With a planned Elden Ring VR update that puts you behind the eyes of your Tarnished, you’ll soon be able to experience the Lands Between in first-person. New gameplay footage demonstrates how transformative the update will be, as well as how terrifyingly deep From Software’s violent fantasy world really is when you’re looking it down.
Elden Ring VR demo
UploadVR has published a 15-minute hands-on demo of the Elden Ring VR addon in action. It was created by veteran modder Luke Ross and allows you to play the whole game from this first perspective, giving you a different perspective on all of the Elden Ring bosses. However, because it doesn’t support motion controls, you’ll have to use a device to strike your sword and roll about like you typically would.
The mod appears to be quite smooth. The player may fight a Tree Protector, explore Limgrave, fight a dragon, attack a few guardians, and even browse the floating on-screen panels in the demo. Everything works in the same way as Elden Ring’s original edition.
But it isn’t all plain sailing. Playing the game in VR appears to be rather challenging, with regular component clipping, NPC slowness, and nausea-inducing camera rolls. Trying to battle any “boss or monster with the first camera, continuously dropping to the floor to flip or getting lost in a messy mash of textures as you advance into attack, is immensely confusing,” according to UploadVR.
It also appears to be scary. In the original edition of Elden Ring, having a Tree Protector charge at you is terrible enough, but having them strike a big axe squarely at your face brings the game to the next level level of dread. While From Software’s action RPGs have almost always tended toward the macabre and terrifying, playing them in the first may make them seem a touch too immersive. If you’re terrified out of your mind, you won’t be able to liberate the Lands Between.
Fortunately, the mod’s Tourist Mode allows you to reduce your dread. The add-on renders your player invisible to opponents, allowing you to explore the Places Between in virtual reality without fear of being attacked by its horrible beasts. The user is seen galloping throughout the planet in safety, allowing them to take in all of Elden Ring’s delicate beauty.
Other camera choices included in the update include two – thirds modes that bring the camera near to the player character. They’re meant to increase immersion without making the game’s VR mode too disorienting.
On his Patreon page, Luke Ross has published the Elden Ring VR mod in its present work-in-progress condition. He’s no stranger to virtual reality, having produced modifications for Cyberpunk 2077 and Read Dead Redemption 2 in the past. They may also be found on his Patreon page.