The highly anticipated open-world RPG Elden Ring is receiving even more attention since the official gameplay trailer debuted at E3 2021, generating new hype for the game as its release date draws closer. Naturally, fans of the SoulsBorne franchise have been creating their own fakelore to imagine what the game may look like as a final product ever since the title was revealed.
Some have designed entire boss concepts, others have designed entire areas with musical compositions. These artists like to highlight different parts of the game that they are excited about, such as open-world boss encounters, mount combat, and other features that were teased in the gameplay trailer. It also gives the fans of Elden Ring the chance to use folk tales to create their own fakelore for the new FromSoftware game.
Open-World Boss, Pesta by Christian Reyes
One feature of recent FromSoftware games has been the multi-phased boss fights of Bloodborne and Sekiro, which concept designer and illustrator Christian Reyes aimed to do with his own boss named Pesta, Crone of Death. Reyes takes even more influence from Dark Souls 3 to give his boss an entirely new form that reveals her identity as the third and final phase of the battle.
According to the artist, Pesta is a wandering boss that leaves trails of disease and death because she is based on the Scandanavian folklore creature as well as The Morrigan from Celtic folklore. The first iteration of the creature is a much more grotesque hunched witch with a rat hoard following it, representing the Scandanavian folklore's Black Plague. At the final part of the battle, she transforms into her true form as The Phantom Queen, drawing from the Celtic Morrigan. The Morrigan in Celtic folklore is a deity of death and battle, giving it extra fakelore points.
The design of the creature also caters to the open-world aspect of the game, as Reyes's boss is one that follows a quest which takes the player through the open world. His creation centers around the player finding abandoned towns that have been reaped of all life due to a grotesque plague. After further investigation into the cause, the player encounters her first form roaming around the forest. If players talk to them they engage in combat, the first and second form brandishing a rake. After she takes her third and final form she changes her weapon to a spear. For extra easter egg points, Reyes adds the Bloodborne logo, also known as the Hunter Caryl Rune. This fakelore perfectly brings together the FromSoftware boss design with a new angle that gives fans fresh ways to look at how the open-world will impact boss-encounters.
Mounted Terror by Andrei Sherstuck
This fakelore boss by Illustrator Andrei Sherstuck was submitted for VaatiVidya's YouTube art competition. Unfortunately, the artist in question does not have any social media, website, or even a portfolio for fans of his work to follow, yet this one entry has been enough to take the prize for VaatiVidya's competition. Sherstruck's creation shows the new angle of horseback combat, and how it might be integrated into the game.
Based on the E3 2021 gameplay trailer, it appears that travel by horse and horseback combat will be prominently featured in Elden Ring, making this a fitting concept for a boss. Much like Reyes' creation, Nuckelavee, Terror of the Forlorn Shores has Celtic folklore ties, with the creature known for destroying swaths of livestock and plantations. However, the inspiration for this boss goes back to Ornstein and Smough battle from Dark Souls, as the monster's form change is dependent on which part of the creature you slay first.
If the player slays the humanoid portion, then the horse portion will take over the whole body and feature a more beast-like fighting style. Meanwhile, if the player defeats the horse, the humanoid will take over the body making it a much different battle. Part of the draw to this fakelore creation is the exploration aspect of the game. Players could be walking along the coast unsure of what lurks in the murky waters, only to be ambushed by this monstrosity.
Musical Significance and Fake Lore
One of the main features of many Soulsborne games is that music is sparse in the world and utilized only for hub areas and boss battles. One such boss theme is posted on the leastworstgamer YouTube channel, and many music producers are credited for this entire fakelore digital soundtrack. This song is composed for the imagined Serpent's Fjord area boss battle. Unfortunately, the artwork allegedly created for the fan-made boss called the Anfractuous Serpent by Redditor claytortis has been removed from the original post. This fan area was made to be like the other infamous swamp levels from Soulsborne games, featuring a boss battle with a massive serpent. The song starts with a swell until it becomes an epic clash of orchestral and digital compositions, leaving fans to imagine the encounter themselves.
With the game's release set for 2022, fans have been more than satisfied with what they were given from the gameplay trailer at E3 2021. The game is co-written by Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin which, Hidetaka Miyazaki has used to build the world of Elden Ring. In a recent interview, the renowned author called Elden Ring a sequel to the Dark Souls franchise, which leads more fans to speculate on just how much the lore of those titles will fit into the lore of Elden Ring. Much is still unknown about the game, too, giving players even more time to ponder what's in store.
Elden Ring is due to release January 21, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X.
