After 1,428 deaths, Elden Ring player literally beats the whole game using a real boxing dummy as a controller, and not even Malenia was safe

Malenia seen in Elden Ring's cinematic story trailer.
(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Twitch streamer EdyBot recently redefined what a "fists-only" Elden Ring run looks like by using a punchable martial arts dummy as her controller and literally beating FromSoftware's open-world game.

"This is the dream, baby," EdyBot says on stream, 1,097 deaths into her run. "We're so close."

The Century training dummy she's using appears to be rigged with motion control wires that allocate each section of its body to a button – she hits and presses on the top middle of its chest, for example, to deliver standard and heavy hits – while a cord in her shorts connect her to both the dummy and a heart rate monitor. To run and roll, she seems to be using a modified dance pad.

That means, during her fight with Malenia – who is notoriously difficult to conquer, since she regenerates health each time she lands a hit – EdyBot was tired. Using the Bloodhound's Fang curved greatsword, EdyBot huffs as she rapidly punches her dummy's pecs to carve out big slices of demigod. She only breaks her flow to glug Crimson Tears, which she swigs by knocking her dummy, who she calls Fleshman, directly in the groin.

The moment Edybot finally manages to take down Malenia, she collapses to the ground completely out of breath.

"Oh my God," she wheezes, "I fucking did it." She pulls Fleshman in for a big hug, and then she brings out a stool that also seems to be fixed with motion control censors. EdyBot squats over it, and her bald Elden Ring character performs a few fatigued teabags.

Ultimately, EdyBot wrapped up her knuckle-breaking Elden Ring challenge after 2 weeks, with 1,428 deaths down. It doesn't sound like my preferred method of gaming, but it does seem more entertaining than the elliptical.

Elden Ring streamer puts us all to shame and beats every boss – including the DLC fights – in a single hit in 54 hours, which is less than your average playthrough.

Ashley Bardhan
Senior Writer

Ashley is a Senior Writer at GamesRadar+. She's been a staff writer at Kotaku and Inverse, too, and she's written freelance pieces about horror and women in games for sites like Rolling Stone, Vulture, IGN, and Polygon. When she's not covering gaming news, she's usually working on expanding her doll collection while watching Saw movies one through 11.

Read more
A screenshot of Elden Ring boss Godfrey, the first Elden Lord
Elden Ring player becomes the first to beat every New Game+ difficulty back to back without getting hit, in an 8-playthrough run that somehow took under 12 hours
Elden Ring
Elden Ring streamer puts us all to shame and beats every boss - including the DLC fights - in a single hit in 54 hours, which is less than your average playthrough
Elden Ring
After 48 hours and 729 deaths, Elden Ring sicko takes on the RPG's hardest challenge so far by beating the base game and DLC on NG+ 1,000 without getting hit once
Dark Souls 3
After almost 2 years of attempts, Dark Souls legend completes his brutal 7-game "God Run 3": Demon's Souls to Elden Ring without taking a single hit, all at level 1
Elden Ring
After 3 weeks and 115 attempts, Elden Ring sicko becomes the "first in the world" and "probably the last" to complete a no-hit run at uncapped NG+1,000
Elden Ring
You might be ready for Elden Ring: Nightreign, but not as ready as this streamer who completed the RPG like it was a roguelike – 207 bosses, random items, and permadeath
Latest in Action RPGs
Monster Hunter Wilds Nu Udra Palico
Monster Hunter Wilds players are so obsessed with Palico armor that turns your cute cat into a freaky little octopus that even Capcom is sharing fan art of it
Hollow Knight
Day 1,251: Hollow Knight's strongest soldier has been fighting the boss version of Silksong star Hornet every day for over 3 years, and watching them master the Metroidvania in real time is truly amazing
Monster Hunter Wilds beta and trailer screenshots
No one is safe from Monster Hunter Wilds' monstrous menus: BioWare lead says he forgot "how…interesting…the matchmaking and world sharing in these games were"
Cooking in Monster Hunter Wilds
Changing your pants in Monster Hunter Wilds also changes your most important weapon: the little knife you use to carve beasts, with at least 25 different skins available
Snow falls as guards in armor and red highlights wait in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers
Black Myth: Wukong empowered fellow soulslike devs to become China's first "elite" devs on par with Naughty Dog or Capcom: "The market has been validated"
Monster Hunter Wilds Aqua Sac and Flame Sac
Monster Hunter Wilds Aqua Sac and Flame Sac locations
Latest in News
Daredevil: Born Again
After a comics Easter egg was spotted, Daredevil: Born Again fans now think that [SPOILER] is secretly alive
Screenshots from the Hero Forge custom dice designer Kickstarter campaign
Hero Forge custom dice Kickstarter is live, and will let you design your own additions to the asset catalog
Mass Effect 3
BioWare lead proves he's onto us while celebrating Mass Effect 3's birthday, clarifying that's all he's doing so that "nobody can say I purposefully teased them"
ben starr dressed in harequinn makeup chomping down on a banana
Balatro's first few hours generated over $600,000, "far more money" than the roguelike's creator had ever made: "It is the most surreal day of my life"
Saitama in One-Punch Man season 3
One-Punch Man season 3's return date has been narrowed down – thanks to this hard-hitting new trailer
The two characters in Split Fiction in futuristic bodysuits staring at a huge crack in the simulation they're in
Split Fiction and It Takes Two director still hates microtransactions: "I think it's a huge problem and it's stopping our industry from a creative perspective"