At 2024 TGA conference, players around the world did not wait for the news of Hidetaka Miyazaki’s new work, but were shocked to wait for Elden Ring Nightreign. Junya Ishizaki announced that this is an independent adventure game with the theme of three-person online cooperation, in which players can enter Limveld, a parallel world of Elden Ring, for adventure. Yes, this game is not the work of Hidetaka Miyazaki, but is supervised by Junya Ishizaki. He has been the combat director of Dark Souls series for a long time. Hidetaka Miyazaki asked Junya Ishizaki to make some games he wanted to make, so players saw this game.
Release Date
Elden Ring Nightreign will be released in 2025, and the game will be launched on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and Xbox One. It is not known whether this game supports full cross-platform games, but this possibility should be small, because Elden Ring does not support this function, and players can only play online on their respective platforms.
Elden Ring Nightreign Is Not A DLC
Although Elden Ring Nightreign looks like a new DLC for Elden Ring, and from the trailer, Elden Ring Nightreign borrows a lot of materials from Elden Ring, it is not a DLC for Elden Ring. If you want to play this game, you don’t need to download Elden Ring. It is a standalone game and players cannot inherit any items from Elden Ring.
Network Test
If you can’t wait to play this game, there is good news now. Elden Ring Nightreign will be tested online. You can sign up for the test starting on January 10, and the actual test will be carried out in February 2024.
Gameplay
Unlike previous works, Elden Ring Nightreign is a game that focuses on online play. Although FromSoftware’s previous games also have content between players, the main part is still single-player, man-machine confrontation. Elden Ring Nightreign does not have a character creation system, and the speed of character growth is as fast as possible, all in order to adapt to the fast-paced changes in the game.
Limveld is not part of Elden Ring storyline, but a separate, integrated zone. Players must survive until the third day of the game, where they will face Nightlord. Players can collect Elden Ring Runes and equipment to upgrade over three days, and each night the player’s range of activities will become smaller. Yes, Elden Ring Nightreign has a shrinking circle mechanic like PUBG.
Players can adventure alone or with two companions, but this game does not support two-player play. Regardless of whether a game is won or lost, you will receive relics at the end of the game, which can provide a series of buffs to your HP, magic attacks, and even basic actions in subsequent games, and powerful relics can be obtained after defeating Nightlord.
Since there is no character creation mechanism, players will choose a specific class to enter the game. Each class has two unique skills. For example, Wylder can use a grappling hook to approach the boss quickly (yes, this is very similar to Sekiro), while Duchess can double the damage of her and her teammates. This game has a certain division of classes, but it is not so strict. Because the equipment that players can get when they land in Limveld is random, and there are no restrictions on the various weapons that players can use.
Like most rogue-like games, although the equipment and items obtained by players each time are different, there are always some contents that will not change, and these contents can help players go further. Elden Ring Nightreign has a church in a fixed location, and players who reach the church can get an extra healing bottle. Players are better to keep in a team on the road, because they will encounter various wild bosses along the way, and it will be easier to deal with them with companions.
Players will not die when they fall down, and can be rescued by other players. As long as you attack, you can restore the health of your teammates.
Currently known test versions, the highest level of each character is level 15. It seems not too difficult to reach this level. As long as you search for a larger base, you can find many Runes. And every night, players need to fight against the boss. Players can collect equipment during the day. Interestingly, equipment has various attributes. When you combine certain equipment with different attributes, you may become invincible temporarily.
Some Shortcomings
From the current known content, there are still a lot of prisons, dungeons, caves, and other places in Elden Ring Nightreign. They hardly play a role in the game. Although the enemies in these places will change every time, players will always adventure in Limveld and will soon explore the terrain clearly. Perhaps players will get tired of repeatedly exploring these areas. However, the developer also stated that the terrain of Limveld will be greatly changed in the later versions, such as introducing volcanoes, forests, or swamps.
In any case, the game is still in the development stage. After the game is released in 2025, it should present players with more complete game mechanisms and richer playable content.
