Announced at The Game Awards 2024,Elden Ring: Nightreignrepresents a bold step towards evolvingElden Ringinto a franchise of its own. A standalone co-op title set within a world parallel toElden Ring’s, it will be moving away from the single-player RPG formula that has largely defined FromSoftware’s catalog. While its ties to the mechanics of previous games are clear, it also appears that the studio has looked to the popularity of the modding scene when designingElden Ring: Nightreign.
Coming just months after the release ofShadow of the Erdtree, the reveal ofNightreignis a surprise, even though it was vaguely foreshadowed in aninterview with Miyazaki on FromSoftware co-op. While it was recently confirmed there’s noElden Ring 2on the way, spin-offs weren’t ruled out. It seemed risky that a potentially convoluted side entry could further muddle the IP’s lore, but the upcomingNightreignhas been shown to be heavily centered around gameplay at its core.
Elden Ring: Nightreign Represents a Full Shift Toward Multiplayer
The Culmination of Increasingly Relevant Co-op in Elden Ring’s Predecessors
From the phantoms inDemon’s Soulsto the covenant systems inDark Souls, multiplayer has long been an important thread in theDNA of FromSoftware RPGsdespite its subtlety.Elden Ringhas been able to expand on this framework with the scope of its open world through additions like field bosses. After the game’s coliseums came in later patches and nowNightreignhas been revealed, the studio has demonstrated a dedication to putting cooperative play at the forefront.
Early promotional material highlightsElden Ring: Nightreign’s three-day cycle, a survival-esque system which apparently sees players facing randomized enemies and dynamic challenges outside the questing structure of the first game. Through design based around what appears to be a more condensed world, it appears that this spin-off will be addressing some of the core criticisms whichElden Ringplayers have previously taken to addressing through modding.
The Seamless Co-op Mod Seems to Have Directly Inspired Elden Ring: Nightreign
FromSoftware Has Acted on Its Interest in Community Innovation
As the most popular community creation of the title,Elden Ring’s Seamless Co-op modhas become a key part of a convenient multiplayer experience for many fans. The mixed bag of restrictive mechanics surrounding summoning other players in the vanilla game can be easily bypassed in favor of allowing for a more drop-in, drop-out style.Nightreignis now seemingly built entirely around a similar concept in what could be a rare case of interplay between the developer and audience.
The game has been promoted as featuring a set of playable characters with specific skills, suggesting a system based around teamwork similar to what can be found in the likes of hero shooters. Through facing cycles of enemies in a shrinking map leading up to encounters with Nightlord bosses, players will now be incentivized to band together in a blend between roguelike elements and the streamlined connectivity brought by the Seamless Co-op mod.
Despite how shocking it may seem that anotherElden Ringrelease is set to arrive so soon, there were clues about this game dropped in the months leading up to TGA. This development was potentially implied by the studio, as it was previously stated to be considering implementing the more open-ended approach to online play for future releases. In aHidetaka Miyazaki interview with PC Gamer, what he directly addressed about the Seamless Co-op mods' popularity months ago seems to have already come to fruition:
“It’s definitely not something we actively oppose or want to downplay, wanting to go through the whole game together.”
Elden Ring Nightreign
WHERE TO PLAY
“ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN is a standalone adventure within the ELDEN RING universe, crafted to offer players a new gaming experience by reimagining the game’s core design.Join forces with other players to take on the creeping night and the dangers within featuring 3-player co-op.Take command of uniquely skilled heroes, each possessing their own abilities and distinct flair.While individually formidable, their skills create powerful synergies when they unite as a team.Overcome a relentless environmental threat that sweeps through a land that changes between each game session and defeat the magnificent boss of that night!”
