Elden Ring fans are preparing to face a giant bear when the game launches

Big bosses in FromSofware games are nothing new. Dark Souls has Ceaseless Discharge and the Iron Golem, Sekiro features two Great Serpents, and the list goes on. But the latest promo image for Elden Ring has prospective players pretty intimidated.

The picture in question comes from a promo tweet from the Elden Ring account. “Fierce beasts of the misty woods offer only one gesture of hospitality,” it says. But the giant bear in the photo, all revved up to slap the absolute hell out of the little warrior, seems the opposite of hospitable. It’s impressive that FromSoftware can take real-life beasts like bears and make them even more intimidating in its games.

Internet forums like ResetEra are having a field day with the tweet. A related thread includes users calling the beast a “chad bear” and being reminded of Sekiro’s Guardian Ape boss fight — here’s hoping this animal doesn’t continue to fight after being decapitated. The bear’s boss fight seems mechanically similar to the ape’s too. During the network test, some players were able to glitch beyond the intended boundaries and actually encounter this mad mama bear. Here’s a clip from Boss Fight Database if you want to see what that looks like.

The bear isn’t the only baddie to get leaked ahead of its official reveal (which is what the aforementioned tweet would be). New enemies like knights and giant hawks were discovered, and one YouTuber shared the full character customization process. As for when the rest of us can get our hands on Elden Ring, the release date is only about a month away now. It comes to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC on February 25.