Elden Ring Nightreign: FromSoft’s Bold Co-op Gamble Divides Players, Becomes Its Lowest-Rated Steam Game

Is this a safe space? My gaming confession is this: I never quite conquered the original Elden Ring. Despite sinking hours into The Lands Between, I stalled not far past Margit. While I plan to return, a part of me wonders if my appetite for traditional Souls-likes has waned. (A Sekiro 2, however? Sign me up immediately.)

But my personal Souls fatigue might not be shared by the masses, many of whom likely prefer FromSoftware to stick to its tried-and-true formula. This sentiment could explain the current reception for Elden Ring Nightreign, which launched yesterday and has rapidly become FromSoftware’s worst-reviewed game on Steam.

Now, before alarm bells ring too loudly, we’re not talking about an “Overwhelmingly Negative” disaster. Nightreign currently holds a “Mixed” rating, with a respectable 66% of its user reviews being positive.

While not terrible by general gaming standards, this is uncharted territory for the acclaimed developer. In the entire FromSoftware Steam catalogue, only one piece of content scores lower: the Dark Souls 3: Ashes of Ariandel DLC, which sits at 59% positive. As far as full game releases go, Nightreign currently languishes at the bottom of their esteemed table.

This polarized reaction isn’t entirely shocking. While I haven’t personally dived into Nightreign, it’s been a topic of much debate even within the PC Gamer team. Some are enthusiastic, others hesitant, and even its proponents admit it took time to win them over. Our own reviewer, Tyler Colp, ultimately delivered a positive verdict in his Elden Ring Nightreign review but acknowledged that its experimental, multiplayer-focused gameplay makes it a “stranger, messier thing” than its predecessors.

This same divide is starkly reflected in the Steam user reviews. One user bluntly states, “This is not the Elden Ring game you are looking for.” Conversely, another, clearly embracing the challenge, proclaims, “Immediately got crushed by Fell Omen in under a minute. 10/10 Elden Ring experience.”

It will be fascinating to observe whether player sentiment will warm to Nightreign as more people spend time with it and adjust to its unique co-op trappings, or if FromSoftware stalwarts will simply not embrace it as they have previous titles. Perhaps it’s fated to remain a more divisive entry in their library, holding onto this “worst-reviewed” (for a full game) title – well, unless and until the much-whispered-about Duskbloods ever makes its way to a PC release.