Gather ‘round, readers, as I regale you with another tale of the weird shit players are up to in Elden Ring. Don’t worry, this post won’t be about panties, murdering turtle clergy, or rolling death strats (we’ve already done those). This time around, Elden Ring has become an even wackier gameplay experience thanks to one YouTuber’s zany and surreal modding efforts.
YouTuber ToastedShoes, who’s uploaded a bunch of modded gameplay videos, posted a video appropriately called “Elden Ring but ruined by mods.” While these mods don’t necessarily ruin the game, they do transform Elden Ring into a terminally online gamer’s fever dream. The Australian YouTuber’s bold reimagining of FromSoftware’s new hotness replaces Elden Ring’s bosses and NPCs with popular cartoon characters, resulting in a hilarious and off-putting viewing experience.
Using mods created by fellow YouTuber Garden of Eyes, ToastedShoes plays as a Tarnished Homer Simpson as he boldly sets off on his quest for the “Elden Donut.” Someone might want to clue him in on what Elden Ring actually is (y’know, once players actually figure that out). Here’s a list of some Elden Ring characters and the famous cartoon characters that have replaced them in ToastedShoes’ video.
- Torrent is Slinky Dog from Toy Story
- Melina is Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time
- White-Faced Varré is Bugs Bunny
- Santa Claus–I mean Merchant Kalé is Morshu from Link: The Faces of Evil
- Grafted Scion is now Pyramid Obama (don’t ask)
- Multiple guards, knights, and minibosses are Elmo from Sesame Street and Pepe the Frog
- Tortoises (also known as dogs) are now a horrific Goofy homunculus
The highlight of the video is Homer’s battle with the Tree Sentinel, an early optional boss. Allow me to set the scene. Listlessly grazing in Limgrave’s forest are Elden Ring’s goats who just so happen to be modified into horrifically lanky Sonic the Hedgehogs. (It wouldn’t be a fever dream of a video if Sonic didn’t make an appearance somewhere in it.) Suddenly, the Sonic goats retreat in terror as the Tree Sentinel approaches Homer, showcasing his dominance with a twirl of his axe. Limgrave must be located near a swamp because the Tree Sentinel has been transmogrified, through the dangerous sorcery of PC mods, into a glazey-eyed Shrek riding his horse, Donkey.
A mix of sound clips from the Shrek films and spot-on Homer Simpson voice impersonations from voice actor Benjamin Rudman play intermittently during their very one-sided battle. After Homer gets his generous ass handed to him, he decides to tactfully retreat. Cowards do survive. This fight doubles as Shrek lore nobody asked for, and is ToastedShoes’ favorite scene in the video.
“I love the Shrek and Donkey mod,” ToastedShoes told Kotaku. “Having Shrek ride Donkey as his ‘noble steed’ almost seems poetic in nature.”
Although the YouTuber has become known for creating modded gameplay videos, that wasn’t always the plan. Before he amassed 574,000 subscribers, ToastedShoes started his YouTube channel in 2013 with the sole purpose of creating content with his friends.
“As [time] progressed, I noticed people doing mod content on games such as GTA 5 and Minecraft, which was amazing,” he said. “But I noticed and asked myself why it hadn’t been done in more games. So, I decided to take a leap and reach out to some of the most talented modders on the internet.”
Unfortunately, the downside to ToastedShoes uploading such a unique Elden Ring video is that some internet folks repost clips without crediting or linking back to him and his collaborators, and they may get more attention for it than he does. While it’s hardly uncommon for creators who upload content inspired by a new video game to see their creations reposted, ToastedShoes said it’s disheartening to have the folks he collaborated with not receive credit for their work editing, voice acting, and creating mods for his videos. However, he said he won’t let this deter him from posting more absurd modded gameplay videos. In fact, he’s planning on making more Elden Ring videos with even more mods.
“If all pans out,” ToastedShoes said, “I would love to mod the entirety of Elden Ring!” God help us all.