Elden Ring has finally released to the world after years of trailers and news that lead to multiple most anticipated game awards. With both critic reviews and player numbers reaching record highs for a FromSoftware title, Elden Ring has lived up to the hype and then some.
Though Elden Ring is experiencing performance issues and has since launch, many fans have still been blown away by the game. Rather than take the traditional linear pathing indicative of many of FromSoftware's titles, instead Elden Ring puts major emphasis on casual exploration of its massive environment, allowing players to become very strong before they even fight a story boss.
FromSoftware has a popular yet divisive reputation for delivering some of the most challenging games in the industry, dissuading players. However, Elden Ring's departure from the difficult linear layout of past games has drawn in new gamers from many backgrounds that normally would not have tried a FromSoftware game. An example of this would be Metal Gear Solid fans, such as one fan who created Venom Snake in Elden Ring.
Along with a fan making a character based on Snake, another fan decided to reference the character through Elden Ring's in-game message system. The result was Reddit user RavGn finding the message which prompted them to create a post on the Metal Gear Solid subreddit. The post has done very well, which is significant considering it's a screenshot of a game that has nothing to do with the Metal Gear Solid series. The message itself was a direct reference to Snake, prompting the player to try a stealth approach. Considering that Metal Gear Solid may be the pinnacle of stealth games, the message is perfect both in placement and content.
The comments underneath RavGn's post were a mix of Metal Gear Solid references as well as discourse on Elden Ring. One user noted another message they found referencing the franchise that said "snake! snake! climb the ladder!" This is a reference to a famous and hilarious moment from Metal Gear Solid 3 where Snake is tasked with climbing a ladder so long that the game's entire theme song starts and finishes before the climb does. Another user lamented Elden Ring's limited messaging capabilities, saying they couldn't write "what a thrill" at the top of a very high ladder, once again referencing the scene and the song.
Regardless of limited messaging or meme references, RavGn's post is a perfect crossover between fans of two different franchises who were brought together through their games. Even as other users were cracking jokes, one comment asked whether Elden Ring was worth buying, and there were certainly other users who may have been drawn to the game by the post. For those with slightly less stealth skill than Snake, an Elden Ring guide on stealth should have players slinking past danger like the Metal Gear Solid protagonist.
Elden Ring is now available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Series X|S