We played six hours of Elden Ring: Nightreign, FromSoftware's surprising new co-op roguelike action RPG. This spin-off remakes Elden Ring into a fast-paced, session-based experience.
FromSoftware producer Yasuhiro Kitao revealed the game to us a week before its official announcement, a follow-up to the massively successful Elden Ring. Nightreign takes familiar Elden Ring assets and remixes them into a 3-player co-op roguelike. It's Elden Ring Turbo - with a sprinkle of Monster Hunter.
Gameplay Overview
Nightreign condenses the Elden Ring experience into a series of 30-minute runs. Players choose a final boss to face, then must survive two "days" on a map that shrinks as the session progresses. Each night culminates in a tough boss battle. The game features:
- Fast-paced, action-packed combat
- A battle royale-style shrinking map
- Roguelike elements with randomized loot and enemy encounters
- Unique abilities per character
- Relics that provide buffs for future runs
Not a Live Service
Despite the initial appearance, Nightreign is not a live-service game. Director Junya Ishizaki, who also worked on Elden Ring, said that the game was designed as a complete package with all unlockables available on launch. Post-release updates will mainly focus on balance adjustments.
"We wanted to have a game that felt like a complete package out of the box on the day of purchase... it's not what we'd consider a 'live service' game." - Junya Ishizaki
Unique Characters and Abilities
Nightreign replaces the Elden Ring character creator with a selection of pre-set "heroes," each with unique attributes and abilities that drastically change the gameplay. The character archetypes provide varied roles, such as a DPS-focused character who can double team damage or a tanky knight with a grappling hook.
According to the author, the addition of these new abilities significantly changes the combat, with players needing to call out targets and coordinate the use of these new moves. Despite some potentially awkward control schemes, these new skills were fun, thrilling and ultimately enhanced the game experience.
The Map and Progression
Nightreign's map reuses the Limgrave setting from Elden Ring, featuring familiar outposts, ruins, and forts. While the specific bosses and enemies vary between runs, some repetitive elements were noted in early gameplay. Ishizaki has mentioned that they plan on adding procedurally generated volcanoes, swamps and forests to the map for some variation. There is also potential for meta-progression and storylines that will develop the hero characters further.
"We wanted the map itself to be a giant dungeon, so players have the chance to traverse and explore a different way every time they play." - Junya Ishizaki
The review noted that the game was a lot of fun, but also suggested that without complete item descriptions and more sophisticated puzzles on the map, the gameplay might not continue to be compelling.
Final Thoughts
While Nightreign is a significant departure from the usual FromSoftware singleplayer Souls game, it still manages to provide a fun and engaging experience. The focus on co-op gameplay and its new game mechanics make it a thrilling and memorable game and an intriguing twist on the traditional Elden Ring formula. Elden Ring: Nightreign is slated to be released in 2025.
