An Elden Ring mod introduces one of the most fun Dark Souls features to the FromSoftware game, making character deaths – whether yours or those of your enemies – a whole lot more satisfying. Already one of the best RPGs on PC, Elden Ring is a game dense with death, especially as you tackle the many challenging Elden Ring bosses. Despite that, it doesn’t quite live up to the original Dark Souls in one notable regard – until now.
The ‘Player Ragdoll Physics’ Elden Ring mod, by creator Dweet, adds full ragdoll physics to your player character along with all other humanoid characters after death. While Elden Ring does feature some light ragdoll effects for certain creatures that can cause occasional havoc, most models either disappear completely into a cloud of dust upon death, including your player character, or they lie relatively motionless with minimal reaction to being touched.
This was likely incorporated by FromSoftware to simplify the load on the game’s physics engine given the vast nature of the open-world game, or perhaps the team decided it was simply too silly. While both these reasons would be fair game, there’s simply no denying how much fun it is cartwheeling your fallen foes about the battlefield with a quick roll across their body. It also makes dying to a particularly tough encounter for the twentieth time a lot more bearable thanks to the sheer joy of seeing your Tarnished tumbling through the sky.
Dweeb notes that the standard dust particle effect still appears upon death, even though your character doesn’t vanish – they say they like to “think of it like your soul leaving your body.” Almost all death animations are affected, with the exception of a few grabs, deathblight, and falling into a ‘killbox’ (found in Elden Ring’s deadliest holes). Dweeb also warns that the mod does affect core game files, so emphasises that using it in the regular online mode can and will lead to you being banned from the game’s online play.
You can get the Player Ragdoll Physics mod for yourself at Nexus mods – if somehow you aren’t already sold on the concept, you can check out the mod in action below:
If you’re stuck for build ideas, our pick of the best Elden Ring builds should give you plenty of places to get started. If you’re still working your way through the mammoth RPG, check out our guide to how to get the best Elden Ring endings. There’s plenty more Elden Ring mods to check out as well, such as the ambitious full overhaul project Elden Ring Reborn. If you’ve had your fill of FromSoftware for a bit, we’ve also got the best fantasy games on PC for more great games to play.