Elden Ring Is Playable With A Fisher-Price Gamepad
Ah Elden Ring, the fantasy epic that's consumed many hours of our time and left us a quivering mess, not able to distinguish what's real and what's from the warped mind of Hidetaka Miyazaki. Still, as we best the Shardbearers and restore some sort of order to the Lands Between, wannabe Tarnisheds are looking for a reason to go back.
Souls-like games are supposed to be hard, but up there with Bloodborne, FromSoftware warned that Elden Ring was going to be the hardest of them all - even leading to an apology from Miyazaki. There are those gluttons for punishment destined to make their quest even more arduous, and one way to do that is by using a child's toy instead of a controller.
Can You Play Elden Ring On The Fisher-Price Gamepad?
One plucky player has taken to playing Elden Ring using the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Game & Learn Controller. Sure, it might look like a classic Xbox controller, but this kid's toy happily beeps and boops at you to teach little ones numbers, shapes, and colours. Well, it's never too early to start a promising career as a full-time gamer.
To be clear, the gamepad is definitely aimed at kids instead of hacking your way through murderous demigods. The official product description reads: "Your baby can get into the gaming fun with this Laugh and Learn, Game and Learn toy video game controller which features two 'gaming' modes and lots of hands-on activities." We're not sure Fisher-Price would approve of its new usage, but that hasn't stopped content creator, Rudeism.
Posting on Twitter, Rudeism proved that the Fisher-Price Gamepad can be used as a fully-functioning controller. Better yet, it keeps its original musical functions, meaning your Elden Ring journey is accompanied by the tune of "1, 2, 3, 4, Up Goes Your Score!" During the video, Rudeism says, "Thumbstick moves around. We've got jump, we've got roll, we've got user abilities." Given the fast-paced action of the game, it's a musical cacophony that turns their room into a crèche."
This Isn't The Gamepad's Only Secret?
Did Miyazaki or Hideo Kojima secretly engineer the Fisher-Price Gamepad? In 2018 (when the toy launched), bored gamers decided to enter the infamous Konami code of Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A - that's supposed to unlock cheats. Putting this in the Fisher-Price toy cues a Mario-inspired power-up noise and the gamepad will cheerfully declare, "You Win!". It's one of the strangest gaming Easter eggs we've heard of.
As for Elden Ring, we can't wait to see the Fisher-Price speedrun come into play as players try to whip through the tormented title and teach their kids at the same time. Admittedly, the button mapping of the Fisher-Price Gamepad makes an Elden Ring run a lot easier than that time someone tried to beat the Demon's Souls bosses with a pair of DK Bongo Drums, but still, consider us impressed.