Elden Ring Nightreign – Everything We Know

FromSoftware recently announced Elden Ring Nightreign at The Game Awards in Los Angeles. The announcement comes barely six months after the launch of Shadow of the Erdtree, the Elden Ring DLC.

However, this new game is not a DLC. It is a stand-alone spin-off of Elden Ring. It will carry over some of the elements of Elden Ring while also introducing various new features and an overall new gameplay experience. Many players are excited to see how the developer will execute this new concept. Here is everything we know about Elden Ring Nightreign to answer your biggest questions.

What is Elden Ring Nightreign?

Elden Ring Nightreign is a co-op action survival game with notable RPG elements like character levelling, dungeon exploring, and intense combat. Notably, it is a spin-off of Elden Ring, created by the same developer. Its universe parallels the core Elden Ring universe, but it is unlikely to carry over items and elements from the original game.

However, this spin-off also introduces notable changes and new features. Moreover, its overall gameplay design will be different. “The game design has been reformed to provide players with a completely new gameplay experience. Players will choose from a cast of unique characters to face off against a new threat,” reads an official press release from FromSoftware.

Story

The story in Elden Ring: Nightreign remains shrouded in mystery. However, it is confirmed to be a stand-alone spin-off, unconnected to the narrative of the original Elden Ring game. This separation allows the developers to explore new themes and lore within the same rich universe. Intriguingly, Nightreign introduces eight distinct heroes, each with their own unique storylines.

As players progress through the game, they gradually uncover more about these heroes' backgrounds, motivations, and connections to the world of Nightreign. This narrative approach ties into the game's meta-progression system, where story elements are revealed as part of the gameplay loop. This ensures that the unfolding lore feels personal and deeply intertwined with the player's journey.

Gameplay

It is worth noting that the Elden Ring Nightreign gameplay design will be different from the original Elden Ring gameplay. The original Elden Ring drops you into an open world, leaving you to find your way. In contrast, Nightreign is more focused. Your objective is to survive attacks and challenges for three day-and-night cycles. You fight one of several small but formidable bosses at the end of each day and then take on one of the Nightlords big bosses at the end of the three days. Interestingly, beating a Nightlord unlocks one lore about each of the heroes.

Notably, the challenges and fights become harder with each passing day and night. Nights also cause the maps to shrink until you have no option but to fight one of the smaller bosses. Moreover, the maps change as you play. As such, the developers promise that you will never experience the same journey twice, making the game highly replayable.

The game features eight characters with unique weapons, skills, abilities, and ultimates. As a three-player co-op game, Nightreign requires players to team up and synergize their overall fighting styles to take down formidable bosses.

Nightreign is set in a parallel universe to the original Elden Ring universe. While you may notice certain similarities in the overall design, the locations differ. You can find weapons, runes, and relics while exploring the open world and fighting enemies. Notably, you get better weapons and runes when you explore more dangerous regions and fight more powerful bosses.

Each character has a unique stat expansion system. You can upgrade your characters’ abilities and equipment using the items you collect when exploring and fighting. Moreover, you can level up and boost your power by finding Sites of Grace, which are scattered throughout the world.

However, the levelling system is different in Nightreign. Runes don’t go into upgrading individual stats. Instead, they apply to all character stats across the board for entire levels. However, character stat progression doesn’t carry over from one session to another. As such, you start every session at level one and must work your way up the ladder again. There is an exception, though. The stat progression for relics lasts between sessions. You earn relics after every run, regardless of whether you win or lose. Notably, relics are powerful items that boost everything, including your equipment.

You can customize character appearances by unlocking skills. However, Nightreign doesn’t have the character creation system in the original Elden Ring games.

While Elden Ring Nightreign is a co-op game, you can also opt to play solo. However, playing solo is much harder, and the developers recommend playing with friends to fully use its features.

Development

FromSoftware, the developer behind the original Elden Ring games, develops Elden Ring Nightreign. FromSoftware is an accomplished developed with several notable games, including the wildly popular Dark Souls. The game will be published by Bandai Namco Entertainment when it finally launches in 2025. Notably, it is unlike anything else that FromSoftware has developed in the past, hence the excitement around its announcement.

Trailer

The official trailer for Elden Ring Nightreign debuted during the game’s official announcement. It is impressive, showcasing spectacular visuals highlighting the game’s sharp graphics. The scenes showcase the game’s parallel open world, featuring diverse biomes and landscapes. Some of the regions look scary, while others are quite beautiful.

Some scenes also showcase fights between players and the small and big bosses. Bosses appear to come in different shapes and sizes with varying abilities. Some are more fierce than others, and the fights look epic. A narrator in the background talks about tragedy and redemption, pointing to a story-rich experience.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

FromSoftware plans to release Elden Ring Nightreign in 2025, although the exact release date is yet to be specified. The game will run on various platforms, including PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. You don’t need any other editions of Elden Ring to run Nightreign, as it is a stand-alone game. However, it is still unclear whether it will support cross-platform play.

Does our preview of Elden Ring Nightreign answer your questions? Are you looking forward to playing the upcoming game? Leave us a comment below or let us know over on our socials here.