- Elden Ring Nightreign was one of The Game Awards 2024's biggest surprises
- It's a roguelite co-op experience for up to three players
- It'll release sometime in 2025, with a network test happening next year
One of the biggest surprises from The Game Awards 2024 was the announcement of FromSoftware's next game: Elden Ring Nightreign.
While certainly not a full-blown sequel to the 2022 game of the year, Nightreign instead brings a bespoke co-op experience for up to three players. The game's official landing page describes it as: "a standalone adventure within the Elden Ring universe, crafted to offer players a new gaming experience by reimagining the game's core design."
The 'reimagining' part seems pretty accurate there, as the announcement trailer was largely gameplay focused and showed off abilities that looked like they'd otherwise be straight out of a fanmade mod pack. We see playable characters fly long distances by holding onto a hawk's talons. Another ability sees us slamming down on a group of enemies from above. There's even a Sekiro-style mantle that honestly would've been a godsend in the base game.
Elden Ring Nightreign seems to be adopting a 'roguelite' style of progression. One key phrase on the landing page strongly hints at this, saying: "Overcome a relentless environmental threat that sweeps through a land that changes between each game session and defeat the magnificent boss of that night!"
It also notes that we'll get to play as "uniquely skilled heroes," indicating a shift away from player-created characters to more tailor-made builds. It'll be interesting to see how these heroes synergize with one another during co-op play, though I imagine it'll be perfectly playable solo should one prefer.
Otherwise, there's plenty for FromSoftware heads to mull over in this announcement trailer alone. For instance, a newly revealed NPC appears to be the Gloam-Eyed Queen, an important figure often spoken about in Elden Ring's lore that has yet to make an in-game appearance.
Oh, and Dark Souls 3's Nameless King shows up as a boss fight. No, really, it's literally the Nameless King - dragon, massive spear, lightning and all. FromSoftware is known to re-use its assets from project to project (which I'm not saying is a bad thing, mind), but it's never quite been this blatant. I'm pretty sure Dark Souls' Centipede Demon made a cheeky appearance, too.
A PC Gamer hands-on preview managed to get a few more details about the upcoming game. Director Junya Ishizaki states that players will need to keep ahead of a "battle royale-style wall of deadly rain" and that an average run - including the concluding boss fight - will take around 30 minutes to complete.
If you're at all worried about the prospect of Elden Ring Nightreign being a live service title, don't fret. Ishizaki explains: "We wanted to have a game that felt like a complete package out of the box on the day of purchase, so everything is unlockable... it's not what we'd consider a live-service game."
Elden Ring Nightreign is slated to release sometime in 2025 and is coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC. Good news for those eager to play the game, too, as PC Gamer reports a network test will also be coming next year.
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