A Reddit user, brightyh360, shared an incredible project on the r/excel subreddit: a top-down version of Elden Ring, painstakingly recreated in Microsoft Excel.

This monumental undertaking consumed approximately 40 hours—20 hours dedicated to coding and another 20 to rigorous testing and debugging. The creator proudly stated, "I recreated the top-down view of Elden Ring in Excel using formulas, spreadsheets, and VBA. It was a lengthy project, but the results were well worth the effort."

The impressive scope of this Excel-based Elden Ring includes:

• A sprawling 90,000-cell map;
• Over 60 weapons;
• More than 50 enemies;
• A comprehensive character and weapon upgrade system;
• Three distinct character classes (tank, mage, assassin), each with unique playstyles;
• 25+ armor sets;
• Six NPCs with engaging quests;
• Four different game endings.

While entirely free to play, controlling the game requires keyboard shortcuts: CTRL + WASD for movement and CTRL + E for interactions. Reddit moderators have verified the file's safety, but users are advised to proceed with caution due to the extensive use of macros.

Interestingly, many Elden Ring fans noticed a striking resemblance between the game's Erdtree and a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. User Independent-Design17 proposed that the Australian Christmas tree, Nuytsia floribunda, may have served as inspiration. They highlighted the superficial similarity between the in-game Small Erdtrees and the Nuytsia, but deeper connections have also been noted. The catacombs located at the base of the Erdtree, where souls are guided in Elden Ring, mirror the Aboriginal Australian view of Nuytsia as a "spirit tree." Its vibrant colors, associated with the sunset (believed to be the spirits' passage), and its individual flowering branches, each representing a departed soul, further strengthen this compelling comparison.