Summary
A silly and unsettling image of a smiling moon has been discovered in-game by anElden Ringplayer. FromSoftware’s 2022 smash-hitElden Ring,which won Game of the Year at The Game Awards, has been celebrated by many as one of the best games ever made and has enjoyed incredible sales success. WithArmored Core 6: Fires of Rubiconout the door,Elden Ringfans are eagerly awaiting any news from FromSoftware regarding the game’s upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
Part ofElden Ring’s sense of organic exploration is meeting NPCs who can take the player on deep and rewarding questlines.One of these NPCs is Ranni the Witch, one ofElden Ring’s all-important Demigod characters. She quickly became a favorite among fans, as she leads the player on a mystical journey involving the Dark Moon, which takes players to some of the game’s fascinating subterranian locations. Ranni is deeply connected to the cosmos and the player can choose her Age of Stars ending if all her quest steps are followed prior to facing the game’s final boss. As such, imagery of the sun, stars, and moon are abundant across the Lands Between, especially in the Liurnia of the Lakes region which is home to the Academy of Raya Lucaria and Rennala, Ranni’s mother.
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Reddit user Ilikethiccness posted an image of a strange moon they found in-game to theElden Ringsubreddit. A sort of time dial mural depicts a sun and moon in the night sky, where the moon sports a creepy smiling face. While it’s unknown where the player came across this specific time dial in the Lands Between,Liurnia of the Lakes or some other magic-related structureseems like the most likely location.
The commenters under the post sounded off on what they thought this silly moon could be a reference to. The most popular mention was of Yoko Taro, creator and director of theDrakengardseries and its belovedNierspinoffs, who publicly sports a large round mask of theNiercharacter Emil, which looks a lot like a moon. Others brought up the iconic scowling moon fromThe Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. The Spacer’s ChoiceMoon Man mascot from Obsidian’sThe Outer Worldswas also mentioned, and one user even added the 1902 filmA Trip To The Moonby cinematic pioneer George Melies to the conversation.
Out of all these possibilities, this strange moon is in all likelihood a fun nod to fellow Japanese game director Yoko Taro, as it most closely resembles the awkward, scrunched smile of Emil’s mask fromNier. It’s impressive that players are still finding interesting and silly tidbits inElden Ring’s massive open world a year and a half later. Themuch anticipated Shadow of the Erdtree DLCis sure to provide tons more forElden Ringplayers to discover.
Elden Ringis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
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