Elden Ring: Nightreign presents the newest iteration of the Lands Between, a roguelike, co-op multiplayer take on the world-famous Souls games. Darkness is consuming the Lands Between, and night falls upon the realm of Limveld. Venture into this ever-changing realm to face the Nightlords and triumph to dispel the night once and for all! Are you ready, Nightfarer?
Story so Tarnished, even Ranni weeps
In Elden Ring: Nightreign, you play as the fabled Nightfarers, a ragtag group of heroes with very little in common. With the exception of their collective hatred for the Nightlords, who bring the Night. Elden Ring: Nightreign has a healthy selection of 8 starting characters to choose from. You’ve got a tank barbarian in Ironeye, a generic hero with Wylder, and a magic caster in Recluse. Each character has a story, one which you can uncover in the new realm Limveld with fragments of the past. Your home is the Roundtable Hold, where each Nightfarer resides between your expeditions to defeat the Nightlords. Think of the Roundtable Hold as your own personal island of grace. Purchase from vendors, interact with fellow Nightfarers, and discover more about the ongoing struggle with the Nightlords!
The Night is Dark…
I’m honestly very happy with FromSoftware putting Elden Ring in the title of this game because this game is very much Elden Ring. Not that that is a bad thing, Elden Ring remains one of the strongest, most wide-reaching Souls games to date. To the few who do not enjoy Elden Ring, there isn’t much for you here, barring a new soundtrack, bosses and characters (and trust me, these new additions are very much in the spirit of Elden Ring!). For everyone else, I’ve got some good news! You get a new, refreshing look at the Lands Between. While it may sometimes feel like Elden Ring Lite, there’s still plenty of nods to other Souls games for you to find. From familiar mini-bosses to hidden easter eggs, there’s a metric tonne for veterans of the Souls games to dig up here.
As a Nightfarer, Limveld is your hunting ground. When traversing it, encampments, fortresses and mini-bosses. Echoes of Limgrave and Stormveil Castle are very much felt here. Old enemies (and new ones) from your Elden Ring days are back to haunt you and your friends. I know Elden Ring isn’t that old, but man the mainline of nostalgia that hits on your first traversal of Limveld is something else. And to experience this with 2 other friends? 2022 me couldn’t even!
…and Full of Terrors
You and up to 2 other players participate in expeditions. Each expedition focuses on one Nightlord to slay, lasting roughly 20 – 35 minutes, where an encroaching night corners you into a final circle (ala battle royal). Here you’ll face challenging enemies each night. Finally, when you and your buddies have beaten them, night recedes to outside the map, and you await the next night. On the final night (3 in total), you face off against the Nightlord! Elden Ring: Nightreign gives us a whole Erd Tree’s worth of new bosses in the Nightlords. FromSoftware have not lost their touch. The first boss, Tricephalos, breaks into 3 separate mini-bosses. Turning an unfair 1v3 into a fair fight. Pure cinema! On your journey, you loot and kill the aforementioned bosses and encampments along the way for better loot (including passives!).
Gameplay in Elden Ring: Nightreign is very much what you’d expect. The added dimension of having teammates or friends mixes things up with the formula we’re so used to by now. It does it sufficiently to warrant anyone interested in giving it a try. However, this shake-up can have downsides. To revive other Nightfarers, you simply attack their downed body and reduce their death gauge to revive them. Sounds cool, right? But as another player and I agreed, tying your stamina resources to reviving teammates is problematic.
Numerous times I failed to revive fellow Nightfarers because I had just come out of a string of doges or attacks. Not to mention the bosses and enemies harassing you the entire time. Make no mistake, Elden Ring: Nightreign is not simply easier because you have friends! This new dynamic does offer more cinematic fights, though. On the first Nightlord, I defeated him with my 2 buddies down as I made the executive decision to drain the final lick of health from him to gain all the glory!
Verdict: You DIED
The intention of Elden Ring: Nightreign is to “to offer players a new gaming experience by reimagining the game’s core design”, according to its blurb. I can safely say FromSoftware achieved just that. A multiplayer roguelike Elden Ring experience is what this title delivers. It does so with gusto, we’ve come to expect from FromSoftware. That may sound like a repainted Elden Ring, and in some ways it is, but that’s played to its strength consistently. Any Elden Ring, souls-like fan, battle royal fan and heck, even new players need to experience this genre-defining game!
Stay tuned to GamEir. Come talk with us on Twitter (@gam_eir), Facebook (@GamEir), and Instagram (@GamEir).