How the Elden Ring dominated headlines in 2022

The Elden Ring has so completely dominated the news this year, that I ended up writing 100 news articles just about it.

Well, 99 actually. So writing another one in celebration of the year’s best Elden Ring stories seemed like a fitting way to get to that 100.

And so below is my ranked list of the top 20 favourites. Before that, a big thanks to the rest of the team as well for their great coverage of news, guides, videos, and Aoife’s essential review.

20. The Elden Ring will have poisonous swamps because Miyazaki loves to make them

Prior to the game’s release, there was a lot of speculation about what types of areas the Elden Ring would include. Toxic Swamp seemed an obvious choice, and it turns out Miyazaki loves it. They’re in every Souls game. But then in the final issue, he shocked us even more and gave us Caelid.

19. The Elden Ring has a problem with the tutorial

For all its glory, Elden Ring (and its predecessors) has been rightly criticized for its lack of accessibility options, despite being much more open than before. I, like many players, completely missed the game’s tutorial – it was hidden in a hole of all places – and players debated whether this was good or bad. Then FromSoft went and patched it anyway.

18. Boundary-breaking video hints at possible DLC for the Elden Ring

Well, that was prophetic. Just over a week after its release, data actors broke into the game’s Colosseum and found hints about a possible multiplayer mode. Nine months later, and that’s exactly what we got in the DLC.

17. The Elden Ring modifier downgrades Erdtree to improve frame rate

Elden Ring had some performance issues at launch, especially on PC. Many updates have made improvements since then, but a moderator took matters into his own hands when — in an effort to boost frame rate — Erdtree was removed entirely. Did you know, the iconic big glowing tree that dominates every scene? What is lost in art is gained in playability.

16. The Elden Ring sprint finishes without dying in just 2.5 hours

This was the story that blew the gates. Shortly after release, one player was able to sprint through the game in just two and a half hours. The next day someone else did it in less than an hour. Then it was half an hour, twenty minutes, 10 minutes … It became impossible to keep up. According to speedrun.com, the record for any unrestricted run is now just 3m 56s.

15. THE FAKE ELDEN RING WALL PUT ON THE LATEST PATCH

The Elden Ring is full of mysteries and secrets but one in particular has tricked the community: the phantom wall at Volcano Manor. After 50 visits, you will finally give way only to reveal nothing at all. FromSoft then patched it two months later, proving that it was just a glitch all along.

14. More Elden Ring content has been discovered, this time a Vyke mission

Data miners have unearthed tons of scraped content in the game, from dream collecting to merchant quests, but this game really captured the issue. Sekiro Dubi discovered a cutting assignment for a man named Vyke. who is he? It’s just the guy on the cover! That’s right, FromSoft had the audacity to put a guy on the cover and then remove his quest entirely.

13. The internet is too wild for Wolfman Blade from the Elden Ring

Of all the game’s characters, who knew the sexy wolf man would draw the most thirst? Even Blade’s voice actor was amazed, noting that he “caused quite a stir in the furry world.” How did that make him feel? “Warm. Warm. Comfortable. And very loving.”

12. The Elden Ring player meets Jesus in a holy duel

Before the Colosseum DLC, Elden Ring players conquered each other in order to overhaul the multiplayer. One player ended up being invaded by Jesus and Satan – two players who had a lot of fun with the character creator. Of course, all hell broke loose.

11. Twitch streamer completes Elden Ring, Sekiro and Soulsborne games in one no-hit race.

Completing the Elden Ring alone is challenging enough. But what about completing it without getting hit? How about doing this after you’ve finished every other Soulsborne game that’s been released? Twitch streamer dinossindgeil wasn’t the first to complete God Run 3, as it’s known, but it’s an incredibly impressive feat.

10. An Elden Ring player stumbles upon an unknown invisible boss

Mods are dangerous. YouTuber MythyMoo found this out the hard way when playing the Elden Ring with an item and a boss randomizer. Things took a turn when an unknown invisible boss rattled by, unfairly increasing the game’s great challenge but likely being the result of a glitch. However, the streamer spent hours dissecting the game and strategizing to win in the end anyway.

9. George R.R. Martin admits he didn’t play the Elden Ring as “people seem to want that book of The Winds of Winter”

After the release of Elden Ring, fans speculated about how much Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin was involved with the game beyond a quick fact sheet of names and lore. Then, by October, it turned out he hadn’t played the game. He seems very busy being an author and writing some coveted book or other.

8. The Elden Ring players discover underwear cut from the final game

More cut content, this time some stylish lingerie. It wasn’t possible to get Deathbed Smalls in the game without cheating, though some lucky players did get their hands on these pearly pants, which eventually led to an update to prevent cheating. Big shout out to Tom for belting on this: “Thong of Ice and Fire” is genius.

7. What would the Elden Ring look like as a CRPG?

The Elden Ring has inspired a lot of art over the past year, but I’m particularly fond of this CRPG recreation. YouTuber Flurdeh used camera tools to change the game’s perspective, turning Miyazaki’s bleak world into miniature dioramas. He is very sweet.

6. What if the Elden Ring was an SNES game?

Well, one more. I’m partial to old JRPGs from the SNES era and this 64-bit Elden Ring recreation really hit the nostalgia nerve. Erdtree fantastic pixelated world map mode 7 full screen bosses. I need this to be a reality.

5. The Elden Ring player hides in the bushes for three hours to thwart rune farms

Some pesky trolls spent time farming runes by hiding in inaccessible areas until the invaders got bored and left, instead of just playing the game normally. One player, though, had had enough and trolled the troll – what else? Hide in the bushes for three hours.

4. Let Me Solo Her sword receives congratulations from the publisher of the Elden Ring

Elden Ring, like all Soulsborne games, is known for its high difficulty. But one player who has become a pillar of the community for his rambling services all over the world. After single-handedly killing Malinia – the game’s most famous boss – a thousand times on behalf of other suffering players, Bandai Namco gave them a sword as a thank you. Definitely deserve it.

3. He hit the Elden Ring coach with a real banana

dance mat guitar. Fisher-Price console. Elden Ring fans have found a whole host of creative ways to control the game. But the award for most bizarre controller definitely goes to Super Louis 64 who plugged in a real bunch of bananas to play the game and managed to beat the first major boss without slipping.

2. Peaceful Elden Ring Turtle Papa wins the battle royale

Who will win the Elden Ring boss king battle? That’s what YouTuber BjornTheBear decided to find out, by modifying all the creatures from the game into one epic battle. And the winner? Of course, the Pope’s peaceful tortoise, which stood still and won by default without raising a limb. Praise the dog!

1. I bought the Elden Ring runes on eBay so you don’t have to

Runes are the main currency in the Elden Ring, allowing players to level up their skills, buy items, and more. Rune breeding became a major problem, then, as players sought shortcuts to glory. However, the biggest shortcut of all was buying runes on eBay from other players with actual money. I went undercover and did just that, buying 2 million runes on the black market. It was like meeting a drug dealer. I felt dirty. I quickly deleted the save file. Was it worth? No, except to bring you all this investigative report.