- Publisher: Bandai Namco Games
- Release Date: May 30, 2025
- Also On: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
- Summary:
- Developer: From Software
- Genre(s): Role-Playing, Action RPG
- # of players: Up to 3
- Cheats: On GameFAQs
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 39 out of 54
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Mixed: 15 out of 54
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Negative: 0 out of 54
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May 28, 2025I cannot help but to love Elden Ring Nightreign. It's a strange beast, kitbashed from parts of Elden Ring that feel clunky in places (god, the vaulting system can be frustrating at times). It has bugs, and it has blemishes. It's not a traditional Soulslike experience and as such will surely turn away fresh faces and diehard veterans alike. But it's also a celebration of you, the massive community of Soulslike players, and, specifically Elden Ring players. It's a game and a story about you, and all the weirdos you've met along the way. If this is a send off to Elden Ring and The Lands Between, it's a perfect one.
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May 28, 2025Elden Ring Nightreign's announcement was a genuine surprise. The details explaining the kind of game it was were even more surprising. This peculiar mix of a From Software RPG spliced with elements of roguelites and battle royales sounds like the kind of experimental concept no game studio would actually devote money to. But here's From Software, tapping into its creativity to put its own weird, bold spin on a thrilling cooperative multiplayer experience. Even if the end result were middling, this is the kind of risk worth celebrating, but doubly so now that it turned out to be such a fantastic, anomalous thing. The part of From Software's collective brain that created oddities like Metal Wolf Chaos and Otogi: Myth of Demons is still very much alive and well.
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May 29, 2025A strangely, but ultimately fun and interesting spin-off from Elden Ring that works surprisingly well despite its odd choice of mechanics and lingering issues.
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May 28, 2025After Elden Ring set the bar impossibly high for what's expected of open-world RPGs, Nightreign delivers a fantastic accompaniment to FromSoftware's core portfolio. It's unafraid to turn the established Souls formula on its head and ask if it can mesh well with other genres. While the answer is a resounding yes, Nightreign won't be for everyone. For series veteran fans with no interest in multiplayer, it's a hard sell. Solo play is an officially supported mode, but it feels much like an afterthought. Played with the intended group size, however, Nightreign is an irresistible co-op experience with far more depth than I expected.
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May 28, 2025Elden Ring: Nightreign is a drastically different game from Elden Ring, meshing some of the mechanics we’ve become used to in the award-winning RPG with a rougelike adventure. It’s a fantastic and highly engaging side of Elden Ring we didn’t think we needed, and yet it somehow works perfectly. Putting the player on a timer and having to quickly think on their feet is rewarding, at least until you wipe at the end of a long run. There’s a significant difficulty spike playing Nightreign as it’s a borderline randomizer. On some runs, it will hand out equipment that will be helpful for your character, while other times give you the short end of the stick. And because each match can take upwards of 45 minutes, getting to the final boss and wiping almost immediately feels discouraging. With that said, the highs outweigh the lows as FromSoftware has created a fantastic template we hope they will expand upon in the future.
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May 28, 2025Nightreign is stressful, merciless and sometimes unfair, even for an Elden Ring. It's a shame, because there's a good game underneath.
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May 28, 2025Elden Ring Nightreign does offer a new and interesting step in a different direction for FromSoftware and Bandai Namco, but I’m not exactly confident that this is the best choice. I think it’ll be an enjoyable title to mess about in with your friends, lending itself more to games like Risk of Rain with the roguelike/roguelite aspects, but as a FromSoftware game boasting the Elden Ring title, I think it’s missing the mark from what we expect from the studio. It’s a hard recommendation unless you can get two of your friends to jump aboard with you, so I’m stuck in a middle ground. It has merits to it, but the flaws really do put a damper on overall enjoyment. If you’re REALLY seeking more Elden Ring, you’ll find it with Nightreign, but it’s different enough that I have to give a warning to those expecting more of the same with just multiplayer as the focus.