I played Elden Ring spin-off: Nightreign focuses on builds, but everything can be shattered by repetitiveness
The new Elden Ring is not a DLC, but a completely stand-alone game. I've already had a chance to play a few hours of Nightreign and I can tell you what the game actually is and my initial feelings about it.
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The new Elden Ring announcement was quite a surprise for most players, myself included. Fans didn't expect another expansion after Shadow of the Erdtree, and the first trailer didn't explain what Nightreign is supposed to be. The information that has been appearing until now has finally revealed that the new Elden Ring is not a DLC but a completely separate game that takes an experimental approach to the gameplay we know. I had the opportunity to play a few hours of Nightreign, and today, I can tell you what this game is really like.
Good (idea)...
Nightreign is a PvE game focused on cooperation (although you can also play solo) with elements of roguelite and, of course, soulslike, which - as the developers underlined - won't be released at the price of full-fledged AAA titles. The gameplay revolves around a three-day and three-night cycle, ending with a boss fight. First, we reach a location where we upgrade our character through exploration and combat: we get new items and runes, which enable us to level up at the bonfires scattered around. As time passes, the area on the map shrinks until night finally comes. That's when we have to face a more powerful opponents. If we manage to defeat them, the day comes, and the fun starts all over again. On the third night, we have the opportunity to fight a Night Lord and obtain relics that enable us to upgrade our characters. The death of the entire team during a fight with the Lord or a lesser night boss, of course, results in a smaller number of relics received. So, if the battle doesn't turn out in our favor, we need to accept that there will be fewer rewards and they will be of lesser quality. In the game, there will ultimately be eight Night Lords, and we will select the one we will fight at the start of the expedition: of course, these bosses will differ in difficulty levels.
Elden Ring: Nightreign, Bandai Namco Entertainment, 2025.
And that's in a nutshell what fun looks like in Elden Ring: Nightreign. Of course, this title offers a bit more mechanics, as well as things worth noting, but more on that in a moment. First, I wanted you to take your time to understand what this game is truly meant to be, as I know from experience that it hasn't been clearly explained.
...bad (game build)
Now let's move on to the details. However, I must point out that we had about seven hours to play, which is quite a lot, but it was still a heavily limited version of the game. There was only one Night Lord available, four out of eight character classes were accessible, the third day was completely skipped, and the acquired resources (except for relics) couldn't be used at all. This is the same version of the game that will be available during the upcoming tests, and it is intended to check how the servers will handle more players.
Elden Ring: Nightreign, Bandai Namco Entertainment, 2025.
Roguelikes and all their derivatives are quite a specific genre. The focus on replayability and repeatedly doing the same things requires developing the gameplay loop to be engaging rather than monotonous and dull. A good example of this is procedurally generated locations and maps. After death, the player doesn't feel like they are doing the same thing again because certain elements change with each attempt. Unfortunately, the version of Nightreign that I had the opportunity to play, gave the impression as if the devs had forgotten about this very important point. The map that you would come across when choosing the only available Night Lord always looked the same - the location of the key places and enemies didn't change. In theory, our starting position was different, but - and I don't know why - for several hours, only two areas kept repeating, and most often, we ended up in the same one. This made every run look almost the same. We reached the same points and defeated the same opponents: the only difference was the items.
Of course, we only had access to one expedition, making it difficult to anticipate much diversity. However, I think that even when approaching the same Night Lord, the map or at least its key points should see some changes. It's hard to say what it will look like when there are more Night Lords available - will the feeling of fatigue from doing the same thing change?
Enough complaining
But before you think that I've started complaining too much, let me clarify: this is currently my biggest criticism about this game. Fortunately, there are also quite a few elements that are really good. What impressed me the most was the game's pace - each day equals 15 minutes in real-time, and while it seems brief, effective planning allows to achieve a lot. What matters most is having the right approach and being in harmony with the rest of the team, as playing with randoms can be quite challenging. The devs highlighted their intention for players to swiftly enjoy what they love most in Nightreign - crafting fun builds and engaging in spectacular boss fights.
Elden Ring: Nightreign, Bandai Namco Entertainment, 2025.
The improved movement system is also noteworthy - our characters run significantly faster than in the base Elden Ring, climb much more effectively, and the map features air streams that let us get even higher. In general, we move swiftly between locations, which is important considering the limited time to equip our character.
I felt that in Nightreign, the lack of a good build or a low character's level will be painful. While in a typical soulslike game this is not so noticeable, here even a one-level difference or a good weapon can make a big change - especially at the start of the game. So, it will be important how we use the next few days - every minute counts. Since we almost always began from the same spot on the same map, it appeared to me that the game didn't require skill development, but rather just remembering the best routes to level up and collect valuable items. There was no room for the usual process of understanding the boss's mechanics and animations to handle him, only repetitive actions in hopes of acquiring the best items.
