Lies of P and Wicked (Credit: Neowiz / Universal) (Image credit: Neowiz / Universal)
When I first beat Lies of P in 2023 and heard side character Giangio mention the name Dorothy - before the camera cut to a pair of red shoe-clad feet clicking their heels - I chuckled at how unexpected it was. The idea of combining Pinocchio and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz seemed odd at first, but the more I thought about it, the more obvious it became that this was a logically sound choice from developer Round8 Studio. Both stories are set in surprisingly dark fantasy worlds. They feature magic, peril, talking animals and, perhaps more importantly, are out of copyright. So, with that, I moved on and forgot all about it. That was until recently.
I went to see Wicked on stage. I'm not anti-musical by any stretch, but I can't say I was excited for this one. Something about Oz has left me cold ever since seeing Judy Garland endure the hardship of being stranded in such a miserable place, but that's enough about Kansas (I kid, I kid). As I sat patiently awaiting an evening of imagining I was somewhere else, staring at a large map of Oz, I noticed a familiar place name: The Badlands. "That's the name of a place in Elden Ring's lore," I said to my fiancée. This was only the start of the comparisons, but more on that later.
For those unaware, Wicked is both a prequel to and an alternate telling of The Wizard of Oz, taking place from the perspectives of Glinda the Good and Elphaba, AKA the Wicked Witch of the West. The musical documents their lives when they first met, the other side of events when Dorothy arrives, and the aftermath of that fateful encounter. The result is a story that takes what you knew of the original film (arguably the most famous iteration), and changes preconceived notions by showing that it's not simply a case of Wicked Witch is bad, Dorothy is good. It's a twist that invites viewers to examine their biases, much like Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree does with its tale of "kindly" Miquella (if you know, you know).
In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy arrives in a fanciful, unknown land. She is ignorant to the situation and, as such, her focus is entirely on herself. She is tasked with heading to see the Wizard in order to ultimately find a way home. This premise of a stranger in a strange land helps the audience connect with Dorothy because she acts as we might. She has little knowledge of her surroundings and so trusts the apparent friendly faces that take an interest in her. The deception begins. Spoilers for Wicked below!
For starters, Dorothy isn't there by accident. The house she came to Oz in was summoned by a cyclone as a weapon to kill Elphaba's sister, and now Dorothy is sporting the shoes the deceased was wearing, which were a gift from the Wicked Witch of the West. This type of behavior is rampant in Oz, with the tyrannical wizard dehumanizing the anthropomorphic animals by removing them from their jobs and imprisoning them until they lose the powers of speech. Much like the Misbegotten of Elden Ring's Lands Between, these creatures are punished and scapegoated to give the general populace an enemy.
Dorothy's journey has even more in common with the works of FromSoftware, as she meets characters steeped in tragedy. Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion form a band with Dorothy, but Wicked reveals that her metal mate was once a munchkin named Boq who was rendered heartless and then saved by Elphaba - who resurrected him in his new, fleshless form. Well, Elden Ring players will recognise the name (albeit a different spelling) as Boc is a demi-human NPC we meet in the Lands Between.
Similarly to the Tin Man, Boc is unhappy with his form and seeks a meeting with a venerated magic user, only this time it's Rennala of Raya Lucaria instead of the Wizard of Oz. The two are told they're perfect as they are and don't need any real physical changes for a happy ending, although you have to figure out how to say that in the game or despair awaits.
Lastly, Dorothy wraps up her Soulslike protagonist application by consistently choosing violence. In Wicked, as in The Wizard of Oz, the woman from Kansas throws a bucket of water over Elphaba - a heroic and caring character - apparently melting her. She does this because she doesn't understand her place in the world, similarly to how the player character kills Romeo in Lies of P. Perhaps she doesn't want to understand, like the Dark Souls players who killed Crossbreed Priscilla.
Dorothy is, above all, an agent of violence.That's why she's perfect to take on the leading role in a Soulslike. While we don't know much about the sequel to Lies of P, and we still don't even have its DLC yet, the land of Oz could make a perfect setting. And hey - if Oz isn't on the cards, I hear The Lands Between is lovely this time of year.