FromSoftware's Elden Ring was one of the most anticipated titles of 2022, and its release has met most of the expectations fans built up over the years. The game features a lush open-world setting that gamers are still discovering new secrets in over a month since it launched. Now, one Elden Ring player has noticed an incredible detail in a late-game cutscene that adds to the moment's weight. Spoilers ahead.
One of the most important parts of Elden Ring's lore is the nature of the Tarnished, individuals who were banished from The Lands Between after losing the grace of the Erdtree. Throughout the game, the player is guided by grace, which takes the form of trails of golden light. While gamers can and often do stray from the path, guiding grace leads straight to the game's next objective and can be a useful landmark.
Redditor PM-MeChickenLegs discovered something interesting while replaying the intro cutscene of Godfrey, the First Elden Lord. Like the player, Godfrey is a Tarnished--in fact, he's the very first Tarnished. He was Queen Marika's first king consort and is generally considered to be the mightiest warrior in The Lands Between, so it may not surprise players to encounter him as a late-game boss. However, Godfrey being a Tarnished led the developers to tuck in an Easter egg for sharp-eyed players.
In the cutscene, Godfrey is shown holding the body of Morgott, the Omen King, as it dissolves into what appears to be ashes in his arms. However, the body transforms into a stream of guiding grace, similar to other streams of guiding grace that lead the player forward. Unlike previous encounters with guiding grace, however, this stream leads directly to the player. PM-MeChickenLegs concluded that this is because the stream belongs to Godfrey, not the player--and the player is the next obstacle that Godfrey must overcome.
PM-MeChickenLegs notes that it can be hard to make out the trail of grace in the cutscene, but its trajectory is undeniable. To get the full impact of the moment, they recommend playing the scene at night, so the guiding grace's faint glow will be more noticeable. It gleams a different color from the angry red lights that fill the area. Whether the cutscene is shown during the day or at night, it's clear that the guiding grace is leading Godfrey straight toward the player for a final battle between past and future Elden Lords.
Elden Ring is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
