A mystery is afoot in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. Since release, players are investigating why the game suddenly makes your controller vibrate at seemingly random, in ways that it typically doesn’t. As you would expect from hardcore FromSoftware fans, people are theorizing all sorts of explanations– some of them mundane, and others, far more unusual.
The phenomenon was first noticed by gaming personality Lance McDonald, who posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he and others had noticed that the game would sometimes vibrate like a heartbeat, but he couldn’t figure out what had triggered it. The combination of a potential secret and evocative wording – surely an in-game pulse must mean something, right? – has the community talking. After all, many players are experiencing the same thing, but nobody is able to pinpoint a source.
It’s starting to make people feel like they’re being gaslit. Is it happening, or are they imagining it? Does it even mean anything? Monstrous theories The most popular, immediate theory to arise from these discussions is that the vibrations are being caused by specific attacks from Bloodfiends, those gray oafs who lumber around Prospect Town, among other places. Sure enough, on the PS5 at least, if you load into the area where the hulking beasts are in a fight against Messmer’s soldiers, you’ll sometimes feel a rumble on your controller.
The thing is, the pulse happens with no Bloodfiend in sight. I’ve noticed the vibrations aft.