SPOILERS AHEADAcross FromSoftware’s catalog, players will put into battles against giant monstrosities, whether that’s Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Elden Ring, or so on. However, some of its most personal and exciting battles happen when the company pits players against their “original” of sorts.
In Bloodborne, the ending duel between the Hunter and Gehrman the first Hunter is probably one of the saddest in the franchise. The exact circumstances, nonetheless, make it really compelling from a story and gameplay note. Meanwhile, a comparable battle would be when Elden Ring’s Tarnished faces Godfrey the first Tarnished before entering the Erdtree.
Generally speaking, there is a lot more emotion that goes into the duel against Gehrman than Godfrey. It used to be there was a giant gap between the two in terms of all the weight placed into the battle. But some cut content about Godfrey and a recent discovery by the Elden Ring community narrows that gap considerably. Gehrman’s battle still packs more punch, but it’s a closer contest with a few key factors.
Bloodborne’s Hunters, a Duel of Suffering
First, it’s worth highlighting what makes Bloodborne’s duel so special, and it comes down to the fact that Gehrman has been suffering this entire time. Because of a deal gone wrong, he is the host of the Hunter’s Dream, and the graves around there show how many Hunters have come and gone. When players face him for the final time, he offers to let them see the sunrise—to let them out of the dream, even if it means he remains.
Saying no means the two are forced to battle. While there are a few viable interpretations, players can see this battle as their Hunter trying to save Gehrman from the suffering, while Gehrman doesn’t want them to suffer. If players beat the Hunter, then they will become victims of the Moon Presence and must take his place in the dream. There is a third ending in Bloodborne, of course, but this one feels much more emotional in knowing that the player seeks to save Gehrman. It’s two hunters, trying to save each other from suffering.
Elden Ring’s Tarnished, a Duel to Kill a God
When players face Godfrey the final time (not his spirit) before heading into the Erdtree, it has less emotional impact at face value. Elden Ring’s Godfrey is an important character, but one who mostly plays a role in the background. It’s harder to describe him as anything but one more Elden Ring boss, just one who seeks to reclaim the title of Elden Lord.
However, cut content regarding Godfrey contains a prologue where he has a conversation with the Tarnished, seemingly outside The Lands Between. This suggests that the player is one of those who were banished alongside Godfrey, and what’s more, he knew about the Shattering before it happened. In other words, it seems this prologue would have seriously changed how one could interpret Marika’s plans. It shows, seemingly, that Godfrey set this specific Tarnished to task.
Furthermore, fans have recently noticed that Godfrey’s boss fight cutscene shows that his guidance of grace isn’t leading him to the Erdtree, but to the player. This means players are as much a boss for Godfrey as he is for them. Some believe this means that the player was never meant to be Elden Lord (which is true enough), and that this was part of Godfrey’s redemption arc. If he beats the player and takes the runes, he could face the Elden Beast, reclaim his title, and so on. At the same time, it becomes clear how antagonistic Marika and the Golden Order are throughout the events of the game, so it’s a battle to kill a god—to kill a way of life—to establish what order will carry The Lands Between forward. He could have been a test for the player as part of Marika’s plan, or a back-up, or any number of things when factoring in his guidance of grace.
Players have options, of course, to free the Lands Between from any god’s influence in the Age of Stars ending, to burn it all down in the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending, or establish their own order as the new Elden Lord. But to do any of that, they have to go through their old mentor (if that was the case only in cut content).
Of course, with some of this not really being present in the game, how one interprets the fight is up to them. But, all in all, it shows how much depth and storytelling one fight can carry in a FromSoftware title.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
