A group of Elden Ring fans on Reddit is brainstorming explanations for the large holes in the walls of Stormveil Castle. The holes are one of the more unusual aspects of the partially destroyed fortress and another example of Elden Ring’s environmental storytelling. However, fans have never gotten a proper explanation of what caused this massive damage.
From Software released Elden Ring in February, and it was one of the biggest and most anticipated games of this year. An open-world action RPG from the creators of Dark Souls and co-written by Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin, the game received “Universal Acclaim” according to the review aggregation site Metacritic. Elden Ring also won or was nominated for multiple awards and has a chance of snagging Game of the Year at the upcoming 2022 Game Awards.
Soulslike games generally exchange a traditional plot structure for a focus on From Software’s indirect environmental storytelling, and giant circular holes in a castle’s walls are certainly a conversation starter. One Reddit user decided to get the ball rolling with a post asking fellow Elden Ring players for their thoughts on Stormveil Castle’s walls. While many of the upvoted guesses included oversized moles, “stone mites,” and giant hungry skeletons, there were a few pieces of genuine theory crafting in the comments.
Reddit user govlum_1996 suggested that Radahn may have assaulted Stormveil Castle. If so, this likely would have occurred along his march to Leyndell during the Shattering War in Elden Ring’s backstory. The commenter notes that the damaged wall is on a cliff facing the ocean, which they argue makes it unlikely that conventional siege weapons made the holes. However, Radahn’s gravity magic would have allowed him to bombard the walls with meteor strikes. The commenter also pointed to clues like Kenneth Haight saying that Godrick tried hiding from Radahn in Stormveil Castle, a possible motive for Radahn’s attack.
Other suspected assailants include Elden Ring’s warrior-demigoddess Malenia, whom Godrick eventually surrendered to. However, a group of Reddit users suggested that the holes’ visible roots and organic shape hint that part of Godwyn may be buried underneath the castle. Multiple item descriptions indicate that Stormveil Castle is “cursed,” and the thorns visually resemble those from Godwyn’s Death Blight. Death Blight also affects inanimate objects, so it may have eaten holes through the castle walls.
These were by no means the only explanations that dedicated Elden Ring players came up with. Additional theories include Dragon attacks, magical energy beams, or some type of massive cannon or another siege weapon. However, Radahn, Malenia, and Godwyn definitely seemed to be the prime suspects.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
