Elden Ring Nightreign May Have Taken Shadow of the…

Summary

Shadow of the Erdtree DLC surpassed expectations, offering a vast expansion with new content and mechanics.
Elden Ring Nightreign feels more like an add-on with repetitive gameplay and shallow lore, lacking complexity.
The spin-off Nightreign doesn't match the depth of the DLC Shadow of the Erdtree, creating an unexpected role reversal.

FromSoftware has certainly been milking Elden Ring dry with how much it has invested into the IP ahead of a true sequel. After Elden Ring proved to be a critical success to the point of beating God of War Ragnarok in the race for Game of the Year, it received the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, which quickly went down in history as the best video game DLC of all time. Now, the ambitious spin-off, Elden Ring Nightreign, has finally arrived, with a brand-new take on the Soulslike formula that not many could have predicted would ever be a real thing. Nevertheless, it marks the third game in the Elden Ring franchise, and there isn't even an Elden Ring 2 yet.

What's so weird about Elden Ring Nightreign versus Shadow of the Erdtree, however, is that the former is a spin-off and the latter a DLC, yet they feel like they might have stolen the other's role. Elden Ring Nightreign is technically a spin-off that offers a distinct gameplay experience and doesn't require players to own Elden Ring to play it. Shadow of the Erdtree, on the other hand, expands on the original Elden Ring rather than functioning as a standalone title. Even so, it almost feels like the two should have swapped places on account of what they actually offer.

Elden Ring Nightreign Pacing Lands Between Greatest Strength

Elden Ring Nightreign's Pacing Undermines the Greatest Strength of the Lands Between

Elden Ring Nightreign pushes forward with urgency, but in doing so, it strips the Lands Between of the stillness that once made it feel eternal.

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By Josh Cotts

Elden Ring Nightreign's Label Fits Shadow of the Erdtree Better Than Itself

Shadow of the Erdtree Carried the Weight of a Full Game

When it launched, Shadow of the Erdtree turned out to be a massive surprise. It was likely that not many Elden Ring fans expected it to be the substantial and high-quality experience that it was, but it was nonetheless. In every way, Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC took what the base game did so well and kicked it up a hundred notches, to the point that it felt like an entirely different experience, despite technically being a DLC that merely expanded the base game.

What's so weird about Elden Ring Nightreign versus Shadow of the Erdtree, however, is that the former is a spin-off and the latter a DLC, yet they feel like they might have stolen the other's role.

Somehow, Shadow of the Erdtree carried the weight of a full game, and not just in its length. It can take players upwards of 50 hours or more to complete everything there is to do in the DLC, but even more than that, Shadow of the Erdtree introduced a vast new location filled with new environments, bosses, weapons, and spells, fresh progression mechanics revolving around Scadutree Fragments, and a self-contained narrative to boot. In short, it delivered far more than many fans were likely expecting, and that's why it went on to become the highest-rated DLC of all time.

Nightreign Feels More Like an Add-On

Elden Ring Nightreign, on the other hand, currently feels like a far cry from what Shadow of the Erdtree was and still is. For all intents and purposes, Elden Ring Nightreign is a boss rush with somewhat shallow lore that doesn't quite reach the complexity of its predecessors, and its mechanics are so straightforward, simple, and repetitive, that it's possible for players who spend enough time with it to eventually turn off their brains and drone on through the content. Add to that a world that isn't meant to be explored but simply trampled on, and Elden Ring Nightreign misses an opportunity to be something greater.

How to Parry Attacks Elden Ring Nightreign

More or less, this makes Elden Ring Nightreign feel like the DLC that Shadow of the Erdtree supposedly was — an add-on similar to God of War Ragnarok's roguelike Valhalla DLC, although even that had more depth than what Elden Ring Nightreign manages to achieve. This isn't really a good identity crisis for Elden Ring Nightreign to have, but it also doesn't mean that Shadow of the Erdtree had to be less than it was. It simply means that Shadow of the Erdtree might have beaten Elden Ring Nightreign at its own game, and had the two swapped roles at some point, perhaps FromSoftware's latest would be in a different critical position.

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