Elden Ring: Nightreign - Stress Test Preview
Recently, players got to experience the newest area in The Lands Between during the Network Access Test of Elden Ring: Nightreign, setting foot in Limveld as they not only strove to explore and survive but to avoid the ever-encroaching ring of fire that drives you toward the location of a powerful boss that must be conquered if you wish to survive the night and become powerful enough to take on the forces of the Nightlord.
Straight up I feel I should put out there that I had no real interest in Elden Ring: Nightreign. I played Elden Ring and beat the game with a healthy heaping of cheese in certain instances, but I got through it. Did I enjoy the journey? Yes, but more in the sense of ‘I have accomplished this and I am ready to move on’. I didn’t play the DLC and up until I was asked to take a look at Nightreign for Player 2, I had the same feelings about this cooperative spin-off.
It’s funny how much an opinion can change in just a few hours.
Rather than the slow, cautious progression I was used to from Elden Ring, where a moment of inattention could bring a swift death and a lot of ground to make up to get those runes back, in Nightreign you rarely stop moving except to check out some equipment or spend your runes to level up. You don’t have the time to move slowly and methodically. You are in a race against the clock, constantly pushing forward to stay ahead of the ever-encroaching ring of fire that heralds the end of the day and the awaiting boss fight, while also finding weapons that suit your playstyle and defeating bosses from the original game to earn persistent power-ups that will aid you in your battles.
As Nightreign is developed as a three-player cooperative experience, clearing out areas feels fast and efficient, with each of the four different characters available during the test offering a distinct feel in how they play, allowing players to experiment and see which character type fits their preferred build. There is no guarantee you will get a weapon you want, but if you find yourself in dire straits the merchant has a few weapons that you can purchase with your precious runes. Adaptability is one of the keys to thriving in Nightreign.
Teamwork is the other.
The biggest surprise Nightreign dropped on me came the first time my, somewhat inept, combat skills failed me. I went down, and yet I did not die. Crawling around on the ground I had no idea what was happening. Did I now have to watch the two other players until their inevitable deaths and we are returned to the Roundtable Hold? No, it turned out to be something quite unexpected. Within seconds of going down one of my companions was by my side and wailing on my crawling frame. I was confused, until a moment later when I was back on my feet and back in the fight. Praise the Haligtree, downed characters can be revived by fellow players within a certain time limit. I am not sure how the lore reconciles stabbing me with a sword to heal me, but I am not about to quibble about it. Alas, there were times I would succumb to full death, and in those instances, you will find yourself resurrected at the last Site of Grace having lost one of your levels as well as the runes you were carrying as is custom.
The biggest danger to the party comes during the end-of-day boss fight. I cannot say how many there will be in the final game, but in the Network Test, there were two different bosses that could appear on both day one and day two and these can be a rather large challenge. Taking on a Tree Sentinal and two Royal Knights on horseback as the day two boss was very hectic, and if it wasn’t for the ability to revive your companions there would have been a team wipe a hell of a lot more than there wasn’t. The big danger comes from the ring of fire. Having cut off the rest of the map apart from the small battlefield where you engage in the nighttime boss battles, the fire also prevents you from spawning at a site of grace. The boss fights are an all-or-nothing contest, and if all three of your team die it is the end of the run and you will have to start again from the Roundtable Hold.
As it stands right now, I am interested in seeing what Elden Ring: Nightreign brings to the table upon launch. With match-making allowing players to group up with others if they don’t have friends, there should always be someone to journey through Limveld with, allowing those who don’t have friends that play to enjoy the game. For those looking forward to journeying through Limveld with other players, Nightreign is currently slated for a May 30th release so you won’t have long to wait at all.
