Elden Ring Was More Epic In The 90s
Nostalgia in video games is a pretty important selling factor for some franchises. People, especially those who have been playing games for a long time, love to revisit their roots. While "Elden Ring" came out for the first time on PlayStation 5, that didn't stop one animator from imagining what the game would have looked like if it was released on the PlayStation 1, which was cutting edge tech from 1994 to 2000, when the PlayStation 2 was released. Just as critics were enthralled with "Elden Ring" on the PlayStation 5, people fell in love with the "demake" of the game in the fan-made PS1 trailer.
Hoolopee, the 3D animator behind the project, released the project with the help of a few 3D artists on February 24, a day before the release of "Elden Ring." The artist, whose real name is David, also shared the video alongside the actual trailer on Twitter so fans could see a side-by-side of the PS5 and PS1 trailers.
This wasn't Hoolopee's first time making a demake trailer, either. Previously, David showed audiences that "Resident Evil Village" would've been much scarier in the 90s. "Resident Evil" fans loved that demake, and "Elden Ring" fans mimicked the passion.
Audiences are enthused
While the graphics were as amazing and detailed as PS1 graphics can be, viewers had years of technological breakthroughs to put some perspective on the dated graphics. One commenter pointed out that the animations, which were purposefully exaggerated and polygonal, made one of the characters feel like an NPC from the PS1 era, making the trailer feel "authentic." Others were impressed by the way Hoolopee was able to include things like a low frame rate on top of all the artwork, capturing the stuttering, slow PS1 feel.
There were plenty of jokes flying around, too. Many laughed about an "Elden Ring" remake coming soon on PS4 and PS5. Others' jokes hit a little closer to home for some gamers as they discussed the bad news PC gamers received about the way the graphics and frame rate in the demake matched low-end PCs.
Of course, because it's the internet, there were a few people who criticized the work. In particular, some viewers had a problem with the render distance being much too far for standard PS1 graphics and the audio being too clear for PS1-era audio. However, the vast majority of people who saw the video enjoyed it, evidenced by the numerous loving comments, high views, and like count.