From the moment the development direction diverged significantly from its predecessor, Elden Ring: Nightreign has sparked considerable debate within the gaming community.
The game invites players into an immersive co-op experience for three players in a roguelike format—where players continuously engage in battles to collect loot, navigating through challenging encounters in a limited realm of attraction reminiscent of survival titles. The character development system is notably distinct from its predecessor, replacing traditional character classes with uniquely defined avatars on shorter quests, offering more dynamic and diverse gameplay.
However, the core issue lies not just in the changes to gameplay mechanics. According to feedback from gamers and industry experts, the shortcomings in the new feature system significantly diminish Nightreign’s score, resulting in a mixed reception right from its initial release.
Nightreign recorded 313,593 concurrent players at launch—a remarkably impressive figure. Although this number is still far from the 953,000 concurrent players of the original Elden Ring, it represents a commendable achievement. Nonetheless, only 67% of users on Steam rated it positively, placing Nightreign as the lowest-rated official release from FromSoftware, just below the DLC Ashes of Ariandel for Dark Souls 3.
The majority of negative feedback does not focus on the new structure of the game but rather on the severe limitations experienced by players. One of the most frequently mentioned issues is the lack of effective communication—an especially critical drawback in a game that requires cooperative gameplay. There is no voice chat or integrated text chat; players can only communicate through a rudimentary ping system and a few preset phrases. The fact that Nightreign only supports three-player groups without allowing for flexible combinations (such as having two players team up without needing a third player) is also a source of frustration. FromSoftware has indicated that they are considering implementing these features in the future, but no timeline has been established. Additionally, the game does not support crossplay, which is a significant shortcoming in the current gaming landscape.
Some players believe that Nightreign is genuinely enjoyable—but only if you have two close friends to play with, allowing for seamless communication through voice chat. Despite numerous areas needing improvement, Nightreign still holds potential if FromSoftware listens to feedback and implements timely adjustments. With approximately two-thirds of players rating it positively, there remains a robust interest in this title.
