Soulslike Player Messages

2011In-game mechanic / catchphrase / community memeactive

Also known as: Soapstone Messages · Souls Messages · Orange Soapstone Messages

Soulslike Player Messages are cryptic in-game notes from FromSoftware's Dark Souls (2011), created from limited word vocabularies and spawning iconic phrases like "Amazing Chest Ahead" and "Try Finger But Hole.

Soulslike Player Messages are the cryptic, often hilarious in-game notes left by players across FromSoftware's Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring series. Originating with the first Dark Souls in 2011, the mechanic lets players compose messages from a limited vocabulary of preselected words, which then appear in other players' game worlds. The creative constraints of the system turned it into a breeding ground for innuendo, trolling, and genuine camaraderie, producing iconic phrases like "Amazing Chest Ahead" and "Try Finger But Hole" that became some of gaming's most enduring inside jokes.

TL;DR

Soulslike Player Messages are the cryptic, often hilarious in-game notes left by players across FromSoftware's Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring series.

Overview

In every FromSoftware Soulsborne game, players can place glowing messages on the ground for others to discover. The catch: you can't type freely. Instead, you pick from a curated list of word templates and fill in blanks, creating messages like "Be wary of left" or "Try jumping." This rigid vocabulary was designed for gameplay hints, warning other players about ambushes or hidden paths. But players quickly realized the limited word bank could be bent toward comedy, innuendo, and outright deception2.

The messages appear as faintly glowing orange text on the ground in other players' worlds. Anyone who reads your message can rate it with an "appraise" button. In several games, getting a positive appraisal restores a charge of your Estus Flask (healing item), giving players a direct gameplay incentive to write messages that others will enjoy2. This reward loop pushed the community toward crafting the funniest, most cleverly placed notes possible.

The first Soulslike player message to break out virally came from Dark Souls, released in 2011. One of the game's toughest boss fights, against Ornstein and Smough, leads to a chamber where the towering Princess Gwynevere greets the player. Gwynevere's character design is notably voluptuous, and players immediately placed messages reading "Amazing Chest Ahead" at the entrance to her chamber. While the phrase was a legitimate template intended for treasure chests containing good loot, its double meaning in front of Gwynevere was unmistakable2.

A screenshot of this message was uploaded to the NeoGAF Dark Souls forums on October 18, 2011 by a user named Ced, marking one of the earliest documented instances of the joke spreading beyond the game itself2.

Origin & Background

Platform
Dark Souls (FromSoftware game), NeoGAF (viral spread)
Creator
Unknown
Date
2011
Year
2011

The first Soulslike player message to break out virally came from Dark Souls, released in 2011. One of the game's toughest boss fights, against Ornstein and Smough, leads to a chamber where the towering Princess Gwynevere greets the player. Gwynevere's character design is notably voluptuous, and players immediately placed messages reading "Amazing Chest Ahead" at the entrance to her chamber. While the phrase was a legitimate template intended for treasure chests containing good loot, its double meaning in front of Gwynevere was unmistakable.

A screenshot of this message was uploaded to the NeoGAF Dark Souls forums on October 18, 2011 by a user named Ced, marking one of the earliest documented instances of the joke spreading beyond the game itself.

How It Spread

Each new FromSoftware release expanded the vocabulary of player message humor. Dark Souls 2 introduced more female NPCs who received similar treatment to Gwynevere, while a new format type emerged: placing suggestive messages near environmental details. The phrase "Try Tongue But Hole" appeared next to bent-over skeletons and other compromising scenery.

By Dark Souls 3, the community had refined its craft. "Try Finger But Hole" became the definitive version of the innuendo format, appearing near any NPC hunched over an object or in a suggestive position. Trolling messages also became an art form. Players would write "Illusory wall ahead" next to solid dead-end walls, baiting others into attacking the wall repeatedly, or place "Try jumping" at the edge of lethal cliff drops.

Elden Ring's release on February 25, 2022 brought the message system to a vastly larger audience. The game sold over 12 million copies in its first month, and with it came an explosion of player message culture. In the tutorial area, veteran players placed "Try Finger But Hole" just past the official developer hint messages on a bridge, ensuring that every newcomer to the series would encounter the tradition immediately.

Elden Ring introduced several new message traditions. Players began labeling every animal in the game as "dog," regardless of species. Turtles, donkeys, crabs, and birds all received the same enthusiastic "dog!" tag. As one player noted, the toddler-like joy of pointing at something clearly not a dog and calling it one became its own recurring joke. The locked doors scattered across the open world were blanketed with "You don't have the right" messages, simultaneously teasing newcomers and hinting that the doors might eventually open.

