So, FromSoftware decided to mix things up in their next installment in the Elden Ring universe. Elden Ring Nightreign is a different breed of Souls-like: part rogue-lite, part battle royale, delivering both joy and frustration. Will Limveld, its ever-changing battlefield, become your playground in the weeks ahead?

A Bag of Mixed … Seeds

Built from the ground up as a co-op experience, Elden Ring Nightreign lets you choose one of eight preset characters, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. You select an expedition at the Roundtable, and once matchmaking assembles a trio—off you go. Just like most battle royales, you drop into Limveld from a random angle. You can slightly tweak your entry point, but once the run begins, the clock starts ticking. A shrinking circle pushes all players toward a final boss fight to conclude “Day 1.” Survive that, and Day 2 begins immediately. Defeat the Day 2 boss, and you’ll face the Nightlord you chose beforehand.

At first, there’s only one Nightlord available, but more unlock as you progress. The goal is to grow as powerful as possible during the day—level up (currently capped at level 15), grab top-tier loot, and prepare for the upcoming boss fights. Each expedition is randomized: outposts, camps, and roaming mini-bosses are different each time. Whether you succeed or fail, you earn currency and relics—color-coded gemstones you can socket into the Nightfarer’s loadout to gain permanent upgrades.

Combat and movement will feel familiar to Elden Ring veterans, but with welcome quality-of-life changes: sprinting outside combat no longer drains stamina, fall damage is gone, and new ledge-jumping mechanics enable more vertical traversal. These improvements streamline movement in a high-stakes setting. Each Nightfarer plays differently. Unlike traditional Souls games, leveling is automatic. Choose Raider, a heavy-hitting barbarian, and each level boosts his intended role. You can equip him with daggers or catalysts, but it’s not ideal. At the Roundtable Hold hub, you can chat with other characters—one of them, the assassin-like Duchess, even shared her favorite playstyle.

A Bag of Mixed … Feelings

On a base PlayStation 5, the game ran flawlessly—no crashes, just some pop-in during fast travel. Matchmaking, however, was far less reliable.

Sometimes, my friend and I would get in instantly. Other times, it took over 30 minutes. Solo play is an option, but I wouldn’t recommend it. While enemy HP scales down slightly, bosses and world events remain unchanged. Playing melee, I often ended up chasing kangaroo-like enemies across the map—wasting precious time. And time is brutal here. The shrinking circle doesn’t care if you’re mid-boss fight or lost in a cave. Get caught, and you lose all your runes and a level. Double penalty.

I got stuck between unscalable cliffs more times than I’d like. Often, we had to abandon a boss with 20% HP left because the encroaching purple inferno was closing in. Fortunately, any damage dealt to a Day 1 boss carries over, making them easier on Day 2. After that, it’s time to face the Nightlord.

Unfortunately, you can only spend the runes earned from the Day 2 boss—so what you’ve got at that point is mostly what you’ll take into the final fight (aside from a last-minute weapon upgrade). The Nightlord usually felt overtuned, with far too much health. These fights often turned into attrition battles. Depending on your run, you’ll have 5–8 healing flasks, and in most of mine, we ran out while the boss still had half its health bar.

When you’re downed, teammates can revive you by damaging your body, but it takes more hits each time. If all three players are down, it’s back to the Roundtable. With runs lasting 45 minutes or more, failing to kill the Nightlord can feel like a major loss of time. Some runs also start poorly—early rune losses or just wandering aimlessly can end things before they’ve truly begun.

The Solo Experience

FromSoftware has said the game can be played offline and solo. My pre-launch experience tells a different story. Many solo attempts ended within five minutes. The game is clearly designed for teams, and it shows. Most locations pit you against groups of enemies, often in deadly combinations.

Trying to fend off a knight while archers and guard dogs flank you isn’t easy—even for seasoned Souls players. Airborne enemies and bosses are nearly impossible for melee characters. Sure, the game doesn’t force you to fight everything. But the time limit doesn’t change. End-of-day bosses are pulled from the same pool whether you’re solo or not. I managed to survive some 1v1 encounters, but often I faced multiple enemies, and even with reduced HP, it felt overwhelming. Hopefully, FromSoft adjusts this.

They’ve said this won’t be a live service game. But if someone picks it up in, say, 2030, having a truly viable solo option will be essential.

Huey and The NightLord

In one run, we were matched with a player named Huey. From the moment we landed, he led like a general—pinging routes, marking jumps, calling loot, and guiding us through upgrades with uncanny precision. He even marched us into a lava pit to kill a world boss for legendary upgrades. The fire circle never caught us. Thanks to Huey, we reached the Nightlord fully prepped.

But we failed Huey. We had picked a random Nightlord and ended up facing the final boss: a massive Ice Dragon. Despite our efforts, we were wiped out with the very same Nightlord still at half health. For us, it was unforgettable. For Huey… maybe less so.

Final Thoughts

Elden Ring Nightreign isn’t a bad game. I had fun—and plenty of frustration. Designing around 3-player co-op is bold, but also risky. I already struggle to coordinate game nights with one friend—now I need two? Solo feels off-balance, at least pre-launch. If you can beat the Day 2 boss, you should be ready for the Nightlord. It’s a tough ride. How much you enjoy it—or hate it—depends largely on your teammates. There’s a story here too, though—as with any FromSoft title—it’s buried deep in the world.

Additional Information

Release Date: May 30, 2025
Reviewed On: PS5. Download code provided by the publisher and PR agency.
Developer: FromSoftware Inc.
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Official Website: https://en.bandainamcoent.eu/elden-ring/elden-ring-nightreign
Relevant Links: Elden Ring Nightreign on Playstation Store (NL/US)/STEAM