Summary
- Elden Ring Nightreign blends familiar elements with a roguelike structure for a balance of novelty and familiarity.
- Reused bosses from Elden Ring in Nightreign can be a double-edged sword, offering accessibility for veterans, but monotony for some.
- Despite some uninspiring boss encounters, Nightreign's familiarity can help veterans teach new players the Soulslike genre.
It’s incredible to think how much the formula of Elden Ring has changed in Elden Ring Nightreign. Melding the familiar landmarks, enemies, and weapons of the former with the roguelike structure of the latter, FromSoftware has struck a delicate balance between familiarity and novelty. Some of this works incredibly well, and fans of Elden Ring will be helped greatly by having the knowledge of most enemy movesets at their fingertips, for example.
The way the game is played is completely recontextualized, and it’s incredible how much mileage the developers were able to get out of the reused enemies. Veterans of the series not only have a head start on how to tackle the game, but due to their knowledge of the main game, they can teach new Soulslike players what to expect from Elden Ring Nightreign. But this aspect of the experience has proven to be a bit of a double-edged sword, one that has generated a bit of player frustration.
Elden Ring Nightreign Reveals Patch Notes for June Update
Elden Ring Nightreign reveals patch notes filled with tweaks and changes for its most recent update, which is available on all platforms right now.
Nightreign’s Returning Elden Ring Bosses Are a Blessing and a Curse
For what is supposed to be the apex of each day cycle in Nightreign, the bosses returning from Elden Ring are the least exciting aspect of the game. Draconic Tree Sentinels, Night's Cavalry, and Ulcerated Tree Spirits are all pretty well known by many players of Nightreign. The movesets may have been novel back in 2022, but to players who have spent hundreds of hours in the Lands Between, they’re fairly routine. This is not inherently a bad thing. It makes picking up the game as an Elden Ring fan very accessible. After all, familiar players won’t keep getting caught out by every enemy they come across, avoiding the classic cycle of rinsing and repeating deaths to learn their moves. These players can instead focus on getting the right gear, instead of being forced to contend with having to learn even more.
Six bosses have also returned from Dark Souls.
But some players have already remarked that they’re quite dull. Elden Ring drew criticism for reusing bosses, and now these same enemies are cropping up more and more in Nightreign. And it’s understandable that some people would be less than enthusiastic about them, as most players want new experiences in a new game. There’s no novelty in fighting the same enemies who were so prevalent in the main game, even with one new move added to their repertoire. It could have been somewhat mitigated by mixing some more unique bosses into the mix, the way Morgott and Godrick were implemented, but it seems like, for now, FromSoftware doesn’t want to. It would be pretty cool to take down Malenia as a team in Nightreign, for example.
Nightreign’s Bosses Borrow an Unpopular Roguelike Trait
There’s also a certain trend in Roguelike games of making horde bosses out of smaller enemies, and these are by far the least inspiring way to add bosses. Risk of Rain 2’s Horde of Many bosses are a great example of this type of boss encounter being very mediocre, just swarming the field with a bunch of overlevelled regular mobs. Nightreign repeats this, as opening an Evergaol just for it to be a trio of Banished Knights doesn’t feel particularly special, and can lead runs to feel quite monotonous.
There Is a Silver Lining to Nightreign’s Reused Bosses
However, as uninspiring as the reused bosses may be, there could be a silver lining, as many completely new Nightreign players are discovering. For someone who has never played a Souls game, Nightreign presents a difficult new player experience, and some players keen to try a FromSoftware game have already dropped it after realizing how much there is to learn. Now, one can imagine that experience being extrapolated to everyone. The pace of Nightreign is fast, and it could be a blessing that so much of it is so familiar already, allowing many players to get to grips with it without worrying too much about each individual enemy encounter.
Elden Ring Nightreign
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 80 /100 Critics Rec: 78%
- Released
- May 30, 2025
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software
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!"
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike, Roguelite