The game's massive world also made illusory wall trolling more frustrating than ever. On the r/EldenRing subreddit, memes circulated about players wasting time smacking every wall they encountered because of false "hidden path ahead" messages. However, unlike previous games, Elden Ring removed weapon durability, so at least the trolling no longer risked breaking your sword mid-fight.

One message that crossed cultural barriers was "Fort, Night," a two-word construction players left throughout the game. English-speaking players understood it as a playful reference to the game Fortnite, but the joke baffled Japanese Elden Ring players, who briefly expected an actual Fortnite crossover event before realizing it was just wordplay.

How to Use This Meme

To leave a Soulslike player message, you use the in-game item (Orange Soapstone in Dark Souls, Tarnished's Wizened Finger in Elden Ring) which opens a template menu. You select a phrase structure, then fill in words from a dropdown list.

Common approaches:

- Innuendo placement: Find an NPC or environmental feature in a suggestive pose and place "Try Finger But Hole" or similar nearby - Mislabeling: Call any non-dog creature "dog" (Elden Ring tradition) - Fake hints: Write "Hidden path ahead" next to a solid wall, or "Try jumping" at a fatal drop - Genuine help: Warn about ambushes ("Be wary of right"), mark treasure ("item ahead"), or indicate illusory walls that actually exist - Existential commentary: Place reflective messages at scenic overlooks or before difficult bosses ("Don't give up!")

The key to a good message is location. The same phrase hits differently depending on context. "You don't have the right" in front of a locked door is funny. "You don't have the right" after a boss kills you for the fiftieth time is devastating.

Cultural Impact

The player message system turned Soulslike games into a unique form of passive multiplayer, where you never see other players but constantly feel their presence. Flora Merigold of Epilogue Gaming wrote a rhetorical analysis comparing the system to Schrodinger's cat: "These player messages in Elden Ring are Schrodinger's cat, except when I open the box the cat could either tell me useful information or could bludgeon me over the head like an unmuted multiplayer lobby".

The mechanic drew comparisons to other passive multiplayer systems like those in NieR: Automata and Death Stranding, but the Souls version stood apart because of its constrained vocabulary. The limitation forced creativity in ways that free-form text never would. Players couldn't just type obscenities. They had to construct them from polite words, which made the results funnier.

The positive appraisal system also created a genuine gameplay loop around comedy. Since getting your message rated healed you, writing funny messages was a legitimate survival strategy. The funniest messages would accumulate thousands of appraisals, essentially crowdsourcing the best jokes to the top.

For many players, the messages shaped the emotional tone of the games. In worlds designed to feel lonely and punishing, discovering a "You did it!" message after a hard boss fight or a simple "Don't give up, skeleton" before one created moments of unexpected warmth. The messages made other players feel less alone in a hostile world, even without direct interaction.

Fun Facts

Getting your message appraised positively in Dark Souls restores an Estus Flask charge, meaning the funniest players in the game are literally harder to kill.

Elden Ring removed weapon durability, which was a quiet mercy for players who hit walls checking for fake "illusory wall" messages. In older games, this trolling could actually break your weapon.

The word list in each game is carefully curated by FromSoftware. Players can't type freely, so every innuendo is technically built from developer-approved vocabulary.

The "Fort, Night" Fortnite joke crossed language barriers in an unexpected way. English speakers got the pun immediately, while Japanese players were genuinely confused and discussed a potential crossover.

Some players treat message writing as a metagame unto itself, strategically placing messages in high-traffic areas like boss fog gates and bonfire rooms to farm appraisals and keep their healing topped up.

Derivatives & Variations

"Amazing Chest Ahead"

— The original viral message, placed near Gwynevere in Dark Souls (2011). Became shorthand for the entire message culture[2].

"Try Finger But Hole"

— The most iconic innuendo message, evolved from Dark Souls 2's "Try Tongue But Hole" and became the series' signature joke by Dark Souls 3[2].

"Dog" labeling

— An Elden Ring tradition of calling every non-dog animal "dog," from turtles to crabs to donkeys[1].

"You don't have the right"

— Placed at locked doors throughout Elden Ring, simultaneously a troll and a cryptic hint[1].

"Fort, Night"

— An Elden Ring wordplay message referencing Fortnite that confused Japanese players into expecting a crossover event[1].

Illusory wall trolling

— Fake "hidden path ahead" messages at solid walls, a tradition spanning all Souls games that became a meme format on r/EldenRing[2].

