Elden Ring Nightreign
Review
Don't Go Softly Into the Night
by Camrin Santchi
reviewed on PC
A World Asunder
From Software loves a good apocalypse and ruined world, but the Lands Between in Elden Ring might have been one of the most stable, especially compared to the Dark Souls series. Elden Ring: Nightreign, however, brings a disaster that could very well wash away the very history of the world. Much like the journey of the Tarnished in Elden Ring, the plight of the Nightfarers in Nightreign draws itself from the Shattering, a great war between demigods that took place long before the events of the games. But where Elden Ring depicted a stalemate and an empty throne just begging to be filled by a new Elden Lord, Nightreign is about pushing back the tides of the Night, an apocalyptic, cursed rain that destroys all that is consumed by it.
Based on what this reviewer can grasp, Nightreign is an alternate path that the world of the Lands Between could have taken, rather than a prequel or sequel, but From Software is infamous for having connections between games that might be tenuous or difficult to find at best.
Gather, Ye Nightfarers
Nightreign is an interesting switch-up in that, unlike the single player action-RPGs that From Software is known for, it actually adds roguelike elements and has a premiere focus on multiplayer. Players can challenge the Night solo, but Nightreign is primarily built around a team of three Nightfarers working together to face the tide.
Another distinct difference from what fans might usually expect of From Software is the lack of character creation within Nightreign. Instead, players choose a Nightfarer, each of whom has a different stat specialty as well as abilities that create a different role within the party of three. Some of these characters have easier to learn playstyles than others, and they offer a variety of stat spreads so no matter the style a gamer favors, they'll likely find one that suits them after a brief time trying them out.
Each 'run' against the Night is broken into segments- the first phase is when players search the map for weapons, spells, or other abilities that they can use in the second phase, when the Rains block most of the map and a powerful boss forms. Once the boss is defeated, the rains recede and players are once again able to explore the area. This process repeats itself with two exploration stages and two boss stages, before ending with a final battle against a Nightlord, a more unique and challenging boss that tests your limits.
Try, Try Again
As mentioned before, Nightreign has an emphasis on roguelike mechanics. Each death sets you back to the beginning, and each run against the Night randomizes items and points of interest. Depending on the success of each run, players can find bonuses that can be equipped for future runs. Some are passives like increasing the damage of throwing items, while others will let players start a run with additional items of some kind. Finding and equipping these bonuses is one of the only real pieces of progress that a player will have in Nightreign, since besides those your experience may boil down to hoping that you get lucky with enemy locations, weapon grabs, and bosses that you know how to fight.
Now, the act of trying again and again is absolutely not unheard of in From Software games, trial and error is essentially the name of the game - but structurally it is quite the shift. Nightreign's roguelike elements make it a very different experience from games like Dark Souls or Elden Ring. In those games players are able to level up or find alternative measures like new armours, weapons, or anything else. But in Nightreign players are even more under the thumb of the game. Players are not able to commit to fighting the same boss multiple times to learn their patterns without having to face an entire extensive cycle. Nightlords are set when you engage in a run so gamers will know who they will be fighting at the end of their run when they get to it, but the two sub-bosses prior to the Nightlord are from a random pool.
Resist the Night
Elden Ring: Nightreign is a multiplayer experience that is challenging but satisfying. Solo play is possible, but it is clear that the game is built and balanced for a multiplayer party. Along with this, at times it can feel like progress is either luck based or time consuming, even for From Software. Nightreign is an interesting experience, and while the emphasis on multiplayer and the roguelike elements may not be for everyone that enjoyed Elden Ring or other From Software games, it makes for an enjoyable variation on a concept that this company has polished to a shine.
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8.4
fun score
Pros
A Challenging But Fun Multiplayer Experience
Cons
Game is Built for Multiplayer, Progress Feels Luck Based
