Elden Ring Nightreign Review (PC) – FromSoftware with Friends

Arise, Nightfarer. And this time, bring friends. Elden Ring Nightreign takes the reins from Elden Ring and its DLC Shadow of the Erdtree to offer a twist on the standard formula. In previous FromSoftware games, multiplayer was an option, but not really encouraged. Here, it’s the main event in the high fantasy action role-playing game. So, what does Nightreign bring to the roundtable? Is it more of the same or something new? We’ll discuss that and more in our review of Elden Ring Nightreign.

Game Name: Elden Ring Nightreign
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
Developer(s): FromSoftware
Publisher(s): Bandai Namco
Release Date: May 30th, 2025
Price: $49.99

Before we go into the review, we want to give thanks to Bandai Namco, as this has been one of the better review periods for a game.  It wasn’t just “here’s the game, go review it,” but was coordinated so that just about every outlet and personality who had access to the game worked with each other tackling Nightreign, providing feedback and and help to those who needed it. It was a blast, and we want to thank Bandai Namco and the PR company that made this possible.

Alright, on to the review.

Gameplay and Structure

At first glance, you might assume that Elden Ring Nightreign is just another Soulslike game. In many respects, that is true (in the best way). Elden Ring Nightreign‘s structure, being more reminiscent of a roguelike combined with some clever gameplay additions, makes it an experience all of its own.

When you first arrive in the land of Limveld, you’ll face a tutorial that introduces you to Nightreign’s punishing yet rewarding gameplay. For Soulslike veterans, this will feel right at home. But after that, you’ll enter the game’s unique version of the Roundtable Hold.

Here is where things shake up a bit. Instead of designing a character, you choose from one of six Nightfarers (with two more who can be unlocked later). You can switch characters any time between expeditions. There’s still some room to tweak your Nightfarer here. But mostly, you’ll use this area as a hub between the bulk of the gameplay: expeditions.

Joining up with two other players, you’ll take a foray into Limveld as an expedition. The map is slightly different every time. But the general structure remains the same. Each expedition consists of five phases. First, you explore, then fight a boss, then explore, then fight, then face the final boss. You’ll find forts, churches, castles, evergaols, and other recognizable structures from Elden Ring, albeit in different places. Visiting these sites can grant you armaments and other items as you farm enemies. But of course, you’re mostly gearing up for the bosses.

Bosses in Elden Ring Nightreign are pretty similar to bosses from other FromSoftware games. Which is to say, they’re tough. In some cases, they are literally the same bosses. For example, the Centipede Demon from Dark Souls has the chance to appear, and it isn’t the only one, as we’ve seen some favorites from prior FromSoft titles outside of Demon’s Souls and Bloodborne, games join the party. Part of the joy is seeing what bosses may show up, as the RNG randomly picks your first two bosses for an expedition, with players choosing the third and final, the Nightlord, when selecting which mission to partake in.

While the combat is mostly the same as what you’ve played in the original Elden Ring, it is a bit faster this time around. Not that Elden Ring was slow. It’s as if they dialed it up a notch, and as those who played the heck out of Elden Ring, we can definitely notice and appreciate the subtle change.

The same is true of traversing the world, with Spirit Jump Springs to perform massive jumps since Torrent doesn’t exist in this world, Spirit Hawks that can fly you to various points of the map, and the ability to double jump up certain walls. You can get around the world of Elden Ring Nightreign at a noticeably faster pace, which suits the new rogue-like structure of the core gameplay loop. There’s also the nice addition of Nightreign not featuring any fall damage, which is the complete opposite of the original game.

Multiplayer and Online Experience

One of Nightreign’s biggest features is multiplayer, and it’s more intuitive than any other FromSoft title. There’s no convoluted summoning system—just pick your Nightfarer, set a password (or don’t), and you’re matched with other players. If you’re playing with friends, you can directly invite them on the same platform. Throughout our review process, we didn’t experience any dropped network connectivity or input delay, which surprised one skeptic. If you worried about this, don’t. It’s really good.

