Elden Ring: Nightreign is an interesting experiment from the makers of the Souls series, FromSoftware. They have not released a major game that focuses entirely on multiplayer PvE gameplay before, but with the massive success of Capcom’s Monster Hunter series, they may have decided to give it a shot. After all, Elden Ring is one of their biggest hits, with over 30 million copies sold, and the name alone carries a lot of weight. Elden Ring: Nightreign is clearly made for the hardcore fans of the Souls franchise—those who love fine-tuning their builds, taking on brutal enemies in tough situations, and chasing the best loot they can find.
This game is a big shift from the usual single-player open-world experience that FromSoftware is known for, especially when compared to the original Elden Ring. Right from the start, you’re dropped into a tutorial area that teaches some of the new gameplay mechanics. It runs on the same engine as Elden Ring, but without ray tracing, which helps it run smoothly on PC. A lot of assets are reused or repurposed from the main game, but there’s still a good amount of new content to discover.
In the tutorial, the game introduces the basics of combat, including new abilities, and ends with a boss fight. After that, you’re taken to the main hub of the game, the Roundtable Hold. This area plays a key role in Nightreign. It lets you practice your character’s combat skills in a training arena and head out on expeditions to hunt massive beasts, either solo or with a group of three players using matchmaking. Currently, there’s no offline co-op or two-player option—three players is the required number for the online experience.
The main gameplay loop centers around these expeditions. Each battle against a Nightlord takes roughly three in-game days to complete. At the start of an expedition, the player is dropped into a large map focused on the Limveld region. The objective is to scavenge for resources while navigating an environment that gradually shrinks due to a creeping blue flame. If the player gets caught in this flame, they begin to lose health over time due to a curse called the Night’s Tide, eventually dying and respawning at the nearest safe point. This continues across the map until players reach a smaller arena where a mini-boss fight takes place. Defeating the mini-boss resets the circle and moves the expedition into day two, which leads to another round of exploration and a new boss fight. Once that is cleared, the game finally allows players to face the Nightlord.
The issue with this gameplay loop is the poor sense of progression. The entire Limveld region is packed with enemies that can easily take down the player. Unless you are lucky enough to land near some valuable loot, it can take a while before you are strong enough to make any real progress. The game does include a leveling system, using runes and relics to give players a temporary boost during fights. However, for those playing solo, the difficulty feels punishing and often unbalanced.
Runes are rewarded at the end of each night and can be equipped to boost the player’s stats. The game features eight different classes, each with unique abilities exclusive to them. However, there is no way to modify or customize these builds, meaning you are locked into whatever your chosen class offers. This adds to the game’s difficulty. Some upgrades, like enhancing your health flask, can be earned by visiting scattered churches across the map, but healing resources are limited. Sites of Grace are often left behind by the advancing Night’s Tide, making recovery even tougher. You can also purchase gear from merchants scattered throughout the map, and they usually carry items that exploit the weaknesses of that expedition’s Nightlord, making them useful in a pinch.
The eight playable classes in the game are known as the Nightfarers. Each one comes with a unique passive ability, character skills, and an ultimate art. These can only be changed at the Roundtable Hold. Since character levels reset with every expedition, the only real sense of progression comes from collecting relics at the end of each night or by defeating a Nightlord.
At the start of each expedition, the player is dropped into Limveld while riding a giant eagle, similar to the drop mechanic in Fortnite Battle Royale. Likewise, the blue flame carrying the Night’s Tide curse slowly closes in, shrinking the playable area just like the storm mechanic in battle royale games. In my opinion, this feature feels out of place in Elden Ring: Nightreign. I lost count of how many times I had to run from an intense battle or cut an encounter short because of this blue flame. It just doesn’t fit. I’m here to play an action RPG with PvE elements, not a battle royale game.
Elden Ring: Nightreign works best when played with a team of three. Each Nightlord usually has a specific weakness, and it is not realistic to expect one character to handle them alone. Having a full team helps balance the fight—one player can exploit the boss’s weakness while the others provide backup or draw attention. With a good team setup, you can move through the game much faster. Unfortunately, during the early access phase, matchmaking was limited to reviewers, so finding people to play with was tough and heavily dependent on timing.
One thing I did enjoy was the increased mobility in Nightreign. You can sprint faster, jump, and even climb onto walls. These options are helpful, especially since there’s no mount available to explore the map. While Limveld seems to be the only map available right now, it is huge. It takes a fair amount of time to fully explore, and even then, it’s full of dangerous enemies and bosses scattered throughout. It’s up to the player to choose whether to focus on easier enemies or take the risk with tougher mini-bosses, which offer more runes and better loot.
Once an expedition is completed, the map changes due to events called the Shifting Earth. These events significantly alter the terrain. They are optional, so you do not have to take them on, but if you do, the game rewards you with powerful loot.
I would say that Elden Ring: Nightreign is not a game that everyone will enjoy. It has its strengths, but there are quite a few drawbacks as well. The strange choice to include a shrinking map and the lack of deep customization make it feel less appealing compared to From Software’s other titles. Right now, the game seems best suited for players who enjoy PvE encounters through matchmaking, because it definitely does not feel balanced for solo play.
Even if you enjoyed Elden Ring, you need a real appreciation for the franchise to want to dive into Nightreign. It blends roguelike mechanics with battle royale elements, which makes it a unique experience—but that uniqueness may not be for everyone. That said, despite its flaws, I still enjoyed my time with it.
Elden Ring: Nightreign Game Information
- Price: $39.99
- Publisher: Bandai Namco
- Developer: From Software
- Platform: PC (Reviewed)
- Disclaimer: A review code was given by the publisher
