Elden Ring Nightreign Review

Elden Ring Nightreign is one of those games that, before its release, even the most die-hard fans of Soulslike games and Miyazaki’s works had doubts about. And those doubts weren’t entirely unfounded. Imagine a rich, content-packed action RPG suddenly transformed into an online game blending the battle royale and roguelike genres. Naturally, our initial assumptions about this concept made it hard to grasp what Elden Ring Nightreign truly was, and as always, the fear of the unknown stirred unease and concern. But I’m happy to report that all those fears were baseless.

FromSoftware, with its creative fusion of the Soulslike subgenre with elements of battle royale and roguelike, has crafted an incredibly entertaining and addictive game. Even after 140 hours of play, I still can’t tear myself away from it. Sure, after about 40–50 hours, the world of Limweld—randomly generated each time—might not have much new to offer. But the thing is, there are still countless scenarios in this world you haven’t experienced.

For example, a simple change in your squad’s characters can completely transform your experience in Elden Ring Nightreign. Or a single, seemingly random death during the game’s endless day-and-night cycles might entirely shift your team’s strategy. Because of this, I can confidently say that, at some point, reaching the third night of Elden Ring Nightreign and defeating its final boss stops being the main draw. After around 50 hours, you’ve likely beaten all the final bosses multiple times, and they no longer have anything new to offer. Yet, it’s the completely random runs that carry the game’s charm, addictively pulling you back into the world of Limweld.

Of course, after the game’s successful sales, FromSoftware realized that they couldn’t just sit idly. Elden Ring Nightreign is one of those titles with immense potential to become a successful Live-service game. All it takes is a bit of creativity in crafting new events, characters, and bosses to keep Nightreign engaging for at least the next three years. Currently, FromSoftware is running an exciting event where the final bosses have returned to Limveld in mutated, more powerful forms, bringing fresh torment to Nightreign’s players. Given the game’s phenomenal sales, this approach is unlikely to end anytime soon, and we’ll probably see more events in the future.

But now that we’ve praised Elden Ring Nightreign so much, let’s talk about some of its issues. The first and most significant concern revolves around the live-service framework. As mentioned, FromSoftware could design countless unique events for the game, each showcasing a different side of the Nightreign experience. However, pulling this off over an extended period requires a dedicated team. If FromSoftware, for any reason, decides not to pursue this, Nightreign might run out of things to offer after a while, and after roughly 100 hours of gameplay, you could easily set it aside.

This is the biggest concern for Elden Ring Nightreign. As a Live-service title, the Japanese team has yet to outline a clear roadmap for Nightreign’s future, leaving us uncertain about what lies ahead. On top of that, the game’s reward system still needs work. Specifically, the rewards for defeating final bosses need improvement. Currently, when you defeat a final boss each night, you often receive just a character buff as a reward. However, these buffs are frequently ineffective and largely useless for most characters. This is disappointing when you expect a more substantial reward after taking down a challenging boss at the end of Nightreign’s cycles.

Additionally, several bosses from the Dark Souls series have made their way into Limveld’s world. This is exciting in its own right, and seeing characters like the Nameless King and Dancer again greatly enhances the Nightreign experience. However, some bosses from Dark Souls 1 and 2 have also been introduced to the new game’s world, and their presence doesn’t add much value. The combat mechanics for these bosses feel outdated, and even the average Nightreign player can defeat them with ease.

In essence, FromSoftware’s combat system and boss design underwent a significant transformation starting with Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne, and subsequent titles from the company were developed based on this new formula that is both faster and more complex. The issue, however, is that with this new formula, fighting the outdated and slow bosses from Dark Souls 1 and 2 feels overly simplistic and adds no excitement to the game. Another problem is that the bosses chosen from Dark Souls 1 and 2 for inclusion in Limveld weren’t the best picks. Both of these games feature bosses that, even with FromSoftware’s new formula, could still pose a significant challenge. For some reason, however, FromSoftware has refrained from bringing those bosses into this distinct world. That said, this is something that could be addressed with a simple update, allowing Nightreign to feature memorable bosses and even their weapons as tools for battling other bosses.

Overall, Elden Ring Nightreign has defied expectations and become a highly successful and addictive title. It’s worth noting that in its early days, the game didn’t have the level of polish it has now, and FromSoftware has transformed it into what it is today with each update. This is a promising sign for Nightreign, and if FromSoftware continues to release such updates, the game could become even better than it is now. All in all, Elden Ring Nightreign is a challenging, unique, and engaging experience for those who have spent years immersed in Soulslike games. It’s the best thing you can dive into for hours of enjoyment after experiencing Elden Ring itself. So, if you’re a fan of such experiences, you shouldn’t deprive yourself of its pleasures.

Score: 87/100