There’s little need for me to explain how much I’ve loathed FromSoftware’s approach to co-op in its past games—Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and yes, Elden Ring. The way online co-op was implemented in those games felt like performing witchcraft, saying a prayer, and hoping it would work. Meanwhile, games like Gunfire’s Remnant: From the Ashes and Remnant II proved that not only was it possible for a Soulslike to have solid online co-op, but it could also excel at it. Every time I compared the two developers, I found myself scratching my head, wondering how a smaller studio could outdo the vastly larger and more experienced FromSoftware. So naturally, I was skeptical about Elden Ring Nightreign’s co-op. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one.
Thankfully, FromSoftware has improved the experience in Nightreign, and for good reason. Not only is this game built around the concept of a battle royale—similar to Fortnite—but the traditional co-op mechanics from their previous Soulslike titles simply wouldn’t work here.
Right off the bat, it’s incredibly simple. You start the game and arrive at the Roundtable, where you can do things like equip runes—along with other features we don’t yet...
