Elden Ring investigator bravely tries to explain Shadow of the Erdtree’s little wormy guys, finds little wormy legs we weren’t supposed to see (which I need you to see)

Reputable Elden Ring sleuth Zullie the Witch decided to analyze the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC's yawning blue worms, and ended up discovering even more unsettling information than they started with. Did you know that the spaghetti-shaped glow worms have human feet? 

Yeah, there's a lot more to these fan-favorite pool noodles than it seems. Developer FromSoftware dropped the worms into the Elden Ring universe with little context. These judicious creatures generally don't attack unless provoked, though there are some angry ones out there, and they tend to congregate in mystical circles.  That's about all we know. Zullie's recent investigation dissects Shadow of the Erdtree's game files for more information, and, apparently, these blue raspberry worms have a bit more going on beneath the surface. 

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"Though not named in-game," Zullie reports, "these creatures are labeled in their AI as 'ReiChinanago,' which essentially means 'Spirit Eel,'" seemingly in the sense of spotted garden eels, which hang out in packs and likewise protrude from the sand like bendy straws.

"Unlike their namesake, these eels have some oddly humanoid features, including the two tiny arms found near their heads," Zullie continues. "Even stranger, they actually have legs as well, only visible below ground, where they can't be seen in regular gameplay." 

The blue worms' secret appendages are made up of the same translucent goo as the rest of their body, but they otherwise look normal enough: thighs, knobby knees, thin ankles. Their only distinctly inhuman aspect is their toes, which appear sharp and downturned almost like a badger's. Behold:

"A possible inspiration for these more peculiar elements are Kodama, Japanese forest spirits often drawn with similar [gaping] faces," Zullie says. Shadow of the Erdtree's worms are also capable of vomiting up flossy, white fibers, which look a lot like the sticky white organs distressed sea cucumbers spit up. 

FromSoftware is clearly taking design tips from multiple points in nature, so I'd suggest that these wormy feet might also be inspired by certain types of floppy lizards and their tiny, nearly hidden toes. These worms are scarcely even acknowledged in-game, so zoological speculation is the best we've got. 

Shadow Of The Erdtree isn't "too hard" – Elden Ring just made us too comfortable.