Elden Ring Nightreign Review, Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Top Features

Elden Ring Nightreign from developer FromSoftware is an unexpected twist and expansion of a classic formula that loops in modern genres in interesting ways. 

Largely a cooperative experience, Nightreign iterates on one of the best games of all time with elements of battle royale games. It streamlines Elden Ring staples too, from world traversal to the leveling-up experience in the process. 

While the end result isn’t what fans across the board have asked for, there’s an almost irresistible pull coming from this experimental expansion of the series. 

That it loops in ideas from across the FromSoftware library of games and perhaps hints at what’s to come in the future is just an added exclamation point to this anticipated project.

Graphics and Gameplay

Nightreign takes place in a procedurally generated Limveld (FKA Limgrave) that is just as every bit appealing as the original. 

Visually and from a sound design standpoint, the band’s all here. Some might hit Nightreign for simply re-using assets, but the world remains expansive with jaw-dropping draw distances, variety and drop-dead gorgeous scenes at times. 

The sheer amount of foliage, misty areas and downright incredible scale remain. Much of it gets a remixed twist, too, be it new enemies in unexpected areas or entire shifts during events. 

Players are here moreso for the refreshing gameplay loop, anyway.

Each mission, or expedition,  can range from 30 minutes to bordering on an hour and takes place over three days. Players encounter a minor boss at the end of each day. The third day is the battle with the final boss, a Nightlord. Before that, though, players get transported to a shelter where they can make final preparations, meaning item tweaking and the like. 

The journey to the final boss is where the battle royale elements shine. Picking a party composition, then sticking together or splitting up to pursue upgrades across a map that is never fully the same for each expedition is fun.

Those Nightlord bosses are varied and, of course, challenging. They also come with very explicit weaknesses, which players can exploit—provided they can find the right upgrades. Specific world happenings such as Shifting Earth events (more on that in a bit) can provide predictable upgrades and elemental effects, making map strategizing all the more important. 

Those familiar with battle royales will feel right at home with the shrinking blue border of the map. It permits players to anticipate where the randomly selected final zone will be, too. Generally speaking, the enemies encountered throughout the days tend to hint to which bosses might be on the way, too. 

Navigating the world is a strategic battle, too. Just how much time players should spend farming runes, seeking out churches for Flask of Crimson Tears upgrades or merchants for key items like Smithing Stones is a puzzle in itself. 

Traversal gets a slight revamp to match the pace. Players can now sprint and wall jump at an appropriate cost of stamina to help get around quicker. The presence of spectral hawks throughout the map helps to get from one point to another even quicker, but their flight paths are predetermined and can’t be changed. Plus—and this is huge—no fall damage. 

Between expeditions, players can spend earned currencies at the Roundtable Hold, courtesy of the fitting Small Jar Bazaar. 

Players assume the role of Nightfarers along the way, meaning several different classes that feature their own passives, skills and ultimate arts. Like almost any good RPG, mixing and matching properly can be the difference between a successful or failed run. 

The game does a good job of opening itself up to all ranges of players in this regard, at least. It assigns a complexity grade to each Nightfarer, with “C” being the easiest and “S” being the most complex. 

Ironeye, for example, is simple—deal ranged damage from safety while managing a simple set of cooldowns and basically worrying about one gauge. A Recluse, though, is the most complex and asks players to juggle many damage types, worry about elemental resistances, access buffs via sorcery and incantations and have minimal defenses. Good luck with melee weapons, too. 

Any class can use any weapon, though that’s obviously ill-advised based on the character (but pay close attention because the passives can offer critical bonuses or effects). And the developer is clearly flexing its extensive background in these types of games, with some classes obviously dodging with some serious Bloodborne influences. 

Phantoms again exist in the overworld, showing the actions of other players. Interacting with the gray reenactments of other players will refill an Arts Gauge, while interacting with the red, which showcase the dead, will offer up equipment. 

Death again has some interesting mechanics for the series. This time, downed players can be revived by a friend before a timer expires. If not, the deceased revive at the last visited Sites of Grace, but are penalized one level of progression. 

As a whole, Nightreign is a faster-playing Elden Ring with streamlined progression, as leveling up advances all stats at once, unlike the base game.

Story and More

Beyond the obvious environmental storytelling of the world, each Nightfarer has a specific story players can progress over time.

Not that the game makes it easy. They must travel to the journal in the Roundtable Hold, selecting the right one and then only potentially seeing that character’s personal scenario objective added to the map during an expedition. 

While it’s nice to have personal storylines for so many characters and always fun to see more journal entries unlock, there is a very drip-feed feel to it. 

Beyond the standard expeditions, there are other world events players can do. Shifting Earth events are optional side items that randomly appear in certain areas and carry specific themes and/or challenges, plus some massive rewards if players take up to a day to complete them. 

There are also world events at raids at random, which are smaller modifiers to keep things fresh. Think, a big world boss crashing down from orbit or an entire encampment of enemies getting supercharged (with appropriately increasing rewards to match). 

All of the above layers atop the general weighty decision-making of map exploration on a timer.

Overall progression is again a strength. In the original, players had the ability to go back and reclaim dropped experience at spots they died in the previous life. This time, successful expeditions reward permanent character upgrades.

Beating a boss or finishing an event merely grants access to a reward cache, though, and picking one of the three dishes out randomized rewards. Thankfully, at least, a player’s choice doesn’t impact what’s available to be picked by teammates. 

Nightreign features a good opening tutorial, not that veteran players would need it. There’s enough present to help completely new players, too, though. 

Actual online functionality again feels slightly dated, requiring passwords for friends to team up with each other for a session. But the standard, usual array of options in the menus remains in good form.

Difficulty (obviously scaled down for solo play) can be brutal, as expected, considering the typical FromSoftware release combined with the fickle nature of random elements found in battle royale maps. 

On the negative side, the lack of cross-platform play and pushing solo or trio play (but no duo) is odd. Alongside the password system, it’s a little dated in these areas. 

Conclusion

Nightreign feels like a hacked-up version of Elden Ring, implementing multiple different genres into the remaining pieces by fans bored of the base game. 

That’s effectively what it is—and it’s awesome. 

There will be a portion of fans who wish this was a more boilerplate expansion with heavy co-op elements, not a hodgepodge of genres. But the traversal and new combat mechanics, specifically, almost feel like the developers are experimenting before building their next game. 

If this fun sidetrack of an experience is sheer experimentation, it would be nice to see other series take similar risks. Nightreign is a blast with some notable replayability and will do just fine to bridge the gap ahead of whatever comes next.