Last Updated on Jun 9, 2025 @ 16:52:24 PM.
I’ll be the first to admit it took me a while to like Elden Ring Nightreign. My first few hours in Limveld were spent trying to get a handle on each Nightfarer’s unique skills and passives while getting absolutely destroyed by the new and improved versions of some familiar enemies from the original game.
However, all it took was one excellent Expedition and unlocking the Duchess to turn things around. Joined by two excellent players who knew what they were about, I soon became a force to be reckoned with, tearing across Nightreign’s dangerous take on the Lands Between with abandon, my dual daggers slicing through any enemies unfortunate enough to get in my way.
Elden Ring Nightreign is an excellent take on roguelikes, and showcases how FromSoftware is able to take what works from its past titles and weave together experiences that make a now familiar formula feel fresh every time.
The Live Service Lands Between
In typical FromSoftware fashion, you are thrust into a tutorial section that introduces all of the new mechanics on offer in Nightreign. You are then tasked with taking down the Nightlord, an entity that covers the Lands Between in a dangerous fog each night, its dreadlords protecting anywhere it decides to call home. Joined by seven other talented warriors, two of whom are always at your side in the field, you begin your journey as a Nightfarer after an initial encounter with a familiar boss leaves you at the Roundtable Hold.
If you’ve played Elden Ring as much as I have, you will immediately see the similarities it shares with Nightreign, and also appreciate just how different things are this time around. The Nightfarers move with a speed that could put Torrent to shame, easily scaling the Lands Between’s highest points with new and improved controls. Their fighting styles vary, making each of them distinct and unique in how they take on enemies. They are a new benchmark for traversal and exploration in FromSoftware’s library.
However, the Nightlord’s territory is a threat to even the best Nightfarers. Linger too long among its ruins, camps, and castles, and you will soon find that the night eats away at your very essence, leaving you dying on the ground more quickly than you would like. You will need to work fast to level up your character and collect gear that can help you survive the day, only to repeat it all over again before you get the chance to take on the area’s main boss.
It’s here that Elden Ring Nightreign begins to feel very familiar. Any Bloodborne player is sure to see how the Duchess feels and plays like Lady Maria, while the Executor’s parry mechanic lets players unleash their inner Sekiro with aplomb. The Ironeye is what Soulslike players have been praying for in a ranged character, while the Raider is a power trip for those who prefer to hit first and ask questions later.
The pace at which each Expedition into Limveld proceeds took me right back to Armored Core 6: The Fires of Rubicon. Your team rushes from point to point, with careful planning and optimal routing being as important as being skilled at taking down threats you find on the way. Speed is of the essence in Nightreign, a departure from the slow, methodical combat that past titles encouraged.
Taking Down a FromSoft Boss With the Boys
While a new movement system is welcome, and kickass combat was expected, it’s Nightreign’s multiplayer element that makes it unique among past FromSoftware titles. The experience is designed to be shared, just as a roguelike should. But for fans of the original Elden Ring, even taking it on solo is an option. And once you get used to its pace, you quickly become a deadly killing machine aimed at the Nightlord.
The closest I’ve come to an experience like this is in Monolith Studio’s Shadow of War. Just like Mordor, Nightreign’s take on the Lands Between is a procedurally generated experience that lets you take on its threats in very satisfying ways. While I was more than happy to take on Expeditions with strangers, second-guessing their intentions as we tore across the map, Nightreign truly shines when playing it with your friends.
Coordinating with each other as we swapped weapons, items, and gear while staying in constant communication as we fought the Nightlord’s minions felt incredible, and is something that the FromSoft community is already making the most out of. It’s quite easy to set up a multiplayer session with your preferred Nightfarers, as is finding other players to join you on your next Expedition.
When things go right for you and your team, they are a sight to behold, with each of you hacking, slashing, and shooting away at enemies and watching their health bars melt away. However, they can go wrong very quickly, leading to frantic dodging and attacking as you try to revive one of your fallen comrades. It’s an unpredictability that is both very exciting and frustrating, depending on the situation at hand.
Bosses in Limveld are absolute skill checks, attacking with FromSoftware’s usual ferocity. They are the final touch on a working format that makes a successful debut in a new genre, with alterations to its combat that make the Lands Between a dangerous place to hunt in. But to Nightfarers who find their footing, they are the apex predators. It’s the beginning of incredible trios of FromSoftware’s best players showing the rest of us how it’s done, even as we find new ways to take down threats old and new in a gameplay loop that’s very entertaining.
Nighteign rewards players who take a systematic approach to its combat. But it’s when you take advantage of everything the Lands Between have to offer that can make things click together. Whipping up a build is as easy as being strategic about locations containing loot. And the sheer number of enemies you take down on the way makes for more than enough runes to fetch some upgrades.
I like to think of each Nightfarer as FromSoftware’s take on Mortal Shells, with the elemental elements of Elden Ring allowing for a build variety that should reveal itself as the community begins to think of creative ways to take on Nightreign. It’s a roguelike game that is incredibly fun and rewarding when it’s played as intended.
There is a learning curve involved, but Elden Ring: Nightreign is a lot of fun once you “git gud” with your favorite Nightfarers.
Elden Ring Nightreign
Summary
Elden Ring Nightreign puts you in the shoes of the Nightfarers, a group of warriors determined to take down the mysterious Nightlord and end its reign of terror over Limveld, a portion of the Lands Between where the Tarnished do not seem to exist.
HOURS PLAYED: 45
PLAYED ON: PS5
Elden Ring Nightreign is available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows via Steam.
For more Thumb Wars Gaming coverage, check out our guide on playing the Executor in Elden Ring Nightreign, or our guide on how to play the Duchess. Otherwise, follow Thumb Wars on X, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram to keep up with the latest news, reviews, and interviews.
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With a passion for gaming that is equaled only by his love for writing, Varun has either a controller, keyboard, or a guitar in his hands when he is not out exploring the middle of nowhere on a motorcycle. Soulslikes, RPGs, and action-adventure titles keep him awake at night and get him out of bed in the morning. He will never stop lamenting the lack of a Bloodborne sequel even as he spends another couple of hours exploring the Lands Between in Elden Ring.
