The (Un)perverse Symbolism of the Cross and Crusade in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Abstract

The plot of the expansion to Elden Ring, titled Shadow of the Erdtree, extensively uses the central symbol of Christianity, which is the cross, and also the crusade derived from it. This article describes how the creators of the game and its expansion, the Japanese studio FromSoftware, approached these two terms, transferring them to a fictional fantasy world. The game developers explicitly demonstrated one crusade, which gave rise to the plot of the expansion, and this demonstration can serve as an artistic and at the same time critical commentary on the factual Crusades. But implicitly, the developers also described the second crusade, and not so much described it as allowed the player to take part in it. And this procedure may affect the interpretation of a game. Depending on the player's approach, it can serve as a personal complement to a scathing commentary on actual Christian military campaigns, or simply as an entertaining realization of poetic visions of medieval journeys to the Holy Land.