ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN

Elden Ring Nightreign was provided by Bandai Namco for review. Thank you!

I love souls-likes, but I am admittedly terrible at them. I love the story building and in-depth gameplay mechanics, but I can get easily frustrated trying to time my dodges just to get one hit in that takes a sliver of health. It feels extremely rewarding when I beat the boss, but I can get aggravated along the way. However, when developer From Software announced Elden Ring Nightreign, I knew I was going to have to play it. It combines souls-like with the roguelike genre, and I love roguelikes. While I had high hopes, the end result was better than I imagined, and it's easily going to be one of my favorite games this year.

I had my worries about how a souls-like game could work with roguelike elements, but From Software found a way to blend it in a way that highlights the beauty of both genres and doesn't sacrifice what makes Elden Ring so enjoyable.

Fighting is still exactly as I remembered in Elden Ring, with some tweaks to account for new features that come with Nightreign. You still must be very precise with your plan of attack, dodge at just the right times, and learn the enemy's attack patterns to sneak in your strikes or spells. It's the classic souls-like combat, and if you have played Elden Ring before, it's going to be very familiar. It does feel a little simplified when compared, since there are no Ashes of War or Spirit Ashes, but it's still very much Elden Ring through and through.

However, there are big changes that start to break away from the old mold. Instead of going into a giant action RPG world, you will start at the Roundtable Hold, our hub where we choose expeditions, customize our characters, and more. Then, we choose an expedition to go on and fly off to start our roguelike run. You are on a more condensed map of Limveld filled with enemies, mini bosses, and locations that can contain items and upgrades that will help defeat the expedition's main boss.

Each run has three days associated with it, and the first two days give you a chance to level up, upgrade, get items and weapons, and prepare for the third day, which has you fighting the boss. Throughout the first two days, a blue flame circle will close in (like Fortnite's circle), leading to a mini-boss fight. As the blue flames close in, you can view which rewards and items are available and the locations of mini-bosses on the field. While you can find new weapons and consumable items in chests, as well as upgrade flask charges or find materials to upgrade weapons, mini-bosses can offer even more powerful weapons with buffs or status effects to choose from, or permanent in-run upgrades like an increase to physical attack or resistances.

I love the balance that From Software has found with this mashup of gameplay styles, and it feels like the best of both worlds. I still get the Elden Ring experience with tough enemies and precise combat, but now there's an addictive reason to keep going back in for more. Paired with the faster movement mechanics like Surge Sprinting or Spiritstreams, it feels faster while also retaining the slow norm that souls-like games have set. Getting new weapons and items and finding passive upgrades that will really help the way I am playing feels rewarding and makes me want to keep coming back in for more chances at beating the boss.

I also like the weapons and items that can be found throughout the world. Not only can you find an assortment of different weapons that can be upgraded with found sharpening stones, but each can have their own passive buffs and abilities.

It's the same feeling I get from roguelikes, but it feels like a step up in quality thanks to the developer behind it and the series it's associated with. It's fluid, exciting, faster-paced, and still feels like the souls-like games we have come to know and love. I couldn't be happier. I also really like the simplified leveling up system, where you just go to a Site of Lost Grace and using Runes to just do a flat level up. There's no choosing specific stats to increase, and I prefer that simplicity.

There are also some events that can be triggered that change the map in unique ways. This can include a giant volcanic crater erupting in the middle of the map, woodland infested with scarlet rot will creep through the map, and a giant frozen-over mountain, and each event has some solid rewards if tackled and overcome. The world-changing events can happen randomly and feel like they can change the strategy during your limited time preparing for the final boss.

As with roguelikes, we do have forms of permanent progression, though it can feel a bit basic at times. Each run you finish, whether it's successful or not, you will obtain Relics, which you can equip on one of the characters you select before going into the expedition. Each character has specific Relic Rites that correspond to a color, which you can equip. Relics are randomly generated and can contain random buffs and stat increases or even rarer effects that enhance specific abilities each character has. You can also buy Relics at the bazaar at the Roundable Hold if desired.

These Relics can have a variety of different effects, which surprised me. I expected the usual stat boosts like Dexterity and Strength getting extra increases, but it can go even deeper. Depending on the rarity, which can have up to three different effects, these buffs can make your starting weapon deal fire damage, successive attacks restore FP, get improved guard counters, give you specific damage buffs with different weapons, start with different items, and so much more. I love the variety in these, and with it being random, I found a lot of motivation to keep playing and get new ones.

You can unlock cosmetics and story content for each of the characters as time goes on and you complete expeditions, but the Relics system is going to be the main way you get more powerful outside of runs. I think it's an interesting system, and I am glad it's randomly generated to keep my motivation to keep going back in and getting new ones, but I can't shake the underwhelming feeling. Maybe it's due to most roguelikes having more persistent progression options to make you more powerful. Still, it's interesting enough to keep me interested, but I still wish there were more to it.

Speaking of characters, instead of creating your own, you will choose from different characters that all have their own strengths and weaknesses. While on the surface, some may seem more geared towards melee combat versus ranged spells, each individual has different abilities, skills, and stats that make them wholly unique. This could range from an ability to escape death once on a hit that would kill, using Restage to deal immense damage when using it at the right time, or even the strength to utilize crossbows with one hand and still have a shield in the other.

I ended up using Wylder the most because I died a lot, and that ability to escape death once came in handy multiple times, but Guardian was a great melee tank, while I did enjoy Recluse for a focus on spell casting from afar. Each character also has their own abilities, which take the form of regular and Ultimate Arts. These can be extremely useful and range in utility, and Ultimate Arts can be a huge help depending on when you use them.

