Elden Ring: Nightreign Reviews
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.
Elden Ring Nightreign already has a phenomenal foundation, and an online-focused game like Elden Ring Nightreign should be the pinnacle of FromSoftware's post-launch support, so I'm more excited for the future of Nightreign than I have been for any of FromSoftware's games before it
From turns his masterpiece, the Great Epic Video Game of our time, into an impossible multiplayer roguelike that mixes recycling, carelessness and some surprisingly interesting design ideas.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Everything feels shorter and tighter, which makes for a compelling gameplay experience. While some gamers might roll their eyes at seeing another Elden Ring title being considered Game of the Year, Nightreign deserves to be in the discussion.
ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN proves that even Soulslikes can become fully-fledged co-op experiences. While it has its shortcomings, there's no denying the quality of its design. The only concern is that FromSoftware has little to no experience with live service models—here's hoping they don’t abandon it post-launch.
Review in Korean | Read full review
The co-op spin-off isn't perfect, though. There are various issues, from balancing to bugs to other minor inconsistencies. Furthermore, the lack of cross-play support is a real shame. If you can't get enough of "Elden Ring" and want to take on a major challenge with your friends, it's definitely worth giving "Nightreign" a try!
Review in German | Read full review
Going into Elden Ring Nightreign, I admit I was skeptical, wary of FromSoftware venturing into unfamiliar multiplayer territory. Yet, after countless runs and shared triumphs with fellow Nightfarers, it’s clear my concerns were unfounded. Nightreign isn’t merely a multiplayer spin-off; it’s a testament to FromSoftware’s ability to innovate while fiercely guarding the essence of what makes a Souls game so compelling. It masterfully blends the unforgiving challenge and rich lore we’ve come to expect with a seamless, exhilarating cooperative experience that genuinely redefines what a ‘Souls game’ can be. While I hope the mainline series remains true to its roots, Nightreign proves that a bold new path can be forged, offering a fresh, addictive ‘one more run’ loop that will keep you, and your friends, coming back for more. It’s truly one of the standout titles of the year, a shared journey you won’t soon forget.
This is a bold reinterpretation of the Souls-like formula, which retains FromSoftware's DNA but bets on a cooperative and roguelike format marked by constant time pressure and high difficulty. The experience demands dedication, resilience and repetition, rewarding the most persistent with memorable moments of conquest.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
my mostly solo-play experiences were a mixed bag at best, preventing me from praising the game too much or giving a high “review-in-progress” temporary score.
Elden Ring Nightreign feels like a near-perfect blend of From Software's souls-like formula and addictive roguelikes that make this experience feel like a step above the rest. The combat still feels just like Elden Ring and other souls-like games we have come to love, but the faster exploration and bite-sized expeditions kept my attention longer than most other souls-like games have. I adore the new roguelike mechanics, which make each run feel distinct and impactful, while also maintaining the quality that further elevates the experience. The Relic system can feel a little underwhelming, and the story for the characters feels significantly less complex and meaningful compared to the original game, but it's still a great, high-quality roguelike that should satisfy both fans of each genre Nightreign encompasses. It also runs quite well on the Steam Deck, even if there are some fluctuations with framerate and visuals. A lot of the issues come from an underwhelming PC port that lacks some essential settings, like V-Sync and in-game framerate limiters. However, it's still very playable, both online and offline, and is still a solid way to play this wonderful experience.
Elden Ring Nightreign takes the best elements of Elden Ring and applies an engrossing core gameplay loop that will have Nightfarers in a trance. Everything is better with friends, and this makes Elden Ring Nightreign the best multiplayer game of the year.
Elden Ring Nightreign introduces an unexpected yet compelling multiplayer PvE experience, offering a fresh take on the series while incorporating familiar roguelite mechanics. True to FromSoftware’s reputation, Nightreign delivers challenging gameplay that rewards perseverance and strategic play. Players won’t face the trials alone this time, and playing with a full team enhances each encounter's depth and intensity. Despite lacking some basic features like crossplay and voice chat, Nightreign successfully delivers a distinctive Elden Ring experience that will hopefully get more content in the coming months.
Elden Ring Nightreign is a fascinating multiplayer experience, which with the right group of players, can be the best gaming experience of the year. The amount of bosses and enemies from a big portion of the series, together with the amazing playable classes, lets you easily forget some of the technical shortcomings, that the studio sometimes lays themselves in the way.
Review in German | Read full review