Items are finally useful
The loot was like a light at the end of the tunnel, giving hope for diverse gameplay. This is one of the elements that changed with each attempt. In fact, in many cases, I had to adapt to what I was given. The available weapons come in various rarity levels, and there were times when we had to decide between a weapon with slightly better stats and one that was more comfortable to use. The game features an equipment upgrade system, but unfortunately, we weren't able to make much use of it during our attempts. It was only possible to improve regular types of weapons, and their further development required shards, which we didn't find even once.
Elden Ring: Nightreign, Bandai Namco Entertainment, 2025.
I appreciate that practical items, like throwing jars or food, have truly become useful. I used them many times because I believed that even the smallest boost or the chance to deal extra damage would make the fight easier, especially in the daytime when every minute is crucial.
However, for those of you who know FromSoftware games, I must immediately inform that traditionally, you shouldn't expect the balance of items to be sensible. It was clear right away that some tactics are much stronger than others - for instance, the bleeding status accumulates in a shared pool, so when each of us had a weapon with this effect, we completed the available stage without a sweat. I bet that at the launch, players will discover even more combinations - yet for many fans, this is an essential aspect of these games.
What about the lore?
Many Elden Ring fans may be wondering if there is room in the new FromSoftware project for more pieces of the story of this mysterious universe. The developers revealed that, unfortunately, this is a parallel world with its own history not directly tied to Elden Ring, but we won't see much of it in the game. The characters we will lead are expected to be the richest in plot curiosities.
Main dish, boss
After the fight, we should expect the familiar, albeit with a small but very important twist. When we play in a team and one of us goes down, we still have the opportunity to revive our friend - but to do so, we must damage him, which requires using two crucial resources: stamina or damage. During tough fights, an interesting extra decision-making factor appears - whether we can and want to spend time on reviving someone, but we will bear the cost and expose ourselves to the boss's attacks, or maybe we will take a risk and try to finish the fight with a weaker team. If a player is knocked down during the day, we only have a moment to revive them. If we don't make it in time, they will respawn but will lose one level and the runes they have acquired. In boss battles, there is no limit on the time available to help allies. However, it's worth remembering that with each fall, the damage required to get up is increasing. This extra element made the team fights more engaging and demanded a somewhat different strategy. I didn't have the opportunity to check the single-player mode, but from what I understood, the developers indicated that the game won't scale to the number of players - so playing solo, maybe a real challenge.
Elden Ring: Nightreign, Bandai Namco Entertainment, 2025.
The available character classes turned out to be diverse and you could really feel that playing them was a completely different experience. We did better on the front lines with the Guardian, and as a mage, we needed to maneuver effectively on the battlefield to steadily deal damage. Another class seemed perfectly suited to assist allies by applying invisibility, and the Nightfarer skillfully moved between the boss and the allies. In this game there are no class restrictions regarding items - we can equip our character with any weapon we get. The devs swear that along with the relic system, it is meant to encourage players to test all kinds of builds that come to their mind. Relics appear to significantly shape our preferred gameplay style - by assigning three different items of the appropriate color to each character, we can achieve meaningful permanent buffs. In the version of the game that I played, this was the only system that allowed characters to progress between successive expeditions.
The design of the first Night Lord, Gladius, the three-headed demonic dog, is at the typical level for FromSoftware and it's hard to find fault with anything here. Defeating him required several attempts, and when it was finally accomplished, a hint of satisfaction appeared. Yet, it doesn't reach the same level of excitement and euphoria as when you play this kind of game entirely on your own and, after many hours, finally win over a formidable boss. I have the impression that the co-op mode takes away a lot of the atmosphere and I can't wait to try to defeat this boss on my own.
Same performance
I should also comment on the game's technical condition. We played on PlayStation 5 consoles in the standard version, and unfortunately, we should expect performance very similar to that of the original Elden Ring. The game ran smoothly and I didn't experience any crashes, but texture loading, especially on distant objects, was frequent. It's a bit strange, especially since we're dealing with rather small locations. Developers don't try to hide the fact that they use pre-made assets in many areas, but considering that Nightreign won't be priced like a full game, we can turn a blind eye to it.
It's too early for conclusions
Unfortunately, as I mentioned, the gameplay fragment presented at the show was too limited to assess Nightreign. While the idea itself seems fun, if it turns out that the repetitiveness of subsequent attempts will be noticeable, the attractiveness of Nightreign will be a big question mark for me. Although replayability is built into the main pillar of such gameplay, doing literally the same thing doesn't sound exciting. Still, I am hopeful that the full version will improve significantly in this matter, as the other gameplay elements suggest that both those eager to team up with friends and typical "souls" players seeking a good challenge in boss fights will find something appealing here.
- Elden Ring: Nightreign isn't a sign that Dark Souls devs have suddenly started following trends, although it has „elements absent from any other FromSoftware game”
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- Network Issues in Elden Ring Nightreign test. Servers keep disconnecting players
