Elden Ring - Naturalborn of the Void

[DennisOfDragons]

Keep in mind the eye being double-sided probably has no bearing on the lore and it's just because it's a half-sphere asset mirrored to construct the whole sphere; i.e. it's just a dev trick.

[RushFX]

Imagine the Age of Stars ending, but then the moon rises and it was just the top of a huge Astel's head

[BigBastion]

I love how alien and unique Astel and the Fallingstar Beast are, they really capture the feeling of a creature from another world. I almost think of Astel as a butterfly to the caterpillar that is the fallingstar beast.

[ethantae-jinson]

The eye bursting out of a humanoid skull reminds me of Lusat and Azur-- they came too close to the primordial current and the glintstone literally took over their skulls and grew out them.

[Robthetank]

The design team really went all out with Astel

[fahn]

Based on the skull model the eye is placed in, it looks like the skull was... melted from the inside out. Also, based on the Fallingstar Beast and Fully-Grown Fallingstar Beast models, it looks as if these creatures go through several phases of maturation, with the most basal form lacking an eye altogether. Why the more basal forms resemble bulls is a mystery, but it almost appears as if they require either a host or attempt to emulate something in their environment. I'm assuming the next phase is something like the ones hanging in the Ainsel region underground.

[jimbrown]

I think it's interesting that he has horns at the same place as Radahn has (on his helmet ofc). Considering they both hold immense power over gravtiational magic. It could be a mere coincedence or Radahn was inspired by things he stumbled upon while he studied.

[ThatOldWarthog]

A neat tidbit about Astel is its theme quotes a bit from Holst's Saturn (it's particularly evident at 2:24 and on) albeit in a different key. Just a nice touch linking Astel to the theme of the cosmos, and also how The Living Failures theme in Bloodborne quoted from Holst's Mars

[johnnybonglips]

Really enjoyed this boss really unique design. Think his weapon is under appreciated as well The Elden Ring 🙆‍♂️

[TheEmperorsLegion]

I wish the Naturalborn of the Void had the unique grab animation/attack that the Star of Darkness has, feels more fitting considering this Astel is for a questline while the Star of Darkness is just a dungeon boss.

[LautrecOfCarim]

"This one doesn't look too bad, let's have N I N E O F T H E M attack the tarnished at once."

-Miyazaki, probably.

Heh.

[Wolie]

Seeing him all straightened out made me realize how much he resembles a dragonfly

[meme.hub.mp]

I never actually realized that Astel had an eye in the cavity in his head

[MythimnaImpura]

When I first saw this boss, I was immediately reminded of Yog-Sothoth, and how his form is described as a mass of translucent globes and spheres.

[Plazma]

they really fooled us in the gameplay trailer with this guy's reveal, the footage was flipped upside down making it look like the arena was floating above the stars during his gravity slam attack

[yorak]

I absolutely love this boss design, I just wish they hadn’t reused it because it was so unique, but that’s just my opinion

[ditto]

The conglomeration of spheres all over it's body and tail really remind me of descriptions of Yog-Sothoth. Obviously the game is slathered in cosmic horror influences but the first time I saw Astel I knew that From was really pushing the Lovecraftian vibes. Can't wait for the DLC.

[forlorn]

Honestly Elden Ring's atmosphere is great. I love the whole cosmic horror-like part of the narrative. This boss would fit perfectly in bloodborne. I really hope they expand on the whole cosmic part of the game in future dlc. Maybe uncover some of that mystery surrounding it.

[johannabelle]

This is my favorite design ever in a Fromsoft game. So beautiful, so genuinely alien.

[noahfranchi]

Astel is actually so cool it’s amazing how people come up with designs and concepts like this