From Software has finally unveiled Elden Ring to the world, and players are quickly finding out exactly how disastrous some moments can be if they aren't careful. A recent video shows one of these players being taken out as a result of a single kick while trying to push through Elden Ring's early Stormveil Castle location.
The actual death itself is the result of several sources of damage, but the initial action that sends the player on a crash course through the respawn system in Elden Ring is being kicked by an enemy. While players familiar with the layout of Stormveil Castle might have already guessed how the player wound up dying, this particular clip is a grueling example of it never being the fall that kills them.
In the video, the player can be seen taking on a group of the Castle Guards that make up the majority of the enemy encounters found throughout Stormveil Castle. However, an otherwise successful dodge roll puts the player in position next to one of these enemies, who winds up delivering a heavy kick once the invincibility frames have run out. The result of taking this simple kick attack is a quick reminder of the verticality that From Software has added to Elden Ring, with the player falling from the side of the castle and onto a lower platform.
What adds insult to injury with this attack is that neither the kick itself nor the fall damage is what killed the player. Instead, another enemy from off-screen manages to throw a fireball perfectly at the player as they begin to rise from the initial fall, which is what does the final chunk of damage necessary to land the kill. It's a harrowing ten seconds as it appears that the player has managed to survive, only to run into some classic Elden Ring style bad luck.
These moments with deaths that hardly feel fair to the player at the time can be an important part of the enemy and level design of most From Software titles. It's no accident that an enemy with a kick is placed right at the edge of a scaffolding that leads down to certain death in one of several ways. However, with the community of players all sharing these moments together, there is at least some comfort in the comradery of so many fans all overcoming Elden Ring's bosses and other enemy encounters.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.