You’ve probably spent hours—maybe weeks—banging your head against the wall trying to beat Malenia. You’ve mastered the dodge roll. You’ve optimized your build. Then, you hop on Twitch and see a literal fish doing it better than you. It's humbling. Honestly, it’s a bit insulting. But when a goldfish beats Elden Ring, it isn't just a fluke or a funny meme; it’s a fascinating intersection of motion-tracking technology, animal behavior, and the sheer absurdity of the Soulslike community.
The fish in question belongs to a YouTuber and streamer named PointCrow (Eric Morino). Back in 2023, his pet goldfish, Tortellini, became an internet sensation. We aren't talking about a fish just swimming around while a game runs in the background. This was a sophisticated setup where the fish’s position in its tank was mapped directly to controller inputs.
Tortellini actually managed to defeat Godrick the Grafted and even the first phase of Malenia, Blade of Miquella.
Think about that for a second. Malenia is arguably the hardest boss in FromSoftware history. Most human players never even see her second phase without a summon or a broken "Rivers of Blood" build. Yet, a comet goldfish managed to tick away her health bar by simply drifting toward the left side of a glass bowl.
The Tech Behind the Fin: How it Actually Works
How does a fish play a PS5? It’s not magic. Morino used a camera aimed at the fish tank, which was divided into a grid. Each section of the grid represented a specific button on a controller. If Tortellini swam into the top-right corner, the character moved forward. If he hovered in the center, maybe that triggered an attack or a heal.
It sounds simple. It’s actually a nightmare to calibrate.
The software has to distinguish the fish from the background decor. If the lighting changes or the fish stays still for too long, the character in the game just stands there and dies. It’s a game of RNG (random number generation) mixed with biological movement. When people say a goldfish beats Elden Ring, they are really talking about a triumph of creative engineering and incredible patience. Morino had to leave the stream running for hours, letting the natural movements of the fish eventually line up with the game’s mechanics.
There's also the Japanese creator Mutekimaru, who pioneered this kind of "fish-play" years ago with Pokémon. That stream actually ended up exposing a flaw in the Nintendo Switch Store when the fish "bought" items and revealed the owner's credit card info after the game crashed. Gaming is weird.
Why This Keeps Happening in the Souls Community
The Elden Ring community is obsessed with "challenge runs." We’ve seen people beat the game using dance pads, acoustic guitars, and even a literal banana wired to a circuit board. This isn't just about showing off. It’s a protest against the idea that these games are "impossible."
If a fish can do it, you can too. Sorta.
The reality is that Elden Ring's combat is rhythmic. Bosses have telegraphed moves. While the fish isn't "learning" the patterns, the sheer volume of attempts means that, eventually, the fish’s random movements will coincide with the correct dodge windows. It’s the "infinite monkey theorem" applied to The Lands Between. If you give a goldfish enough time in a tank mapped to a controller, it will eventually roll through a Waterfowl Dance.
The Malenia Incident
When Tortellini faced Malenia, the clip went nuclear. The fish managed to stagger her. It was a chaotic mess of the character spinning in circles and swinging a sword at the air, but because Malenia's first phase can be interrupted, the fish actually gained ground.
Critics—yes, people actually criticize the gaming skill of a fish—pointed out that the fish had a high-level character and a solid build prepared by Morino. Well, obviously. The fish can’t navigate the leveling menu. It can’t decide to put 60 points into Vigor. But the actual mechanical execution of the fight? That was all Tortellini.
The Psychological Blow to Human Players
There is a specific kind of "gamer rage" that occurs when you see a pet beat a boss that took you 50 tries. It highlights how much of our success in these games is based on panic. Humans overthink. We see Malenia jump into the air and we freeze. We dodge too early. We "panic roll."
The fish has no fear.
💡 You might also like: Joel is dead: What Really Happened to Gaming’s Most Controversial Icon
The fish does not know what a "Blade of Miquella" is. It just wants a flake of food. This lack of anxiety allows the "inputs" to be steady. In a weird way, the fish is the ultimate "Zen" gamer. It is completely detached from the outcome, which is exactly how expert players like Let Me Solo Her describe their mindset.
Is This Cruel? (The Ethical Side of Fish Gaming)
Every time a "goldfish beats Elden Ring" headline pops up, someone asks about the fish's well-being. It’s a fair question. Most of these setups, especially PointCrow’s, are non-invasive. The camera sits outside the tank. The fish is just living its life, swimming around its home.
The only real "stress" is the light required for the camera to track movement, but responsible streamers keep this within normal levels. In fact, these fish probably have better lives than most; they get high-quality tanks, regular cleaning, and are monitored more closely than the average pet because they are "content creators."
What We Can Learn From a Fish Playing Elden Ring
Watching a goldfish beat Elden Ring teaches us three very specific things about the state of gaming in 2026:
- Input Mapping is the New Frontier: The ease with which we can now turn anything into a controller—from brain waves to fish movement—is expanding accessibility in gaming.
- FromSoftware Design is Robust: The fact that a character can survive any length of time against a boss using semi-random inputs proves how well-tuned the hitboxes and mechanics are.
- Community Matters More Than the Game: The "Goldfish Run" wouldn't matter if there wasn't a massive, dedicated community ready to celebrate the absurdity of it.
If you are currently stuck on a boss, don't feel bad. You are fighting against a programmed AI designed to exploit human psychology. You are prone to fear, fatigue, and frustration. The fish is just swimming.
How to Take Your Own Gaming to the "Fish Level"
If you want to improve your Elden Ring performance without literally buying a goldfish, you have to strip away the panic.
👉 See also: Thomas Go Go Thomas: Why This Simple Racing Game Still Rules the App Store
- Stop Panic Rolling: Most bosses are designed to catch you if you dodge the moment you see them move. Wait for the actual swing.
- Simplify Your Inputs: Sometimes "less is more." A fish wins because it isn't over-complicating the strategy. Stick to one or two reliable moves.
- Analyze the Grid: If you're struggling, record your gameplay. Look at your movement. Are you staying in one "quadrant" of the arena too long?
The legacy of the goldfish beating Elden Ring isn't just a funny YouTube video. It’s a testament to the fact that in the world of gaming, boundaries are meant to be broken—even if you have gills. It’s about the joy of the ridiculous. Next time you see a "You Died" screen, just remember: somewhere out there, a fish is probably doing better than you, and that’s okay.
To truly master the game, stop treating it like a life-or-death struggle. Treat it like a swim in a tank. Relax the grip on your controller. Watch the patterns without the weight of expectation. The moment you stop fearing the boss is the moment you start winning.
Next Steps for Players:
If you're looking to replicate or understand these bizarre runs, start by looking into OpenCV (Open Source Computer Vision Library). This is the tech most creators use to track movement in a 2D space and convert it into X/Y coordinates for gaming inputs. You can experiment with this using a basic webcam and any moving object—even a pendulum or a pet—to see how "randomized" inputs interact with game logic. It’s a great way to learn basic Python coding while engaging with your favorite games. Don't worry about beating Malenia on day one; just try to get your "controller" to move your character in a straight line first.