Subreddits can be a fickle thing. A joining of minds from around the world, uniting over one topic, game, film, TV show, or even location, can usually guarantee two things: discussions, and arguments. All it takes is one spark to the powderkeg of such an online community for everyone to be at each other’s throats.
That’s never been the case with Elden Ring’s subreddit. When From Software’s new game was unveiled with an incredibly enigmatic trailer at E3 2019, a subreddit sprang up immediately, bringing together fans of Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and others into one space. There was just one problem: there wasn’t actually anything to discuss, and there certainly wasn’t anything to argue over.
Instead, the community simply sat there, revelling in the glory of From Software’s usual raspy trailer narration, snapshots of a blacksmith hammering something, and little else. There was incredibly little discussion to be had over the deliberately ambiguous teaser trailer, and as the weeks turned to months with no new information, Elden Ring’s subreddit began to get a little restless.
At this point, you might expect things to take a turn for the worse. The subreddit might just lose all interest in Elden Ring, or they’d go out of their way to make life difficult for the developers withholding any information on the game. Instead though, the community did the unthinkable: they developed their own game.