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Elden Ring Nightreign introduces a twist that enhances Souls adventures, making them more exciting for co-op play. Here’s our take on it.
The Elden Ring franchise received great fame and appreciation from critics worldwide on the launch of Elden Ring in 2022. Published by Bandai Namco and developed by FromSoftware Inc, Elden Ring Nightreign carries the expectations of several Souls fans hoping to get more of the rich world of ER by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R Martin. While Nightreign isn’t directed by Miyazaki sensei, it can be considered safe in the hands of Junya Ishizaki, Battle Director for Elden Ring and one of the people behind its massive success.
By the time I processed that I would be a part of the Elden Ring Nightreign Closed Network Test (CNT), my friends and colleagues were more excited than I was. The idea of working together with your friends to beat menacing Souls bosses is a dream several fans have had since forever. Nightreign turns this dream into a reality by offering a three-person co-op Souls spinoff, set in the universe of ER.
Bandai Namco allowed testers to hop onto their servers via five sessions, allowing up to 15 hours of possible gameplay. Luckily, I was able to play for 8+ hours, during the entirety of which I couldn’t keep my controller down. Nighreign adds a unique twist this time around, leaving players almost no room to sit back or rest during the Expeditions. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
How Does Elden Ring Nightreign Fit into the Elden Ring Lore?
Set in Limveld, certain Heroes known as Nightfarers are tasked with the responsibility of defending the place from the Night Lords’ rule. Although we were given access to four of these heroes in the CNT, Bandai Namco has announced a total of eight playable Heroes or Classes to be available at launch.
At the Roundtable Hold in Nightreign, players have access to the following options: Expeditions, Character Selection, Relic Rites, Visual Codex, and Sparring Grounds. Additionally, a Roundtable Hold map is also accessible on this screen.
Expeditions are adventures that one can take on with their friends (with the help of a private party password) or two randomly matched online players. Although Elden Ring Nightreign does not feature customizable builds, the availability of a diverse range of Heroes supporting unique playstyles keeps the gameplay from getting monotonous.
Each of these Heroes has a Passive Ability, Character Skill, and Ultimate Art unique to them, leaving players with several approaches and Hero combinations to clear the Expeditions.
While one Expedition was available for testing, I struggled to get through to Day 3 on the only accessible one during the CNT. Unfortunately, on the one attempt that my party reached the final day, a teammate got disconnected, making it impossible for the two of us to finish the Night Lord. Regardless, we brave Nightfarers didn’t back down from the challenge and died a heroic but embarrassing death.
Elden Ring Nightreign can be experienced to its true glory when played with friends since it involves better communication. However, I barely faced any difficulty while going solo along with two random strangers, thanks to Nightreign’s balanced optimization of the fights to be suited for a group of three.
Nightreign’s Gameplay mixes Battle Royale Elements with Souls Combat to Create Something Unique
Although rumors around Nightreign indicated that it would have similarities to Battle Royale titles and would play out as one, I can confirm that it doesn’t. The only relatable aspect here that I can recall from my BR experiences is running away from the closing zone.
Nightreign reportedly features everchanging maps (remixed from Elden Ring’s landscape assets) with bosses in rotation that make every experience unique and unpredictable. During my time traversing the lands of Limveld, I realized that the maps in my expeditions were almost identical. Hopefully, we will see more of this feature when FromSoftware’s latest co-op Souls title releases fully.
How do Expeditions Work in Elden Ring Nightreign?
The Beta version of the title allowed testers to try out the complete Tricephalos (aka. Gladius, one of the Night Lords) Expedition, which kept me engrossed for hours. At the time of release, Nightreign will feature eight Night Lords that players can challenge on the third day of each Expedition’s three-day cycle.
As the Expeditions start, the Spectral Hawk drops the players at a random place on the map. This marks the beginning of Day 1 of the day-and-night cycle including two Night Boss fights and one final boss fight with the Night Lord on Day 3. All players begin the first day at Level 1, with three Sacred Flasks and a base weapon and/or shield, depending on what Hero they choose.
Instead of offering the regular time-taking approach to exploration, Elden Ring Nightreign leaves players in a constant state of tension. This fast-paced nature of the title had me gasping for air while still feeling exhilarated and yearning for more. While most of the locations featured in Limveld look similar to the Limgrave terrains, the game’s trailer confirms the presence of other areas inspired by Elden Ring’s regions.
On opening the map as you begin your Expedition, you’ll notice several Points of Interaction scattered across Limveld. These POIs include Sites of Grace, Spiritstreams, Spectral Hawk Trees, Dungeons, Churches, and Ruins. Traversal has also been improved as players can now sprint simply by holding the Left Joystick. Additionally, the abundance of Spiritstreams and Spectral Trees makes moving around much faster than in Elden Ring.
