Elden Ring challenge runs are beautiful

Weapon of choice

Since Elden Ring‘s release, fans have been dissecting the game in many different ways. From rifling through the files to going out of bounds, Elden Ring has piqued the curiosity of many players.

This is nothing new for FromSoftware’s games. The general mystique of the Soulsborne series has led to a lot of exploration and fan speculation. The hidden lore, the complexity of builds, the cryptic dialogue, it all makes for games that are deeply interesting to examine under a lens.

One of the ways this manifested was challenge runs. These range from level 1 runs to playing the game with bananas. We’ve even dabbled with Dark Souls challenge runs ourselves in 2 Guys 1 Pad.

However, it seems Elden Ring has spurred creativity even further with some truly varied challenges.

There are many paths to becoming an Elden Lord

Between buttstomping, only using a torch, and not attacking at all, Elden Ring players are flexing their skills as well as their creative muscles to find the most outlandish ways to beat the game. Struggled for hours on end against Malenia? Maybe you’d like to see someone beat her at the lowest level possible.

This isn’t even mentioning the speedrunning scene, with the current record being Distortion2‘s 8 minute and 56 second run. This category, Any% Unrestricted, takes advantage of an in-game glitch that lets players zip long distances across the map which, when used correctly, can even spawn in and kill the game’s final boss.

So, this all shows that players are delving deep into the game to find the most absurd techniques and make them viable. But what is it about Elden Ring that has made it such a honeypot for experimentation?

The open-ended design of Elden Ring

Previous titles like Dark Souls, Demon’s Souls, and Bloodborne have all encouraged exploration and build variety, offering a bevy of weapon types and extra damage effects to help you create your ideal character. Elden Ring, however, takes this a step further with its open world and gives even more options to the player.

Between the weapon types, dual wielding, and interchangable ashes of war, the game gives players a wealth of options. Not only this, but you can also easily respec and are given many opportunities to do so. The game is practically begging players to experiment.

And so, players experiment, and find that rolling around like Sonic the Hedgehog is actually a good strategy.

So, if you’ve beaten Elden Ring multiple times through already, I can suggest finding some item tucked away in the darkest corner of Caelid and trying to beat the game with it. And who knows? Maybe you’ll find the next PVP meta in Radahn’s foam finger or the inflatable hammer of Limgrave.

What gag build is your favourite so far? Are there any challenge runs you’ve tried out? Tell us all about it in the comments below or, if you want to get started on specialised Elden Ring classes, check out our guide for 6 must-try builds.

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