[h1]Good Spinoff, Bad Roguelite[/h1]
I always have a mixed feeling towards Elden Ring Nightreign. The extraction-style gameplay shuns me away for quite a while. But after playing it through, I certainly feel less dismissive about it. On one hand, it's admirable to see FromSoft step out of their comfort zone and try something different. Yet on the other hand, Nightreign is not a particularly good roguelite experience. Even some of the indie brethren can eclipse its effort. Still, Nightreign is an interesting experiment on mixing up different mechanics from popular genres. It's better to bring a friend or two along. Solo is certainly doable, but the learning curve is steep.
[h2]Thing I Like About Elden Ring Nightreign:[/h2]
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[*][b]The Raids:[/b] Now I think about it. The Radahn fight in the base game is definitely the prototype behind Nightreign. You and your friends working together to take on (or cheese the hell out of) a big boss is one of the best moments in the Souls series. Nightreign tries to expertize this experience, and I say it's a job well-done. Scout the map, plan the route, conquer locations, loot the gear, run away from the shrinking zone, defeat two ring bosses, tackle the Nightlord and fail miserably (prerequisite). A complex process on the surface, but with friends you can easily make it fun. Moreover, teamwork has never been more important than ever. Who draws aggro, who deals damage, and when to rotate the roles for breathing room, [strike] and stop going after the Bell-bearing A-hole[/strike] are key to a successful expedition.
[*][b]Preset Characters:[/b] I am a little bit sad you can't create your own character, but at least the eight available ones are very unique. Each of them offers a distinctive playstyle and fulfills a certain role in your team. You can find your preferred playstyle in these characters. Moreover, their backstories are also interesting, told through FromSoft's usual storytelling shenanigans, except this time it's rather clear and more involved in the player's part. I like how these people feel like a bunch of misfits bound together by a shared goal. Yet, through remembrance you can easily see how their fate intertwined with each other.
[*][b]Combat QOL Improvements:[/b] Now these are something that sparks excitement not only for the game but also for future titles. Nightreign has a lot of improvements on both combat and movement. Instant sprint offers a new way to close gaps and make distance. Jump has been even better at dodging attacks since the inclusion of kick/wall jump. Enemies' grab attacks are now unifyingly color-coded for easier recognition. There's also a red marker on the character indicating who is being targeted by the boss right now. Performing a critical attack no longer makes the enemies invulnerable, meaning your teammates can continuously wail on their downfalls. Whips, shields, and even bows can now backstab, and so on.
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[h2]Things I Like And Dislike About Elden Ring Nightreign:[/h2]
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[*][b]Shifting Earth:[/b] Nightreign's map is pretty stale. The random generation doesn't alter the map layout much, so the developers create this feature to mitigate the problem. Unfortunately, Shifting Earth only achieved half of its goal. For the good parts, these new biomes drastically change parts of Limveld. They offer new terrains, special points of interest and a unique secret buff for you to uncover. However, the way the developers implement leaves a lot to be desired. They are randomized one "period" at a time. The game rolls one event, and the next few runs you will always have this event active (unless you sleep). These new terrains also suffer from the same issue as the mainland—fixed placement and fixed layout. I really wish their locations could be randomized, and the other terrains could have the chance to spawn as sub-areas.
[*][b]Nightlords:[/b] Just like the eight playable characters, all eight Nightlords are fantastic in their own way. The classic orchestral bombardment is in full force. Their presentations are easily the most stunning out of all the Souls series. Their move sets are designed to deal with multiple targets at once, and there are actual interesting mechanics woven in to make the fights more dynamic. The only thing I really dislike about the boss design is the cinematic attack—you know, the one where you see the boss fly away and you wait for almost 10 seconds until it lands that one attack. This is a trend I wish Fromsoft would refrain from using too much. It only works once. The second and third times onward just feel like a waste of time. Oh, and also fck Maris.
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[h2]Things I Dislike About Elden Ring Nightreign:[/h2]
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[*][b]Relics:[/b] It's farming blood gems in Chalice Dungeons all over again...except it's worst and takes longer to get. I believe the purpose of the relics is to make your early game as smooth as possible. If that's the case, then there are two problems. First of all, the pool is heavily diluted by tons of weak or borderline useless attributes. Even if you manage to roll a stat-boosting one, the number is still too negligible to make a difference. Second, everything is completely randomized. There is no way to reroll attributes, so the only way to get better relics is gambling.
[*][b]Builds:[/b] This might be me not adjusting my mindset accordingly, so take it with a grain of salt. Despite introducing character abilities and passive bonuses, the build flexibility is surprisingly rigid in Nightreign. One of the beautiful things in Souls games is how easily and freely you can change your build. Nightreign doesn't do that. All characters have set stats, and leveling up gives a universal increase to every stat. As a result, it's easier to lean into what the character is already capable of instead of exploring other possibilities. Passives on weapons might enable a certain degree of availability, but it will never be half as good as a dedicated build.