Sites of Grace work very differently in Nightreign as it only allows players to level up their character based on a pre-determined set of Stats. However, they can be influenced by Status Effect boosts from Items and Dormant Powers gained by defeating certain Great Enemies. Despite limited possibilities stat-wise, I never got bored while trying out the same Expedition. The diverse abilities of the Heroes that I tested out at the Sparring Grounds pushed me to get out of my comfort zone and explore various ways of adding value to my team.
While I was the most comfortable playing as Wylder, I invested a lot of time testing out Guardian and Recluse since their abilities intrigued me. While Duchess is not exactly my style, I would definitely like to give it a chance at launch, solely for her Restage Skill. This Ability enables the Hero to inflict damage upon enemies with an illusory reprisal that mimics the damage dealt by the entire party moments before.
Throughout the games, I had only one goal in my mind, which was to stay alive. Being a Souls title, Elden Ring Nightreign must punish players on death. The game executes this task brilliantly, especially on Day 2. You lose a level permanently along with your runes when they die during the day. These runes can be recovered by going back to the same location. However, it wastes a lot of preparation time as the Night approaches.
You can revive your teammates in a near-death state (by hitting them) during the day before the timer on the downed teammates runs out. However, at Night, one stays in a near-death state until they are revived. When the entire team is downed, they lose the Expedition. The number of charges in your near-death state increases (up to three) with the number of times you die during the run. This can be reset to zero by visiting a Site of Grace.
It was during the third game that I realized it was possible to upgrade weapons when I found a Smithing Stone in a chest. At this point, it’s difficult to say if the Item is rare or if it was just tough luck for me.
As you and your party explore the map, the Night’s Tide closes in. This feature works similarly to zones (or Storm) as seen in Battle Royale titles like Fortnite. I found myself struggling to keep track of the Night’s Tide amidst the intense fights, spanning several locations and losing a lot of HP to the tide. When the Night falls, the storm stops moving, leaving out the area for the Night Boss Battle to take place. On defeating this boss, you receive rewards that include Dormant Powers and weapons. Soon after, mist covers the area and teleports the players to a new location, kicking off Day 2.
I discovered that it is difficult to survive Day 2 without being at least Level 9 when starting the day. In the beginning, combat felt easier to handle, leading us to believe that we were ready for Day 2. Moments later, our entire party was obliterated by an Invader — Fell Omen. Margit travels to the lands of Limveld to wipe out an entire party of Nightfarers until he is killed. This iteration of the Demi-God Boss bears the moveset of Morgott but has Margit’s title.
The Fell Omen randomly appears as a Day Boss while you explore the map on Day 2, trying to level up in preparation for the Night. If you can beat him, you get more runes and other rewards to help for the battle ahead. Unfortunately, me and my team lost this fight every time except once. In that one lucky game where we found good loot and leveled up quickly by beating bosses, we also beat the Fell Omen. After beating him, players can continue exploring the map until the Night falls again. The Night Bosses in Elden Ring Nightreign feature a rotation system that randomizes the boss at a limited probability.
On beating the Day 2 Night Boss, you can travel to the Spirit Shelter to face the final boss on Day 3. In the Spirit Shelter, you can level up your Hero or upgrade your weapons before starting the boss fight. After the Expedition ends, you get rewarded with Relics that can be equipped in the Relic Rites menu option. They provide attribute boosts to your Heroes, which get activated at the beginning of the Expedition. This feature might add to the overall gameplay progression at launch.
In Conclusion
Remain steadfast against the encroaching rain, Nightfarers.
— Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) February 12, 2025
The Nightlord awaits your arrival.
Make your landfall in Limveld on May 30th, 2025.
Pre-order #ELDENRING #NIGHTREIGN: https://t.co/7kYtTT9GLr pic.twitter.com/b2HmK4ZE4R
My time wandering through the lands of Limveld was an intense adventure-packed journey that challenged me and my team at every step, thus proving that the title is optimized well for a group of three. If not for the major server issues during Session 1 and some minor issues in the ones following, I would have been able to get a few more hours on the CNT.
Bandai Namco has also announced a DLC for Nightreign ahead of its launch. However, the availability of DLCs for an online game means additional content like boss battles being locked for online players that have the base game.
Elden Ring Nightreign has left me longing for another chance at proving myself worthy as a Nightfarer. However, that will have to wait for now. Furthermore, Nightreign also features bosses from Dark Souls and Dark Souls 3, creating endless possible popular boss returns.
Elden Ring Nightreign’s trailer confirms the return of characters like the Nameless King, although they weren’t available in the CNT. The newest installment of ER has the potential to become something great and revolutionize Modern Souls Co-op gaming if they add enough content at launch. FromSoftware’s latest title is scheduled to be released on May 30, 2025, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
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