When From Software revealed “Elden Ring Nightreign” last year, Souls fans around the world were curious to see what the studio’s take on fully-fledged multiplayer was. After all, From Software’s previous games like “Dark Souls” and “Bloodborne” were single-player with some co-op elements. “Nightreign” is the next step in the evolution of the Soulslike formula after the base “Elden Ring” game went open world.
The result is a multiplayer game that will please existing Souls fans but will alienate new players. Those who are familiar with “Elden Ring” and the genre known as Soulslike will undoubtedly enjoy “Nightreign”’s refreshing fast-paced action. However, that’s only if the stars align with its random elements and you have competent teammates. If you’re thinking of making this your first Soulslike From Software game, I would implore you to look elsewhere. This is completely different from any of the others that came before it.
“Elden Ring: Nightreign” takes place in an alternate reality from the base “Elden Ring” game, following a group of eight playable characters as they fight against monsters called Nightlords. Like most of From, Software’s Soulslike games, the story isn’t really the focus here. It’s just as cryptic as ever but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of playing the game.
Instead of creating your own character, you’ll pick between eight different predetermined classes, each with its strengths and weaknesses. For example, the Guardian has high HP and defensive stats, but the Recluse is a squishy mage with high magic attack power. Figuring out the synergies between different classes can mean the difference between life and death against Nightreign’s powerful bosses.
This time around, each of the eight playable characters have backstories called Remembrances. For example, Ironeye learns about a traitor from another dimension and can hunt them while on an expedition to defeat the Nightlords, progressing the story. While these offer some lore and worldbuilding, they’re ultimately just optional objectives that you can tackle while on your journey. However, there are plenty of incentives to progress them, such as helpful rewards like Relics to boost your character’s abilities and alternative costumes.
As for the gameplay, you’ll enter the world map “Fortnite”-style and make your way around Limveld while killing monsters and bosses in caves, ruins, and churches at randomized locations. Defeating bosses causes them to drop randomized rewards like stronger weapons and passive abilities like increasing your Stamina by 10%. At the same time, a ring of fire is slowly closing in on your squad of three. All of these elements essentially make “Nightreign” an interesting mix between a roguelike and speedrunner game.
The closing circle forces you to think strategically about which structures to tackle while maximizing the amount of resources you gain. Do I have enough time to go to the ruins over here and take out this boss, or should I go to this church on the other side of the map to increase the number of times I can heal? Each expedition is always different from the rest, and that’s what keeps “Nightreign”’s repeated runs feeling fresh.
You’ll explore Limveld for two days, both of which end with a boss fight at night after the ring of fire contracts. On Day 3, you’ll finally face off against the Nightlord, which can be surprisingly difficult even with three players. Still, the satisfaction of defeating a Nightlord is even higher than your average Soulslike game since it requires a team effort to win, and that’s both the best part of “Nightreign” and often its most frustrating.
The most significant factor in enjoying, “Nightreign” is whether or not you have teammates who know what they’re doing. This means learning how to optimize your routes throughout Limveld and knowing which bosses are stronger than others so that you can tackle them on Day 2 when you’re at a higher level so that you don’t get your butt kicked on Day 1. If your teammates don’t understand the general gameplay loop and strategy, you’re going to have a miserable experience and you’ll feel like you’re wasting time.
During the first several days of playing “Nightreign,” I felt like I wanted to smash my head into the wall because I had trouble even making it past Day 2. However, after understanding that I needed to be at a high enough level to take on the bosses, my group and I started to prioritize taking them down to collect as many Runes as possible to make us stronger. This trivialized bosses, and the only real challenges ended up being the Nightlords at the end of our runs.
But this is how Soulslike games have always been. It’s like learning the attack patterns of a boss that has two forms. At first, you may have trouble even defeating its first form, but then, after constant repetition, it starts becoming a breeze, and the second form becomes the real roadblock.
At the end of every expedition, whether you win or fail, you’ll earn Relics that have various effects, such as increasing the number of Runes dropped by enemies so you can level up faster or adding fire elemental damage to your starting weapon. These Relics are the only form of permanent progression you have access to in Nightreign, and the system does feel rigged in a way.
Many of the Relics you receive are not very helpful and have very situational effects, like increasing the amount of damage from throwing pots. Most Relics also typically have one or two effects, with the rarest ones having three. There’s no guarantee that if you have a Relic with three abilities that they’re even useful ones. While you can sell your useless Relics for currency to purchase new ones (whose effects are randomized once bought), I wish I had more control over how to choose their effects.
For example, there’s no way to combine different Relics or break them down into components if you have separate ones with a single useful effect and two worthless ones. As a result, trying to assemble a specific build can be incredibly daunting and grindy. While the Relics you equip will undoubtedly make an impact on your runs, the randomized weapons and passive buffs you find during that time are more substantial. This causes the Relic system to feel overshadowed, and the randomized nature of Limveld’s structures and boss reward drops ultimately decides whether your expedition will conclude with the defeat of the Nightlord or untimely defeat.
A bigger issue for most players will be that the game’s matchmaking makes it challenging to find suitable opponents. You never know who you’re going to be grouped with, so it’s infinitely better to invite friends or acquaintances who are familiar with how to optimize runs. Additionally, there’s no crossplay between PlayStation, PC, and Xbox, which further restricts the pool of eligible teammates. It’s baffling that this is still an issue in 2025 when other games this year, like “Split Fiction” and “Monster Hunter Wilds,” have figured it out.
Thankfully, “Nightreign”’s online servers are practically flawless. Earlier this year, the beta tests had players constantly disconnecting, causing headaches and ruined runs. However, I didn’t drop a single session during this review period, even when playing with others in Europe and Japan. That may change, though, as millions of players will log on to the game when it releases. So take that with a grain of salt.
“Elden Ring Nightreign” is a fun multiplayer game that offers a different take on From Software’s tried and true formula. More importantly, it’s a multiplayer game that doesn’t nickel and dime you with extra microtransactions. That’s a rarity in these kinds of games these days. Despite the underwhelming Relic and multiplayer matchmaking systems, “Nightreign”’s concoction of gameplay genre aspects creates a cohesive multiplayer game that’ll stand the test of time.
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