A new mode for Elden Ring was announced at the Game Awards: Nightreign. It is a multiplayer spin-off for up to three players. However, anyone who was looking forward to tough PvP skirmishes will be disappointed. The new mode takes a completely different approach.
The article was updated on December 13th, 2024 at approximately 2:30 p.m.: Originally we claimed that Nightreign was a mode for Elden Ring. In fact, it is a spin-off and, above all, a completely independent game.
What kind of game is this? Nightreign, a multiplayer spin-off to Elden Ring, was announced at the Game Awards. Teams of up to three players have to work cooperatively. You have to survive three nights, fight enemies, collect equipment and finally kill a final boss.
Regardless of whether you kill the boss or bless the time in advance: at the end of a run, the equipment you found is gone. If you are victorious, you will at least receive a few permanent bonuses for the next round. At the same time, the area in which fighting takes place is constantly shrinking.
Nightreign can therefore be described as a kind of roguelike with battle royale elements. This might not be what long-time Souls fans were expecting – but a certain type of player could really enjoy the game.
Gamestar editor Elena Schulz felt the typical tension that the main game is known for when playing Nightreign. Here you can find their preview on GameStar (paywall).
Gameplay trailer for Elden Ring Nightreign shows a boss from Dark Souls 3
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A race against time
How does the game work in detail? The rounds start over the so-called round table. There you can search online for random players, or you can rely on long-suffering friends.
You then choose one of eight pre-made characters – your own hero from the main game does not have access to Nightreign. The new characters include an assassin, a knight or a healer. They more or less correspond to the classes of MMOs and have to be combined cleverly in order to complete the adventure.
Once you have decided on a character, you move on to the first of three game rounds. You roam the Limgrave area as a team and fight monsters. The equipment found can be used freely. As usual, you collect runes and level up at the places of grace.
Each night should only last a few minutes. Accordingly, you have to hurry when looking for loot. Important locations such as dungeons or ruins should appear somewhere else every round. The loot will never be the same, so you always have to consider which places might be worth visiting.
At the end of each night a boss will appear. This has to be done as a team in order to emerge victorious. Anyone who dies beforehand can be revived by other players. If you don’t succeed, you lose the equipment you’ve collected and the game starts over again. At least certain bonuses can be taken into the next run – typical roguelike.
The battle royale in Nightreign is evident in the fact that the map becomes smaller with every minute. The area in which you can fight becomes narrower and more dangerous as the game progresses. The finale is the fight against a final boss.
Team players have every reason to be happy
What type of player is Nightreign suitable for? Nightreign is clearly aimed at team players. If you move away from the group and do your own thing, you run the risk of being overrun and killed by enemy groups without your fellow fighters nearby to help.
The fact that FromSoftware is releasing a multiplayer with Nightreign is quite remarkable. After all, Elden Ring and the other Souls games were primarily intended for single players. There has always been the option to summon other players for help or to fight against them in PvP, but this was always a bit cumbersome.
There are also parts of the community for whom beating these games alone is the only way to go. Anyone who seeks help is quickly seen as too weak. Nightreign sets an important example here: teamwork is not only desired, it is even a prerequisite to survive the new mode.
Nothing should change in terms of the actual level of difficulty. Anyone who is afraid that the game will be a walk in the park should be warned. Nightreign will be Elden Ring at its core. So you will suffer as usual, only this time with company.
What do you think of the announcement? Are you excited to see FromSoftware try something new with Nightreign? Feel free to write it to us in the comments. Of course, this wasn’t the only announcement from the Game Awards: In a new shooter, you roam the map looking for loot before tearing yourself apart with mechs in a final battle