Elden Ring Modders Create ‘Ultimate’ Berserk Mod

It’s no secret that many aspects of FromSoftware’s Soulsborne games are inspired by Kentaro Miura’s popular manga Berserk. In fact, Elden Ring already pays homage in many ways, right down to Blaidd the half wolfstrangely resembles Guts, protagonist of Berserk. Now, the Elden Ring manga reference cycle has come full circle with Guts himself getting isekai’d in the Lands Between via a new mod.

Call of the Abyss, from COTA Studios modder Papa Appa, aims to let you play as the dark swordsman himself as you venture into the Lands Between. The mod is under heavy development but currently available for download via COTA Studios Patreon. You can see it in action through its latest dev diary video:

Current or planned features include a realistic Guts character model, his jagged armor, a recreation of his famous hand-mounted cannon and a “berserk” state when Guts loses control and gives in to his rage, and a summonable/boss version from Guts who has a more acrobatic moveset loosely based on Blaidd’s.

Papa Appa’s has also partnered with eye gardenthe modder and YouTuber behind the “Let Me Solo Her” Spirit Summon Mod, to create the Elden Ring Multiverse video series, in which they modify their favorite anime characters in the game as bosses. In the new episode 2, the pair feature Guts as a boss fight in the Mohgwyn Palace area in the late game.

“Berserk was an easy first choice because [Souls-series game designer Hidetaka] Miyazaki said the Berserk manga was a huge inspiration to himself for the Souls series, as seen in many bosses and characters,” Papa Appa told Kotaku.

Garden of Eyes told Kotaku that the idea for Elden Ring Multiverse came about a year before Elden Ring was released.

“[Berserk] holds a special place in the hearts of many and deserves a proper mod,” Garden of Eyes continued. “So naturally, we found it entirely appropriate to do this as our introduction to the multiverse. … I’m also a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so that also played a big part in my wanting to bring this idea to fruition.

Papa Appa, who befriended Garden of Eyes through their shared love of Soulsborne games, said he worked on the modding side of Elden Ring Multiverse while Garden of Eyes crafted its narrative.

As soon as the boss fight begins in the Elden Ring Multiverse episode, “Guts” frantically rushes from side to side and knocks his opponent down before greedily devouring his flesh, just as he does when he is overwhelmed by bloodlust in the manga. This particular attention to detail is due to the Herculean efforts of Papa Appa, who put a lot of love and care into the lore-specific details of his Call of the Abyss mod.

“I tried to bring you the best Guts armor and the best Guts mod in all of Elden Ring modding,” Papa Appa said in his latest YouTube CotA demo video.

Although the current state of Elden Ring modding is limited to importing custom animations from other games, Garden Of Eyes told Kotaku that Papa Appa was able to derive Guts’ movement from the schematics. attack of Blaidd the Half-Wolf.

“Blaidd was the perfect choice for this as a base,” Garden of Eyes said. “With appropriate modifications to his model, movements, and visuals, a true Guts berserker was born.”

Call of the Abyss isn’t your typical model-swapping job. Papa Appa said it took him about a week to create a bunch of special features that die-hard fans would appreciate. For example, when playing as Guts, his “berserker” feature triggers once you drop below 50% HP and has four tiered states, signaled by his glowing red eyes. dark beast helmet and a red and black smokescreen following in its wake

“For you big Berserk fans, as you know, the Dark Beast is not an actual being, but an amalgamation and accumulation of all of Guts’ childhood traumas, fears and worries that he had” said Papa Appa. in the CotA update video. “I really wanted to materialize this via the black fog because I think it fits the [armor] very well regulated.

Read more: 7 Possible Berserk References In The Elden Ring

The Berserk state grants a 15% increase in stamina and damage recovery, but the longer you stay in berserker mode, the more your health will deplete, which is pretty accurate compared to how overwhelming sadness de Guts evolves with his superpower in the manga. .

My only criticism of Papa Appa’s mod so far is that Guts falls too easily into the Garden of Eyes video. This may be due to the majority of Guts’ manga-specific moves still missing from the mod. If Guts’ cannon arm, knife throwing, crossbow, and bombs had been present, I imagine the boss fight would have been more of a knockdown and prolonged brawl.

Papa Appa told Kotaku that while Elden Ring still has a limited modding scene, he plans to add Skull Knight as well as new features like the aforementioned hand cannon, which you can watch a preview here.

“It’s still just the tip of the iceberg for projects related to Berserk and other things in the multiverse, whether it’s new bosses, weapons, armor and much more. “, Garden of Eyes told Kotaku. “We have a huge passion for the game and aim to have the best mods for Elden Ring.”

As a longtime Berserk fan, I’d love to see mods where Guts is swapped with Blaidd and the prolific POS Griffith replaces Maleniebecause I have to get my own Berserk ending somehow.