Unspeakable horrors are practically par for the course when it comes to FromSoftware enemy design, but even Elden Ring's very first enemy is incredibly repulsive. The Grafted Scion jumps into an arena shortly after the player is done creating their character, and relentlessly attacks with its many grotesque limbs. The spider-like amalgamation of human arms is draped in a black cloak, and the creature's body underneath is surprisingly even worse than what can normally be seen.
Usually, the enemies near the beginning of FromSoftware's games are run-of-the-mill dark fantasy. Mad soldiers, large trolls, and magical oddities appear in the beginning of Elden Ring too, but the Grafted Scion is a preamble for the rest of Limgrave. Lord of Stormveil Castle, the game's first major dungeon, is Godrick the Grafted, who harvests Tarnished limbs so that they can be attached onto his congealed, many-armed body. The Grafted Scion in the tutorial isn't a unique enemy, and another is encountered in Stormveil, along with more throughout the game. Godrick is similarly cloaked, but is likely just as disgusting underneath his garments as the Grafted Scions.
Game modder and dataminer Zullie the Witch (named after the Dark Souls 2 character) posted a video to YouTube in which they've removed the Grafted Scion's cloak. The child-like face and limbs made out of intertwined arms are unsettling enough, but the entirety of the Grafted Scion's design is horrifically detailed. Underneath the cloak is what appears to be the torso of a troll, with multiple humanoid spinal columns and rib cages grafted to the sides.
The Grafted Scion Is A Glimpse Of What Godrick Might Look Like
Elden Ring has proven to embrace Bloodborne's body horror, most prominently through the grafters of Limgrave, but also more subtly with enemy designs like the Godskin Apostle and Godskin Noble. Grafting appears to be a method by which the practitioner gains more power. This is evident from Godrick's boss fight, in which his second phase begins with him attaching a dragon's head to his arm. From a purely game mechanic standpoint, the Grafted Scion is also one of the most difficult enemies encountered in Stormveil.
Grafted Scions have an impressive array of body parts, but Godrick is even larger. Even before he removes his cape, his body and additional limbs are much more threatening than those of the Scions. Players don't get a good look at much aside from Godrick's many arms, but the de-cloaked Scion shows what sort of horrifying shape his entire form might be in. Oversized humanoids aren't uncommon in the game - see Stormveil's other boss and Godrick's helper, Margit the Fell Omen - but Godrick's many grafted parts imply that his torso is probably patchwork as well. Elden Ring never offers a good look under the Grafted Scion's cloak, but Zullie the Witch's video helps illuminate just how thorough the skin-crawling enemy design can be.
Source: Zullie the Witch/YouTube