Bandai Namco is at PAX East 2025 to show off exclusive gameplay of their upcoming title, Elden Ring: Nightreign. Inside a dome, located at the center of the convention, the three-player co-op game is hosted and played by a developer from FromSoftware and a guest influencer brought in by Bandai themselves. The third player is chosen from the audience, and I was lucky enough to be chosen as the first to play Elden Ring: Nightreign here at PAX East 2025.
The Nightreign Experience
FromSoftware is treading new waters with the upcoming addition in their Elden Ring series, Nightreign. Their first souls-like co-op PVE title has drawn in hype as fans of their previous installment eagerly wait to return to the Land’s Between, this time with a twist.
Following rouge-like elements, you are tasked to survive three nights while looting and leveling up through out the constantly changing areas in the Land’s Between. At the end of the first two days, FromSoft bosses appear and serve as a test before moving onto the next phase. The third night is where “Nightlords“, brand new bosses, serve as a final challenge to the team.
Demo Review
I was given the class of Raider, a strength-based build and was set off onto the first area alongside my two other teammates. I quickly realized just how different Nightreign is compared to Elden Ring. Enemies are scaled up to balance out the playing field since your given two other characters to rely on. Weapons and other loot spawn more often as well, encouraging you to get as strong as possible before the sun sets.
Familiar landmarks from Elden Ring such as the Church of Marika serve as areas to upgrade your Flask of Crimson Tears, and Sites of Grace still serve as checkpoints to level up your character. Your freedom of what stat to specifically level up becomes limited, however, as the game automatically grows your character respective to your chosen “Nightfarer“, or class.
After taking down Margit The Fell Omen, the second night came to a close and the three of us scavenged what we could before we took on the Nightlord for the run. Before traversing to the final area, we met a merchant that sold a couple helpful items to us and sent us off to an all-new location, exclusive to Nightreign. With that, our third and final night started, and the curtains rise to a cinematic finale.
Gladius, “Beast of Night”, awaited us as the final boss for the demo event. A Cerberus, with the ability to split its body into three, is a fitting challenge as it gives each player their own obstacles to hurdle. Using every ability and weapon we gained from the run, pushing ourselves to the limit felt more exhilarating than it would in Elden Ring due to the quicker satisfaction of progression. Although we faced a tragic loss in the end, I can confidently say it was one of the most beautiful, yet horrifying, boss battles I’ve fought against in the Land’s Between.
Final Thoughts
With the exclusive hour demo, I learned that Nightreign is more teamwork based than an I initially thought. Keeping your teammates alive is just as much as your responsibility as theirs with the inclusion of revival mechanics. Team compositions are also vital due to the wide range of enemy types and weaknesses that can be exploited. To survive all that Nightreign throws at you, a strategic approach seems recommended.
Nightreign has everything that made Elden Ring so addictive. The corners that were cut only seemed to remove the slow burn that Elden Ring needed to draw you in it’s atmosphere. To those already familiar with Miyazaki’s latest entry in the Souls-like genre, you may instead want to just be thrown in the middle of the action. If so, Elden Ring: Nightreign is your answer.
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