Elden Ring Nightreign Review

In an era of video games where developers are doubling down on action-packed co-op, Elden Ring Nightreign stands out with the uniqueness and flair that only FromSoftware does best, giving you art etched in gold, rooted and risk, reward, and adventure. Published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, this action role-playing game reinvents itself in the form of Elden Ring with a twist.

Elden Ring Nightreign is FromSoftware's answer to what fans of souls-like have longed for ever since the release of Demon Souls, seamless co-op without mods, dynamic enemy encounters, and a new world that still has the essence of the past — it's not your ordinary spinoff.

On paper, you can see how this might just be ordinary; no offense to FromSoftware, but I'm talking about how integrating co-op into the already well-renowned world of Elden Ring might come off as just lazy work. But Elden Ring Nightreign is well thought out, and the game goes beyond being just a multiplayer version of Elden Ring.

Similar to how the original game pushed the bounds of open-world RPGs, this game is a completely new title that focuses on a cooperative experience in a Souls world that has yet to be seen. The world of Elden Ring Nightreign takes place in a sort of alternative timeline distinct from the original Elden Ring, but this doesn't necessarily make it a direct sequel, but more of a spinoff that borrows a lot of the assets and ideas from Elden Ring.

I wouldn't say the story is at the forefront of Elden Ring Nightreign. The plot is mostly about stopping the Night from taking over; the developers described it as a "session-based RPG." If you're still having a tough time grasping its concept, you will want to think of it as a mix between a roguelike, battle-royale, with your typical Souls mechanics.

You and your teammates take part in or run through the world of Limveld with the goal of surviving the day and night cycles. When it's daytime, you have about 15 minutes to venture out, defeat enemies, and collect gear and runes. It's important to do so because you will want to prepare your character for the real test at night.

Once it's twilight, there arise powerful bosses, a lot of which are brought in from Elden Ring, Souls games of the past, and some even designed from scratch. The fights are extremely challenging, as you would expect from a Souls game, and if your team gets wiped out during any one of the three major boss fights, it's game over, and you'll have to start a new run from scratch. Unforgiving, but are we surprised?

The character creation of Elden Ring Nightreign is pretty sophisticated. If you enjoyed making creative builds in Elden Ring, you'll feel right at home. There are different classes to choose from, and each of these classes has its own passive abilities, special skills, and ultimate attacks. For instance, the Duchess can repeat the last bit of damage to an enemy, whilst the Wilder has a grappling hook for closing down distances swiftly.

One thing that was surprising to see was the omission of armor from the game entirely, which sets the pace of the game to be more aggressive, as your focus is solely on the weapon you possess. You are allowed to hold up to 6, and each of the weapons has its passive bonuses, even if you're not using them.

Like other Souls games, these passives tend to be game changers; they're able to heal you after you secure a kill, boost your resistance, and add elemental damage across your entire loadout. So it's not solely about the weapons you use at hand, but also the weapons you have on you. It's a twist that encourages you to goof around and experiment.

Limveld, the map you play in, has a lot of similarities with Elden Ring. Areas like Limgrave and Liurnia of the Lakes, and some landmarks, appear to be almost entirely copied. But the use of the map is enhanced when you consider that the movement has been upgraded. You're now able to sprint faster, climb more surfaces, and use Sprint Streams to reach higher ground. And these additions make exploration so much more fun, fluid, and vertical.

Despite how familiar Elden Ring Nightreign is to Elden Ring, the roguelike elements add nuances to keep things fresh; each run has enemies placed in different locations, keeping things unpredictable. You might fall into a curse that will lower your total health or a powerful enemy that drains your levels until you kill it, run into a terrifying threat known as the Fell Omen who will start hunting you down mercilessly, and you might have invaders called Nightfarers join in amidst the chaos – you are always kept at your toes.

Boss fights are where you would expect Elden Ring Nightreign to stand out, and it doesn't disappoint. Whenever I would play Elden Ring, I would always think about how fun it would be to have a friend join me through the entire experience. There's something seemingly thrilling about coordinating with your teammates and finding out the right strategy for different bosses. And there's nothing more satisfying than finally overcoming a tough challenge that has been haunting you.

