.) you didn't beat the boss. INB4 "If you played the game, you didn't play the game." Cope more, they put that in to give casuals a chance. Beat the game without doing anything listed above.

On February 25th, 2022, the video game Elden Ring was released by FromSoftware, becoming the best-selling game within the genre. In the days following the release, multiple posts bringing up the argument were made on 4chan,^[6]^[7] X^[8] / Twitter and other social media (compilation image shown below).

Anonymous [51 / 10 / 41] Anonymous Fri 25 Feb 2022 13:22:37 No.590097639 Sat 26 Feb 2022 17:54:00 Report >>590097595 If you don't beat him without leveling up you didn't beat him 358KIB, 2560x1260, ok.jpg View Same Google ImgOps SauceNAO No.5902226 69 View Origi nal Report Quoted By: >>590222838 >>590222909 >>590225142 >>590226417 >>590228628 >>590228693 >>590228786 >>590229375 >>590229623 >>590229939 >>590230332 >>590231369 Friendly reminder: if you ever used summons you haven't actually 'beaten' a boss and might as well have summoned another player to help you Anonymous Sat 26 Feb 2022 10:02:24 No.590184346 Report Quoted By: >>590184663 >>590184832 >>590183921 >Just use a shield If you use shields, spirits, or summon you haven't beaten the game in any way shape or form. Anonymous Fri 25 Feb 2022 02:44:45 No.590058875 Report >>590055703 >You didn't beat the game if ir wasn't a SL1 deprived fist only run Anonymous Fri 25 Feb 2022 10:58:34 No.590086824 Report Quoted By: >>590087156 >>590100467 >>590083174 if you didn't beat him on foot then you got filtered and used easy mode Anonymous Sun 27 Feb 2022 16:04:24 No.590318026 Report Quoted By: >>590318065 >>590314334 If you play with 2h weapons and wolves you didn't beat the boss Anonymous Sat 26 Feb 2022 05:46:26 No.590170810 Report Quoted By: >>590170914 >>590170749 >summoning So you didn't beat him yet, then Anonymous Fri 25 Feb 2022 06:42:17 No.590071446 Report >>590071390 If you used a shield you didn't beat him. Anonymous Fri 25 Feb 2022 05:39:38 No.590068258 Report >>590068172 Reminder just like in any Souls game that came previously if you summoned to beat a boss you didn't f------ beat the boss.

Spread

Along with "You didn't beat the game" arguments, counter-arguments, memes and parodies were made on 4chan, and later on X / Twitter. For example, on February 27th, 2022, an anonymous 4chan /v/^[9] user posted a Soyjak meme (shown below, left). On March 8th, X^[10] user @fo_ego posted a Yes Chad meme that garnered over 2,700 reposts and 18,000 likes and was widely shared online in the following months (authorship unconfirmed, shown below, right).

Anonymous Sun [13/3/11] 27 Feb 2022 22:42:06 No.590350472 Deleted FROM SOFTWARE 63KIB, 427x400, 754234.jpg View Same Google ImgOps SauceNAO View Original R eport Quoted By: >>590350732 >If you used everything the game offers to beat my artificially difficult game you didn't really beat it! let's be real, elden ring is poorly designed and fromdrones are the worst

YOU DIDN'T REALLY BEAT THE BOSS IF YOU SUMMON!!!! STOP F------ SUMMONING!! *DING DING

More memes parodying the argument were shared on 4chan and X / Twitter in the following weeks. On March 11th, 2022, a 4chan user made a parody post in /v/^[11] that was widely circulated online (shown below, left). On April 3rd, X^[12] user @Orbitaldropkick made a post about beating the boss character Malenia that garnered over 1,800 reposts and 16,000 likes in two years (shown below, right).

Anonymous No. 591571513 2 hours ago Reminder, if you 'beat' the game while: >using magic >using spirit ashes >leveling up >using armor >using weapons >using a controller >using your hands >not wearing a blindfold >using ashes of war >attacking anything >rolling through any attack >while breathing you didn't REALLY beat the game and you basically cheated and deserve to be dragged into the street and shot for not being an ep1c gam3r

In the following years, the meme saw further spread and development, with users applying the parody formula to other games. For example, on February 17th, 2023, X^[13] user @excelblem made a Fire Emblem meme that received over 140 reposts and 2,100 likes in one year (shown below).

Excelblem @excelblem "if you used emblem rings you didn't beat the game" -Quote from King Morion of Brodia, Chapter 9 6:27 PM Feb 17, 2023 · 46.7K Views • ...

You Cheated Not Only the Game, But Yourself refers to a viral tweet made by Twitter user @Fetusberry in which he criticized PC Gamer journalist James Davenport for resorting to cheats to beat the final boss in 2019 video game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Starting in April 2019, the tweet has been parodied and used as a copypasta, often in reference to well-known exploits used in video games and lifehacks.