Elden Ring Nightreign review: a hard game's night

Elden Ring: Nightreign feels like a bold expansion to FromSoftware’s critically-acclaimed soulsborne title.

As a fan of Elden Ring, I was eager to see what Nightreign was about, intrigued by the concept of a roguelike set in this fantastical yet familiar universe. I’m happy to say it works, for the most part, but not without a few teething issues that hold it back from the absolute perfection of the prior game and its DLC.

Without going too deep into the story and lore, because I’m not a scholar and we don’t have time, I was thrilled to see that Elden Ring: Nightreign is contained within its own little bubble. Some of the events of Elden Ring are touched on, namely the shattering of the Elden Ring itself, but it’s not a continuation or a prequel - and I think that was the right move as it’s no use adding to the story in what’s essentially a spin-off.

That’s not to say that the game doesn’t add its fair share of interesting characters though, many of which make up the roster of classes you can play as. The class system really stood out to me as it actually encouraged me to try out some builds I’d almost never touched in Elden Ring, or any FromSoftware game for that matter. While Elden Ring would require the player to carefully level up their stats, find the best equipment, and equip the best talismans to maximise their damage output, Elden Ring: Nightreign does most of the work for you.

After choosing the class that best represented a strength build, I hopped into my first solo games and was thrilled to see I was already clobbering enemies in two to three hits straight out of the gate. After grabbing enough runes, you can level up at a Site Of Grace where the relevant stats for your character get automatically boosted, giving you more health, stamina, FP if needed and, of course, damage. It was nice to have that part of the game taken care of automatically, and it actually encouraged me to mix up my playstyle a bit.

Never in my life did I ever think I’d use a bow and arrow in a soulsborne game but Elden Ring: Nightreign proved me wrong; it’s my favourite class in the game. I felt like Legolas mowing down enemies with the various bows you can find and again, the level-up ensured I was doing a decent amount of damage without having to think too hard about what weapon I was using. Add that to the incredibly versatile weapon-pool and Elden Ring: Nightreign offers just as much experimentation as Elden Ring did, but without the need to start a new playthrough or redistribute all your points with Rennala when you want to try something new.

Speaking of trying something new, Elden Ring: Nightreign takes a roguelike approach for the first time in FromSoftware’s history. After selecting your class and embarking on an expedition, you’ll be dropped onto a random island, where you’ll have to quickly slay as many enemies and field bosses as you can before the sun begins to set. Once it does set, a ring of blue fire will appear and begin to close until you’ve only got a small arena to fight in.

Bandai Namco

In this arena spawns a boss which you’ll have to beat if you want to move onto the next day. If it slays you, you’re booted out of the expedition and you’ll have to start from the beginning with none of your prior levels, gear or upgrades. The aim of the game is to survive two nights on the island, meaning slay two main bosses, before moving onto one of the Nightlords - one of several unique bosses that pack a hell of a punch and boast some truly ridiculous gameplay gimmicks. They’re no pushovers, and if you haven’t been diligently boosting your stats, upgrading your weapons, and ensuring your build is optimal for your class, you’re going to struggle.

You will pick up perks along the way from the bosses you defeat, such as a boost to your HP, faster stamina regeneration, and more. You’ll also constantly be on the lookout for better weapons and regularly stopping by shops for upgrade materials and helpful items. Throughout my several playthroughs of Elden Ring, I barely touched items like firebombs and boiled crabs but in Nightreign, it feels like they can make all the difference.

Fortunately, you don’t have to face the challenge alone, nor should you for reasons I’ll get to shortly… Elden Ring: Nightreign is designed to be played online with two of your friends, and while I greatly admire the idea, the execution is flawed. You literally need two friends in order to play online, you can’t play as a duo. You can, of course, fill the gap with a random player, but that’s not exactly the best workaround. You’d rather play with people you know, right? It’s not a dealbreaker by any means but it is a confusing design choice, especially in a series that regularly throws in AI companions to make the game slightly easier. Bots should have been an option.

It’s a shame too because multiplayer is definitely the optimal way to play the game. Not only is it fun to coordinate your builds and strategies, it also makes the boss fights feel more intense, and even fairer at times. If your health drops to zero, you’re not out of the fight yet as one of your allies can pick you back up, meaning your expedition only comes to an end when all three players are down. When fighting the Nightlords, this leads to some exciting developments as there were several moments where I was having to pick up my downed allies while dodging the various attacks headed my way. It was tough but it didn’t feel unbeatable.

Playing solo, on the other hand, requires you to first-try the boss if you want to move onto the next, which is very tricky - especially when it’s a boss you’ve never met before which, in my case, was Morgott but with moves he never had in Elden Ring. Playing solo just felt frustrating as losing to a boss in Elden Ring just means you spawn back at the nearest Site Of Grace to try again, perhaps adapting your build or strategy for a better chance the next time around. In Elden Ring: Nightreign, you don’t get that luxury and while that works for most roguelikes, I don’t think it lends itself to FromSoftware’s style all that well.

For those interested in playing Elden Ring: Nightreign, I’d encourage you to find two people to play it with if you want the best experience. If you don’t mind mingling with players online, that works too but the game is at its peak when you’re with two mates communicating in a Discord call.

All in all, I did enjoy my time with Elden Ring: Nightreign and I’m looking forward to seeing it grow and flourish with some post-launch updates. It’s not perfect, and it nowhere near has the level of polish that Elden Ring did, but you can tell it’s not really trying to be what that game was. It’s a different animal entirely and I can admire FromSoftware for trying something new while still holding onto what’s worked for it in the past.

If anything, Elden Ring: Nightreign has me even more excited for The Duskbloods, which sounds like it’ll be the same type of game but more refined, and with a greater emphasis on solo-play instead of teams of three.

Pros: Offers a new experience compared to previous games, exciting new bosses and enemies, online multiplayer is definitely the game at its best

Cons: Single-player feels like an afterthought and no option for duos poses an annoying problem

For fans of: Elden Ring, Dark Souls, roguelikes

8/10: Excellent

Elden Ring: Nightreign launches on 30 May for PlayStation 5 (version tested), Xbox Series X/S, and PC. A review code was provided by the publisher. Read a guide to our review scores here.