Elden Ring mod adds Guts from Berserk, the manga that shaped the Souls games

Elden Ring contains some of the Souls series' most obvious nods to the manga Berserk, and thanks to a new mod, Berserk protagonist Guts is now officially a part of the Lands Between. 

Cota Studios demonstrated the custom equipment included in the Berserk mod in a recent video, while co-modder Garden of Eyes showcased a boss fight against Guts, the Black Swordsman. 

As a boss, Guts is modeled after Ranni's attendant Blaidd, who always seemed like a clear tribute to the character. But while Guts uses many of Blaidd's moves, he's also equipped with custom-made black armor as well as the Dragonslayer greatsword, which is even more massive than the regular greatsword that many fans have rightly compared to Guts' iconic weapon. 

You can obtain this Berserk equipment for yourself, too, and it even has a special effect: as your health gets lower, you enter a, well, berserk state that strengthens your attacks and adds unique visual effects to your character. The Berserk armor set even comes with an arm cannon based on the weaponized prosthetic that Guts receives later in the manga, and Cota Studios explained in their video that they're working on a custom weapon art to make use of it. 

Simply put, Guts is The Guy with a big sword – the original hero behind the trope – so he fits right in the aesthetic of Elden Ring and its many tragic heroes. The final volume of Berserk will be released this November, roughly a year and a half after the death of series creator Kentaro Miura. Berserk has surpassed 50 million volumes sold and become a pillar of dark fantasy, and not just for manga and video games. That said, it's frequently cited by FromSoftware president and Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki as a major influence, and plenty of other well-known game developers shared their reverence for the series following Miura's passing. 

Final Fantasy 14 players assembled a line of Dark Knights to pay tribute to Miura.