Elden Ring Nightreign Review

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Watching The Nameless King appear in the initial Elden Ring Nightreign trailer stirred a blend of feelings within me. On one hand, I felt exhilarated at the prospect of Dark Souls making a comeback after such a long time. But on the other hand, the thought of having to battle Gwyn’s firstborn once more filled me with dread. Thus, when the fog lifted during my second exploration and that unmistakable silhouette emerged, I found myself feeling quite anxious. It seemed my streak of success was about to come to an end. Or perhaps not.

He turned out to be quite manageable, allowing me to keep many of my flasks and honor intact. Whenever The Nameless King reappears in future playthroughs, I can’t help but feel a sense of relief. It’s just another Dark Souls boss; we’ve conquered tougher ones before. Nightreign – much like Shadow of the Erdtree – seems to be FromSoftware giving a metaphorical middle finger to fans who claimed Elden Ring was too easy, while also making some of the most infamous bosses from the Soulsborne series appear almost feeble in comparison. Hardly, we found him challenging, didn’t we?

Mastering Bosses Has Never Been More Rewarding…

In Nightreign, a roguelite adaptation of Elden Ring, you must survive two consecutive days amidst a battle royale setting, confronting two primary antagonists before being transferred to a sprawling desert to challenge the Nightlord of the Expedition. Each attempt offers unpredictable loot, opponents, and structures, ensuring each playthrough is unique. As you progress through matches, whether victorious or defeated, you amass permanent upgrades (Relics) that enable you to customize distinct character builds. This innovative approach to the Soulslike genre compresses the traditional gameplay loop into brief sessions. However, it’s the Nightlords where Nightreign truly outshines – offering a captivating challenge.

Each of them goes through two stages, and when the second begins, it feels like engaging with a boss from the Erdtree’s Shadow – a spectacle that transforms the arena into an artistic backdrop for some of the most breathtaking assaults I’ve experienced in the moment of my demise. Although it may be exasperating, the sheer beauty of witnessing the ensuing pandemonium is undeniable. Mastering their patterns can be challenging since dying resets a run, offering a 40-minute pause before another try. Yet, the moves themselves are surprisingly straightforward to evade, despite the elaborate display.

Almost all Nightlord’s assaults are Area of Effect (AoE) abilities designed for groups of three enemies. After noticing the wind-ups, it’s generally straightforward to evade them.

With Nightlords, you’ll encounter a balance: they are among the quickest-moving bosses within the Soulsborne realm, and any error could lead to a massive hit in damage taken. However, unlike other encounters where death sends you back to the nearest respawn point, with Nightlords, if you fall, you can be revived. This second chance allows even the most challenging starts to be reclaimed from the brink of defeat, making the last moments before a boss vanishes into thin air among the most gratifying experiences FromSoftware has offered.

Standing out distinctly in Nightreign is its unique approach to giving purpose to status effects. Unlike regular battles where any equipment will do against the Nightlords, each of them has a clearly defined vulnerability, conveniently listed in the Expeditions tab at the Roundtable Hold (surprisingly intuitive from FromSoftware, a recurring trait in Nightreign). The map marks locations with status effects, signaling potential loot and enemies you may encounter, enabling a more strategic approach to planning your journey, rather than adapting to whatever challenges come your way.

Against Nightlords, these particular weaknesses offer distinctive advantages that can drastically alter the battle’s outcome. For example, Gaping Jaw prevents them from leaping about the arena to spit poison, providing a short opportunity for an aggressive attack. Moreover, bleeding isn’t the only beneficial effect; every piece of equipment has its unique role and worth in the fight.

…But They Have Too Much Health

The issue with Nightreign is that at times it may seem like battling Shadow of the Erdtree with limited Scadutree Fragments. The Nightlords are quite susceptible to damage, leading to lengthy skirmishes centered more on endurance than skill or tactics. On numerous occasions, it was apparent that my teammates were depleted and running low on energy, struggling against attacks they would normally evade gracefully, which often led us into a cycle of avoiding the boss, resuscitating each other, until ultimately we met our match.

In many Soulsborne games, Nightlords are excessively durable, making encounters with them feel repetitive and less exciting after extended periods of time. The challenge lies in the fact that more summons mean a boss has more health, but when these bosses are already designed to deal significant damage to multiple players, it becomes tiresome.

