Before Elden Ring took the consensus spot atop the FromSoftware catalog, many argued that Bloodborne was the company's crowning achievement. It strayed from the medieval aesthetic of the Dark Souls series and opted for a Gothic setting that felt reminiscent of Victorian-era London. Still, despite the shift, Bloodborne carries the familiar grimdark aesthetic of the FromSoftware games so strongly that it still feels exceptionally relatable to other titles like Elden Ring.
Among a plethora of notoriously hard games, Bloodborne—particularly its DLC, The Old Hunters—often tops the difficulty tier list for FromSoftware. Accordingly, the game garnered praise for its boss and enemy encounters. Bloodborne's enemies are unique, challenging, and, oftentimes, downright odd. However, they are mostly designed with such universal appeal that they could almost be copy-and-pasted into other FromSoftware titles.
The Winter Lantern and Similarly Twisted Creatures
There are certain places in Elden Ring where the Winter Lantern would look completely out of place. It would look strange wandering Liurnia of the Lakes and even more conspicuous walking around Limgrave, but if the Winter Lantern were dropped directly into the Caelid Region of Elden Ring, it's unlikely any fan would bat an eye.
The Caelid region was infected by Malenia's Scarlet Rot during her battle against Radahn. This caused the region to be corrupted, lending its inhabitants mutated appearances and coloring the region in an overwhelming reddish hue. The Winter Lantern, as an incomprehensible mass of flesh and eyes, is a perfect fit for the area. Plus, the Winter Lantern's haunting singing is already reminiscent of another Elden Ring enemy, the Chanting Winged Dame.
The Winter Lantern is far from the only enemy of its ilk that could be slotted into Elden Ring. The Blood Licker, the Cramped Casket, and even the amorphous Brain of Mensis could all be placed seamlessly into the Caelid region without many changes. Basically, any blood-related enemy from Bloodborne would fit relatively well into the Caelid region, as well as the Brainsucker and other Lovecraftian-style encounters.
Laurence, the First Vicar, and Other Bosses
Laurence, the First Vicar, was added with The Old Hunters DLC for Bloodborne. Like any boss from Bloodborne, Laurence's backstory and name would have to be completely rewritten to fit into Elden Ring, but his aesthetic gels perfectly with the Volcano Manor and Mountaintops of the Giant areas. His enormous stature and fiery appearance immediately draw to mind Elden Ring bosses such as the Fire Giant and Rykard, but Laurence also bears a striking visual similarity to the Ancestor Spirit boss. As such, Laurence would probably feel right at home in a border region between the Volcano Manor and the Altus Plateau.
Another boss that would fit well into Elden Ring is the Celestial Emissary. Despite appearing as an optional late-game boss, Bloodborne's Celestial Emissary has the distinction of being one of the easiest encounters in the entire game. Still, its cosmic look and mechanics would make it an ideal candidate to slot into the Liurnia of the Lakes area. With a bit of tweaking to its story, the Celestial Emissary could appear as another boss in the Raya Lucaria academy and would make an easy addition to the lore.
With the Celestial Emissary having a borderline extraterrestrial appearance, a neat rework could be if the Celestial Emissary was tied to Ranni the Witch. With Rann and her mother, Rennala, being tied to the moon, there's room for a creature like the Celestial Emissary with very few changes. This would allow Elden Ring to explore an unusual extraterrestrial angle that somehow still feels in line with the game.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
