The Elden Ring player using brain signals as a controller has managed to beat Malenia

Elden Ring Malenia boss fight blade miquella goddess rot cheese
(Image credit: FromSoftware)

A streamer has managed to do the impossible and beat Elden Ring boss Malenia using just their brain signals - I know, I can't quite believe it either. 

At the start of this year, we reported on the Elden Ring streamer playing through the game with nothing but brain signals, and well, we have an update. Three months on and the streamer and psychology graduate perrikaryal has managed to progress even further in the FromSoftware title, getting as far as that pesky Malenia boss fight, almost completing the entire game. 

This battle is hard enough when playing with a standard controller - although there have been several to beat it in unconventional ways such as with a dance mat or with just one hand - but this Elden Ring fan has beaten Malenia in potentially the most impressive way possible.  

If this is the first time you're hearing about perrikaryal, the Twitch streamer is known for using an EEG (a brain imaging device) to monitor their brain activity live on screen. The way it works is by picking up on electrical activity from the streamer's brain through the sensors attached to their head - which is made conductive by saline solution. To translate that into Elden Ring, perrikaryal trained the device to recognize certain "states" and bind it to the attack key. 

Perrikarya literally imagines attacking an enemy in the game and, thanks to the EEG, it then happens on screen right in front of them. I can only imagine how much concentration it took to defeat Malenia, as evidenced by the look on the streamer's face when they're preparing an attack, and how exhausting it must be to play the entire game like it - way to go Perrikarya!

If you can't bear to face Malenia again, take a look at our games like Elden Ring list to find something new to play.

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at 12DOVE before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.  

Read more
Elden Ring Nightreign screenshot with three players battling an explosive creature
Elden Ring streamer who beat Shadow of the Erdtree with her mind is already preparing to annihilate Nightreign in the most sci-fi way possible: "I haven’t touched a controller in ages"
Malenia seen in Elden Ring's cinematic story trailer.
After 1,428 deaths, Elden Ring player literally beats the whole game using a real boxing dummy as a controller, and not even Malenia was safe
Shadow of the Erdtree Final Boss Radahn
With one hand for each character, Elden Ring master beats Shadow of the Erdtree and its infamous final boss while playing on PC and PS5 at the same time
A screenshot of Elden Ring boss Godfrey, the first Elden Lord
Elden Ring player becomes the first to beat every New Game+ difficulty back to back without getting hit, in an 8-playthrough run that somehow took under 12 hours
Elden Ring
After 3 weeks and 115 attempts, Elden Ring sicko becomes the "first in the world" and "probably the last" to complete a no-hit run at uncapped NG+1,000
Elden Ring
Watch in awe as an Elden Ring master, playing with a saxophone that goes "doot," finally wrecks Malenia in 45 seconds without getting hit
Latest in Action Rpg
Atomfall screenshot
Atomfall dev doesn’t understand how massive development teams manage to keep organised: "How do you organize a game that has 2,000 people working on it?"
A Monster Hunter Wilds character holding binoculars.
Monster Hunter Wilds' final boss is even cooler than we thought: series experts point out attacks stitched together from iconic monsters throughout the series
Monster Hunter Wilds screenshot showing a chatacabra battling a hunter
Monster Hunter Wilds' new event quest is the best one yet: bully a Chatacabra for "a pile of Hard and Advanced Armor Spheres"
Zenless Zone Zero screenshot of Soldier 11 eating crackers
Actors supporting AI protections didn't know they were being replaced in Zenless Zone Zero update 1.6: "I found out the role was recast today alongside all of you"
Monster Hunter Wilds trailer screenshot showing a young woman with long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail smiling slightly, pumping her left fist in the air
Monster Hunter Wilds' infamously confusing menus spare no player, not even Gemma's voice actor herself: "This is honestly what I’m struggling with the most"
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds players are tricking the action RPG into thinking they completed hunt quests in mere seconds using the power of poison ammo
Latest in News
Rift Apart
Retiring Insomniac boss says developers should still tackle new genres, but it's much riskier these days due to time and money
Atomfall screenshot
Atomfall dev doesn’t understand how massive development teams manage to keep organised: "How do you organize a game that has 2,000 people working on it?"
Stardew Valley Baldur's Gate 3 mod Baldur's Village
Stardew Valley player bringing a bit of Baldur's Gate 3 to ConcernedApe's farming sim, now with Larian's seal of approval, says they've played over 1,500 hours and will improve the mod
A Monster Hunter Wilds character holding binoculars.
Monster Hunter Wilds' final boss is even cooler than we thought: series experts point out attacks stitched together from iconic monsters throughout the series
This is Spinal Tap
First Spinal Tap 2 teaser reveals release date for comedy sequel that’s over 40 years in the making
Superman surrounded by the exploding Krypton.
Absolute Superman #5 puts a devastating new spin on the Man of Steel's origin story