This is all key for co-op play, which is a major change in the formula. You can play solo if preferred, but the fun really kicks in when playing with two others. Picking and choosing characters that can complement each other and running around Limveld, taking down bosses together, upgrading and finding new items, and strategizing have been some of my favorite times with the game. It's clear as day that this is the way the game should be played, and while it's still fun alone, and the difficulty does scale and is a bit easier when playing solo, it truly shines when you bring in others.

Strategizing was one of my favorite aspects of Nightreign, too. Picking characters that can work together was essential, and figuring out a game plan to try getting what we would need to take advantage of each expedition's boss was exciting. With each boss having a weakness and pattern, it was a lot of fun to figure it out and tackle each challenge together. Even when playing with a random person to turn our team of 2 into 3, it felt more rewarding to experience just because I knew the others around were doing this all with me.

Nightreign has an overarching story, as well as individual tales for each of the characters in the form of the journal. The people you play as have lost their memories and have been recruited to fight against the Nightlord. While playing, clues can be discovered to uncover their pasts, and while it is mostly interesting, it's definitely not the highlight of the game. It's not bad by any means, and I did enjoy learning about the characters we play as, but it didn't captivate me past that.

One thing I will mention is that this is going to be a little divisive for fans of Elden Ring. The lore isn't as interesting or detailed, there are reused assets from the base game, and it doesn't feel as detailed as a usual souls-like. However, as someone who enjoys souls-likes and roguelikes, I found so much to love and a lot of reason to keep diving back in.

ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN - Steam Deck Performance

Even though Elden Ring plays well on the Steam Deck, I did have my worries for Elden Ring Nightreign. From Software tends to miss some features in their PC ports for the Souls games, and I was worried that this would be no exception. Luckily, the system requirements are the same, so I was optimistic that it would run, and I am happy to say it can.

Nightreign can be played both alone and with 2 other people, and each gives a different performance. Playing alone is better, as it allows for a higher frame rate, closer to 40 FPS. We can achieve higher graphical quality by playing alone at 30 FPS, or try making more sacrifices to reach 40 FPS. Either way works, though I preferred aiming for 30 FPS here.

Playing with two others causes significantly more stress on the system and results in more drops, especially in open areas or when everyone is fighting bosses together. Here, it is nearly impossible to consistently hit 40 FPS or more on the lowest settings, so we can maintain a mix of low and medium quality settings to prevent it from dropping below 30 FPS. It's still very playable and looks solid, but there isn't much more we can do to push performance when playing with others.

The biggest issue I ran into with the visuals is anti-aliasing, which can look oddly blurry on some surfaces, with the most prevalent one coming from our character when standing still. Fixing this is easy and doesn't cost much performance, but it also makes things look extremely sharp, which is horrible in the open world. I prefer keeping the blurriness with Anti-Aliasing on Low instead of High, which keeps the open world looking much nicer.

Regardless, it will be hard to get a stable framerate without any issues because the game is missing two key settings: Framerate Limits and V-Sync. Both of these can technically be done through the quick access menu thanks to SteamOS. However, it introduces input lag, and that's extremely detrimental in games like Elden Ring Nightreign. The only way to get a stable, capped framerate with no lag at all is to do it through the game directly, but unfortunately, it doesn't have those options.

I also tried the MangoHUD launch option to see if I could stabilize the framerate without adding any input lag, but unfortunately, it didn't work.

So, we are left with a choice. Do we stabilize the framerate, which can lower battery consumption, but introduce slight input lag, or do we keep it uncapped with high battery drain and have a better experience? After playing around with both, I went for the latter. I usually prefer a stable framerate, but with the input lag actually affecting my gameplay and missing key dodge rolls, there was no way I could recommend it to others.

Still, even with this, I didn't find the fluctuations to be jarring. I was comfortably playing with my team while sitting in bed or playing alone when at a restaurant. The controller support is solid, we can play offline, and the game supports HDR displays, including the OLED Steam Deck screen. It has some compromises, and it's a shame we can't do more to maximize, but it works, and I am happy with it.

The text is a bit on the small side, but it wasn't completely unreadable. I was able to figure out what everything said without straining my eyes, but it borders on being a bit too small.

Online multiplayer does work on the Steam Deck, but I did have some launches where online was automatically disabled due to framerate problems. I fixed this by closing and relaunching the game, and it worked perfectly fine afterward, but it did pop up here and there. However, the game can be played solo and completely offline, and the Relics you earn carry over to online play.

Accessibility

In the settings, you can toggle auto-targeting and auto lock-on, map cursor speed, camera speed, and whether it's inverted, auto rotation and wall recovery, cinematic effects, and whether subtitles and blood are displayed. You can also completely turn off the HUD, change volume settings, and edit keybindings.

The game doesn't support 16:10 resolutions, but it does have cloud saves and great controller support. There are HDR settings, and it recognizes the OLED screen.

Conclusion

Elden Ring Nightreign feels like a near-perfect blend of From Software's souls-like formula and addictive roguelikes that make this experience feel like a step above the rest. The combat still feels just like Elden Ring and other souls-like games we have come to love, but the faster exploration and bite-sized expeditions kept my attention longer than most other souls-like games have. I adore the new roguelike mechanics, which make each run feel distinct and impactful, while also maintaining the quality that further elevates the experience.

The Relic system can feel a little underwhelming, and the story for the characters feels significantly less complex and meaningful compared to the original game, but it's still a great, high-quality roguelike that should satisfy both fans of each genre Nightreign encompasses.

It also runs quite well on the Steam Deck, even if there are some fluctuations with framerate and visuals. A lot of the issues come from an underwhelming PC port that lacks some essential settings, like V-Sync and in-game framerate limiters. However, it's still very playable, both online and offline, and is still a solid way to play this wonderful experience.

Our review is based on the PC version of this game.

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