When I first booted up Elden Ring Nightreign after its May 2025 release, I expected another sprawling Soulsborne adventure. Instead, I found myself bewildered by its chaotic pace and unfamiliar structure. As a longtime FromSoftware fan, I wasn't alone—this game has divided players like no other title in their catalog. We came for Elden Ring's methodical exploration but got hurled into a rogue-lite tornado with recycled assets and missing multiplayer basics. My initial frustration only eased when I stopped comparing it to Dark Souls and started seeing it through the lens of games like Risk of Rain 2. That mental shift didn't just make Nightreign playable—it revealed a bold, if imperfect, evolution.

The Identity Crisis That's Actually Intentional

Let's be clear: this isn't the FromSoftware we know. Sure, Limveld looks like Limgrave on steroids, and yes, Lost Graces still let you level up. But slapping Elden Ring's name on the box might have been Bandai Namco's biggest misstep. I kept getting whiplash between Soulsborne combat and rogue-lite mechanics—like when I spent 20 minutes meticulously planning a boss strategy only to get obliterated by random enemy spawns. That unpredictability isn't a bug; it's the core DNA. Director Junya Ishizaki's vision is unapologetically experimental, recycling Elden Ring monsters and Dark Souls bosses not for nostalgia but as chaotic variables in a survival gauntlet.

What truly transformed my experience was accepting three rogue-lite truths:

• 🔄 Runs aren't about permanent progress but adapting to RNG drops

• 🎲 Your "build" changes hourly based on randomized items

• ⏱️ Speed isn't optional—you either keep up or get overwhelmed

I laughed bitterly when I realized my meticulously crafted Wylder character became useless because the game decided I needed Recluse abilities that run. This isn't Elden Ring's weapon-defined playstyle—it's pure rogue-lite chaos.

Why Risk of Rain 2 Is the Rosetta Stone

Once I stopped screaming at my screen about missing duo runs and voice chat, something clicked. Nightreign's DNA shares shocking parallels with Hopoo Games' masterpiece:

Feature	Risk of Rain 2	Elden Ring Nightreign
Character toolkits	Distinct & fixed	Class-locked abilities
Co-op reliance	Essential	Near-mandatory
RNG dependency	High	Brutally high
Solo viability	Challenging	Punishingly difficult

Both force you to scavenge under time pressure while coordinating silently with allies—a design choice that explains why voice chat's absence feels so glaring. When my squad finally beat Limveld (arguably FromSoftware's hardest boss ever), it wasn't through Elden Ring-style memorization but Risk of Rain 2-style improvisation: sharing healing items mid-fight and abandoning plans when the game threw curveballs. That moment crystallized everything—Nightreign isn't broken, it's just speaking a different genre language.

The Multiplayer Paradox

Here's where expectations clash hardest. FromSoftware veterans expect:

• 🗣️ Seamless communication tools

• 🤝 Balanced duo/trio options

• 🌐 Crossplay accessibility

Instead, we get... radio silence and prayer. Playing solo after June's difficulty patch helped, but the real solution was psychological. I stopped treating allies like Elden Ring phantoms and saw them as rogue-lite variables—sometimes carrying me, sometimes dragging me down, always unpredictable. That's not to excuse missing features; it's why we need them! Without text chat or party size balancing (hello Risk of Rain 2 lessons), coordination relies on psychic bonds. Yet ironically, this limitation created my most memorable moment: when a random teammate sacrificed themselves against a Dark Souls recycled boss so I could grab the last hit—pure emergent storytelling.

Junya Ishizaki's Baptism by Fire

Let's address the elephant in the Roundtable Hold: a rookie director helming a flagship IP spinoff. Ishizaki's inexperience shows in uneven pacing and janky climbing mechanics, but also in refreshing audacity. While Miyazaki's games feel like curated museums, Nightreign is a garage-band mosh pit—messy, exhilarating, and occasionally ear-splitting. The decision to make success hinge on RNG drops rather than skill mastery? That's rogue-lite heresy to Soulsborne purists, but genius to Hades fans.

After 50+ hours, I see Ishizaki's blueprint:

1. ☠️ Leverage FromSoftware's enemy design for instant recognition

2. 🎯 Inject rogue-lite randomness to disrupt muscle memory

3. ⚡ Accelerate everything beyond typical Souls pacing

The result? A game that frustrates when approached with Elden Ring expectations but sings when treated like a God of War: Ragnarok-meets-Risk of Rain 2 hybrid.

Why Your Mindset Is the Final Boss

Ultimately, Nightreign's reception boils down to one question: can you unlearn what you know? My early attempts failed because I brought Soulsborne baggage—demanding predictability, perfect builds, and solo viability. When I embraced the chaos, something magical happened. Getting stomped by a randomized Dark Souls boss stopped feeling unfair and started feeling like rogue-lite roulette. That item that ruined my build? A chance to experiment. That silent teammate? An unpredictable variable.

As 2025 rolls on with promised updates, I hope Ishizaki adds quality-of-life features. But more crucially, I hope players meet Nightreign on its own terms. It won't replace Elden Ring's methodical brilliance, but it offers something equally valuable: a genre-blending experiment that forces us to adapt. After all, isn't overcoming impossible odds what Souls games taught us in the first place? My initial confusion has transformed into respect—this black sheep might just be FromSoftware's most daring creation yet.