Elden Ring Nightreign Review – Distilled Souls

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The Roundtable Hold has certainly seen its share of decay. Weeds sprout from the decaying floorboards, Gideon Ofnir’s former office in the east wing is now a dusty, cluttered wreck, and sunlight streams through a huge hole in the stone wall where the giant pair of fingers once stood. Despite its familiarity, the changes are striking, much like Elden Ring: Nightreign as a whole. Players of Elden Ring will recognize places like Roundtable Hold and enemies such as the Bell Bearing Hunter and Ancient Hero of Zamor. Combat mechanics in Nightreign are similar to those in Elden Ring, making it easy to slip back into old habits as you dodge attacks and counterstrike with fury. However, Nightreign is a game that challenges convention: a From Software game that encourages unconventional play, favoring cooperation over exploration, speed over isolation, and aggression over measured combat. In many ways, it’s the exact opposite of what players usually expect from From Software games, but somehow, it still works brilliantly.

The adventure begins with Nightreign’s intriguing setup: You select the boss you wish to confront, then engage in an Expedition lasting approximately 35-45 minutes, spanning over three in-game days. Joining forces with two other players (for the optimal experience), you’ll traverse the world of Limveld – a variant of Elden Ring’s Limgrave – where the terrain remains consistent, but locations and foes randomly shift from one Expedition to another. Since all participants start at Level 1, it’s essential to defeat enemies to collect runes for leveling up, as well as discover new weapons, tools, and character enhancements to bolster your readiness for the forthcoming battles.

During both the first and second days of the game, a battle royale-like circle shrinks, forcing you into a compulsory confrontation with a randomly chosen boss. The bosses are selected from a group of familiar adversaries, offering a wide range of opponents, but if you’re repeatedly playing the same Expedition, you might face the same few bosses. If you survive for two days and defeat the Day 2 boss, you progress to the third day where you confront the Night Lord you picked at the start of the Expedition in a grand, challenging, and exciting battle. Whether you triumph or fall, you’ll receive relics that can be used to boost attributes like strength and vigor, or provide advantages such as elemental damage targeting a boss’s weakness in future Expeditions.

In essence, Nightreign’s gameplay revolves around overcoming eight powerful Nightlords, with the game offering a rich depth that unfolds as you play. Although elements of roguelikes, battle royales, and extraction games are evident, Nightreign does not mimic current multiplayer trends. Instead, it creatively adapts these influences to align with From Software’s design philosophy, resulting in a fast-paced “seize-and-conquer” gameplay style. This style compresses the Elden Ring experience into 45 minutes of intense combat and exploration, providing an immersive sense of progress that keeps you wanting to play just one more round. You’ll encounter diverse enemies, explore castles and mines, and witness the intricate world-building and character development From Software is renowned for, all within a condensed timeframe, instilling a strong feeling of forward momentum.

In this game, survival and progress are crucial due to a shrinking circle of lethal blue flames, known as the Night’s Tide, which advances over time. During daytime, death doesn’t mean game over, but if your allies can’t revive you in time from an incapacitated state, you respawn at a lower level, and any runes you were carrying are left behind at the place of your demise. Decreasing levels are problematic because they serve as overall attribute and health enhancements. Unlike Elden Ring, progression here is simplified, allowing a single button press at a Site of Grace to automatically boost essential attributes for your character type. To reach an ideal level (around 11 or 12) by the end of a game, avoiding death is key. Early in the game, losing a level isn’t as detrimental if you can recover your lost runes, but this isn’t possible when you are caught by the Night’s Tide, making speed an essential factor for success.

It’s no wonder that the movement in Nightreign contrasts so significantly with Elden Ring. In Elden Ring, as the Tarnished, your movements are heavy and calculated, even when you sprint, encouraging a slow and cautious approach to unfamiliar situations which aligns well with the combat’s measured pace. Conversely, in Nightreign, you move at astonishing speeds, with your sprint speed comparable to Elden Ring’s Torrent. Add to that Spiritspring Jumps for leaping over cliffs, a wall jump for scaling surfaces, an ethereal eagle for long-distance travel, and the lack of any fall damage, and Nightreign’s traversal emphasizes the need for speed in every aspect.

