Summary
- Elden Ring Nightreign's lore offers new sources of information and intriguing mysteries.
- Walking titans in the sky are a major mystery in Nightreign, tying back to earlier lore in the series.
- The titans in Nightreign have sparked new theories regarding the early timeline of Elden Ring's lore, and could be connected to Divine Towers.
Elden Ring Nightreign’s release has been surprisingly lore-heavy, given that it initially looked like it might not be relevant. From the nature of the night to the intriguing ending, there are a lot of new sources of information, and a lot more questions to ask. But one of the biggest mysteries is actually hidden in plain sight; all it takes is to look up.
FromSoftware games have always been about looking deeper into things than they seem on the surface, unearthing item descriptions and examining weapon models, but this mystery starts in the sky. Walking around Limveld are titanic beings, appearing out of thin air, and while they can be hard to make out at first, their inclusion in Elden Ring Nightreign is likely not the first time they have been seen in the series.
There will be some spoilers for the ending of Elden Ring Nightreign.
Elden Ring Nightreign: Every Shifting Earth, Ranked
Shifting Earth is an event in Nightreign that offers a new explorable region each time.
Literally and Figuratively, the Walking Titans Are Elden Ring Nightreign’s Biggest Mystery
At the end of day one, players may begin to notice these walking, foggy creatures off the shore of Limveld. They were actually featured in one of the promotional images for Nightreign, but fans would be forgiven for not noticing them, as it can be hard to focus on the sky when so much is happening on the ground. But by taking a closer look, a player can watch the titans take form over the course of day two, gradually materializing into physical figures, seen within the distant night, apparently walking away from Limveld.
Everything That Is Known About Nightreign’s Titans
While there is little mention in the game that explicitly points to the titans, there are a few key features that connect them back to Elden Ring. On the Mountaintops of the Giants, and around Caelid, there are various faces of huge skeletal creatures set into the cliffs, with jaws that resemble the ones that can be glimpsed on Nightreign’s titans. Similarly, the Mountaintops shows how the giants were punished with thorns, and the titans are seemingly covered in thorns. A lot of this can be confirmed in Nightreign’s ending, when one of these figures is shown to stand up from the sea, turning its back on the Erdtree.
The Titans Have Caused Many New Lore Theories to Emerge
The titans have always been a little bit mysterious in Elden Ring’s lore. Their features stood out like a sore thumb, impossible to miss, yet they were so rarely referenced anywhere that they were easy to overlook. As a relic of a long time ago, the titans represented a far older time in Elden Ring’s timeline, perhaps from the Crucible era or even before. Some fans have suggested that they are tied up with a deep, evolutionary idea also seen on Earth, where, in prehistoric times, far larger creatures roamed, but as time went on, life diversified and became smaller, and the titans were driven extinct for various reasons at the end of this era, possibly hunted for their power.
Another theory suggests they are tied to Elden Ring’s Divine Towers, which have long been the subject of debate. The titans may actually be the original builders of the towers, and their appearance in Nightreign coincides with the construction of a Divine Tower to reach the Nightlords. A crucial bit of lore from Nightreign mentions a tribe spurned for stealing an Erdtree cutting from a god in order to repulse the night, and in Nightreign, the safe zone is a tree being constructed around a tower that grows through the night. Whatever the case, the titans seem deeply connected to lots of Elden Ring’s colossal architecture, and have woken up to find themselves unwelcome in this new age.
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
