Elden Ring Nightreign’s first closed network test has come and gone, and there’s plenty to mull over from this earliest look at the multiplayer spin-off currently slated for release on May 30, 2025.
Now at the top, it’s important to establish that closed network environments such as this one aren’t necessarily designed to sell players on the game in the same way a demo or open beta might. With very limited time to play Elden Ring Nightreign’s network test, it was more a gauge of how well its servers can hold up to the scrutiny of thousands of players logged in simultaneously. And on that front, there do seem to be problems.
The first day of Elden Ring Nightreign’s closed network test was wrought with matchmaking issues, predominantly on PlayStation 5 where the vast majority of players simply weren’t able to play in that first time slot. However, once those issues were resolved for the following sessions, it was clear to see that the game has some pretty intrusive performance issues. At least on the console where Hardware Writer Dashiell Wood and I were able to play.
I’ll delve into that later, but how is Elden Ring Nightreign as a game? Well, it has its frustrations for sure, but by and large, it has the potential to be an incredibly fun and unique multiplayer experience, smartly blending the FromSoftware action RPG formula with elements from the roguelite and battle royale subgenres. I left the experience craving more, and I hope it won’t be too long before we can dive into another network test or potentially a full open beta.
The more things change…
The closed network test began in Elden Ring Nightreign’s version of the Roundtable Hold. What I loved here is that the layout feels simultaneously familiar and alien, which I’m willing to bet is the kind of feeling FromSoftware is aiming for. Rooms you know from Elden Ring now have all kinds of clutter, and some even lead to outdoor areas such as a training ground.
Nightreign swaps out the traditional character creation system for preset characters, of which four were available to play as in the closed network test. Wylder is your all-round jack-of-all-trades, the Guardian can bolster the defense of allies, the Duchess is a nimble damage dealer, and the Recluse is the go-to spellcaster.
While on a baseline level, all classes play similarly (there are no limitations on what weapons each character can equip, for example), it’s their base stats and skills that set them apart. On the stats front, each Nightfarer may start with more or less health and stamina than each other, as well as be better suited to certain weapon types.
For example, the Duchess benefits from a highly aggressive team; her special ability is being able to repeat the damage your team dished out to an enemy over the last few seconds. The Guardian is unsurprisingly a defensive powerhouse. His Ultimate ability launches him into the air where he’s able to divebomb enemies for massive crowd control damage. This also buffs the defense of surrounding party members.
Oh, what a night
The general loop of Elden Ring Nightreign is pretty straightforward, too. You’ll drop into the map where you’re tasked with gathering runes from enemies to level up, as well as acquire powerful weapons, consumables, and perks to make yourself stronger for what’s to come. You’ll do this for two in-game days with each featuring a boss at the end. The final third day then pits you against a Nightlord – a powerful major boss that you’ll need to be seriously kitted out for in order to win.
And win, you likely won’t. At least not on your first handful of attempts. Thankfully, Nightreign does have some form of permanent progression in relics. At the end of your run, whether you succeed or fail, you’ll gain a number of relics that can be equipped by our playable Nightfarers. These provide passive buffs that make your character stronger in a variety of ways, such as boosting attack power with certain weapon types or adding properties to your skills and ultimate abilities.
Relics are color-coded red, blue, green, and yellow, and each Nightfarer can only equip relics of their preset colors. The Duchess, for example, can hold three green relics. Wylder, meanwhile, can hold two red relics and a single blue one. It’s easy to see this system being expanded in the full game, potentially through allowing Nightfarers to hold a higher number of relics or giving them multiple loadouts to work with.
Boss rush
What was perhaps most surprising to me about Elden Ring Nightreign is its breakneck pacing. To make sure you’re powerful enough to take on subsequent days (as well as outrun the ever-encroaching circle which deals damage over time), you’ll need to be constantly dashing between landmarks and masses of enemies in order to loot up and gain powerful perks. This is about as far from a single-player FromSoftware experience as it could possibly be; there’s simply no time to stand around and smell the roses.
You’re especially encouraged to hunt down larger enemies and mini-bosses during your days’ exploration, as these will be your best source of powerful weapons, buffs, and runes that’ll make your life easier. If you can’t keep up, you simply won’t have a chance against end-of-day bosses like the Centipede Demon (complete with its original Dark Souls boss music) or the Fell Omen.
I also highly recommend playing in a group of three friends with external voice chat if you can. Nightreign itself won’t feature any chat functions beyond a simple ping system, and you’re almost certainly doomed to fail by grouping up with random players. On my very first excursion, my two teammates immediately ran off in opposite directions and got themselves killed within seconds. Playing solo is an option, too, but I wouldn’t recommend it currently as the game doesn’t scale the difficulty back to suit a single player. One for all you challenge run aficionados, maybe.
Performance woes
Believe it or not, the hardest part of the Elden Ring Nightreign closed network test wasn’t its towering boss fights. No, it was its shoddy performance. The base game of Elden Ring also had its share of issues on both PC and console at launch, but I don’t remember it being quite this bad.
At present (and to be fair, this was an early look that’ll hopefully improve for the full game), the game is simply unable to maintain a stable framerate. It often took a dive during traversal and especially during boss fights, feeling firmly like it was between 20-30fps, well below that 60fps target.
The Fell Omen has an attack that spawns hundreds of raining arrows, and this absolutely tanked the framerate, which in turn made it harder to attack or dodge in a timely, responsive manner. As a multiplayer game, Elden Ring Nightreign needs to shirk these performance hitches for the full release or indeed any future pre-release sessions.
Despite these issues, I still did have a great deal of fun checking out Elden Ring Nightreign for the first time. Its wickedly fast pace and unique blend of gameplay mechanics make for an incredibly moreish experience. I’m keen to see the game evolve in the full release on May 30, when we’ll have access to more Nightfarers, more bosses, and hopefully a decent handful of cosmetics and build-defining weapons and relics.
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