The immensely packed open-world in Elden Ring is one of the high points in FromSoftware’s latest release. Moving away from the greater linear advancement of previous Soulsborne entries, the opportunity 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 enables 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 overlook, anybody that’s walked more than one yard in Elden Ring has witnessed the glow of the message prompting the smoothness to have interaction. Although some offer valuable advice before approaching a boss encounter, just like many memes can be found throughout the Lands Between, with a few tempting curiosity from their truly perplexing placements.
One Redditor by the name Lightningbolttx has shared a picture towards the Elden Ring subreddit showing a note balanced on a spike and encompassed by blood demonstrating multiple players’ have met their demise attempting to read it. The post, which is entitled “Environmental Hazard,” shows the unfortunate consequence of curious Tarnished’s who've taken the fatal plunge attempting to access its message, because it sits right close to the playable area.
Environmental storytelling from Eldenring
Many commenters have since found the idea hilarious, adding to the enjoyment by trying to exercise what the message may say. Despite many messages offering absolutely 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 really a welcomed approach to making boss encounters easier cooperatively, other means of multiplayer have also wielded hilarious results for example one player impersonating an NPC to prevent an invader. However, the notion that other medication is sharing the Lands Between and exploring alongside the gamer 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 from the banter available. While messages constitute most of the enjoyment when roaming the Lands Between, the reminder that a seemingly random glow signifies others have also appreciated the vista too is equally as warming.
Elden Ring is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X
