Closed Beta
First Impressions
Elden Ring: Nightreign Preview
Pros
- Short matches encourage replayability.
- Quick to get around the map.
- Night bosses are very enjoyable.
Cons
- Only one map is not enough, despite the randomness.
- Day bosses are a bit of a pushover with three players.
- Underground is cumbersome when you're managing a time limit.
Elden Ring has been nothing short of a revelation since it launched in February 2022, scoring Game of the Year at The Game Awards and bringing that signature Souls style to an open world. June 2024 saw the release of a major expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, which capped off a truly brilliant title. Still, people are hungry for more Elden Ring and while From Software is hard at work on their next title, a new entry has come to tide you over.
Enter Nightreign, a standalone multiplayer title set in the world of Elden Ring that uses beasts from the entire Souls universe. It’s a massive departure from what you would usually come to expect, instead set on a singular map in 30-40 minute matches with a group of up to three other players.
We had a chance to check out the recent Closed Network Test, so take a seat at the Roundtable, Tarnished, while we regale you on our tales of surviving the night.
Elden Ring: Nightreign is a co-op multiplayer game featuring teams of three players.
The Unlikely Heroes
From the outset, Elden Ring: Nightreign is completely different from what you may have come to expect from its predecessors. You won’t be creating your own character, freely choosing your stats, and then dropping into a hostile world alone to work your way through areas and a central storyline. Instead, you’ll choose from one of four preset characters (as of the Closed Network Test) that have specific passives, active abilities, and an ultimate ability. Each of these characters can also equip specific-colored Relics that you earn from completing matches, and when you level up in a match (more on this later), your stats will be tailored toward what that character favors.
We had a selection of four characters to choose from and From Software has promised more for the full launch of Nightreign. You have the Wylder, who is the most balanced of the four and starts with a parrying shield and a longsword. He comes with a grappling hook that you can use to pull yourself around and an ultimate that causes a fiery explosion. The Guardian is the tank of the group, starting with a great shield and having abilities that bring protection to their allies. The Duchess is the nimble fighter that features what would be your typical Agility builds and has abilities that make it easier to dodge or help allies go invisible for a quick escape. Finally, and perhaps the most unique of the bunch, is the Recluse, who is a magical character that has a unique feature to make magical cocktails out of the elemental residue you can pick up from enemies.
Perhaps the most unique of the bunch, is the Recluse, who is a magical character that has a unique feature to make magical cocktails…
You’re free to change which character you’ll play at any point before matches, and a lot of the customization will come in the way of the Relics mentioned above. While the equipment you find in any given match is randomized, these passive abilities from Relics are permanent and will be on you throughout the whole match. Characters can only equip specific Relics, based on their color, so you may find yourself switching to a different character if you have more powerful Relics for them. Any unwanted Relics can be sold for currency that we assume will allow you to spend in a shop (this was missing from the Closed Network Test), so there is a degree of improving your character throughout your runs.
(1 of 2) You can use Sites of Grace to level up.
You can use Sites of Grace to level up. (left), Defeating bosses during the day will drop equipment to strengthen your character for that run. (right)
The Roundtable Hold makes a return once more, only this time around, it acts as the main hub before you depart on expeditions (matches). You’ll have the ability to change which character you’re playing as, read up on all of the tutorials (and there’s a lot to learn), or go out into the training ground and test out your characters and abilities, a feature that can be used while you’re matchmaking. When it comes to launching an expedition, examine the table in the center, and then you can choose your target (of which there’s only one for the Closed Network Test) and whether you want to apply passwords so that you can play with friends.
It remains to be seen what other features will be available in the Roundtable Hold come the full launch and right now, it admittedly feels a little bare in there at the moment and the only people you can talk to are the characters you can choose from. Unfortunately, they only have a single line of dialogue that is repeated. Hopefully, there will be more to come, and it will evolve over time, but as of right now, it really does just serve as a gateway to the real meat of the content.
Surviving the Night
Once you launch an expedition, a short scene (that can be skipped) will show your current team launching into the world on the back of a spectral raven. This resembles a typical Battle Royale style entrance, but at least for the Closed Network Test, we had no input on where we landed, always landing at the bottom of the map. The goal, then, of each match, is to survive three days and defeat the main target at the end of it. To do this, you’ll have to use the days to strengthen your character for the challenge of the nights, where you’ll have to stay in a shrinking circle (much like a Battle Royale) before taking on a difficult boss. Lose here, and it’s match over.