Relics And Remembrances Keep The Flow Going Between Matches

During breaks between battles, you can delve into the heartfelt stories of each of Nightfarer’s eight characters, some of the most emotionally resonant narratives found in a Souls game. These tales are woven together through Roundtable Hold quests and additional mission objectives, transforming the fragmented character narratives from past games like Lucatiel and Solaire into more comprehensive personal journeys. The emotional depth of these stories is further emphasized by intimate journal entries that offer a glimpse beyond the typically enigmatic accounts FromSoft characters usually present.

The map undergoes continuous refreshment due to Geographical Changes, introducing fresh regions such as a snow-capped mountain range, a molten crater filled with lava, and a decaying forest, each offering unique rewards.

This additional layer in the game tells stories differently from what we’re accustomed to in the main version, yet it maintains the intrigue and mystery that have captivated fans for over a decade. Moreover, these Remembrances provide variety within each cycle of play, offering opportunities to engage in battles with gladiators in colosseums or to find tranquility outside the Roundtable Hold, evoking a vanished era. Furthermore, it not only enhances Nightreign’s fundamental gameplay loop, but also turns the pre-defined classes, already more unique due to their ultimate skills and special powers, into unforgettable personalities.

With the mentioned artifacts, known as Relics, you have the opportunity to use up to three per Nightfarer in your adventures. At first glance, I assumed these items were insignificant due to their technical descriptions, such as a +2 boost in Strength or enhanced Dragon Communion Incantations, which seemed like commonplace loot shooter jargon, giving an illusion of advancement from one match to the next. However, as I delved deeper into my journey, I encountered Relics that felt genuinely valuable and impactful.

In other words, it’s not certain that you’ll discover a weapon with the appropriate status effect to face the Nightlord on your expedition, but I had an artifact that turned my initial weapon into a poison dealer, which, coupled with advanced artifacts that amplified damage against poisoned enemies, significantly eased the challenge of the Gaping Jaw. The improvement in damage was quite apparent, even just by enhancing my starting weapon instead of opting for more lavish equipment. Additionally, you can customize and adjust abilities, such as modifying Executor’s cursed blade (similar to Sekiro’s deflect skill) to restore health, making combat more self-reliant.

I’m thrilled to observe how players creatively combine and assemble Relics to design builds for every character. Since you can equip multiple Relic setups, it promises to be intriguing to witness the emergence of strategies tailored for each boss, and how satisfying the game becomes when discovering the perfect harmonies between them.

Matchmaking Has Me A Little Concerned

In my original analysis, I stated that Nightreign mastered the multiplayer format reminiscent of Soulslike games, and I maintain this viewpoint. Instead of resuscitating your fallen teammates by pressing a button, as is common in many games, you revive them by attacking them when they’re down. This not only aligns with the Soulslike genre but also adds an extra layer of complexity, as it requires assessing whether you can deal enough damage to your allies quickly enough for them to stand up again, or if it would be more beneficial to focus solely on the boss. On numerous occasions, I found myself losing games while trying to revive my teammates – at times, going for a solo victory is the better strategy.

In simpler terms, creating a team (squad) is more straightforward than the antiquated and confusing summoning method, as it operates just like any other multiplayer game today. The issue lies in that matchmaking wasn’t dependable during the test phase. You can invite players directly from your friends list, but it didn’t always function properly. Using passwords worked, but it was a risk if you were playing across different regions. Additionally, we experienced some network errors that kicked us out of matches, which you could rejoin, but you would lose a level in the process. Since Nightreign is primarily about teamwork, let’s hope these issues are resolved in the final version.

In 2025, what’s most troubling about this multiplayer game is the absence of cross-platform play, particularly since it’s a dedicated multiplayer title. Excluding PC due to the numerous hackers associated with Souls games makes sense, but the inability for Xbox and PlayStation players to interact feels like an oversight. The lack of duo mode, which may be addressed after release, is another point of concern. I’ve noticed that even when other players dropped out, just two of us could still win, so it seems plausible that duos would be as engaging as trios. Solo play, despite balance adjustments, still feels excessively challenging due to the lack of resuscitation options.

Immersing myself repeatedly in game after game, capturing the Soulslike cycle in a miniature world, was incredibly rewarding, and the triumphant moments have never tasted sweeter. Although there are minor flaws, such as the absence of cross-platform compatibility and spongy bosses, overall, Nightreign is one of the most creative creations FromSoftware has produced since it established the Soulslike genre.

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2025-05-28 17:09