Elden Ring First Boss Almost Took Inspiration from Dark Souls 1

FromSoftware’sElden Ringmay be an original IP, but it could have easily passed as a sequel toDark Souls.Elden Ringis essentially an open world take on theDark Soulsformula after all, and so it’s no surprise that there are many similarities between the games. It seems that those similarities almost ran even deeper, as there is evidence to suggest FromSoftware toyed with the idea of having a first boss similar to the one players fought in the originalDark Soulsgame.

Elden Ringdataminer and YouTuber Zullie the Witch has uploaded a video explaining how FromSoftware likely experimented with different bosses before ultimately landing onthe Grafted Scionas the first boss encounter for the game.Elden Ringfiles indicate that FromSoftware likely considered the Banished Knight, the Crucible Knight, and the Erdtree Avatar to be featured at the Chapel of Anticipation at the start of the game instead of the Grafted Scion.

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Zullie the Witch’s video points out that theErdree Avatarwould have been a particularly interesting choice forElden Ring’s first boss due to its connection to the originalDark Soulsgame. According to Zullie the Witch, the Erdree Avatar has the same animation skeleton as the Asylum Demon, the first boss that players fight inDark Souls, itself inspired by the Vanguard monster inDemon’s Souls.

The video offers a good reason why FromSoftware likely passed on featuring the Erdtree Avatar as the first boss in the game. Since the Erdtree Avatar has the same animations as theAsylum Demon, hardcore FromSoftware fans may have been able to defeat it in their first encounter. However, the idea is that players will die in this first boss fight and then get transported to the Lands Between proper. While it’s certainly possible to beat the Grafted Scion, it will be much more difficult for newElden Ringplayers to pull off, and most won’t be able to do so until they start a New Game+ run of the game.

There are other reasons why having the Grafted Scion as the first boss inElden Ringmakes sense. As pointed out by Zullie the Witch, the Grafted Scion is a brand-new enemy toElden Ring, not based on any previous FromSoftware bosses. The Grafted Scion also gives players an idea of the kinds of enemies they will be encountering early on in the game, as the early areas focus on grafted enemies, likeStormveil Castle’s leader Godrick the Grafted.

Elden Ringis out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.