Few character creators in gaming give such depth, variety, and choice as that of Elden Ring. While FromSoftware’s titanic release has drawn criticism for its failure to truly accommodate POC players, it’s still way ahead of the curve in its numerous choices. Its plentiful changeable variables and infinitely scalable range of parameters have ensured that many first-time players can mold their hero to look pretty much exactly as they desire.
This being the gaming community, however, the massive depth and variety available to Elden Ring‘s players have left the character creator open to the more creative members of the community. They have been able to unleash their skills in the most impressive, and sometimes disturbing, ways. While some have used their skills to perfectly replicate established gaming and pop culture figures ranging from god of war‘s Kratos to movie icon Samuel L. Jackson, others have chosen more esoteric, idiosyncratic and somewhat disturbing creations to be their champion in the Lands Between.
Shrek in Elden Ring
Shrek has become ubiquitous across the cybersphere, his big green face warped, replicated and rendered across memes, parodies and some decidedly disturbing YouTube videos. Ironic or not, the cult of Shrek has grown into something of a phenomenon, albeit a deeply unsettling one. It’s no surprise then that when given a character creator of such depth and versatility, a faithful recreation of the swamp-dwelling ogre was just a matter of time.
Shrek, along with the likes of Thomas the Tank Engine and Super Mario, has often been a favorite of the modding community, unceremoniously spliced into games ranging from GTA V, sekiro and, of course, Elden Ring itself. However, Mxnds‘s recreation of the DreamWorks hero is far more impressive, and while Shrek’s signature protruding ears, as well as his gargantuan size, are impossible to replicate, the YouTuber truly captures the essence of the undisputed godfather of the internet meme culture.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Elden Ring
If one were to think that replicating a human-amphibian hybrid through the character creator for a dark, fantasy epic was impossible, they would be wrong. While recreating the turtles’ famous half-shell should have been too much of a stretch even for Elden Ringan appropriately shaped turtle shell shield gets the job done to surprisingly authentic effect.
It would’ve been easy to simply take a basic character model, remove its hair and paint them green, but the detail put into Vahaen’s fluid quadrumvirate makes them about as close to the actual turtles as one can get. Albatross Airlines‘s above image captures the Redditor’s fantastic foursome in action, while Online Gamer Dopaminer’s demo on how to use multiple turtles to maximum effect is a hilarious and instructive must-watch.
Handsome Squidward in Elden Ring
With the possible exception of The Simpsonsthere surely cannot be another TV show that has spawned as many notable and beloved memes as the ever-brilliant SpongeBob SquarePants. From Caveman and Mocking SpongeBob to Sleeping Squidward and Savage Patrick, the full gamut of human emotion can be expressed solely via frames from Stephen Hillenburg’s long-running cartoon series.
Perhaps most popular among gamers, however, is Handsome Squidward, the perfectly proportioned iteration of the miserable mollusk that appears in an episode from the show’s fifth season. Recreated in cosplays, memes and across other character creators such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Soul Calibur VIit was only a matter of time before Squidward’s stunning face, here recreated by a Twitter user named Dracula Fetuswas lovingly rendered in Elden Ring itself.
GigaChad in Elden Ring
Handsome Squidward may be easy on the eyes, but even he is no match for the GigaChad. While Chad’s origins are a little unclear, the meme has now evolved into a parodic commentary on the unrealistic expectations of so-called hypermasculinity and alpha-male perfection. Noted for his ludicrously chiseled jaw and phenomenal musculature, YouTuber Medroso has rendered his very own Chad as the ultimate ironic hero of the Lands Between.
Thanos in Elden Ring
There seems to be something about large men with prominent jaws that the meme community simply cannot resist. Even before he made his full debut in 2018’s Infinity War, Thanos has been a source of fascination, acclaim and, of course, internet parody. Fans love his big purple head and signature giant, wrinkled chin, a distinctive look that makes him the ideal candidate for a Tainted Soulslike protagonist.
Thanos has appeared in custom character creators before, from Saints Row to Dark Souls 3. However, Elden Ring arguably gives the most complete and in-depth version of the Mad Titan to date. ace FXRain’s tutorial shows, if one simply removes the hair, sets the skin tone to purple and elongates the chin, players are halfway towards their very own despotic genocidal villain.
He-Man in Elden Ring
Considering some of the other abominable creations on this list, it perhaps wouldn’t be that unusual to see everyone’s favorite musclebound prince swinging his two-handed sword at the many monsters and bosses populating the Lands Between. Quite a number of He-Men have popped up as custom characters in Elden Ring. The above image, posted by BeanieBuu on Reddit a month ago, is a fine example of how to replicate the famous prince of Eternia.
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