Every day in Limveld serves as a farming phase where you scour for runes, weapons, items, and upgrades for battle against bosses when night falls. This involves moving from one point of interest to another, battling common enemies and mini-bosses, which are referred to as Great Enemies and Field Bosses, to gain experience and gather loot before the encroaching Night’s Tide puts an end to your exploration. The most effective approach isn’t always straightforward, but Nightreign maintains the trial-and-error learning experience that is characteristic of From Software’s games.

Initially, my early expeditions weren’t particularly successful, as it became clear that everyone was still getting accustomed to the tasks at hand. Over time, though, things began to fall into place. We’d often find ourselves approaching a significant landmark such as a grand church or enemy outpost shortly after appearing on the map, given they usually housed weaker foes. Next, we’d pay a visit to the closest church to increase our flask uses, delve into ruins for fresh gear, and stop by an Evergaol to summon and defeat its trapped entity. By the second day, our focus would shift either towards the central castle teeming with powerful enemies or the roaming Field Bosses in the overworld.

Engaging these potent adversaries comes with its own set of advantages and challenges. If you’re pressed for time, they offer the most substantial rewards but are also the toughest to conquer – aside from the daily bosses and Night Lords. I’ve found myself in numerous missions where we were overpowered by a formidable enemy, leading to unfortunate outcomes. It can be frustrating that there’s no chance to restart when things get too difficult, especially since quitting comes with penalties. However, I’ve also been part of victorious missions where we managed to defeat several powerful enemies during the second day, amassing enough firepower to vanquish a Night Lord and reap the rewards.

In several aspects, Elden Ring Nightreign deviates significantly from the norm in From Software games, which might initially surprise fans. Yet, surprisingly or not, this experimental non-sequel has proven to be a resounding success.

In this game, the fights often feel like playing Elden Ring multiplayer mode, especially when you face recurring adversaries such as the Magma Wyrm, Tree Sentinel, and Elder Lion. Occasionally, enemies from the Dark Souls series unexpectedly pop up, with the Nameless King and his dragon-riding appearance among the randomly encountered bosses – a not-so-subtle middle finger moment. However, the Night Lords stand out. My eagerness to battle them never subsided, as each one offered a distinct challenge. The first you’ll meet is Gladius: a colossal three-headed wolf with a sword strapped to its back. When it’s not breathing fire and spinning its sword in lethal circles, the heads will separate into three individual wolves, pursuing you relentlessly in a chilling pack. The other Night Lords are equally creative, but I’ll let you discover their unique traits yourself.

In contrast to an Elden Ring boss battle, the distinctive feature of Nightreign lies in the ability for playable characters to collaborate effectively. Instead of crafting your own character, you select one from a diverse array of eight Nightfarers prior to embarking on an Expedition. Each character embodies a unique archetype with distinct advantages and disadvantages, ranging from a sturdy tank and ranged archer to a powerful sorcerer and agile fighter.

Each character offers a distinct gaming experience, primarily because of their unique passive abilities, special skills, and ultimate moves. For example, Duchess benefits from an extra evasion ability, which suits her agile gameplay, whereas Revenant summons ghost allies to assist you in combat. Active skills are varied, from Executor’s Cursed Sword, allowing for Sekiro-style deflections, to Wylder’s grapple claw, pulling enemies towards you or vice versa. Ultimate moves can be utilized after filling a gauge by damaging opponents, making them ideal for critical situations. Guardian’s Wings of Salvation is one such move that allows him to fly up, then descend, dealing damage and creating a protective zone to revive fallen allies. Some characters, like Ironeye, focus on high-damage attacks, as shown in his Single Shot ability where he unleashes a powerful bowshot capable of breaking through any defense.

These skills are universally fun to explore and use, but they really excel when used together. For instance, Raider’s ultimate ability, the Totem Stela, is quite noticeable. He summons a massive tombstone that rises from the ground, functioning as a shield-like barrier. Additionally, it enhances the power of nearby teammates and can be climbed for characters like Ironeye and Recluse to attack from above, providing safety while still dealing damage. On its own, Wylder’s explosive ultimate ability, Onslaught Stake, is decent, but when combined with Duchess’ Restage character skill, which repeats the damage of the last attack, it can significantly diminish a boss’s health bar through teamwork.

