[i][b]ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN[/b][/i], if you like both of its halves, is a wonderful marriage of two genres. It has a lot of depth, replayability, and a satisfying loop for giving you that "one more run" itch to scratch. It's not without its flaws, but it's a wonderful time... [i]if you like both of its halves[/i].
[h1][b]Gameplay[/b][/h1]
On the surface, [i][b]ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN[/b][/i] is one half Soulslike, one half roguelike. If you dislike either of this, this game is simply not for you.
The primary gameplay loop consists of selecting one of eight characters, dropping into a random location at the edge of Limveld (this game's analog of Limgrave) and seeking out points of interest to take on bosses and earn runes to level up. As you navigate about, the Night's Tide (storm) at the edge of the map will slowly approach, eventually closing upon a single point in the region. Before this happens, your objective is to clear as many points of interest as possible to level up, acquire gear, and prepare for the first Night Boss.
If you're successful in taking down the first Night Boss, you'll be rewarded with a great deal of runes and the Night's Tide will reset back to its initial size, opening up the entire map once more. You repeat the cycle again, taking on any points of interest you weren't able to in the first day, before facing the second Night Boss.
If you conquer your second Night Boss of the run, you'll immediately head into your third and final day, this time only facing... the Nightlord.
The game features eight primary Nightlords to face, these being the "BIG BOSS" encounters at the end of the run. You select which Nightlord you wish to challenge, depart on your run, and progress the aforementioned loop to prepare to take on your chosen final fight. This is typically MUCH harder, and more akin to Great Rune bosses from Elden RIng.
After the run, regardless of your success or failure, you'll be rewarded with relics, as well as murk, this game's meta progression currency. Relics can be equipped onto your characters to give them passive bonuses during runs, and murk can be spent on cosmetics, relics & more.
There are a great many number of weapons, enemies & bosses from across the From Software catalog, and each of the eight characters specialize in a subset of these same weapons, giving you a lot of flexibility, uniqueness and opportunities to experiment between runs.
Lastly, the game is allows for parties of 1-3 people, though it's definitely balanced more toward the latter. While playing in solo, taking lethal damage immediately kills you (dropping your runes and losing 1 level). If you die during a Night Boss or Nightlord, the run is over. If you have more than one player present, taking lethal damage will put you in a downed state, allowing a teammate to whack you several times to revive you. If too much time passes before you receive any whacks from a teammate, you will die, however. If you or a teammate goes down during a Night Boss or Nightlord, the same reviving process occurs, only without a revive timer. If all party members enter this downed state during either aforementioned encounter, the run ends.
Overall, it's a very fun, satisfying gameplay loop, but you NEED to like both Soulslike games AND roguelikes (roguelites, maybe) or you likely won't feel satisfied.
[h1][b]Story[/b][/h1]
I'm... going to keep this light. [i][b]ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN[/b][/i] either has no story, or incredible story, and that's best left to the lore fans on the internet to decipher. In true From Software fashion though, regardless of your take on the narrative's depth, it definitely isn't in your face.
[h1][b]Performance[/b][/h1]
Performance-wise, the game is locked to 60 FPS just like its predecessor. There exists mods to uncap the frame rate, but doing so disables the game's anti-cheat, which in turn prevents you from playing online. It's not a very demanding game, and given it's running on the same engine as [i][b]ELDEN RING[/b][/i] but in a much smaller map, it's a fairly light game which is easy to run on most modern, even low-end hardware. After shader compilation, the game is also rock-solid stable with little stuttering or dips under 60 FPS.
[h1][b]Conclusion[/b][/h1]
[i][b]ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN[/b][/i] is an excellent game if you like BOTH Soulslikes and Roguelikes. If you like only one of these or neither, I'd recommend steering clear, as you likely will feel dissatisfied on either side of the spectrum. If you like both of these genres, however, then it's an easy recommendation!
