Elden Ring: Nightreign Reviews
“Elden Ring: Nightreign” offers addictive, rewarding gameplay for fans of hitting challenging bosses, but only if you play with two other people who understand the game, and even then the high difficulty level and the typically corny losing of up to 50 minutes of gameplay without any progression can get on your nerves.
Review in Polish | Read full review
A pretty smart use of Elden Ring's world and mechanics in a new and exciting mode of play, but perhaps one that reuses too much and doesn't improve enough.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
There's fun to be had with Elden Ring Nightreign, especially if you're a skilled Elden Ring player who loves a challenge or can get a good team together, but it does have a range of issues. The fact that there's only one map means repetition quickly creeps in, for example, and the Relic system simply doesn't feel as impactful as it should. Being a multiplayer-focused game, the lack of cross-play is also egregious.
Elden Ring Nightreign offers an intriguing take by blending the soulslike formula with roguelike elements, delivering intense challenges and an engaging co-op experience, especially when played with friends. Although it features well-crafted combat mechanics and a diverse range of classes, the game also suffers from repetitiveness. With future updates and proper adjustments, Nightreign has the potential to become a strong addition to the FromSoftware universe.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Nightreign is a mediocre experience that I can only recommend to groups of friends who are hardcore Elden Ring fans looking for something to play together.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Elden Ring Nightreing is a very different game from FromSofware. An experience that is best enjoyed with friends, and that hides some of the most epic fights of the entire saga. Despite stumbling on its roguelite philosophy, Nightreign offers a fresh and very challenging experience.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Elden Ring Nightreign has a lot of good ideas on its side, a lot of quality, and I'm sure it will blossom during the coming months; however, at the moment the ratio of fun to frustration seems a bit problematic.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Elden Ring Nightreign is one of the most interesting, creative takes in the multiplayer space for years. It’s unlike quite anything else out there with dashes of Monster Hunter, Fortnite, Diablo and a good old fashioned MMORPG in there, but it’s also distinctly Souls-like with the focus on brutal bosses and punishing challenges. The irony being that most of the game’s drawbacks come from a technical point of view, with matchmaking issues and lack of functionality, but if you want to try something different and interesting, if you have the patience and resolve for it, you’re going to fall under this one’s spell pretty fast!
Elden Ring Nightreign stands as a great way to switch up the normal Souls formula while still keeping it faithful to its roots. The battles are fantastic, the world is finely crafted, and the gameplay is top-notch. I had a blast running through each of the Night Lords, and I don’t think I am going to stop anytime soon. However, the game removes the need to adapt on the fly, which was quite disappointing to me. While the multiplayer is good, it doesn’t quite hit the mark when it comes to communication. Overall, Elden Ring Nightreign is a great new iteration in the genre, but just like Dark Souls 2, it doesn’t quite live up to what came before it.
Elden Ring: Nightreign is an ambitious side project. When the stars align—you and two friends, the same console, no plans for the next few hours—it’s magical. You’ve got great classes like the Guardian or Executor, a Sekiro-esque parry system, and a beautifully atmospheric world. But if even one piece is missing, the tower collapses like a ton of bricks. Anyone looking for a classic Elden Ring experience will quickly skip this one. It’s a big surprise, then, that this successful experiment is being released as a standalone game, rather than as paid DLC for a smaller price. Because then we’d probably have labeled this the best expansion ever for a game that’s already considered a masterpiece by many.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Elden Ring Nighreign utilizes the popular IP to deliver an experimental game that, at first glance, appears to be a bizarre mash-up of genres. The reality is that this mix of souls-like, rogue-lite, battle royale, and "hero shooters" works surprisingly well. The main flaw, however, is the amount of content. There's very little that's completely new, making the game feel more like a recycled or perhaps even fan-made modification. Moreover, it lacks deeper systems to engage beyond a maximum of a dozen hours for die-hard fans. For everyone else, though, it probably won't be a compelling reason to return to the world of Elden Ring, and it won't convince them otherwise.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Elden Ring Nightreign is not for everyone. It’s a brutal, atmospheric, deeply demanding experience that rewards patience, persistence, and curiosity. But if you’re the kind of player who grinned every time you saw “YOU DIED” flash across your screen in past Souls titles… this is your next obsession. Nightreign doesn’t just offer a new challenge—it rethinks what challenge means. It takes the bones of a beloved classic and rebuilds them into something darker, sharper, and even more punishing. If you’re ready to suffer beautifully once more—step into the dark.
Elden Ring: Nightreign unleashes FromSoftware’s savage Soulsborne grit into a whirlwind of multiplayer chaos—an irresistible thrill ride that drags you and your fellow Nightfarers back for just one more cursed round. Multiplayer isn’t flawless, and solo runs, though still fun, tip into wild imbalance—leaving you bruised, battered, and beyond tarnished.
Elden Ring: Nightreign takes the franchise into cooperative territory with a bold, punishing multiplayer expedition mode. While its demanding design may alienate casual players, the game delivers deep combat, rich class variety, and satisfying progression for veteran Souls fans.
Elden Ring Nightreign is a game that does so much, and none of it feels arbitrary. The world is fascinating, the combat is exceptional, and there's plenty to see.
Elden Ring: Nightreign turns the series’ boss fights into a fast, focused roguelike loop. It’s tough, best played with a regular trio, and drops the open-world structure in favour of tight planning and co-op execution. While the solo mode and limited map variety hold it back, the build variety and challenge make each run feel earned. If you enjoy FromSoftware combat and don’t mind reruns, there’s a lot to like here
Elden Ring Nightreign does offer a new and interesting step in a different direction for FromSoftware and Bandai Namco, but I’m not exactly confident that this is the best choice. I think it’ll be an enjoyable title to mess about in with your friends, lending itself more to games like Risk of Rain with the roguelike/roguelite aspects, but as a FromSoftware game boasting the Elden Ring title, I think it’s missing the mark from what we expect from the studio.
Elden Ring: Nightreign offers a bold but uneven twist on Soulsborne formula, blending PvE co-op with battle royale mechanics. While its intense boss fights and improved mobility shine, the punishing solo experience, restrictive class builds, and awkward shrinking-map gimmick hold it back. Best enjoyed with a coordinated team, Nightreign caters to hardcore fans—though its experimental design may alienate those craving FromSoftware’s signature depth.
Elden Ring Nightreign is not the triumph FromSoftware was hoping for. Even though the variety offered by the nightfarers and the known strength of the souls series' gameplay does indeed limit the damage, the game is held back by several subpar mechanics. A serverely lacking balancing, a paper thin divide between victory and defeat and a repetitive exploration prevent the first dive into multiplayer for Miyazaki's software house from hitting a perfect shot, but might prove to be a valuable lesson nonetheless.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Those who do embrace the significant change will be rewarded with some incredibly memorable gameplay sessions and find themselves enjoying Elden Ring in entirely new ways.