An earlier version of Elden Ring included an in-depth mechanic revolving around harvesting the dreams of sleeping enemies, something that there is little trace of in the full version of Elden Ring.
Dataminers and hackers have been having a field day dissecting Elden Ring, going so far to even compare the launch version of the game with that of the limited-time network test version released in November 2021. Courtesy of From Software YouTubers Sekiro Dubi and Lance McDonald, one of the most exciting discoveries players have found in the network test build is a cut NPC character, Monk Jinko, that would have occupied the Scavenger’s Shack near the approach to Stormveil Castle. He offers to brew the player an alcoholic beverage once forbidden to mortals, Dreambrew. He only asks that players bring him the ingredients.
The NPC gives the player a new unique item, St. Trina’s Crystal Ball, which is used to collect Slumber Fog from sleeping enemies and features its own unique harvesting animation. Enemies that can have their dreams harvested can’t be woken up unless attacked, and have a small cloud of fog surrounding their head. Bring the monk two Slumber Fogs and he will give the player Dreambrew, which can be given to various NPCs to unlock hidden conversations.
One example of a hidden conversation unlocked by giving an NPC Dreambrew is the merchant Kale near where players first step into the Lands Between. Giving Kale the Dreambrew causes him to fall into a deep sleep and have a nightmare. Subtitles then appear describing the nightmare in question, explicitly making mention of the Frenzied Flame, a key element of one of Elden Ring’s optional endings.
Sekiro Dubi speculates that given the monk’s location at the Scavenger’s Shack (which is occupied by Roderika in the full version of Elden Ring) and how collecting Dream Fog works, the mechanic could have been an early method for acquiring spirit summons. Or it could have been for some entirely different questline or purpose.
Other examples of cut content discovered in Elden Ring’s files include an attack and other unused animations for Torrent, the player’s magical horse. GameSpot’s Elden Ring review called From Software’s latest a “masterpiece of open-world design that places exploration and player agency at the heart of the experience.” Publisher Bandai Namco announced Elden Ring sold more than 12 million copies just a few weeks after launch, and was the PlayStation Store’s most-downloaded game for February 2022.
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