Anticipation is starting to build around the upcoming launch of Elden Ring: Nightreign, with the shock FromSoftware title taking a decidedly unique approach compared to the popular studio’s usual projects. As the first official spin-off game to be developed by FromSoftware, the potential gameplay avenues of the title are absolutely massive. Nightreign seems to act as a kind of love letter to the many games that came before it.
While Elden Ring: Nightreign will use most of the same general gameplay framework as Elden Ring itself, the project is drawing a lot of attention thanks to its inclusion of bosses from past FromSoftware games, putting a unique twist on some of the most recognizable boss encounters in Soulsborne history. Many iconic bosses have already been confirmed to make an appearance in Elden Ring: Nightreign, although it is likely that this only scratches the surface of FromSoftware’s overall plans for the title. The PvP bosses of past Soulsborne games are some of their most unique, and the multiplayer premise of Nightreign could make it the perfect platform for these bosses to get a new stint in the spotlight.
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PvP Bosses Could Be a Game-Changer For Elden Ring: Nightreign
The main gameplay of Elden Ring: Nightreign is based around highly replayable co-operative experiences. The game is purpose-built for three-player co-op, although solo play will also be available. Taking place in Limveld, a parallel version of Elden Ring‘s Limgrave, players will have to scavenge, survive, and level-up in roguelike runs, with the game world shrinking over time, akin to a battle royale.
Nightreign runs take place over the course of three in-game nights, each night marked by increasingly difficult boss fights, leading up to the final battle against a mysterious and powerful Night Lord. The bosses of Nightreign are taken directly from Elden Ring and beyond; early gameplay footage of the title already shows a wide range of returning faces from the Dark Souls trilogy.
Fans can expect to see classic FromSoftware bosses like The Nameless King and Centipede Demon in Nightreign, yet there has not been any confirmation of PvP bosses making a return in the upcoming project, as things stand. PvP bosses are a unique element of FromSoftware’s catalog of games, with a handful of bosses possessing the ability to summon other real players to their arenas to stack the odds significantly against a host player.
Competitive PvP Combat Would Add a Fitting Dynamic to Elden Ring: Nightreign
This blend of PvE and PvP combat is the ultimate testament to the Soulsborne formula. PvP combat has existed as a vibrant aspect of the FromSoftware community in its own right from the very outset of Dark Souls and beyond. With multiplayer being at the heart of Nightreign‘s rapid gameplay formula, PvP bosses seem like a must-have for the project. The likes of Demon’s Souls‘ Old Monk, Dark Souls 2‘s Looking Glass Knight, and Dark Souls 3‘s Halflight are prime examples of PvP bosses that could make the jump over to Nightreign.
While licensing issues may make it difficult for Demon’s Souls bosses to appear in Elden Ring: Nightreign, the PvP bosses from the Dark Souls franchise are still prime contenders for inclusion in the upcoming project.
The formula of these bosses might have to be tweaked to translate over to Nightreign, but these PvP bosses could easily see two groups of players face-off directly against each other, perhaps both being summoned by a boss of their own, creating a tense last-group standing dynamic that is befitting of Nightreign‘s soft battle royale design elements. The rich variety of established bosses within FromSoftware’s past titles should give Nightreign a huge amount of potential launch and post-launch content. It only seems right that the game’s multiplayer focus is taken a step further by eventually including bosses that defined some of the studio’s most intense PvP experiences of the past.
Action RPG
Soulslike
Roguelite