Frequently Asked Questions

Soulslike Player Messages

2011In-game mechanic / catchphrase / community memeactive

Also known as: Soapstone Messages · Souls Messages · Orange Soapstone Messages

Soulslike Player Messages are cryptic in-game notes from FromSoftware's Dark Souls (2011), created from limited word vocabularies and spawning iconic phrases like "Amazing Chest Ahead" and "Try Finger But Hole.

Soulslike Player Messages are the cryptic, often hilarious in-game notes left by players across FromSoftware's Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring series. Originating with the first Dark Souls in 2011, the mechanic lets players compose messages from a limited vocabulary of preselected words, which then appear in other players' game worlds. The creative constraints of the system turned it into a breeding ground for innuendo, trolling, and genuine camaraderie, producing iconic phrases like "Amazing Chest Ahead" and "Try Finger But Hole" that became some of gaming's most enduring inside jokes.

TL;DR

Soulslike Player Messages are the cryptic, often hilarious in-game notes left by players across FromSoftware's Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring series.

Overview

In every FromSoftware Soulsborne game, players can place glowing messages on the ground for others to discover. The catch: you can't type freely. Instead, you pick from a curated list of word templates and fill in blanks, creating messages like "Be wary of left" or "Try jumping." This rigid vocabulary was designed for gameplay hints, warning other players about ambushes or hidden paths. But players quickly realized the limited word bank could be bent toward comedy, innuendo, and outright deception.

The messages appear as faintly glowing orange text on the ground in other players' worlds. Anyone who reads your message can rate it with an "appraise" button. In several games, getting a positive appraisal restores a charge of your Estus Flask (healing item), giving players a direct gameplay incentive to write messages that others will enjoy. This reward loop pushed the community toward crafting the funniest, most cleverly placed notes possible.

The first Soulslike player message to break out virally came from Dark Souls, released in 2011. One of the game's toughest boss fights, against Ornstein and Smough, leads to a chamber where the towering Princess Gwynevere greets the player. Gwynevere's character design is notably voluptuous, and players immediately placed messages reading "Amazing Chest Ahead" at the entrance to her chamber. While the phrase was a legitimate template intended for treasure chests containing good loot, its double meaning in front of Gwynevere was unmistakable.

A screenshot of this message was uploaded to the NeoGAF Dark Souls forums on October 18, 2011 by a user named Ced, marking one of the earliest documented instances of the joke spreading beyond the game itself.

Origin & Background

Platform
Dark Souls (FromSoftware game), NeoGAF (viral spread)
Creator
Unknown
Date
2011
Year
2011

The first Soulslike player message to break out virally came from Dark Souls, released in 2011. One of the game's toughest boss fights, against Ornstein and Smough, leads to a chamber where the towering Princess Gwynevere greets the player. Gwynevere's character design is notably voluptuous, and players immediately placed messages reading "Amazing Chest Ahead" at the entrance to her chamber. While the phrase was a legitimate template intended for treasure chests containing good loot, its double meaning in front of Gwynevere was unmistakable.

A screenshot of this message was uploaded to the NeoGAF Dark Souls forums on October 18, 2011 by a user named Ced, marking one of the earliest documented instances of the joke spreading beyond the game itself.

How It Spread

Each new FromSoftware release expanded the vocabulary of player message humor. Dark Souls 2 introduced more female NPCs who received similar treatment to Gwynevere, while a new format type emerged: placing suggestive messages near environmental details. The phrase "Try Tongue But Hole" appeared next to bent-over skeletons and other compromising scenery.

By Dark Souls 3, the community had refined its craft. "Try Finger But Hole" became the definitive version of the innuendo format, appearing near any NPC hunched over an object or in a suggestive position. Trolling messages also became an art form. Players would write "Illusory wall ahead" next to solid dead-end walls, baiting others into attacking the wall repeatedly, or place "Try jumping" at the edge of lethal cliff drops.

Elden Ring's release on February 25, 2022 brought the message system to a vastly larger audience. The game sold over 12 million copies in its first month, and with it came an explosion of player message culture. In the tutorial area, veteran players placed "Try Finger But Hole" just past the official developer hint messages on a bridge, ensuring that every newcomer to the series would encounter the tradition immediately.

Elden Ring introduced several new message traditions. Players began labeling every animal in the game as "dog," regardless of species. Turtles, donkeys, crabs, and birds all received the same enthusiastic "dog!" tag. As one player noted, the toddler-like joy of pointing at something clearly not a dog and calling it one became its own recurring joke. The locked doors scattered across the open world were blanketed with "You don't have the right" messages, simultaneously teasing newcomers and hinting that the doors might eventually open.

