Elden Ringis currently dominating the gaming scene of 2022, with peak numbers over 950,000 concurrent players on Steam alone. FromSoftware, creator of theDark Soulstrilogy,Bloodborne, andSekiro: Shadows Die Twice, is credited with another quality title, elevating the open-world genre to a new standard that future games will be measured against. LikeSkyrimbefore it, mods have begun to surface that promise to further extendElden Ring’s lifespan.
WhileElden Ringexcels in giving players beautiful environments, dynamic combat, and memorable characters, players are giving back with over-the-top mods with effects like turningTree Sentinel’s horse into Thomas the Tank Engine. From estus flasks being reskinned as Sunny D inDark Soulsto more risque ninja attire inSekiro, joke mods have long been a part of FromSoft’s PC releases, and all signs point to mod creators delivering plenty of irreverent content inElden Ringthat turns a serious game into a hodgepodge of memes.
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In-Jokes in the Lands Between
From crab-worship to endless repetitions of “Bearer, Seek, Seek, Lest,” Soulsbourne game fans have made their love of self-referential humor known. Several running gags have already surfaced in the community, some of which started beforeElden Ringwas even released. When Melina said “I offer you an Accord,” some players decided she should grant the Tarnished a Honda Accord to cruise around the Lands Between. A mod has already been released replacingElden Ring’s faithful horse Torrentwith such a car.
Another joke surfaced following the reveal of the glintstone sorcerers, with many people drawing immediate comparisons to the infamously off-putting design of the Burger King mascot. The menacing aura of these spellcasters could seemingly only be enhanced by the King’s bizarre smile plastered across the face of every Raya Lucaria graduate. IfSkyrim’s Big Jarl burger joint modis any indication, there’s a market for fast food-orientated humor in the modding scene.
Of course, FromSoft fans are not likely to forget their roots, withmods addingBloodborneweapons intoDark Souls 3being the kind of common addition which proves the community’s commitment to its favorite games. Such dedication to the ideal that legends never die could see the return of the exalted casul-crushing majesty of Giantdad fromDark Souls 1, perhaps as an overpowered Spirit Ash who smashes his Bass Cannon Zweihander into enemies before fading away with an insulting “Well! What is it?” gesture.
Memes for the Maidenless
There is also a demand for joke mods that have nothing to do with FromSoft games, existing simply to make players laugh. The sky’s the limit with examples from other games such as aGod of Warmod that added dad jokes, and the canvas ofElden Ringis ripe with opportunity. Modders could swap the textures and sound files of certain enemies to give players Mr. Krabs instead of the usual giant crabs, SpongeBob as land squirts, and Squidward as land octopi. They could also honor the legacy of Sunny D estus flasks with Mountain Dew Code Red replacements for the Crimson Chalice of Tears and Baja Blast for the Cerulean Chalice of Tears, enhance the tedious experience of following the old codger ghost by replacing his fade-in effects with the ramblings of Abe Simpson, or so on.
The bloomingElden Ringmodding community has massive potential to follow up on theever-expanding library ofDark Soulsmods. The coming months will no doubt see the emergence of many exciting new mods forElden Ring, ranging from carefully crafted, lore-friendly enhancements to altered death screens informing the player that “Every Elden Has It’s Ring.”
Elden Ringis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
