An Elden Ring player trying out the new Ray Tracing mode got more than they bargained for when a visual glitch transformed a boss fight into a fever dream. Elden Ring has not been on the smoothest ship when it comes to technical performance, and the new graphical option has done little more than rock the boat further.

Ray Tracing arrived for the Lands Between last week and left many scratching their heads as to why. Digital Foundry summarized the general sentiment well in its analysis video, describing Ray Tracing as a welcome surprise but questioning if it was truly the best technological investment for Elden Ring. After all, console players are very fortunate to experience a consistent 60 frames per second, and those on PC are forced to endure a locked framerate unless they dabble with available mods. PvP veterans are more than familiar with the potential for server instability and significant latency and are most likely playing the game at reduced settings to achieve a smooth experience.

Some can test out Ray Tracing and handle the approximately 15 frames per second cut it inflicts. Captioned "Astel has feelings about Ray Tracing," a Tarnished is seen battling Astel, Stars of Darkness alongside two others. The encounter proceeds as any other would until Astel begins to teleport. A blast that follows his vanishing act does a lot more than just explode, completely inverting the colors of Astel and the surrounding arena.

The ensuing fever dream makes it seem like Astel's explosion was actually a disco ball blowing up, providing a sight reminiscent of badly damaged monitors flickering in and out of existence. Lasting only a few seconds, the color scheme soon reverts to its original, no doubt a moment of immense relief for a gamer frightened that Elden Ring's Ray Tracing might be frying their system.

Comments were unanimous in their belief that the effect was actually pretty awesome and, while obviously unintended, could easily fit into the lore and aesthetic of Astel. Others were expressing incredulity that Ray Tracing was seemingly working with a playable framerate. But if FromSoftware is willing to implement such a significant feature over a year after launch, it can hopefully continue to offer further technical improvements long into the future too.

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