It’s not that FromSoftware’s games were unsuccessful, but Elden Ring has brought new success to Japanese studio and publisher Bandai Namco. This led to many people finding out for the first time that the group of talented lunatics at FromSoft really liked one thing, and that was filleting players in fifty different ways. And players have also prepared some Elden Ring Runes to increase the fun of the game.

The number of people playing the game has led to endless memes: one of the most popular so far involves dogs called turtles. This one is so common that even the Elden Ring wiki includes the following in its description of NPCs: “Miriel, Pastor of Vows is the Church of Vow’s steward, a giant tortoise (actually a dog) dressed in a top hat.”

There’s a meme players have seen for a long time but can’t find the source, a graffiti-style animation of Defilers being crushed by various bosses. The last player found the channel of Youtuber Merong, a Korean animator specializing in witty shorts on pop culture themes. They nailed the Elden Ring. One of the underrated aspects of FromSoft’s enemy design is its sense of humour, in a totally over-the-top way, like the grotesque Godskin Apostles: when Skinny gets angry, it flies in circles like the deadly Stretch Armstrong.

Merong captures the feeling of that smile, even when you watch your Tarnished slump fall to the ground for the tenth time after Melania Super Saiyan Sword Flurry, or get stomped on by ROFL the first time you meet Godrick. Anyway, for some players, these games are not about skill, because they are about perseverance. A big part of sticking with it is finding a sense of humor in their missteps. As for the game itself, Elden Ring’s latest patch adds the biggest quality-of-life improvements to date, and mods continue to go wild on PC. Players can also buy some Elden Ring Runes at IGGM if they’re looking for a better performance. Try it!