Summary
- Elden Ring Nightreign is the first true multiplayer Soulslike from FromSoftware, which brings with it some expected features, like being able to revive teammates.
- Only instead of holding down a prompt like most other games, in Nightreign, you do it in the most FromSoftware way possible.
- To get your friends back up, you have to attack them.
Ever since the first Soulslike in 2009, FromSoftware has embraced an incredibly unique approach to co-op. Instead of the usual seamless connectivity that we see with most games, you need to consume an item like humanity or embers and summon other players within your level range using a sign scrawled onto the floor. If they die, they vanish into the ether, and if you succeed… well, they also vanish into the ether.
Elden Ring Nightreign is a complete reinvention of the Soulslike multiplayer formula. Because it’s a co-op game designed for three people, rather than a single-player game with optional multiplayer, it can’t leave you stranded on your own. So, other players don’t just vanish when they die. Instead, they fall to the ground where you can revive them in the most FromSoftware way possible — attacking them.
A circle appears over your fallen comrade’s head, made up of three bars. When they first go down, you have to deplete one bar to get them back up. The second time they go down, there are two bars to whittle away. And the third — and any subsequent time they go down — three bars appear, making for a full circle. So, it’s still punishing if you ‘die’ during a boss fight, as it becomes harder for your teammates to get you back up.
What If Your Teammates Don’t Revive You?
Maybe your friends can’t get to you in time, or maybe you’re playing with strangers who just leave you for dead. Whatever the reason, if you aren’t picked up, it still isn’t game over.
Dying works differently depending on if you’re exploring the open world or fighting one of the final bosses at the end of each of the three days. In the open world, there’s a timer, and when it runs out, you simply respawn one level weaker. When fighting a final boss, however, there is no timer, it’s just a matter of whether your teammates want to risk getting you back up. But if everyone goes down, you lose that game and are sent back to the Roundtable Hold.
You can also revive teammates from a distance with a bow or magic. And with a well-placed AoE attack, you can damage the boss and help your friends.
It’s a bit comical having your teammates yell for help only for you to wail on them with a hammer, but it makes a traditional co-op feature feel fitting even in a FromSoftware game. True friendly fire.
- Released
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2025
- Developer(s)
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From Software