In the game Nightreign, any player, known as a Nightfarer, can utilize any weapon without concerning themselves about stat prerequisites or weight limitations, except for certain instances where level progression blocks access. Keep in mind that some weapons are better suited for specific characters; for instance, a great hammer may not be as effective for Recluse as a staff, particularly when considering weapon scaling.

However, it’s worth noting that Nightreign’s designers have incorporated an intelligent feature: weapons serve purposes beyond attacks. Most weapons come with passive benefits that stay active as long as they’re in one of your six equipment slots. For example, even if you don’t intend to use the Glintstone Staff, you can still enjoy the continuous effect of Glintblade Phalanx, which surrounds you with a swarm of magical swords targeting nearby enemies.

Moreover, Nightreign introduces an interesting tactical aspect when it comes to reviving teammates. To bring someone back to life, you must attack them, so choosing weapons becomes strategic. As a result, I often found myself picking up a bow or crossbow even if I wasn’t using Ironeye, just to be able to shoot at downed allies from a distance.

It’s rewarding to experiment with each Nightfarer character to find your favorites, but it’s also important to use the entire team for narrative purposes. Each Nightfarer has their unique storyline, known as Remembrances, which are detailed through entries in the journal located in the east wing of the Roundtable Hold. These characters were attracted to Limveld by destiny or circumstances, and their histories are often intriguing, expanding on the already rich lore created by Elden Ring. While I won’t reveal too much, Raider’s story revolves around him participating in the Tourney of the Land Between, as you battle through a sequence of fights in a gladiatorial arena. On the other hand, Ironeye is associated with a secretive group called the Fellowship and has come to the Roundtable Hold looking for a traitor.

In some cases, Memories take you to distinctive places, and others introduce extra tasks for Quests. These could be a specific destination you must reach to obtain a certain item or a Boss you need to vanquish to advance. Many of these tasks can be accomplished individually, but there are complications when several players are involved. For unknown reasons, two players cannot complete the same Memory simultaneously. If you don’t have friends to play with, this can make finding teammates for these missions challenging, as you’re dependent on your Memory being active rather than someone else’s. It’s an unusual design choice and is one of the few drawbacks I find in Nightreign’s matchmaking system. Finding players to team up with is generally straightforward, and a pin system makes it simple to plan a route without requiring additional communication methods. Ideally, you’d have at least two people using microphones, but without in-game voice chat, this isn’t always feasible when playing with strangers.

The game is technically playable on your own, however, it appears as though it wasn’t primarily intended for solo players. Enemy damage values are adjusted accordingly, but you’ll still encounter numerous bosses simultaneously, in addition to hordes of common foes. It’s possible to finish the game this way, although it’s not typically a feat achieved without guidance or specialized equipment. The challenge level is noticeably higher than what most players can handle comfortably.

Completing the personal stories of all eight Nightlords, along with defeating each one, is a challenging task that takes time. It’s unclear how long the game will continue to thrive after this point, but there will be downloadable content (DLC) added post-launch. Despite spending 30 hours playing, I haven’t felt any signs of boredom setting in – a clear indication of its robust gameplay mechanics.

The shifting Earth events keep the map interesting by periodically changing Limveld’s terrain, introducing elements like mountains, a burning crater, rotting woods, and even a labyrinth city. Not only does this add visual appeal to each area, but it also introduces new enemies and high-stakes situations. Add to that the randomness of world events, such as daytime bosses appearing during the night and invasions from hostile Nightfarer NPCs, and no two playthroughs are the same.

The revelation about Elden Ring Nightreign was truly unexpected, with the specifics only adding to the shock. It’s remarkable how a blend of traditional From Software RPG, combined with aspects of roguelites and battle royales, seems an unconventional idea for any game studio to fund. Yet, here we are, witnessing From Software’s creative ingenuity at work, shaping a unique twist on a captivating cooperative multiplayer experience. Even if the final product had been merely average, such risk-taking deserves applause. However, given that it turned out to be an exceptional, unusual masterpiece, this experimentation warrants double the celebration. It’s clear that the creative side of From Software responsible for quirky titles like Metal Wolf Chaos and Otogi: Myth of Demons is as vibrant as ever.

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2025-05-28 17:40