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[b]中文小簡評[/b]
一開始《艾爾登法環黑夜君臨》讓我五味雜陳，強調快速清塔撿裝躲圈的設計與FromSoft一貫照自己步調細細探索的作風大相逕庭，讓我望之卻步，直到夏特才決定入手來體驗，把玩幾場後我算是體悟出箇中滋味。《黑夜君臨》是FromSoft踏出舒適圈的一次大膽嘗試，將既有的魂系戰鬥與現今較熱門遊戲類別的機制加以融合，的確打造出獨具風味的遊戲體驗，這份勇氣值得嘉許。然而以roguelite的角度去看的話機制非常不成熟，幾乎被其他獨立同儕輾壓。不過最好還是拉個朋友一起入坑，單人打可行，就是學習曲線過於坎坷。
[b]喜歡的點[/b]
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[*]現在想來，《艾爾登法環》裡的碎星Boss戰應該就是《黑夜君臨》的藍圖吧！和朋友一起挑戰（或用各種外鄉手段）打Boss絕對是魂系遊戲中最最棒的體驗之一。《黑夜君臨》在這點上就發揮的淋漓盡致，一起觀察地形、一起規劃路線、一起分工、一起跑圈撿裝、一起打黑夜王然後再一起被壓在地上磨擦。
[*]這也是歷代魂系中最講究團隊合作的重要性，誰負責坦傷、誰負責輸出、何時要輪替吸仇恨製造喘息空間、誰要去阻止隊友在等級太低的情況下還敢去打鈴珠獵人和龍形大樹守衛，這些流程看似複雜，但和朋友一同經歷就能充分享受其中樂趣。
[*]不能自創角色有點可惜，但遊戲提供的八位主角各具特色，各自擁有鮮明的定位與專精的武器，絕對能讓你找到自己心儀的玩法。此外，他們的背景故事也很有趣，除了FromSoftware一往的敘事手法外，也加入了許多互動要素，讓你能更清楚了解他們。我意外地滿喜歡這群看似格格不入的烏合之眾，只是因為共同的目標而聚集在一起。然而，透過追憶你就能明白他們彼此的命運緊密交織在一起。
[*]不過我最喜歡的還是本作在戰鬥方面做的各種改良，像是瞬間衝刺讓你能快速逃離或拉近與Boss間的距離、、敵人抓技有用更鮮明的特效顯示、Boss打出大招時也能清楚看出誰被鎖定、爆擊或背刺敵人時隊友可以無視無敵禎盡情輸出等，這些都是很棒的設計，讓人非常期待FromSoft未來遊戲的走向。
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[b]又愛又恨的點[/b]
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[*]《黑夜君臨》的地圖變化隨機性低且非常單調，通常走過一次就能輕鬆記起來，因此製作團隊想用「特異地形」來做點變化，我只能說這項設計只做到一半。先說優點，特異地形的確有效改變部分主地圖的地形，加入了新敵人、新地點以及專屬隱藏增益讓你能在規劃路線上做些改變。但是呢，特異地形是以隨機「週期性」的方式出現， 一旦條件生成你接下來的所有行動都會是出同一個地形，而且這些特異地形也跟主地圖有同樣的問題：位置與分部始終固定，沒有隨機地點，也沒有隨機生成特殊子區域實屬可惜。
[*]黑夜王的表現各有千秋，氣勢與演出絕對不輸FromSoft過去的經典Boss，配樂一個比一個還有特色，招式上不僅充分考量「一對多」的要素，也成功融入有趣且非一面倒的機制，這在正統魂系中可是非常少見的。缺點的話，我覺得FromSoft可以少用點浮誇的攻擊，這裡是指那種Boss會突然走遠遠的開始搞一些很炫泡的前置，然後過來打你一下。第一次感覺很新鮮很壯麗，但兩、三次後難免會覺得有點浪費時間。
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[b]不喜歡的點[/b]
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[*]遺物機制根本就是下位版的金盃刷血寶石啊！即使退一萬步說遺物的功能只是用來讓你前期好過一些好了，詞條全靠隨機生成，既沒有鎖詞條重刷其他欄位的功能，還將一些改變角色技藝或絕活的重要詞條與一堆非常無用的詞條放在一起，讓人刷起來非常氣餒。
[*]這點應該歸究於我個人心境還沒調適過來。《黑夜君臨》看似有許多被動與技能可搭配，實際上角色流派的多樣性與變化性比想像中來的侷限。本作不像《艾爾登法環》可以隨時隨地改變配點裝備，角色初始數值固定，升等也自動幫你配好點，與其探索其他可能性倒不如更專心玩角色已經擅長的流派。
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如果你喜歡我寫的東西，可以追蹤[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45738167/]我的鑑賞家[/url]喔！[/quote]
