The Elden Ring Network Test revealed just a small portion of Elden Ring's open world to play-testers, walling off unfinished, unpolished portions of the game world behind invisible walls, indestructible barricades, and disabled ladders. A few intrepid play-testers did find ways to clip through these barriers and see what lay on the other side. Gamers who want to avoid spoilers before Elden Ring's February 22 release date should probably stop reading. Gamers who want to get a clearer view of Elden Ring's full gameplay and narrative lore may learn a lot from the secrets and discoveries this article relates.
In many ways, Elden Ring is a culmination of all the "Soulslike" action RPGs made by the video game studio FromSoftware and developer-turned-president Hidetaka Miyazaki. The Elden Ring gameplay revealed so far seems to blend the best elements of Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1 through 3, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice together, then enhance them further with an open-world environment that players can explore more freely. The narrative of Elden Ring also seems to explore the themes of previous FromSoftware "Soulslike" within a more colorful, "lived-in" setting, thanks to the many world-building and backstory details provided by fantasy author George R.R. Martin.
The Elden Ring Network Test, which took place over a 5-day period in the middle of November last year, let players explore three specific regions of Elden Ring's open world; the western fields and shores of Limgrave, the wind and rain-swept hills of Stormhill, and the outer layers of Stormveil Castle. Much like a novelist submitting a chapter of their book to a writer's workshop, FromSoftware polished up this small slice of their full game for players to experience while walling off the less-complete portions of their game behind glowing barriers or physical obstacles. And then a few clever play-testers found ways to clip through these barriers and catch intriguing glimpses of FromSoftware's work behind the scenes.
The Weeping Peninsula & Other Hidden Areas Beyond The Elden Ring Network Test
A few enterprising open-world regions of Elden Ring even lack "collision" properties, forcing explorers of the out-of-bounds areas to carefully hop between chunks of rock so they wouldn't fall through the map.
Locations & Secrets In Elden Ring's Stormveil Castle Legacy Dungeon
Players were able to explore the outer layer of Stormveil Castle in the Elden Ring Network Test, but were blocked from further progression by two obstacles - an unbreakable wooden barricade at the top of a flight of stairs, and a ladder with the climbing animation disabled. Past these obstacles lies a truly intricate and labyrinthine "Legacy Dungeon" with intriguing, archaic, and grotesque environmental details. In the larders and feasting halls of the Stormveil Castle Legacy Dungeon, severed limbs dangle from the ceiling. On every other wall hangs paintings of Godfrey, The First Lord, standing tall and proud with a battle-axe in hand and a roaring beast behind them. The walkways, rooftops, and arches players can jump between are narrow and treacherous, and deep down in the castle's dark bowels rests the strange withered corpse of a plant-like alien giant.
Hidden Elden Ring Enemies Such As The Dire Bear & Crucible Knights
Most of the "out-of-bounds" areas in the Elden Ring Network Test were empty of enemies and wildlife, with a few interesting exceptions. There are two places where players can encounter Crucible Knight bosses. These are enemies who wear the Crucible Knight armor sets, wield the Ordovis' Greatsword weapon, and occasionally sprout wings and tails of golden light for special attacks, much like the abilities displayed by the "Margit: The Fell Omen" boss.
On a bridge in the out-of-bounds portion of Stormhill, there's also a wandering version of the "Pumpkin Head" boss from the Network Test proper, wielding a giant two-handed maul instead of a spiked flail. In a fog-covered forest, play-testers even discovered a gigantic bear mini-boss, a relentless foe whose claw attacks inflict the "Hemorrhage" status effect and drops a "Dragon Heart" item when it dies.
A Magical Painting That Might Be Elden Ring's Version Of The Dark Souls "Painted Worlds"
In the new Elden Ring area, a "Painted World" with unique enemies, mysteries, and perhaps even a bunch of snow.
Elden Ring Hidden Character Creator Is A Step Up From Previous FromSoftware Games
Of all the secrets hidden within the Elden Ring Network Test, FromSoftware fans seem to be the most excited about its character creator, disabled for the Network Test proper. Compared to the character creators of Bloodborne or Dark Souls 3, Elden Ring's gives players more options for creating PCs with a wider variety of skin colors, hair colors, hairstyles, and realistic-looking facial types. Unlike the more realistic character customizers from the Demon's Souls Remake, Elden Ring players can still make terrifying monsters through the reckless use of sliders.
