Elden Ring expansion Shadow of the Erdtree is just months away but dataminers are still discovering secrets within the base game, this time in unused alternate underground maps likely related to a scrapped "cataclysm" system.
YouTuber Sekiro Dubi, who recovered an unused opening for the game earlier in 2024, uploaded a video showcasing the unused maps and how they were likely related to the cataclysm system, which would see Elden Ring's world of The Land Between changed drastically during gameplay.
While the video shows a somewhat put together overworld map available, these unused areas are almost completley void of assets, instead only having the base shape of the world formed in bright blue and green polygons. Sekiro Dubi theorised these unused areas would have been made available through the cataclysm system, which would change familiar areas of Elden Ring similar to how a part of the map does actually change in the full game following the defeat of Starscourge Radahn.
One of these unused cataclysms would occur over that boss's arena too, as a small hole at the bottom of a crater would lead on to a few new areas, which Sekiro Dubi explores in the video. These unused areas are still incredibly complex despite their lack of assets, but it seems developer FromSoftware just had to draw a line somewhere in its already colossal role-playing game.
The fact new secrets are still being discovered in FromSoftware's latest speaks to how much it captured the attention of fans upon its launch in 2022. Elden Ring proved somewhat of a cultural phenomenon, with players finding a ton of different ways to interact with the game. Fans played it using a Fisher Price toy, the Nintendo Switch Ring Fit controller, and someone even made a working VR version of the game.
Many are therefore waiting with bated breath for the June 21 release of Shadow of the Erdtree, which is sure to add hundreds, if not thousands, of new secrets and story threads to be discovered. In fact, even its release date announcement drew hoards of players back to the Elden Ring.
In our 10/10 review, IGN said: "Elden Ring is a massive iteration on what FromSoftware began with the Souls series, bringing its relentlessly challenging combat to an incredible open world that gives us the freedom to choose our own path."
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
