ELDEN RING: NIGHTREIGN
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ELDEN RING: NIGHTREIGN is a standalone game within the Elden Ring universe. It released on May 30, 2025.
Overview
Nightreign is a cooperative action rogue-lite directed by Dark Souls and Bloodborne level designer Junya Ishizaki[1] with an emphasis on three-player co-op, although it can also be played as a single player experience. Director Ishizaki noted that "the cooperative gameplay in Nightreign emphasizes collaboration without forcing tightly coordinated strategies. Players can approach challenges individually while coming together when needed."[2]
Nightreign takes place in alternate timeline diverging from that of the main game during The Shattering. The mythoses of the two games are "connected yet distinct." The story of Nightreign focuses on its characters; the lore and identity of the game "influenced various aspects of world-building and gameplay design," according to the director.[2]
On February 12, 2025, it was announced that Nightreign would receive DLC after the game's launch, later in the year. This DLC will include additional playable characters and bosses. This DLC is included with the Collector's and Deluxe editions of the game, though it won't become available until a later date.
The ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN Network Test ran from February 14, 2025 to February 17, 2025.
Gameplay
Setting
- Main article: Limveld
Players launch their journeys from the Roundtable Hold , entering an "ever-changing" land called Limveld, where they face off against the forces of the Nightlord. The Nightlord has eight different manifestations that become available over the course of the game.
Limveld offers a randomized assortment of dungeons and bases. The items (and their strength and Skills) are randomized as well. Throughout three in-game days, the map can undergo drastic changes from events such as volcanic eruptions and meteor strikes.
Player Characters
- Main article: Nightfarers
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Each player can choose any of the eight pre-designed characters called Nightfarers. Each character wields powerful Character Skills[3] and Ultimate Arts[3] such as a special dagger that creates weak spots in enemies and the ability to summon a giant tombstone from below.
Each Nightfarer has permanent upgrades called Relics, which can be equipped through Relic Rites at the Roundtable Hold. The Nightfarer's vessels have different slots that restrict the types and combinations of Relics that can be equipped, but additional vessels can be unlocked over the course of gameplay. The Nightfarers have additional appearances that can be unlocked with in-game currency earned by playing.
Enemies
In Limveld, players encounter a randomized array of enemies and field bosses. Although there are new enemies and bosses, many are returning from the enemies found in ELDEN RING (2022). This includes enemies unique to Elden Ring's expansion Shadow of the Erdtree.
At the end of the three days, if they survive, the Nightfarers face the Nightlord that they chose to challenge before setting out.
Ancestral Foes Await
In Limveld, "ancestral foes" from the Dark Souls trilogy can be encountered. The Dark Souls Twitter account referred to them as "remnants of a fire that once burned bright."[4] Bosses such as the Centipede Demon, the Nameless King, and the Duke's Dear Freja are seen in the promotional media. In the game's setting, the Nightlord is drawing these enemies from other worlds. Director Ishizaki received permission from directors Hidetaka Miyazaki (DARK SOULS I and DARK SOULS III) and Yu Tanimura (DARK SOULS II) to use them in this entry.
Ishizaki noted that the difficulty and popularity of returning bosses is secondary to their actual compatibility with Nightreign's gameplay dynamics.[2]
Mechanics
Expeditions in Limveld comprise of two in-game days, each lasting 15 minutes, followed by a third where the players prepare for the final showdown against the chosen Nightlord. During the first two days, the team is tasked with defeating enemies and gathering loot to build up strength for the Nightlord.
While each Nightfarer cannot change the armor they start with, they can accumulate up to six armaments, two talismans, and hold up to four different consumable items. Armaments (inclusive of weapons, shields, staves and seals) come in four different rarities: common, uncommon, rare, and legendary. Rarer equipment has a higher base power, though lower-rarity armaments can be upgraded with Smithing Stones to match their stronger counterparts. Each armament collected during an expedition also comes with a randomly-selected compatible weapon skill, and a randomly generated passive bonus. Staves and seals instead have one fixed sorcery/incantation assigned to the light attack command and one randomly-generated sorcery/incantation assigned to the heavy attack command, in addition to the random passive bonus.
Each day cycle in Limveld lasts 15 minutes, with the team's exploration range confined by the Night's Tide. Any player caught within the rain takes gradual damage over time which accelerates greatly the longer they spend without getting to safety. As day turns to night, the Night's Tide guides players to the fight with the night boss, and after defeating the night 2 boss, they ascend to the Spirit Shelter for day 3, where they have one last opportunity to make preparations before approaching the Nightlord's arena to begin the final confrontation.
To facilitate movement in an environment where time is of the essence, the Nightfarers have additional mobility that the Tarnished lacks - a surge sprint mode that is significantly faster than the usual running speed, the ability to wall-jump to rapidly climb up short walls, and no fall damage. Nightfarers can still die if they fall into bottomless pits.
When a Nighfarer's HP is depleted, they are put into a near-death state. They cannot attack and can only slowly crawl about the battlefield. Their teammates can revive fallen Nightfarers by attacking them. If a Nightfarer spends too long near-death they will die and respawn with a lost level, while also dropping all their Runes near their point of death. During the fight with a night boss or against a Nightlord, if the entire team is put near-death, they all die and the expedition ends in defeat.
The game is designed to not have any sort of chat, and communication with allies relies on a ping system. Nonetheless, the game's director emphasizes that he doesn't want to discourage players from using a third-party application for voice chat.[5]
If the player opts to tackle a solo expedition, the same rules apply, though enemy health and poise is reduced to 1/3 of the usual amount. To compensate for lack of manpower, the player gets a permanent +20% to any Runes obtained from slain enemies, and they get a chance to auto-revive from death once per night boss (including the target Nightlord).
Story
Nightreign takes place in a universe parallel to that of Elden Ring[6] and George R. R. Martin had no involvement in the game's story.[7] The games' timelines diverge during or after The Shattering.[2][7] The story of Nightreign had a central focus during the game's development and reportedly influenced both gameplay design and world-building, according to the director.[2] Rather than focusing on Grace (the focal point of Elden Ring), Nightreign focuses on the theme of Night.
When asked, director Ishizaki said that mysteries from Elden Ring's story aren't be revealed since he doesn't want to distort any of the memories that players already have.[5] Instead, the story of Nightreign focuses on the lore of the Nightfarers and Nightlord. The mythos of Nightreign is connected to that of Elden Ring, but distinct in many ways.[2]
Playing through the game grants access to the stories of the Nightfarers and related scenarios called Remembrances.[2]
Meta
DLC
- Main article: Nightreign:The Forsaken Hollows
The Forsaken Hollows is DLC that was released on December 4, 2025. It includes two new classes: the Scholar and the Undertaker. It also features two new expedition targets, a new Shifting Earth event that greatly changes the map, and a slew of new Relics.
While players without the DLC can still match with players who have it, they cannot access expeditions or encounter map events exclusive to it.
Promotion
- Promo Slides
Pre-Order
Pre-Order Bonus
Digital Editions
Collector's Edition
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Development
Promotional Screenshots
Trailers
Trailer Screenshots
Gameplay Reveal
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Pre-Order Trailer
*Since most footage is repeated, only new screenshots are added.
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Notes
- Nightreign launched without a two-player option, but this has since been introduced on the v1.016 update on 31 July 2025.
- In singleplayer mode, enemy health pools scale to accommodate.
- Nightreign is not a live service game. Players can unlock and play all parts of the game once they own it.[8]
References
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