Review: ‘Nightreign’ is a mini supercharged ‘Elden Ring’ for co-op fanatics

My first real Nightreign experience ended in both farce and tragedy.

My crew of three had crushed a lumbering boss — only a miniature swordsman remained. An ally and I fell to his blade. As we crawled around, awaiting revival, we watched our last team member pummel the final foe. With micrometers left on his health bar, our minuscule opponent landed a killing blow on our friend and then waltzed away, leaving three corpses in his wake.

We were tasked with surviving two days before departing to defeat a formidable “Nightlord.” We couldn’t even make it past the first night.

But of course, this is Elden Ring. Losing is part of the game.

Together, bound by a will

Elden Ring: Nightreign‘s announcement at The Game Awards last year perplexed some fans. It first looked like a straightforward sequel — dropping unexpectedly soon after 2024’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. But then we learned the game was a slimmer, multiplayer experience. Like a purely cooperative Hunt: Showdown — all about exploration and bosses — but with the shrinking zones of a Fortnite-style battle royale.

Bold as this reinvention might seem, it’s not unprecedented. FromSoftware titles — from Demon’s Souls to Bloodborne — typically feature co-op gameplay alongside infamous player-vs-player “invasions.” But Nightreign marks a major pivot into multiplayer design. You can play it solo, but you really shouldn’t.

That’s because the game demands tight tactics and timely coordination. Nightreign shrinks Elden Ring’s sprawling map and epic storyline into intense “expeditions” that last around an hour (at most!). Once you air-drop into the world, you’ll scramble to collect healing flasks from ruined churches and powerful upgrades from minibosses. Where you once leisurely explored astride a trusty horse-elk-thing, you’ll now scamper on foot, quadruple-jumping up crags and plummeting off cliffs (thankfully, you won’t take any damage, no matter how far you fall)!

With its unrelenting pace, Nightreign makes Elden Ring look like a tea party. I soon learned to ignore all but the most important loot-dropping enemies. I slammed consumable items early and often. I hoarded weapons and frantically swapped between them. I never felt free to explore the contours of what’s otherwise a rich and dense world. Nightreign isn’t about vibes — it’s a speedrun. You’ll have to churn through levels quickly, or a mandatory boss will absolutely send you home early.

As Night falls, we rise

As stressful as this new formula might be, Nightreign still effectively synthesizes the arc of a role-playing game, both inside and outside its frenetic expeditions. Its eight playable characters each wield divergent abilities and ultimates. Even failed runs give you resources to buy modular gems that slightly improve a hero’s starting stats. And when your team finally defeats one of several possible Nightlords, you’ll feel nearly as accomplished as when you triumph over a difficult chapter in an 80-hour RPG.

But I suspect Nightreign will not have the same broad appeal as the original Elden Ring. While it boasts the trademark sparse dialogue and cryptic lore, it’s not the same kind of open-ended adventure you can carve out on your own terms. Along with the upcoming Nintendo-exclusive, The Duskbloods, Nightreign blazes a new era of multiplayer-focused FromSoftware games. That thrills me as someone who’s always hungry for great co-op. But I hope the studio I fell in love with never stops making the layered worlds that simply can’t be bound by this more limited format.