Elden Ring has finally launched, and it has been warmly received by players and critics alike so far. The game adds a variety of new features to the classic From Software Soulslike formula, including a greatly expanded collection of customization options. One Elden Ring player recently took advantage of this updated character creator to turn their player character into Venom Snake from Metal Gear Solid 5.
Venom Snake is the player character in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, which went down in history as one of the most divisive installments of the franchise. Despite this, Venom Snake himself has been largely embraced by fans - the division comes more from the circumstances around the game and the eventual fate of the character. With this in mind, it may be easy to see why fans might want to play as him even in another action title.
Redditor Gidrah recently shared a screenshot of their attempt at recreating Venom Snake within Elden Ring's character creator. Although the result is easily recognizable, it also draws attention to how different the two games' aesthetics can be. Gidrah's character features the same dark hair, trimmed beard, and heavily creased brow that Venom Snake has in Metal Gear Solid 5. However, there are a few notable changes made due to the limitations of the character creator.
The most obvious change is that Venom Snake sports a more modern eyepatch design in his own game and the Elden Ring recreation wears a simple strap of leather over his empty socket. That said, the most important change may be the lack of scars seaming the face of Gidrah's creation. In his own game, Venom Snake is riddled with scars and has a piece of shrapnel sticking out of his head like a demonic horn, all of which represent the hardships he's already survived. Only one scar made it into the Elden Ring recreation, and it seems to have been noticeably prettied up. This isn't the first time Elden Ring's character creator has had trouble portraying iconic action game characters, but it may be one of the most damaging to the themes of the original character.
Some fans may be confused by the fact that Venom Snake looks older and more worn in his own game rather than a From Software game. This likely comes from the fact that Elden Ring and Metal Gear Solid 5 are very different types of action games. While Elden Ring certainly has its dark moments, it's ultimately a fantasy game where death is rarely permanent, so scars and signs of age have less weight. On the other end of the spectrum, Venom Snake spends much of Metal Gear Solid 5 being slowly driven to the breaking point as his eventual death looms throughout the game, and looking old and battered enhances the feeling of time running out.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
