Elden Ring Has Surprising Dark Souls And Bloodborne Connection
FromSoftware is poised to make it big with Elden Ring, as the imminent release of the fantasy epic is tipped to not only be one of 2022's best games but one of the best games of all times. The acclaimed developer is already known for great success with the separate worlds of Dark Souls' Lordran and Bloodborne's Yharnam, but it turns out these three games aren't as different as you might think.
Like Mario's Toad or GTA's overly sexualised Fernando Martinez, some NPCs appear in multiple entries of a single franchise. It turns out FromSoftware has been sneaking the same guy into its games for decades. The thing is, while the Mushroom Kingdom and San Andreas remain in their own little bubbles, the Souls games, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring are seemingly unconnected... or are they?
Is Elden Ring Connected To Other FromSoftware Games?
There's a lot of connective tissue in Souls-like games, with some mythical realm being plagued by monsters, players picking a downtrodden class, and then levelling up as you hack and slash your way through increasingly powerful bosses. Still, they very much have their own themes and settings. One staple of the series you might've missed is the harrowing visage of Patches.
For those new to FromSoftware games, Patches is a recurring NPC who has appeared in Hidetaka Miyazaki games since way back in 2008's Armored Core: For Answer as Patches the Good Luck. He popped up just one year later for Demon's Souls as Patches the Hyena, then returned as Trusty Patches in 2011's Dark Souls. Still, the best rendition of Patches is his horrific spider version in Bloodborne.
When streamers got a closer look at Elden Ring during a Red Bull event (via Kotaku), Spanish streamer ChusoMMontero uncovered Patches' secret hiding place. Sharing the footage to Twitch, FromSoftware aficionados were over the Moon that Patches has found a new place to call home. In 2011, Miyazaki said Patches would appear in every game he creates, so why are we surprised he's in Elden Ring?
Is Patches The FromSoftware Mascot?
In most of his appearances, Patches lures players to the edge of a cliff and tries to kick them off. To be honest, we didn't think we'd see Patches again. The Dark Souls 3 Ringed City DLC featured an amnesiac Patches at the end of the world. Here, he actually helped when he booted players off a cliff. While we're sad his Elden Ring version isn't a dragon-like Patches or he hasn't been turned into an anthropomorphic pot, at least he's here.
Forget Sony's Crash Bandicoot, Nintendo's Mario, or SEGA's Sonic, FromSoftware has inadvertently created Patches as its default mascot. Whatever FromSoftware works on next, we fully expect to see another weird and wonderful Patches variant. And you thought the MCU was the first IP to create the Multiverse. We can't wait to see where Patches goes next.
