"Elden Ring Nightreign" tested: This is how the co-op "Souls" plays

Cassie Mammone

6/6/2025

Translation: machine translated

Although the introduction to "Elden Ring Nightreign" was anything but pleasant, the game completely captivated me.

The start is tough and merciless

As soon as I start «Elden Ring Nightreign», the game explains the basic controls in a short tutorial. In addition to familiar elements, such as attacks using the shoulder buttons, new, class-specific commands are added. These are usually more powerful than standard attacks. For example, I transform into a beast, jump high into the air or fire an arrow that knocks everything in its path aside.

In addition, the status values of the classes are fixed, as independent levelling is no longer necessary. Instead, my stats increase automatically when I raise my level in a place of grace.

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This is what a typical run at «Elden Ring Nightreign» looks like

I am always thrown into the same area with my group Roguelike, where only the locations of the enemies and items change. The aim is then to defeat one of eight final bosses in a total of three in-game days (which last just under an hour)

To do this, I run through points marked on the map where enemies and treasures await me. For example, I clean out camps, improve the healing of my Estus bottle or take on smaller bosses. In contrast to normal enemies, these give significantly better rewards and more runes, which I need to level up.

The second day looks like the first and takes place on the same map. That's why I visit other, ideally more challenging points on the map and improve my character so that it is prepared for the boss fight at the end of the day.

The course of the third and final day is different. Here I redeem my last runes for levelling and get ready for the final boss fight of the run. This corresponds to the Nightlord I selected before the expedition. If I defeat it, I tick off one of a total of eight bosses.

A big «Oh dear» for the multiplayer game

Once I not only understand the principle but also internalise it, the individual runs run much better. I finally know how best to coordinate with my co-op partner, which locations I prefer to tackle earlier and which can wait until the second day.

The multiplayer also remains a problem later on. Two points bother me about it. On the one hand, there is no cross-play functionality. For a game that will be released in 2025 for the latest generation of consoles and PCs alongside PS4 and Xbox One, this is incomprehensible.

A dedicated two-player mode is completely missing. Although I can start an expedition with two players, a randomly selected player joins me. Even though I'm glad that I can at least play with my co-op partner in this way, the catch quickly becomes apparent. The third player has a significant impact on the gaming experience.

This is a decision that, like the lack of cross-play, I can't understand. Even if Fromsoftware wants to add the two-player mode after the criticism at some point, its absence when the game is released is irritating.

When a pro joins, he or she marks fixed points on the map and skilfully follows the paths to them. During boss battles, the person deals a lot of damage or supports us. This is what fun expeditions look like, which usually end in victory over the final boss on the third day.

However, it happens at least as often that a newcomer ends up in our party, constantly dies on the map before the boss fight and spends more time on the ground than in battle. Directly after the launch, this is still acceptable. But when my third run in a row comes to an end at the first big boss, I'm frustrated. The whole thing goes so far that Nightfarers joke on the internet that the real difficulty in the game lies in finding a third party member.

At least I'm relieved that my gaming experience with a 3070 graphics card on the PC is mostly smooth in multiplayer. After reading in pre-release reviews that the game was laggy even on modern consoles, I feared the worst. Apart from a few delays with an end boss, I have been spared from this. Occasionally, the enemies do jerk across my screen. But that's probably more down to the internet connection.

Despite frustration, the motivation spiral comes

Although the beginning can be overwhelming even for «Souls» veterans and the multiplayer experience leaves a lot to be desired in some areas, after defeating the first Nightlord «it clicks». I'm already caught up in the motivational spiral of «Nightreign». As soon as I get the hang of it, I want to hunt down the rest of the Nightlords.

As a roguelike, the principle of the runs always remains the same. I hardly ever unlock continuous progress. Instead, there are only relics that I use to equip the classes before an expedition. These have three free, colour-coded slots that I fill. This allows me to improve status values, but also unlock special, class-specific properties.

Other than that, the measurable progress remains manageable. «Nightreign» also has no endgame worth mentioning. Once I have defeated all eight Nightlords, I only go on expeditions for fun or to unlock class skins. The variety comes from the runs themselves.

«Elden Ring Nightreign» was provided to me by Bandai Namco. The game has been available since 30 May 2025 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

Cassie Mammone

Freelance Editor

cassie.mammone.freelance@gmail.com

I wrote my first text about video games when I was eight years old. I haven't been able to stop since. The rest of my time is spent on my love for 2D husbandos, monsters, my cats and sport.

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