FromSoftware rarely stumbles, often crafting intricate worlds that, despite their notorious difficulty, captivate even those (like myself) with a low tolerance for adversity. Yet, Elden Ring Nightreign, the co-operative spin-off, feels like a rare misstep for many, including this writer, even if it has found some fans. While the game introduces a suite of new mobility options, these enhancements often feel less like an empowerment and more like a frantic necessity dictated by ill-fitting design choices.
Nightreign certainly ups the ante on agility. Players can sprint at near-Flash speeds, scale walls, leap off them, and, in the case of the Wylder class, utilize a grappling hook to rapidly close distances in combat. On paper, this sounds like an exhilarating evolution of Elden Ring’s established movement. However, in practice, this newfound speed serves a more desperate purpose.
The Rush to Ruin: Battle Royale Pacing in a Soulslike World
The core issue is that Nightreign swaps the thoughtful, methodical pace of its predecessor for the chaotic, breakneck speed of a battle royale. A constantly shrinking battlefield – that dreaded “big blue wall” – instills a perpetual sense that any moment not spent moving is a moment wasted. This fundamentally clashes with the intricate, challenging combat Elden Ring is known for.
I’ve experienced firsthand, alongside colleagues, the bitter frustration of abandoning a hard-fought boss battle we were winning. Not due to a lack of healing flasks or imminent death, but because an arbitrary, unbeatable enemy – the shrinking zone – was closing in. This, frankly, feels like anathema to the core Soulslike experience. While some players, like our reviewer Tyler Colp, find enjoyment in this new formula, for others it evokes the feeling of a poorly conceived mod that undermines a previously refined experience.
Mobility: A Crutch, Not a Choice
Even the aspects I grudgingly admit have some appeal, like the enhanced mobility, come with significant caveats:
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Farewell, Torrent: The trusty spirit steed, Torrent, is absent. While on-foot sprinting in Nightreign might technically be as fast (or faster) than riding Torrent, it lacks that exhilarating feel of speed. More importantly, Torrent was a tactical tool, offering unique combat entries like dismounting jump attacks and drive-by swipes – options now lost.
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Janky Jumps: The wall-jumping mechanic, crucial for navigating quickly under pressure, is often janky and inconsistent. When every second counts as the blue wall nips at your heels, getting stuck on a slightly-too-tall ledge because your character’s “useless wings” won’t cooperate is infuriating.
There are fleeting moments, it must be said, where the desperate race against time, utilizing these mobility tools to reach the next flask or boss, offers a thrill distinct from traditional FromSoftware fare. Leaping cliffs and weaving through mobs in a relentless pursuit of power can be exciting. But these moments are, unfortunately, rare.
Been There, Done That (Better): The Sekiro Comparison
FromSoftware isn’t new to high-mobility action. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice masterfully integrated an infinite sprint and a versatile grappling hook. The joy of zipping away from danger, leaping between rooftops to reposition, or strategically disengaging from an overwhelming fight in Sekiro is unparalleled in the soulslike genre.
The Wylder’s grappling hook in Nightreign, while novel for the Elden Ring framework, pales in comparison. It’s a simpler tool, more for emergency repositioning than the fluid, ninja-like traversal seen in Sekiro.
Not a Bold Experiment, But a Clumsy Mashup
Ultimately, Elden Ring Nightreign doesn’t feel like a bold experiment. Instead, it seems to awkwardly jam “Fortnite junk” (the battle royale mechanics) onto a foundation built for something entirely different, while reintroducing mobility concepts FromSoftware has executed better elsewhere.
Beyond the often-frustrating mobility, any enjoyment largely stems from the inherent fun of co-op play with friends, or the lingering excellence of Elden Ring’s core combat DNA when it’s allowed to breathe. But as a cohesive experience, Nightreign, for many, fails to ignite that same spark.
