Elden Ring player developed game demake for Game Boy

FromSoftware's open-world RPG, Elden Ring, has become one of the best game releases of 2022 and has inspired lots of fan art, cosplay, 3D models, and memes. Notably, the game can be graphically demanding, resulting in heated debates online.

But what if this wasn't the case and gamers could play Elden Ring on retro systems? Well, one dedicated player showed their appreciation for the sprawling world by reimagining the game for the Nintendo Game Boy. Accordingly, the fan released a demake for Elden Ring,  making it available for avid Soulsborne players to play for free.

Elden Ring fan recreates the Lands Between in 8-bit

Streamer and developer Shintendo released the launch trailer on their YouTube channel, showing off parts of The Lands Between, including Northern Limgrave and Stormveil Castle. The epic Elden Ring theme song is also given the demake treatment, which still captures the game's glory with a retro twist.

In the trailer, the Tarnished go face-to-face with the opening field boss, the Grafted Scion and Margit, and the Fell Omen at Stormveil Castle. The demake also featured Melina and Ranni the Witch at the Church of Elleh before the Tarnished attempt to defeat the Tree Sentinel prior to the iconic "You Died" prompt appearing.

Additionally, it showed some basic gameplay controls highlighted by the Tarnished adorably rolling and dodging across the lush terrain. The demake's combat system looks vastly similar to iconic Game Boy titles like Final Fantasy Adventure and Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.

Not only does the demake manage to capture the essence of the popular FromSoftware title, but it recreates the nostalgia many players had playing on a Game Boy. The description stated that the Elden Ring demake would run and play smoothly "on real retro hardware" and emulators.

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Soulsborne players interested in playing the demake can run the demo available from their Itch.io storefront page. The demo is supported on most retro gaming systems, including all Game Boy consoles, Analogue Pocket, emulators, and web browsers like Google Chrome.

Regarding how to play the Elden Ring demake, Shintendo left instructions for players interested in playing the game on the supported hardware. "Download the .gb file and write it to a flashcard. It is a standard Game Boy ROM under 2MB using MBC5. You can also use it with emulators like BGB. If you have an Analogue Pocket, download the .pocket file instead."

While Shintendo has no plans of adding other game locations to the demake, they explained why only Limgrave was chosen as the focus of the demo. "Because I need to find an actual job instead of working on this game. I would like to expand the game in the future, but no promises."

For more incredible Soulsborne content, check out our section dedicated to Elden Ring news, updates, guides, features, and more.

Featured image courtesy of YouTube / Shintendo.