The map itself is an alternate take on Limgrave and features many different sites and events that you can run into. Your general goal is to visit these sites, take out bosses, and then use the equipment they drop to get stronger. You’ll find Sites of Grace scattered around the area (and they’ll appear after defeating a boss) that will restore your HP and flasks, but more importantly, you can use your Runes to level up. This works differently to your typical Souls where you pick and choose what stats you want to increase, instead, you’ll see a flat increase across all of your stats (HP, FP, and Stamina, along with your Armaments). Levels are especially important as weapons will have a level requirement on them, so if you want to wield the strongest ones, you’re going to need to find the time to gain some levels. We found that being around Level 10 for the boss at the end of the third night was a happy medium.
Weapons come from all different sources, be it opening chests scattered around the various sites, purchased from merchants, or, most commonly, as drops from bosses. Whenever you slay one, a Dormant Power orb will appear where it was defeated, and you can interact with it to claim an item (or stat power-up) from three choices. Most weapons have skills attached to them, so this is another thing to take into consideration, and the stat power-ups can be game changers, from increasing your Maximum HP, to adding elemental explosions from your dodges; there’s a lot of variation here.
(1 of 2) Visit churches to increase how many flasks you have available to use.
Visit churches to increase how many flasks you have available to use. (left), You’ll need to consider what consumables you want on you at all times. (right)
You’ll be able to find Smithing Stones while out in the wild too, and these can be used at an anvil (whenever you find a Merchant) to increase the tier of your weapon to the next one, giving it a helpful boost in attack power. You’ll also be able to increase how many flasks you have on you by locating one of the churches and visiting the altar to increase your allocation. The degree of freedom you have in how you go about strengthening your character during those day periods is where Nightreign instills that urge to play just one more run.
The map itself is the bigger question mark when it comes to the final release. There are a lot of different sites you can explore, and there is an underground you can delve into too. While there is randomness involved with some of the events and bosses you can encounter, the overall layout of the map will forever remain the same. We’ll have to wait and see what selecting a different target at the start of an expedition does to the map, but as of the Closed Network Test, as much as I enjoyed my time with it, exploring that map was already getting a bit too familiar.
…but the “just one more” feeling you get from each run is undeniable
One nice touch that helps exploration become brisk is the addition of a faster sprint, that uses no stamina (beyond an initial burst. As there’s no horse to get around now, you’ll be running at around the same pace yourself. On top of this, there is no fall damage in Nightreign, so you can leap off cliffs at will without danger of losing HP. Scaling cliffs has been made easier too, with the addition of Spiritstream Jumps. If you run into one and press the jump button, you’ll be launched high into the air and the top of a cliff.
Challenging Adversaries
As any fan of From Software’s Souls games will tell you, the main meat of it comes from the battles against bosses, and Nightreign doesn’t disappoint there. With the ability to draw from the entire Souls universe, there is potential for some great matchups against fan favorites. With a full party of three, the bosses you fight during the day won’t put up too much of a threat and mimics much of what it’s like when you do co-op in a regular Souls game. The night bosses, on the other hand, are a different matter altogether.
In the Closed Network Test, we faced a Demi-Human Queen and Demi-Human Swordmaster duo at the end of the first night, and then a deadly trio of a Draconic Tree Sentinel, and two Royal Cavalryman at the end of the second night. All of these are a nice challenge, and having to pay attention to your allies adds a new dimension to this. Should someone fall in battle, you have the chance to revive them by attacking them to deplete a gauge above their head. This is easy enough to do if they’ve only died once, but when fallen a few times, it’s going to take quite a few hits to revive them, and it can get chaotic while trying to avoid attacks from a boss.
(1 of 2) The bosses you face at night are very challenging and how you strengthened your character will come into play.
The bosses you face at night are very challenging and how you strengthened your character will come into play. (left), Reach the final night and you’ll face off against a difficult boss to complete the match. (right)
Once you reach the third and final night, however, you’ll face off against the main target of the expedition. You’ll get the chance to use the Merchant and anvil first to make any last-minute preparations and then you’re off to fight the boss, which for the Network Test was Gladius, a Cerberus type beast that splits itself into three copies and features massive wide arching attacks. This was a suitable challenge for three players, and where we found the most enjoyment during the test. If you succeed in winning that battle, the “match” comes to an end and you’ll get the full assortment of rewards.
Despite only getting a slice of what to expect in Elden Ring: Nightreign, we finished the test feeling somewhat excited for the full experience. The short nature of the matches can feel a bit chaotic at times, especially with random players, but the “just one more” feeling you get from each run is undeniable and we’re excited to see what other scenarios From Software has in store for us at launch.
Soul Searching
Elden Ring: Nightreign is an entertaining multiplayer game that brings an urge to keep putting more time into it. But with only one map on offer, it was outstaying its welcome in this test, let alone the final release.
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