Elden Ring Nightreign Review

In Elden Ring Nightreign, two things bloom from the bounty Elden Ring has brought upon developer FromSoftware. A multiplayer action title riffing on genre staples, the long exalted “jolly cooperation” ideology that strikes fear into the heart of FromSoftware’s worst fans is finally made manifest and explicit— Nightreign is about helping each other, mechanically realised and riotously fun. As precursor to The Duskbloods, it’s a largely successful formal experiment in resettling the core Souls experience into a multiplayer mould, replete with the studio’s signature command over art direction and tone. 

It’s also unmistakably Product. Contorting a near decade of considered design into the shape of Populist Video Game, Nightreign sees FromSoftware bending to meet contemporary standards rather than setting, or actively defying, them. Players are dropped into a limited map, racing against a closing circle to collect colour-graded items and complete the occasional task. It is almost entirely knowable, easily consumed and just as easily set aside, its undeniably propulsive action masking an otherwise careless construction when measured against the pedigree of the studio.

In an effort to stop the timey-wimey machinations of the amorphous Nightlord, Nightreign sees you and two other players eagle’d into Limveld, an alternate timeline take on Elden Ring’s Limgrave. Nightreign’s amalgamation of previous FromSoftware assets and narrative threads is somewhat hand-waved away as the Nightlord’s breaking containment has also broken the boundaries of time, reality splintering into an eternal night that allows the developer to reuse boss encounters and aesthetics without needing to worry about Lore. Which isn’t to say Nightreign doesn’t have its share of story notes, but the impulse to pore over item descriptions is distinctly dulled by the game’s loose relationship with continuity (less important) and intent (crucially important).

Each of the eight Nightfarers you can choose from offers compelling builds that escalate the speed and fluidity of Elden Ring’s central mechanics tenfold. Traversal and general movement have been uniquely overhauled, characters now having the ability to jump and clamber up surfaces and break into a rapid sprint on a whim, regardless of class attributes. Ranging from heavies to rogues to mages, this pre-built batch immediately put to rest any concerns around the lack of true player customisation. The Nightfarers are immaculately designed, building on Elden Ring’s heightened fantasy elements to create visually distinct and mechanically complex archetypes that would comfortably fit into a wholly original work from the studio.

Each Expedition to Limveld will soft reset your Nightfarer to level 1, with the core loop pushing you into a streamlined grind for simple level-ups, better loot, and escalating combat encounters. On your journey, you’ll naturally collect Relics, equipable baseline boosts and alterations that persist between Expeditions, but Nightreign’s Roguelike model means a clean-ish break every time you start the cycle anew. This shift bristles against the FromSoftware formula in odd ways; gone is the contemplative exploration and build-focused gathering, instead you’ll be moving at breakneck speeds through Elden Ring’s distinctly ornate trappings, feverishly picking up colour-graded weapons to better improve your odds of being able to tackle the boss that awaits at the end of each day.

Nightreign’s art direction is gorgeous and fits right alongside Elden Ring

These boss encounters prove contentious in unexpected ways; the Nightlords, eight original designs that are both aesthetically thrilling and mechanically (mostly) engaging, are excellent and can be chosen at your discretion at the beginning of an Expedition. Elsewhere, however, the multiverse approach has pulled other iconic FromSoftware foes into Nightreign’s orbit, from lowly Elden Ring midbosses to The Nameless King of Dark Souls III fame. This choice is understandable from a development point of view, but a clumsy blow to storytelling integrity and, occasionally, game balancing. Nightreign is already a tough little experience, but these older bosses don’t feel quite balanced for the game’s newer systems (trying to raise a teammate while old mate on his dragon pounds away at you is simply not a good time). 

Despite these clumsy moments, there’s an addictive kind of frenzied momentum here, and when indulged alongside friends, it reminds you that FromSoftware tap into something primal and elegant. How long that frenzy can sustain itself is another question, the single map and minimal narrative hooks making for a leaner multiplayer experience than the market typically demands. There are efforts to counter the burnout; Limveld will be impacted by Shifting Earth events that radically alter portions of the map and allow players access to specific encounters for a limited time. Likewise, the flexibility of the Relics is its own fun system to poke at, optimisation always feeling just one more Expedition away, and the weapon variety paired with each class’ unique moves feels excellent. Still, the inevitable side effect of FromSoftware’s decision to chase trends rather than set them is that Nightreign still feels overly familiar most of the time, its central push into genre content with emulation and little evolution.   

The Nightfarers are a cool looking bunch with some just okay stories to tell

FromSoftware’s signature enigmatic storytelling finds its own avenue even within Nightreign’s multiplayer focus, as each of the Nightfarers can follow personalised questlines to unearth their backstories. These “Rememberances” range from simple fetch quests to more elaborate boss encounters, and are peppered with the requisite gloom befitting the studio, but still lack compelling hooks beyond cosmetic rewards and something to do. As if your Fortnite dailies also tried to deliver character pathos, the Rememberances only served to remind me how far afield the game’s storytelling was from even the leanest of FromSoftware’s previous efforts. 

Which isn’t actually a hindrance to Nightreign, something I find both unsurprising given its gameplay first design ethos, but broadly upsetting. Nightreign breaks something critical in FromSoftware’s modern ethos, very loosely harkening back to its earliest Armored Core reissues, perhaps, but almost alien to the studio’s current import. There was a time when this tension between Art and Product would have been compelling in its own right, and to an extent, Nightreign’s tight thematic underpinnings are an odd companion piece to its glib connective tissue. But as the slope turns from slippery to outright greased, I don’t find the rapidly approaching bottom fun to ponder anymore— we’re down here now, and Nightreign is too.

Final Thoughts

Taken as intended, Elden Ring Nightreign is a thrilling slice of contemporary multiplayer action. It’s not entirely bereft of fresh juice, and gives me immense hope for The Duskbloods as a more fully realised push into genre experiment. But it’s also the first time I’ve witnessed FromSoftware craft something so blatantly uninterested in its own artistic merits or potential. A studio that has reached such heights through its unyielding commitment to weaving together narrative and systems, theme and formalism, now bent to breaking point for the sake of another of these games on the market. Gameplay is king here, artists made toymakers in its court.

Reviewed on PS5 // Review code supplied by publisher

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