However, there are a few caveats. First, no crossplay. That’s a big miss in 2025. Second, there’s no voice chat. Instead, there’s a ping system for marking the map. It works… kind of. Without Discord or a party chat, coordination can quickly fall apart.

More critically, the lack of crossplay means lower player pools per platform, and the three-player team structure can feel awkward if you’re missing one person. While the review period had limited players, we expect this to improve post-launch—but the structure may still lead to wait times and disjointed matchups.

However, the biggest concern is that, since this is an online game where progression and defeating bosses are key, some players will end up forming tight-knit groups and stick with them. This effectively removes them from the general player pool, which can be frustrating for others who are trying to progress but can’t find experienced teammates. It’s not necessarily the game’s fault, but I’ve seen this happen far too often in similar titles to think it won’t be an issue here.

What We Enjoyed

There’s a lot to love about Elden Ring Nightreign. The Nightfarers themselves are phenomenal in both gameplay and character design. Even when fighting bosses became tedious, the Nightfarers kept me coming back to try a new build.

Surprisingly, for a FromSoftware game, each protagonist has their own story—their reason for going to the Roundtable Hold. As you play, the game will occasionally give you new chapters to their backstories. Two of these characters, the Duchess and the Revenant, even have surprise reveals to them. Learning about the characters’ motivations and secrets should keep many players coming back for more.

Gameplay-wise, each Nightfarer plays so differently from one another. When we first heard that Elden Ring Nightreign wouldn’t let you design your character from scratch,  it was concerning. But these worries dissipated when we found a Nightfarer for each Elden Ring build that worked for us. Nightreign even has creative solutions for those who worry about finding the right gear. The Recluse, the spellcaster, can whip up new sorceries on the fly by siphoning magic. And instead of Spirit Ashes, The Revenant has three different spirits to choose from at any time.

This greatly reduces another worry, that of finding the right gear in the field. Sure, sometimes the RNG works against you, and you won’t find a specific armament. But every character has one they always start with in an expedition. And certain structures will always have a certain type of armament. For example, you can always find at least one magical staff weapon at a fort or a tower. Will it be the exact one you want? Maybe not, but at least you’ll have options.

And while Elden Ring Nightreign is a rogue-like, it does have certain items that carry over. Players receive Relics at the end of every expedition. The further you get, the better they’ll be. Each character has three slots to equip Relics, and they won’t get lost between rounds. Their usefulness can vary wildly, from slightly increasing a stat to giving your Nightfarer extra armaments, items, and status effects when setting out.

Performance and PC Testing

We tested the game on high-end PCs with RTX 4090 GPUs and high-tier CPUs. Performance was excellent overall, with a few minor stutters during co-op play—likely server-side rather than hardware-related. Unlike Elden Ring, Nightreign feels more optimized out of the gate.

Knowing that not everyone has access to the latest and greatest hardware, we were able to test the game on PC on the medium range that included a Ryzen 5 3600x and RTX 3070 build, and while it wasn’t able to run the game with all the bells and whistles, the experience was still enjoyable at 1080p and 1440p with medium/high settings at 60 FPS.

For handheld PC users, there’s good news. The original ROG Ally (25W turbo mode) manages around 30–40 FPS at 1080p, while the ROG Ally X (25W turbo mode) manages to squeeze out 40-50 FPS with a mixture of medium/high settings, at 1080p with only occasional dips. The Steam Deck isn’t left out either, as it can crank out a respectable 30 FPS with a mixture of low/medium settings. So, if you don’t own a capable PC or laptop, these handheld champions can still provide you with a worthwhile experience.

That said, the game is still capped at 60 FPS and lacks ultrawide monitor support, which feels outdated for a 2025 release. It’s frustrating because we know people will ultimately blame the game engine for this, instead of it being a design choice, since Armored Core VI, another game that uses the same game supports both 120 FPS and Ultrawide monitor support. It’s a baffling choice, for sure.

