This tiny detail in an Elden Ring cutscene gives huge depth to Godfrey
Godfrey's purpose changes massively with this theory
An Elden Ring player has made a fascinating observation about a late-game cutscene involving a particular boss.
Be warned: this article contains major spoilers for Elden Ring's plot!
Alright, so, one thing at a time. A player on the Elden Ring subreddit highlighted that there appears to be a faint line, almost as if from a Site of Grace, extending out to the player character from Godfrey, in the introductory cutscene before the player fights the intimidating Elden Ring boss.
The player hypothesizes that this faint Site of Grace line is guiding Godfrey to destroy the player character. It's actually originating from the corpse of Morgott, who you would have previously fought and killed in this exact location, who it turns out is one of the children of Godfrey (the other two being Nepheli Loux and Margit the Fell Omen).
The subreddit post explains that Morgott's death is compelling Godfrey to destroy you, as hinted at by the Site of Grace-type line from his son's corpse. While we'd usually expect a Site of Grace line to direct us as the player towards any one of our next objectives, here's it's inverted, directing the boss towards us, and giving him a clear path and goal.
There's also the matter of becoming an Elden Lord at play. With this basically being the final showdown before you encounter Radagon of the Golden Order and the Elden Beast, it's quite possible that Godfrey views you as the final step in his journey to becoming a true Elden Lord. Sure, we can respawn over and over again until we win the fight, but if we couldn't and we lost, it's entirely possible Godfrey would ascend to the role of Elden Lord instead.
Basically: a hell of a lot is at play here, and it's nearly entirely hinted at through very subtle means. Some theorize that Godfrey previously lost his will to fight as a Tarnished, but this scene breathes fresh life into him once more, as he's finally compelled to fight for something worthwhile. Whether that's the case, or whether anything here is actually true, we're merely left to guess with, but there's a lot of compelling evidence.
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Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.