Quentin Clemens Nary a year removed from the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, Elden Ring’s well-received and massive final DLC, FromSoftware has come forward with Elden Ring: Nightreign, a cooperative standalone expansion. Not quite a sequel, it’s rather a new way to rediscover the magic of The Lands Between with friends or strangers alike.
Multiplayer has always been an important part of FromSoftware games: ever since Demon’s Souls, players have been able to either help each other or stand in the way of their objectives as otherworldly spirits. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is (ironically, given its publisher, Activision) the only one of their games since to be purely single-player. After experimenting with various ways players could cooperate—often through the overly confusing covenant system—they’ve finally built a game completely balanced around teamwork. Each round in Nightreign will see three players weather the challenges set before them. How well they complement and coordinate with each other is entirely up to them.
New Horrors and Familiar Faces
Between each match, players lounge around the Tarnished’s headquarters, the Roundtable Hold. No longer will you find an audience with the Two Fingers here, nor a sly embrace from Fia, but you can test out the abilities of the playable characters in the training area while waiting for matchmaking to complete. Currently, there are four adventurers to choose from:
- The Wylder – the most balanced
- The Guardian – the strongest
- The Recluse – a magic specialist
- The Duchess – the fastest
While each character has their own playstyle and affinity for certain weapons, just like in previous games, this choice isn’t set in stone. At higher levels, even the nimble Empress can wield a mighty stone axe. However, their special abilities keep them distinct. The anthropomorphic bird, the Guardian can unleash an aerial assault that never misses, while Duchess can make the entire party invisible. Players who have used Elden Ring’s Unseen Form spell might not get their hopes high, but the Duchess can make even bosses strike aimlessly, unable to detect their targets. Another reason the Duchess is such a powerhouse—making her my personal favorite to play—is that her lightning-fast attacks cause stagger much more effectively, something Elden Ring’s base game never allowed for Dexterity-based weapons.
Meanwhile, the Recluse’s abilities revolve around regenerating FP The Recluse’s abilities revolve around reclaiming FP and collecting magical elements to unleash unique spells. Unfortunately, due to the lack of clarity of its system, the Recluse turned out not to be a particularly popular choice for players. Indeed, I noticed as time went on during the preview, increasingly fewer of my fellow players would choose this character. Perhaps some refinement to this class would be in order. I also hope the full game will either allow players to develop these characters further (a skill tree in a FromSoftware game? Not unheard of. ), or introduce more unlockable characters with unique abilities. As it stands, the primary form of meta-progression involves equipping stones that grant minor effects like increased resistance to blood attacks or slightly higher HP. Given how incremental these improvements are, I hope long-term players will have more to show for their time investment.
Do these characters represent ancient legends of The Lands Between, or are they carving out a new path under the reign of the new sovereign put in place at the end of the base game’s campaign? Well, no need to worry about lore implications. For the first time since Dark Souls II, this FromSoftware game isn’t directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, but instead by Junya Ishizaki, who served as combat designer of Elden Ring. Ishizaki took some artistic liberties for gameplay reasons but chose not to interfere with the story. As a result, the vast map features a wildly diverse range of enemies and bosses, seemingly plucked from their original contexts. What are the Misbegotten doing outside their peninsula? Why is the Centipede Demon here instead of Lost Izalith? And just how far did the Nameless King fly on dragonback to reach this kingdom? Whatever the reasoning, it results in an impressively varied roster of foes. Likewise, the soundtrack mixes familiar tracks with new compositions. Yuka Kitamura may no longer be a core composer for the company, but so far, the selection fits the series and this action-packed new direction.
The spreading flames push players to fast, decisive play.
At the start of a session, a spectral hawk stylishly carries you onto the battlefield. Before it drops you near your teammates, you get a glimpse of the sheer size of the map. It feels enormous, but even without Torrent, traversal is fairly quick—largely thanks to much simpler climbing mechanics. And thank Marika for that, because otherwise, it would be impossible to escape the Flames of the Night—a shrinking battlefield mechanic reminiscent of Fortnite. Once landed, you’ll see the world is packed with camps—clusters of enemies belonging to different factions or categories. Some camps contain only minor foes and supply crates, while others house bosses or treasure chests. (So far, I haven’t encountered any mimics, so explore freely!) You can go in any direction—north or south, up or down, deeper into caves, or across vast grassy plains. Just like in Elden Ring, the world features open landscapes as well as smaller, often hidden dungeons. What they all have in common is the sheer amount of loot. Weapons, consumables, and upgrades are everywhere.
Ultimately, it’s a race to defeat as many bosses as possible, since they drop the best weapons and upgrades, ranging from increased stagger resistance to a trio of magical swords that follow you around. And race you shall: with the ever-advancing flames shrinking the play area, stepping outside the safe zone is devastating to your already limited health flasks. For slower-paced players like myself—who normally prefer taking a few minutes to compare the stats of every new weapon—it can feel overwhelming: pick up an item, decide quickly if you want it, and move on before the flames catch you. The game forces you into a fast, decisive playstyle. Maybe sometimes, all you need to gain a little confidence is a ticking time-bomb telling you to choose now or be consumed by Flame. It managed to make this usually single player-focused gamer take notice.
Although matches require three players to start, it’s up to you how much you cooperate or if you’d rather be a lone wolf (or hawk). There are advantages to both approaches: working together means faster kills and the ability to revive fallen allies (by attacking their pathetic, crawling bodies), but splitting up allows you to gain more XP and cover more ground. Unfortunately, for those who enjoyed griefing others as Bloody Fingers, there is—at least for now—no way to sabotage your teammates.
Preliminary Thoughts
By the end of my three-hour play session, I had played six matches, and in one of them, my Wylder and my teammate’s Duchess managed to defeat the preview’s final boss—a fiery Cerberus on a cosmic shore—despite our third player disconnecting. The fact that I was genuinely disappointed when my time with the preview ended, ready to jump into another match, tells you everything you need to know.
Elden Ring: Nightreign will release on May 30 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Access to this preview build was supplied by developer and publisher via BeyondGaming.
