I'm Shocked By Elden Ring: Nightreign's Review Scores

Summary

Elden Ring Nightreign's 80 rating falls below FromSoftware's usual standards for game scores.
This makes it the lowest-rated Souls game from the studio.
Despite lower scores, Nightreign is still a great value with a budget price and intense action gameplay.

Elden Ring Nightreign has earned mostly positive reviews from critics, but its score is still a far cry away from FromSoftware's other major titles. FromSoftware has become one of the most revered developers in the industry, and for good reason. Two FromSoftware games have won Game of the Year awards, and the studio consistently puts out critically-acclaimed titles. Considering this, I was expecting Elden Ring Nightreign to continue FromSoftware's streak of games to earn a "Mighty" rating on review aggregate site OpenCritic.

Elden Ring Nightreign reviews are out in the wild, and the consensus seems to be that the game successfully delivers more of FromSoftware's signature intense action and that it is a blast to play in 3-player co-op. Criticism has been levied at how Elden Ring Nightreign recycles content from previous FromSoftware titles and that single-player isn't nearly as fun as 3-player. Ultimately, review scores for Elden Ring Nightreign have brought its overall rating below FromSoftware's usual standards.

Elden Ring Nightreign Review

A near-perfect merging of FromSoftware game design and roguelike structure, Elden Ring Nightreign is a bold experiment and one of 2025's highlights.

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By Matt Karoglou

Elden Ring Nightreign review scores have left the multiplayer roguelike with an 80 overall rating, with 79% of critics recommending the game, according to OpenCritic. An 80 is still a great score, but it's definitely lower than expected when it comes to FromSoftware games, especially the studio's Souls titles. Nearly every FromSoftware game since Dark Souls 2 released in 2014 has found itself in the "Mighty" category on OpenCritic, indicating an average score of 84 or above. The one exception is the VR game Deracine, which received a 70 rating.

How Elden Ring Nightreign's Review Score Compares to Other FromSoftware Souls Games

Demon's Souls - 89
Dark Souls - 89
Dark Souls 2 - 88
Bloodborne - 91
Dark Souls 3 - 90
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - 90
Elden Ring - 95
Elden Ring Nightreign - 80

Elden Ring Nightreign's lower-than-expected review average means that the game will likely not be nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2025. Even Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC was controversially nominated for Game of the Year when it came out, but it seems unlikely that Nightreign will follow in its footsteps.

As it stands, the current Game of the Year frontrunners are titles like Monster Hunter Wilds, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Split Fiction. It also wouldn't be surprising to see some critically-acclaimed indies get the nod as well, with Blue Prince and Monster Train 2 coming to mind. Even though Elden Ring Nightreign's status as a multiplayer-focused spin-off already had some fans doubting its ability to match the original game's review scores, I'm still surprised that it didn't even really come close and is one of the lowest-rated FromSoftware games of the past decade.

FromSoftware's next game is the 2026 Switch 2 exclusive The Duskbloods. It also has a multiplayer-focus, so it will be interesting to see how it scores compared to Nightreign and FromSoftware's other games.

Still, 80 is a great score, even if it's lower than expected from FromSoftware. Plus, Elden Ring Nightreign has a budget price, which may make it even more enticing to fans of the studio's games.

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