The game's massive world also made illusory wall trolling more frustrating than ever. On the r/EldenRing subreddit, memes circulated about players wasting time smacking every wall they encountered because of false "hidden path ahead" messages. However, unlike previous games, Elden Ring removed weapon durability, so at least the trolling no longer risked breaking your sword mid-fight.

One message that crossed cultural barriers was "Fort, Night," a two-word construction players left throughout the game. English-speaking players understood it as a playful reference to the game Fortnite, but the joke baffled Japanese Elden Ring players, who briefly expected an actual Fortnite crossover event before realizing it was just wordplay.

How to Use This Meme

To leave a Soulslike player message, you use the in-game item (Orange Soapstone in Dark Souls, Tarnished's Wizened Finger in Elden Ring) which opens a template menu. You select a phrase structure, then fill in words from a dropdown list.

Common approaches:

- Innuendo placement: Find an NPC or environmental feature in a suggestive pose and place "Try Finger But Hole" or similar nearby - Mislabeling: Call any non-dog creature "dog" (Elden Ring tradition) - Fake hints: Write "Hidden path ahead" next to a solid wall, or "Try jumping" at a fatal drop - Genuine help: Warn about ambushes ("Be wary of right"), mark treasure ("item ahead"), or indicate illusory walls that actually exist - Existential commentary: Place reflective messages at scenic overlooks or before difficult bosses ("Don't give up!")

The key to a good message is location. The same phrase hits differently depending on context. "You don't have the right" in front of a locked door is funny. "You don't have the right" after a boss kills you for the fiftieth time is devastating.

Cultural Impact

The player message system turned Soulslike games into a unique form of passive multiplayer, where you never see other players but constantly feel their presence. Flora Merigold of Epilogue Gaming wrote a rhetorical analysis comparing the system to Schrodinger's cat: "These player messages in Elden Ring are Schrodinger's cat, except when I open the box the cat could either tell me useful information or could bludgeon me over the head like an unmuted multiplayer lobby".

The mechanic drew comparisons to other passive multiplayer systems like those in NieR: Automata and Death Stranding, but the Souls version stood apart because of its constrained vocabulary. The limitation forced creativity in ways that free-form text never would. Players couldn't just type obscenities. They had to construct them from polite words, which made the results funnier.

The positive appraisal system also created a genuine gameplay loop around comedy. Since getting your message rated healed you, writing funny messages was a legitimate survival strategy. The funniest messages would accumulate thousands of appraisals, essentially crowdsourcing the best jokes to the top.

For many players, the messages shaped the emotional tone of the games. In worlds designed to feel lonely and punishing, discovering a "You did it!" message after a hard boss fight or a simple "Don't give up, skeleton" before one created moments of unexpected warmth. The messages made other players feel less alone in a hostile world, even without direct interaction.

Fun Facts

Getting your message appraised positively in Dark Souls restores an Estus Flask charge, meaning the funniest players in the game are literally harder to kill.

Elden Ring removed weapon durability, which was a quiet mercy for players who hit walls checking for fake "illusory wall" messages. In older games, this trolling could actually break your weapon.

The word list in each game is carefully curated by FromSoftware. Players can't type freely, so every innuendo is technically built from developer-approved vocabulary.

The "Fort, Night" Fortnite joke crossed language barriers in an unexpected way. English speakers got the pun immediately, while Japanese players were genuinely confused and discussed a potential crossover.

Some players treat message writing as a metagame unto itself, strategically placing messages in high-traffic areas like boss fog gates and bonfire rooms to farm appraisals and keep their healing topped up.

Derivatives & Variations

"Amazing Chest Ahead"

— The original viral message, placed near Gwynevere in Dark Souls (2011). Became shorthand for the entire message culture[2].

"Try Finger But Hole"

— The most iconic innuendo message, evolved from Dark Souls 2's "Try Tongue But Hole" and became the series' signature joke by Dark Souls 3[2].

"Dog" labeling

— An Elden Ring tradition of calling every non-dog animal "dog," from turtles to crabs to donkeys[1].

"You don't have the right"

— Placed at locked doors throughout Elden Ring, simultaneously a troll and a cryptic hint[1].

"Fort, Night"

— An Elden Ring wordplay message referencing Fortnite that confused Japanese players into expecting a crossover event[1].

Illusory wall trolling

— Fake "hidden path ahead" messages at solid walls, a tradition spanning all Souls games that became a meme format on r/EldenRing[2].

Frequently Asked Questions