Elden Ringhas dominated the gaming landscape since its release back in February, and FromSoftware’s most ambitious game to date has captured the attention of millions of fans worldwide. It’s no wonder, then, that love forElden Ringis bleeding into other game communities too, such as that ofFallout 4’s.
Fallout 4had a similarly huge impact on the gaming community when it was released in 2015, with players new to the franchise rushing to buy up copies. Now, after nearly seven years and many playthroughs ofElden Ring,players returning toFallout 4are beginning to see some very similar shapes crop up around the Commonwealth that looks suspiciously like something straight out of The Lands Between.
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In a picture posted to the r/Elden Ring subreddit, user FlippinCactus shows an oddly shaped fire hydrant inFallout 4that looks eerily like the guide and gatekeeper statues fromElden Ring. Though they could not be more different in color and function, the hydrant’s shape is remarkably similar, featuring the same hunched back and what looks to be a head and two arms.
The purpose of these statues inElden Ringis to guide players tothe catacombs found near Minor Erdtrees. By interacting with the statue, a glowing blue trail will emit from its outstretched hand, marking The Tarnished’s map and pointing the way to the hidden entrance. The fire hydrants inFallout 4, however, serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever other than to lend a sense of retro-futurist realism.
One user, Danisnotonavan, comments “Nowthisis pattern recognition,” referring to the cognitive process that links two, sometimes unrelated, pieces of information in the brain. This is a very common occurrence that helps humans learn and retain long-term memory. In the replies, Twiggles69420 relates this pattern recognition to their own experience of seeing the gatekeeper statues and thinking about the prophets fromHalo. Other users go on to share the times that they have made similar links, like when user zipfern thinks ofElden Ring’s crafting materialswhen they see flowers or plants, or when user Ok-Supermarket-1414 mistook a grocery store hazard perception robot for an Abductor Virgin.
These experiences go to show how thoroughly lodgedElden Ringis within the public consciousness. A hugely expansive game that demands hundreds of hours of playtime, and a game beloved by so many,Elden Ringhas no doubt left its mark on millions. And it might be a while before people can learn to forget it.
Elden Ringis currently available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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