Learning that we’d be getting even more Elden Ring content following the brilliant expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, surprised me. I’d spent hundreds of hours in the base game, spent nearly another hundred in the expansion, and was ready to move on. And just like that, FromSoftware pulled me back in.
Lo and behold, we saw Elden Ring Nightreign be announced, and it was an odd shakeup of the formula. Not a battle royale but also not a single-player game, Nightreign takes the Souls formula and makes a brilliant argument that three-player parties might be the future.
Elden Ring Nightreign is strange but familiar
Sure, elements of the battle royale were found, mainly the Night’s Tide closing around Limveld, a new area based on Limgrave. But then, you’re dropped into this familiar but not too-familiar area you’ve visited via a Spectral Hawk, where new monsters, camps, secrets, and mysteries await you to find them. You also have two other players, so it’s weird if you’re a solo player.
It’s like experiencing a fever dream, as Limveld is strange but familiar. Castles and forts you swear you’ve explored before feel new. Everything from enemy placement to where weapons once were is no longer there, and with your squadmates, you’ll work on growing more assertive in sessions, which generally take around an hour to finish.
Within the first 20 minutes, I knew whatever reservations I had from the initial reveal wouldn’t be a non-starter from now on. Somehow, the Souls formula found a new niche I can’t stop thinking about and want to play often.
I’ve always played the genre slowly, taking in every vista and sight as best I could while trying not to have my character die. I’ve done this for years, and while there is no wrong way to play, some prefer to play fast and loose. Elden Ring Nightreign is like playing your favourite game at 2-4x speed from the outset
The streamlined FromSoftware experience works
When you drop into the map, you’re off alongside your two companions to survive the next 45 minutes. At first, you need to survive the first two days in Limveld; whether that means exploring castles or forts or jumping from the highest point on the map, you generally pick a direction on the map and follow your heart. You and your team can communicate by dropping pins on the map and having the others confirm the pin’s placement.
A cool addition to Elden Ring Nightreign is how each of the four character classes gets two unique abilities per character. I spent most of my time with the Guardian and Wylder characters, perfect for newcomers and tank-sickos, but you also have the Recluse and Duchess. The two classes I didn’t play are rogue and mage classes
Wylder moveset is the most basic of the four, but they have unique abilities like the Claw Shot, which lets you pull in smaller enemies or zip to larger ones. Wylder also has the Onslaught Stake, which adds the ability to deal massive fire damage to enemies by launching a bolt at them.
Similarly, The Guardian was a blast to play and was quickly the most interesting-looking character. Essentially a massive anthropomorphic Eagle, the Guardian can take a lot of damage and uses a lot of defensive abilities. My favourite abilities the class uses are the Whirlwind skill, which creates cyclones that take enemies into the air and the Wings of Salvation, which sees you launch into the air and descend into an enemy to deal massive damage.
Randomized Encounters
I’ve always been keen on my character builds with each Souls entry. After all, the developers deliver some incredible armour and weapons you want to use, and there’s a deep level of customization in each game. That means you have many options, whether you’re a melee user like me or an arcane mage. You can even further invest in specific builds by your weapon and gear abilities, so you’re constantly able to craft sets to deal with any situation.
Characters level up at Sites of Grace, and you must be fast here as you generally need to keep moving. I don’t need to focus on my vigour or dexterity with my character, as these are now managed automatically for you.
Nightreign enhances this concept by introducing eight Nightfarers, each characterized by unique ultimate abilities and starting gear, replacing traditional classes. Right now, we’ve seen four available in the Closed Beta Test. The levelling system has been simplified, allowing players to increase all stats simultaneously instead of adjusting each individually. This design might suggest a decrease in customization flexibility; however, the randomization of each run prompts players to adapt to whatever resources are available. As a result, unconventional builds can emerge, contributing to a unique mechanic few others in the series offer.
In Nightreign, dying has also seen a facelift. If you’re struck down, you lose your runes like usual, but now you also lose a level. When a character falls in battle, the attacks from allies contribute to a meter that, when filled, can restore health to the character. If all three party members fall, the game resets to the beginning of the day.
I wasn’t sure how having a party of three would work, but after spending several hours with Nightreign, I saw the potential. I had a blast exploring Limveld with other players. In one session, a skilled player showed our third partner and me where the extra flask charges were hidden on the map and supported us as backup against minibosses strewn across the map.
I also had to quickly adjust to no longer having Torrent available. Instead, my character was faster and more agile, which feels good when you become familiar with it. I could now sprint into a Spiritspring to jettison into the air and land on a higher map section. There’s this excellent sense of verticality you come across pretty early on, and paired with no fall damage, it becomes addicting to jump from the heights to sprint into another area.
My anticipation for Elden Ring Nightreign has skyrocketed in just a few hours. FromSoftware has found a way to keep players in this unique spin on the Souls formula and delivers an exceptional sampler of what’s to come.
Elden Ring Nightreign launches for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series and PC on May 20, 2025.
