Announced at the 2024 Game Awards, Elden Ring Nightreign has quickly become one of my most anticipated games of 2025. The original game is nothing short of a generation-defining masterpiece, and its expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, is also fantastic.
I was shocked and excited to see that I would be jumping back into the world of Elden Ring this year, so when a closed network test was announced, I pounced at the opportunity to play it.
This game is a significant departure from previous entries in From Software’s catalog, as it is an online-only co-op game where you team up with two other players to survive three days on a map filled with randomized bosses.
I knew this change would be divisive because of how much of a departure it is from the original game’s formula.
While I must preface this by saying that this game is still under development and my experience in the beta is subject to change, I was not a fan of the Nightreign beta.
The biggest red flag for any game is when all it makes me want to do is play something else. From the beginning of my session until the end, all I could think about was how much I wanted to play the original Elden Ring.
Everything I loved about the original was lost here, and the changes left something to be desired.
Instead of creating your own character and build, you can play as various characters belonging to different classes. Each character has their own playstyle, abilities, and ultimate ability.
While I think the characters and designs look really cool, I don’t like the loss of customization. They don’t seem like particularly interesting characters, so I think the tradeoff feels a bit lopsided.
Your build is only limited to what you pick up and leveling up, so there is very little actual customization or build variety. This has made the gameplay feel very streamlined and honestly a little bit boring.
Additionally, From Software bosses are not very well designed for having co-op in mind. This game does make some adjustments to the bosses to make them more aggressive, but I can’t say it’s enough, where they feel really tough and challenging.
A large part of the appeal of these games is the tightly designed bosses that push you to your limits as a player. Making these fights function with multiple people in mind leaves them feeling kind of messy and easy. I go to these games for the difficulty, and this abandons the intentional and methodical design for a faster-paced gameplay loop that I’m not sure works.
The exploration is also lacking here. Elden Ring has some of the best and most rewarding explorations I have ever seen in a video game, but the map here is uninteresting at best, and a lazy asset flip at worst.
The game limits the player’s agency in ways that feel like a downgrade from the original.
These games are defined by allowing players to make a wide range of different decisions about how to engage with the game and its world, and Nightreign, in my opinion, takes away from and oversimplifies these decision-making processes to the detriment of the overall experience.
While I will reserve full judgment for the full release, this small taste of what the game has to offer left a bitter taste in my mouth. I understand the appeal of this project, but after a few hours of play, I can definitely say that this game is just not for me.
I go to Elden Ring for the brutally difficult but fair bosses, the sense of exploration, and the meticulously designed world that feels intentional and impactful – Nightreign doesn’t have any of that.
I was excited about this game, but after the network test, I will start another adventure in The Lands Between. If you’re frothing for more Elden Ring, I’m afraid this won’t scratch that particular itch. If you want to experience more of this world, just play Shadow of the Erdtree if you haven’t already.
