ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN | REVIEW | PC/STEAM

''WE ABOUT TO WIPE OUT TOMATO TOWN''

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Developed: From Software

Published: From Software

Genre: Co-Op Survival

Release Date: May 30th, 2025

Platforms: PS5/PS4PC/Xbox Family

*REVIEW COPY PROVIDED TO ME BY BANDAI NAMCO

Elden Ring Nightreign is the latest entry into this on going saga, albeit with a twist, and it is developed by From Software. With Elden Ring setting the world on fire with its base game and DLC, From Software decided, hey, lets throw in some co-op adventuring into the mix so everyone can die and suffer as a team. But was this a good route to take this franchise in? or should it have stayed a more isolated title? Only one way to find out, so lets go!

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''FLY LIKE AN EAGLE''

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GAMEPLAY:

Elden Ring Nightreign might not be the game you're expecting, both in a good way or a bad way because this title changes several things about the base game that might trigger someones inner turmoil, but at the same time, changes up the formula a little as well that makes the game way more accessible to people that may just want to hop in and out with a friend or two to get in some nightly punishment. No, not in THAT way of punishment, you crazy freaks, were talking about the unforgiving boss fights that can destroy you in one or two hits type of unforgiving. Calm yourselves. When first diving into the game, your first thoughts are like ok so... where the heck do I even go, you're pretty much given no real direction on what to do and where to go and are left to partner up with two other would be heroes and set off across the land and terrain looking for secrets, bosses and dodging enemy ambushes. Graphically the game for me looks even more awe inspiring than the base game of Elden Ring and I feel this is partially due to the level design and colors used to portray them, which blends them both together amazingly. I wish other games would take note of this, I'm looking at you Pokemon. Ok I kid I kid, sorta, the game will look way better on Nintendo Switch 2, so Pokemon you get a pass this time. Chaos is once again the name of the game here, but as stated previously, in a brand new formula and offers a very different sort of spin on things you may have thought you mastered about the Souls series in general. Here in Nightreign you choose a Nightfarer, one of the 8 various classes you can choose to play as, all of which have their own play styles and even strengths to use that require you to use an an Ultimate Art, such as a sharpshooter who uses their bow to rain down a hell fire upon your enemies or even a magical axe that lets you shoot out multiple projectiles, which gives normal enemies massive damage.. just like a giant enemy crab. Oh come on you were thinking it too, don't lie. One example is Iron Eye being able to shoot a devastating arrow that will kick the crap out of pretty much any enemy in general, except for when things get to maybe TOO high a level, then its best not to try to spam the Ultimate Art all the time...trust me, if you try to just rely on one style of attacking, you'll definitely get your asses handed to you, so don't say I didnt give you a fair warning.

One thing that Nightreign does that gives the player a bit more flexibility is to give you the choice of play style, whether you prefer to use brute force to relentlessly over power your foe, or if you're like me, pretty a bit of a tactical approach of stick and move, learning patterns and picking your spots when you attack and when to yield and play defense. I know my play style may be boring but at least I'm fully clothed this time because back in the day of Demon Souls I wore zero armor, just basic underwear and used a spear and rolled around like I was Link hyped up after some acid laced Lon Lon Milk, crazy crazy times. Gameplay wise, you and two other companions go on quests by accepting them from the Roundtable Hold, which is basically your hub that lets you partake in missions, craft items and even upgrade your weapons.. or choose to go solo and act like you're a bad ass, but we know you aren't so who you trying to fool, kid?. Sorry for being mean, that's just my P.T.S.D talking from all the times I've went solo in Souls games and I've never recovered... so moving on. On a serious note, its best to go in a trio for you to truly get the grasp on the games potential, after all its made for this purpose in the first place... but should you choose the solo route, the difficulty scaling stays consistent either way, regardless if you're in a group or by yourself, so good luck either way. Working together is the name of the game here in Nightreign and when teaming up with two others, its best to stick together to take on enemies, whether its someone playing defensively to get the attention and aggro of a boss while the other two initiate their attack during the opening or using Ultimate Art skills to compliment each others play styles so that you may form a group that fights together in unison and mow down anything in your way - splitting up and going off and doing your own thing is folly and will only get you killed with your party having no way to save you, or will make your entire team fail the mission just because of your ego. Like Hello McFly, are you in there? come on. So okay, cool, you go on adventures with two other people, fine, but how exactly does that unfold? what exactly is your objective overall to even want to do that? and what is the reward for even doing so?

Every mission that takes place brings back memories of Majoras Mask's ''72 hours remain'' moniker, only without a Happy Mask Salesman being creepy as all heck. Each match that takes place, does so in the span of three game days, survive a day and a boss fight? second day begins next, fight against a boss day one that brutalizes you with force, well, dont relax yet because day two will bring up against even more formidable foes as the difficulty ramps up to a new degree. Should you survive day two, then you come to day 3 and its boss who is basically the main boss of the three days that's faster, smarter, and one of the harder enemies you've faced in recent souls like games such as base game of Elden Ring - trust me, it will require ALL party members to be on their game to even stand a chance, so make use of passives and synchronized Ultimate Arts to get the upper hand. However should one of you fall in combat, you may get a bit confused because there is no revive button like most RPG's have where you hold X or something to raise them, nope, instead you literally just beat the living hell out of them with your sword and weapon until they get their butt up. The heck? I mean I'd do this anyway if friendly fire was a thing, because I'm an ass, so this lets me let out my rage on teammates without penalty, so definitely a win for me and my anger. After your victory, you can head back to the Roundtable Hold to get buffs, practice your skills or get even more emotes to use with your friends cause you'll need it, especially with the feature I've left out up until now that deals with the game being a mixture of both a roguelike game, alongside elements from Fortnite that you'd see in a more battle royale style of game, albeit streamlined more towards the Souls experience for accessibility for a wider audience. Fortnite? how the heck does that make sense? you're probably asking, well, because the game forces you to CONSTANTLY move around and not get complacent and should you stay in one area for too long, the Night's Tide area around the map shrinks, ala Fortnite, which is a blue deadly fog and should you let it touch you, game over, you're dead. So make sure to run your little booty off, jump off cliffs because thankfully there's no fall damage in this game, and use your infinite stamina, to run, slice and slash your way through bad guys to keep leveling up stats to boost health, stamina and mana to incase your chances to survive the gauntlet of challenges that await you on all three days.

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''QUICK TEAM, USE YOUR CAN OF RAID!''

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OVERALL:

At the end of the day Elden Ring Nightreign is a weird game, a very weird game. I can see people having issue with infinite stamina, no fall damage and teaming up with other people because it might seem like it makes the game too ''easy'', and on the other hand, adding in roguelike and Fortnite elements might also trigger a few people here and there, I get it. But being able to travel this world finding extra healing flasks, castles and other areas offering bosses and key items, shifting landmarks, world events that change the battles every match, weapon hunting, leaning new skills and elemental effects, picking six weapons to use and swap, high replayability, engaging trio cooperative play, makes Elden Ring Nightreign a pleasantly surprising experience, even if the game seems experimental at the end of the day in general. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear, GameNChick says BUY NOW

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