Elden Ring is one of the most anticipated games of 2022, and with its release date fast approaching, players will be able to drop into FromSoftware's latest title soon. The hype built around Elden Ring has been unprecedented, with the game taking home awards for anticipation two years in a row.
Everything is pointing towards the game living up to the hype, meaning Elden Ring becoming the next big game that players talk about; comparable to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild, many anticipate Elden Ring will have a strong chance to take 2022's game of the year from the official Game Awards. Not only is this sentiment being shared online, but gaming stores have also begun advertising the game before its release.
These advertisements have varied in representation, but one of them may stand a cut above the rest in effort and execution. That's because a gaming store in the UK has put up a life-size statue of Malenia, a valkyrie-like warrior present in Elden Ring trailers and news. Malenia has quickly become a fan-favorite character, with one Elden Ring fan getting a Malenia tattoo in honor of the character.
Since the reveal of the character, fans have been wondering whether Malenia will be one of Elden Ring's optional bosses or a main character in the story. Having a statue of the character in a store seems to point to some significance, especially because of how well-made it is. The statue shows off Malenia in incredible detail, with much attention paid to the detail of her clothes and armor. Along with her trademark prosthetic arm, her legs also appear to be made of metal, though that could simply be an armored covering. Also present is Malenia's golden mask, which has left fans wanting to acquire it as an armor piece in-game.
Reddit user WeeabooTrash6 posted a gallery of images depicting the statue, and while some Reddit users were blown away by the statue, others couldn't help but crack jokes. For example, the thread's top comment said WeeabooTrash6 must have looked very normal taking pictures of the statue's feet. Another commenter made light of the picture where WeeabooTrash6 is holding Malenia's hand, with many other users joking the image should be marked as not-safe-for-work and blurred out.
With more news coming out daily on the game, such as Elden Ring's bandit and astrologer class reveals, it seems the hype train has left its station and won't be coming to a halt until the game finally releases. With just two weeks left until that time, players will not have to wait long to journey into the open-world experience.
Elden Ring is set to release on February 25 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Reddit
