FromSoftware is set to redefine the co-op action RPG landscape with their upcoming title, Elden Ring: Nightreign. Scheduled for release on May 30, 2025, this game transports players to the mysterious realm of Limveld, a reimagined version of Elden Ring’s Limgrave. Here, the familiar meets the new, offering something for the Elden Ring fans and newcomers alike. I played a couple of sessions so let’s see if it’s any good!
Now in co-op
FromSoftware has never shied away from challenging players, but with Nightreign, they’re flipping the script by making cooperative play the centerpiece. Instead of wandering the Lands Between alone, you’ll be part of a three-person squad called Nightfarers, forced to rely on each other to survive Limveld’s horrors. While co-op existed in Elden Ring, it always felt like a temporary alliance; here, the entire structure is built around teamwork, making your fellow Nightfarers as important as your own skills.
The game introduces eight different classes each designed to offer different styles ranging from classic tanks to magical wielding classes. Like any good co-op game, you’ll have to find the class that suits your style the most and get as good as possible with it. if you want to survive, you’ll need to be in a team where the classes and skill levels are as balanced as possible if you want to stand a chance. With four more classes yet to be revealed, FromSoftware is clearly aiming for a diverse set of options that encourage creative team synergies. Unlike the original game’s open-ended approach to builds, Nightreign demands a more strategic group of Nightfarers if you want to succeed.
While this is a big twist on the main game, it doesn’t end with the twists just yet. Death isn’t the end, at least, not immediately. If you fall in battle, your teammates have a limited window to revive you, but if the whole squad is wiped out, the run ends. This adds extra tension to every encounter, making every encounter as stressful as it would be in a solo run. The fun part about this reviving mechanic is that it revolves around attacking the fallen teammate, nothing is easy in the world of Elden Ring.
Day and Night
Perhaps the most exciting feature of Nightreign is its three-day survival cycle. Unlike the big open world of the main game, this game introduces a structured yet randomized roguelike experience… Each in-game day presents an opportunity to explore, fight, and prepare, while each night brings the creeping doom of the Night’s Tide, a supernatural storm that forces players into tighter areas, much like a battle royale-style shrinking map.
During the daytime, you and your squad will roam Limveld in search of runes, weapons, and artifacts, upgrading your abilities and fortifying your chances against the incoming darkness. Enemy encounters during the day are dangerous but manageable, allowing you to gather resources without constant life-or-death pressure. But as night falls, the real challenge begins. At dusk, the Night’s Tide begins, flooding the land with Nightspawn, aggressive monstrosities twisted by the storm’s energy. These creatures are far deadlier than their daytime counterparts, and they only grow stronger as the night progresses. Your team’s objective? Survive until dawn while managing limited resources, dwindling health, and the ever-present threat of ambushes.
The ultimate test comes on the third and final night when one of the Nightlords emerges. These bosses function as the game’s main antagonists, each ruling over a different part of Limveld. Their designs are said to be a mix of gothic horror and eldritch monstrosity, each wielding abilities that alter the battlefield in terrifying ways. Defeating a Nightlord is the only way to complete a run; but failure means starting over from scratch. In the online tests, these bosses proved to be extremely hard to defeat and truly fit the Elden Ring franchise. If you manage to defeat one, it’s the biggest reward the game can give you and you’ll want to come back for more as soon as possible.
Combat and exploration
FromSoftware has taken the already stellar Elden Ring combat system and refined it for Nightreign, adding new traversal mechanics and weapon interactions that make movement more fluid and dynamic. Gone is the fear of fall damage, allowing players to leap off cliffs, drop into enemy encampments, or escape danger without worrying about misjudging a landing. This newfound freedom, combined with new mantling, wall-climbing, and parkour-like movement, opens up vertical combat possibilities, unlike anything in the Soulsborne series. Movements are way faster and feel way more natural than ever before which results in an overall higher pacing without ever losing that typical Elden Ring feeling.
Weapon variety is another major focus. Each weapon in Nightreign now comes with passive bonuses that remain active even when sheathed, adding a new layer of strategic depth. For example, carrying a cursed blade might grant you bonus attack power at night, while a relic shield could slowly regenerate your health even when not in use. This allows players to mix and match equipment not just based on direct combat effectiveness, but on how their entire loadout supports their playstyle.
Magic is also getting an overhaul. In previous FromSoftware games, spells often required committing to long casting animations, leaving players vulnerable. Nightreign introduces a new spell-weaving mechanic, where certain incantations can be combined mid-cast, creating hybrid effects that adapt to the battlefield. Imagine launching a fireball and, just before impact, altering it into a chain lightning explosion. At first all these changes don’t seem like that big of a deal but in reality, they do alter the overall vibe of the game. At first, I didn’t understand that Nightreign wasn’t just an expansion or DLC but after playing a couple of rounds, it’s clear that this really is an entirely new game and the gameplay changed more than you would think.
Early conclusion:
FromSoftware has built its reputation on delivering brutal, rewarding, and unforgettable gaming experiences, and Elden Ring: Nightreign looks right on track to continue that tradition. By shifting towards a cooperative survival structure, the game introduces fresh ideas while keeping the deep combat and rich world-building that made Elden Ring a modern classic. With its three-day survival cycle, expanded traversal mechanics, and returning legacy bosses, Nightreign isn’t just a spin-off, it feels like a true new entry in the Elden Ring franchise. Whether you’re a veteran of the Lands Between or a newcomer eager for a challenge, this is a journey worth keeping an eye on. The only question that remains: Can you survive the Night’s Tide?