Accessibility and Design Adjustments

Thankfully, because of these gameplay additions and tweaked design focus, on a design level, Elden Ring Nightreign is FromSoftware’s most accessible game yet. Being multiplayer-focused opens the game up to a whole new crowd and allows those whose ability is limited without the use of accessibility options to more easily get the help of a friend.

Compared to other Soulslike games, Elden Ring Nightreign is a much more accessible experience by default. That said, FromSoftware, unfortunately, continues to overlook the need for more bespoke accessibility options for those with additional mobility, cognitive requirements, or other needs. In a time when we see most AAA developers adding more accessibility options than ever before, this is deeply disappointing to see. Players should have the option to experience Elden Ring Nightreign, and the lack of additional options still makes that impossible for so many people.

A Few Core Issues

Ah, yes… this is where we get into some of the frustrations and concerns with the game, and there are a few. Aside from what we’ve discussed in prior sections, the other big problem is how unfriendly the game can be regarding random sessions. Mainly because there is no voice chat, and players will need to rely on a Ping System, which lets players mark specific places on the map.

However, just because that location is marked doesn’t mean everyone will want to go there, and can therefore make their own selection. It can be a bit problematic, for sure. For players hoping to progress through Elden Ring Nightreign, it’ll be important to find others who are on the same page. The game rewards players who know what they’re doing—finding items, knowing where to go, uncovering lore, and so on.

We’re not saying playing with random people is impossible, but if you want to get the most out of the game, you’ll need to be aligned with others, preferably people you know or can communicate with through voice chat. Even beyond that, you’ll need to coordinate roles and character builds to complement each other for effective progression. And as we’ve learned over the years of playing multiplayer games, not everyone is willing to get on the same page. But if you can coordinate well with others, pulling off combos is a joy. There is a solo mode, but the game practically begs you not to play it with how little it scales down the difficulty.

Dying is perhaps more devastating than in prior games, especially since you’re not only robbed of your precious runes, but you also lose a level that you accumulated as well. Thankfully, can get that level back, assuming you can regain your runes and use them to level back up again. However, the closing circle of death complicates things, since if you die outside the safe zone, then those runes are stuck there until you either beat that day and can go back and retrieve them. However, if this happens on the second day, then you’re screwed since you can’t go back into the world after the ensuring boss and are sent directly to the Nightlord fight.

Lastly, Elden Ring Nightreign doesn’t have the same range of freedom as Elden Ring. In the base game, you can tackle bosses in various orders and with whatever build you like. Nightreign’s Nightfarers aren’t limiting in and of themselves, but certain Nightlords do make some of them nonviable. For example, the first Nightlord that you’re required to defeat, Gladius, greatly favors melee builds, so if you enjoy ranged classes, there’s a bit of a problem. And because it’s a roguelike, failed runs mean starting over. No grinding to overcome a boss. That can be exhilarating—or infuriating.

Final Thoughts

After nearly 200 hours of combined playtime between our team, one thing is clear: Elden Ring Nightreign reinvents the Soulslike loop in ways we mostly love. It’s fast, unforgiving, and packed with personality. But it’s also limited—missing modern expectations like crossplay and robust accessibility, and saddled with balancing quirks that may frustrate solo players or those not in tightly coordinated groups.

With a few updates, Nightreign could become a multiplayer Soulslike classic. But as it stands, it’s more of a potent experiment than a new standard.

Review Disclosure Statement: Elden Ring Nightreign was provided to us by Bandai Namco for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy.

Check out our other Elden Ring Nightreign content:

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• Elden Ring Nightreign Shares the Word on The Guardian in New Trailer
• Confirmed: No Voice Chat in Elden Ring Nightreign and I’m Fine With That
• That’s Not the Bloodborne Hunter Set in Elden Ring Nightreign
• Could the Lack of Crossplay Hurt Elden Ring Nightreign
• Meet the Raider, the Newest Character in Elden Ring Nightreign
• FromSoftware Unveils the Iron Eye, the Next Nightfarer in Elden Ring Nightreign