The immensely packed open-world in Elden Ring is one of the high points in FromSoftware’s latest release. Moving away from the more linear progression of previous Soulsborne entries, the ability to explore at one’s pace, piecing together map fragments has been a real draw for fans of the series and newcomers alike. One fan-favorite element that was reintroduced this time around, however, is the messaging system, first introduced in Demon's Souls, that allows players to communicate with others outside their game.
Simply by equipping the Tarnished’s Wizened finger from the inventory menu, players can construct messages from premade templates or words. Extremely hard to miss, anybody that’s walked more than three feet in Elden Ring has seen the glow of a message prompting the character to interact. While some offer valuable advice before approaching a boss encounter, just as many memes can be found throughout the Lands Between, with some tempting curiosity from their truly perplexing placements.
One Redditor by the name Lightningbolttx has shared an image to the Elden Ring subreddit showing a message balanced on a spike and surrounded by blood demonstrating multiple players’ have met their demise trying to read it. The post, which is entitled “Environmental Hazard,” shows the unfortunate consequence of curious Tarnished’s who have taken the fatal plunge trying to access its message, as it sits right at the edge of the playable area.
Many commenters have since found the premise hilarious, adding to the enjoyment by attempting to work out what the message may say. Despite many messages offering nothing to story progression, the premade templates scattered throughout Elden Ring represent the community spirit and add a light-hearted tone to the otherwise notoriously difficult gameplay which has left some rage-quitting players with only the remains of their controller.
While the multiplayer aspect within Elden Ring is a welcomed approach to making boss encounters easier cooperatively, other means of multiplayer have also wielded hilarious results such as one player impersonating an NPC to avoid an invader. However, the notion that others are sharing the Lands Between and exploring alongside the player through its limited message communication is a reassuring premise when wandering the vast map.
With Elden Ring now surpassing 12 million copies sold, and publisher Bandai Namco hinting at expanding the game's brand, much of the charm generated from the title is due to its player base's appreciation of the banter to be had. While messages make up a large part of the enjoyment when roaming the Lands Between, the reminder that a seemingly random glow signifies others have also appreciated the view too is just as warming.
Elden Ring is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X
