ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN
Developer: FromSoftware
Publisher: FromSoftware, Bandai Namco Entertainment
Platforms: Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC (Reviewed)
Release Date: 29 May 2025
Price: $39.99 USD – Available Here $69.95 AUD – Available Here
Overview
Let’s get one thing straight right from the beginning: Elden Ring: Nightreign is, by all definitions, a spinoff. And to be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of spinoffs in any form of media—whether it’s TV shows, movies, or video games. More often than not, they tend to ride the coattails of their successful predecessors, offering little innovation or originality. They bank heavily on nostalgia and name recognition while playing it safe with the same old formula. Think about it—we can all quote countless moments from Friends, but how many people can even remember a single scene from Joey? Exactly. So, when a spinoff comes along, it typically falls into one of two camps: it either brings something genuinely fresh to the table or exists purely to cash in on past success. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at Nightreign and see if it breaks the mold. Does it innovate? And more importantly, does it deliver on the fun?
Story
The game is set in an alternate universe of the Lands Between. The events of the original game never happened. Marika did not destroy the Elden Ring, and the Tarnished were not tasked to become the Elden Lord. In the original game, a civilization of humanoids and creatures known as the Nox existed, beings who rejected the Greater Will and were subsequently exiled underground in the Eternal City. In this alternate timeline, the Nox succeed in defeating Marika and the Golden Order, destroying the Erdtree, and plunging the Lands Between into fatal darkness. You are one of the warriors from across and beyond the Lands Between, summoned to stave off the Night and defeat the Nightlords, under the watchful eyes of Nox.
Gameplay
At the core of it, Elden Ring Nightreign is a roguelike. You pick one of the classes (with two that you can unlock later), join a party of three, and travel to a procedurally generated Lands Between on a spectral eagle in a segment that is suspiciously similar to “where we droppin’, boys” from Fortnite. You can choose between Wylder, Guardian, Ironeye, Raider, Reculse, and Executor. These are all the archetypes of your typical thief/warrior/mage/knight classes, each with their strengths and weaknesses. And here is the first peculiar thing: the game either supports 3-player co-op or solo, nothing in between. Your main goal in every run is to survive up to day 2 in The Lands Between and face the final boss of the run. As you start, the map will gradually shrink until it pushes you all to one small area where the boss will spawn. Until that happens, you are free to roam around, taking down enemies and field bosses. Gather enough souls and level up at the site of grace so you can have a decent chance at taking down the boss(es).
Unfortunately, your best chance of making it far enough in the game solely depends on what kind of co-op buddies you’ll have. Unless you have a trained team of Elden Ring veterans who managed to beat Malenia in the first 100 tries, you’re not gonna have much fun. It will also require a lot of testing with blind runs until you find a class that suits you best, and at the time of writing this, solo players are still at a great disadvantage compared to 3-player runs (even with the latest balance patch). Another peculiar thing is the field bosses that greatly vary in difficulty. As in, some are just not worth risking it for a party wipe (avoid the dragons btw) and can be a lot more dangerous than the bosses at the end of Day 1 or Day 2 runs.
Visuals
If you’ve already played Elden Ring (and let’s be honest—who hasn’t by now?), then you more or less know what to expect when it comes to the visual style. The art direction remains stunning, with that signature FromSoftware touch, blending haunting beauty with decayed grandeur. However, despite the procedurally generated nature of the new map, you’ll start to notice a sense of repetition. Many of the same assets from the base game are reused—castles scattered around somewhat randomly, the occasional gothic church, winding gorges to delve into, and of course, the ever-present poisonous swamps. It can sometimes feel like a familiar world shuffled into a new order. That said, the “random map generator” occasionally stumbles upon unexpectedly breathtaking layouts. There are moments of visual brilliance that really stand out in each run. Just be sure to stay alert—this is still Elden Ring, and a dragon could descend from the skies at any moment to end your journey.
Audio
To be honest, at first, I didn’t really have much time to sit back and appreciate the soundtrack. I was too caught up, frantically running across the map, trying to level up just enough to stand a chance against the next brutal boss encounter. Because of that, I initially only paid attention to a few of the boss themes, and those really stood out. The intense orchestration and emotional weight behind each track perfectly matched the high-stakes battles. It’s well known by now that Elden Ring: Nightreign features the return of several iconic bosses from the Dark Souls series, and hearing the themes associated with the Nameless King or the Gaping Dragon again was incredibly nostalgic. Those tracks remain just as powerful and spine-chilling as when we first heard them. While the overall soundtrack might not quite reach the same legendary heights as the original Elden Ring, it still delivers a rich, memorable auditory experience.
Overall
All in all, Elden Ring Nightreign is not a game for everyone. Come to think of it, even the original game is far more accessible and newb friendly now than this one, mostly because you’re going to be relying on randoms to make any kind of progress when it comes to the story. But once it works, it works to perfection. There is nothing better than randomly being part of a skilled team that covers all bases when it comes to tanking bosses, reviving, and exploring all the important locations on the map. It is a perfect game for a few runs per day (while praying to Lady Luck to get into a good team), with all the expected rage and frustration that’s a staple of an Elden Ring game. As of right now, I could only recommend it to the Elden Ring pros, and it’s definitely not something that you should jump in lightly.
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