Potential spoilers for one optional Elden Ring boss ahead - proceed with caution...
If you're one of the 12 million (and counting) players who've lost themselves to the Lands Between, I'm sure you'll have no problem at all with agreeing to the fact that, breaking news, Elden Ring is hard. FromSoftware, making a difficult game? That's unheard of.
The title is absolutely overflowing with challenging enemies and bosses, many of which you can expect to have you in a metaphorical (but perhaps also literal) chokehold for hours on end, until you manage to learn their attack patterns and movements enough to fight your way through mostly intact. That, or you get lucky. Maybe a bit of both. Either way, that moment when you finally succeed is unparalleled. It'd be a shame if everything instantly became 10 times worse.
Before we go on, did you know there's a Game of Thrones inspired sword in Elden Ring? Here's how to find it.
That's exactly what happened to Twitch streamer Lacari. He's been playing a lot of Elden Ring lately, and many of those hours have been dedicated to attempting to take down Malenia, Blade of Miquella. It's a fairly universal opinion within the fanbase that she's one of, if not the toughest boss in the entire game - she's fast, hard-hitting, and even heals herself whenever she lands a hit. It's no wonder that so many people, including Lacari, struggle so much to beat her.
Unfortunately though, Malenia is full of surprises, as the streamer discovered in the most cruel way possible. After about eight hours of trying, he finally emerged victorious... only to discover that there's a second phase. As he watched the boss transform into her huge, winged form, all he could do was laugh, before instantly dying as soon as the fight recommenced. "You will witness true horror" was a promise that was instantly fulfilled.
Since then, the streamer hasn't been live since, but he's clearly not planning on accepting defeat anytime soon: "Dumbass boss was lucky I'm tired," he tweeted yesterday. Hopefully this time he won't be stuck for quite as long.
Featured Image Credit: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco, Lacari via TwitchTopics: Bandai Namco Entertainment, Twitch, FromSoftware, Elden Ring