Ever since it was announced, Elden Ring Nightreign has been divisive, largely because of its heavy focus on cooperative multiplayer. Multiplayer isn’t anything new to FromSoftware’s games, but it’s largely been an ancillary feature, one which many die-hard RPG players have chosen to simply ignore. Demon’s Souls set the studio’s RPGs on a path that has reached new heights with the ambition of Elden Ring, and now Nightreign is a bizarre spin-off, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook it.

I’ve always been fond of FromSoftware’s idiosyncratic multiplayer; I even adore Elden Ring‘s clunky co-op. But I also understand the appeal of playing these deep, mysterious RPGs alone. Like many, I try to go into FromSoftware’s new games with as little information as possible – being confused and piecing things together are half the fun, not to mention it’s exciting when a showstopping boss cutscene catches you by surprise. Nightreign isn’t your typical FromSoftware experience – far from it – but there’s still a lot to like even if multiplayer hasn’t historically been your jam.

The Biggest Differences Between Elden Ring & Nightreign

RPG vs. Roguelike

Nightreign takes the long-term progression of a massive RPG like Elden Ring, chops it up, and compresses it into runs that can last up to about 45 minutes. You don’t get to build your own character per se, but there are eight Nightfarers who each specialize in different stats and weaponry, and over the course of a single expedition, you can go from level one to 15 on a set attribute scale. Progression has been made linear so you can focus on more serendipitous decisions.

Every time you swoop into Limveld on a Spectral Hawk, your goal is to survive through two days so you can fight a Nightlord on the third, with a required boss fight gating your progress each of the first two nights. The days are largely spent scouring points of interest for better weapons, passive buffs, and helpful consumables. Your build is less about your stats, and more about the equipment you choose to bring along. You get six equipment slots (three for each hand), and every weapon, shield, staff, or seal has a passive buff.

You can learn each Nightlord’s weakness before starting an expedition, but that may not necessarily help you defeat the first two bosses, so build-crafting instead turns into dozens of little decisions about which weapons to take and which to abandon. You’re not on a lengthy odyssey like in Elden Ring, but Nightreign does cleverly remix many of its predecessor’s hallmarks. You can head into a mining tunnel to get Smithing Stones, Stonesword Keys are used to open Evergaols, which release a ghostly boss, and Rises are sealed until you solve a little puzzzle.

Nightreign Has Some Multiplayer Issues

No Voice Chat, No Crossplay

Even though FromSoftware has set out to create a dedicated multiplayer experience, the studio’s networking woes continue. The summoning systems of Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring are passable, and they’re even interestingly tied into each game’s lore, but the actual user experience of playing cooperatively has always been clunky. Arbitrary limits restricting your movement led to the rise of Elden Ring co-op mods, but FromSoftware has even been slow to adopt many baseline functions, like inviting your friends, supporting voice chat, and crossplay.

Nightreign does let you invite friends to the party – alongside FromSoftware’s usual password system – but those latter two issues are still sticking points. Crossplay has been a staple of multiplayer games for years at this point, and voice chat is almost integral to a co-op experience, especially one that has a rudimentary ping system like Nightreign. That said, once you get your bearings after a few runs, playing alongside random teammates is pretty straightforward, unless you happen to get a particularly bad squad.

Nightreign’s Solo Mode Needs Some Work

FromSoftware Knows There Are Issues

If you still can’t stand playing multiplayer even though Nightreign is designed around it, the game is playable solo. From the matchmaking menu, there’s an option to embark by yourself, though I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a lot of confidence in your skill level. There seem to be some concessions when playing solo, like enemies being less aggressive in packs, but the boss fights can be very difficult alone – you simply don’t have as many tools at your disposal as in games like Elden Ring or Dark Souls.

That said, it seems FromSoftware is aware that Nightreign‘s solo mode needs some patchwork done. The official Elden Ring Twitter account has promised changes to solo expeditions, including an extra life while fighting night bosses, and an increase to the amount of Runes gained for defeating enemies. It’s a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t help that playing Nightreign alone just feels kind of off, since the game is so clearly designed for teams of three.

Despite It All, Elden Ring Fans Should Check Out Nightreign

FromSoftware Combat Is As Fun As Ever

Even though there are some technical shortcomings and disappointing solo expedition balance (for the time being, at least), Nightreign is worth a look if you’re a fan of Elden Ring, even if multiplayer isn’t your thing. Nightreign shares the same kind of gravitas as Elden Ring, with the Nightlord boss fights being both incredibly fun and exceptionally cinematic.

It also has a more focused story than I was expecting. Most of the game is spent on expeditions, but there are NPCs to talk to and a series of Remembrance Quests for each Nightfarer, where flashbacks give you quest objectives, some of which end up being solo boss battles. More than anything, though, Nightreign is a distilled experience that heavily revolves around Elden Ring‘s combat. If you like the pure combat of Elden Ring, and especially the boss fights, Nightreign should at least be entertaining.

Seeing the new Roundtable Hold is a distinct highlight after spending so much time in Elden Ring‘s.

It’s helpful to keep in mind that it’s just a spin-off, and largely an asset flip at that. The scope is smaller than Elden Ring, but it does a lot of interesting things. Playing the different characters is a blast, and I end up using different weapons every run, giving me more variety in how I approach combat than I do across an entire Elden Ring playthrough. Elden Ring Nightreign does a great job setting up the scenario of hunting the Nightlords, and its exceptionally fast build-crafting and constant looting keeps the action steady while you work towards your target.