To keep things unpredictable, the map changes between runs, with various familiar points of interest being shuffled around. But after a while, this shuffling can feel a bit repetitive when you start to notice reused locations and structures with only slight differences in enemies. It's not necessarily a dealbreaker, considering the spontaneity of the game.

There are about eight unique Night Lords in Elden Ring Nightreign, but sadly, you fight all of them in the same sandy arena; I don't understand why they decided to limit them to one region. Each one of them has a distinct personality and a unique fighting style that makes them memorable, which I guess makes up for it.

Being able to make it to Night Lords is not a small feat either, considering the amount of pressure that the rogue-like nature of the game brings. Imagine preparing for over half an hour and losing at the Night Lord stage; it's devastating. But nothing brings joy and ecstasy like finally beating a Night Lord, especially when the odds are stacked against you.

And once you've defeated all eight Night Lords, you might be thinking, what's left? The entirety of the campaign can easily take over 30 hours, depending on how good you are at the game. That's a lot of content, considering it's a multiplayer game, and the game gives you more things to chase after.

You are able to collect relics — they're powerful items that you unlock after each run, and they help refine your builds even further. And there's a bunch of them, too, so you can curate your loadout according to your style of play to support you and your team in different ways.

Each of the classes also has Remembrance missions, small challenges that you can complete for rewards. You can earn a currency called Murks, which you'll be able to use to unlock new skins or even buy relics. The developers did confirm that more content is coming, which includes newer bosses and classes, as well as surprises, potentially.

And, well, the game doesn't necessarily feel like a typical grind fest. It also doesn't really have a deep endgame. Whether you deem that to be a problem depends on your own expectations, but I personally think it is the standard with games that tend to be multiplayer — it doesn't necessarily have to be the standard, though.

You might be wondering whether Elden Ring Nightreign is a title that is enjoyable as a solo player. Although it's possible, I wouldn't say it's the ideal way to experience the game. The game does allow you to queue and play games with strangers, but this significantly limits communication to just pings.

That might work when you're in a pinch. Still, the game clearly wants you to team up with friends and use voice chat, as strategy and coordination are definitely key. Without proper communication, the experience might possibly be lackluster.

Random teammates tend to go off on their own, ignore objectives, or, in my experience, quit mid-game to run errands. The game does penalize you for leaving early, but it never stops people from doing it. I had way more fun whenever I queued up with a full group of friends and used voice chat rather than just coordinating in silence with random strangers.

When talking about performance and stability, Elden Ring Nightreign runs mostly well on high-end setups with only minor frame drops. But it's something that we've grown to accept, considering the game looks visually stunning and just as good as Elden Ring, with the same high-quality art, animation, and beautifully crafted atmosphere.

The Night Lords are also really well-designed, each having a unique look and feel. The music was also spectacular; each of the bosses was backed by a fitting soundtrack, whether that be calm and eerie or loud and intense. FromSoftware is doing what they do best, especially when it comes to creating immersive worlds through visuals and sound design.

If you are someone who has enjoyed playing through Elden Ring and has always wanted to experience it with friends without mods, Elden Ring Nightreign is a game that you should look into. It's not just another huge single-player RPG like Elden Ring, but instead, it's a spinoff experience that is tightly designed for an optimized co-op experience with the addition of roguelike mechanics.

I can definitely see this not appealing to everyone, especially if one was expecting a traditional Souls experience from FromSoftware, but if you're someone who enjoys challenging RPG with friends, one that is set in a beautiful world set in the Elden Ring universe with a lot of things brought in from other Souls game's, there's a lot to love here.

With a bunch more content that'll be added in the coming weeks, Elden Ring Nightreign is definitely a game that is hard to get wrong, considering it's based on a solid foundation of Elden Ring. Given the huge expectations set by FromSoftware's reputation, I can see how many would consider the game imperfect, but it definitely delivers when it comes to giving you a fun experience.