According to experienced data miner ZullietheWitch, Elden Ring's first boss very nearly took direct inspiration from Dark Souls 1's first boss - the Asylum Demon.

Elden Ring starts with a fight that players are never meant to win. While many may question this design strategy - after all, aren't players supposed to win? - difficult tutorial bosses are a FromSoftware tradition.

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In previous FromSoftware titles, players are set up to lose their first fight. It introduces the scale of difficulty right from the beginning, making sure players understand the kind of hardened world they're about to journey through. However, it also makes death itself an important mechanic; losing battles opened up new worlds (like Bloodborne's Hunter's Dream), and Elden Ring is no different.

Though Elden Ring presents the amorphous Grafted Scion as the player's first boss battle, it seems he wasn't always the first pick. According to data miner and video game hacker ZullietheWitch, Elden Ring's first boss almost took inspiration from Dark Souls 1.

THE ELDEN RING BOSS THAT ALMOST TOOK DIRECT INSPIRATION FROM DARK SOULS 1

In a video originally posted to YouTube, Zullie detailed a reveal from one of her latest investigations into Elden Ring's data. In her investigation, she discovered a particularly interesting-looking load list. Usually, load lists contain information that the game uses to pre-load any needed models on a given map. This time, she uncovered a load list of unused boss models for the Chapel of Anticipation map.

Alongside the Grafted Scion, Elden Ring's eventual pick, are three other potential boss models. Among them in particular is the Erdtree Avatar, an enemy with distinct connections to Dark Souls 1. According to Zullie, this boss uses the same animation skeleton as the Asylum Demon, Dark Souls 1 ’s first boss.

While this may have been a fun nod to Dark Souls, Elden Ring designers eventually decided against it. Perhaps it may have been too easy to recognize the Asylum Demon's moves, creating a fairly easy fight. Opening with an easy fight gives players a win rather than an initial loss, which goes against FromSoftware's design philosophy. Additionally, without losing, players can't discover the vital Lands Between early on.

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Interestingly enough, this isn't the only time Elden Ring took direct reference from Dark Souls 1. Zullie has also pointed out that NPC Boc's name is a play on Dark Souls 1's Bed of Chaos:

All in all, Zullie's datamining work has given us all a peek behind the game dev curtain at the logic behind designing Elden Ring’s early game content. You can follow Zullie the Witch on Twitter or YouTube for more Elden Ring/Dark Souls content.

Elden Ring is available to play on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.