Bonfireside Chat 323: Nightreign First Impressions
Added 2025-06-18 19:53:18 +0000 UTCElden Ring: Nightreign is a very strange product, and in the leadup to it we thought it wouldn’t be for us. And we were right! At least, as it’s designed. This brief episode has us talking about our time with Nightreign, the mods we installed to make it workable, and whether or not we’ll continue covering it.
Comments
Hey there. I am trying to find if ya'll did bfsc for bloodborne. I'm not freaky gray with this patreon app
Zach Lawrence
2025-08-17 05:10:22 +0000 UTCmy favorite haters of multiplayer and timed games. as much as i do not agree with every single thing you said, I wish you guys liked it so you guys could cover it. part of the reason i listen to you guys is to hear your differing opinions, so thank you for continuing to be true to yourselves. great episode!
Logain
2025-06-25 21:24:06 +0000 UTCThe thing I like most about your podcasts is that I don't always feel the same way as you two. It's nice to hear different opinions about things because it makes me think about why I enjoy what I do in a game, and helps me recommend my friends games when they ask what they should play next.
Kiore Hernandez
2025-06-25 11:30:34 +0000 UTCI feel like Nightreign is at the crossroads of the dissonance From has to deal with in its place in video game culture. From games are exemplary at building lived-in worlds in games that communicate information expertly to the player that could only do more if they were immersive sims. At the same time, the *other* thing they’re known for is — and the thing that put them on the map — is combat and difficulty. Nightreign favors the latter at the expense of the former, something they’ve been reluctant to do for 4 prior games ever since Dark Souls made everyone notice them. They keep building these interesting worlds we want to explore, but what makes them money is a bleed/cheese build a live streamer accidentally came up with by taking random suggestions from chat.
Duff
2025-06-22 02:36:09 +0000 UTCI basically agree with everything said, with my personal review of the game being: "I have work in the morning, man." I'm drowning in other games that don't require homework and 20+ hours to start being fun.
James Lloyd-Jones
2025-06-20 17:35:32 +0000 UTC100% agree, the intimate personal stories about evocative imaginative characters have been wonderful to uncover, and the meta progression really can bend the game as you start with customized weapons and empowered special abilities. I hope our beloved hosts can give it another chance as time goes on until they find that energy.
Justin Zode
2025-06-20 14:07:09 +0000 UTCThank you for sharing your thoughts I am 100% in agreement. I think a lot of people talking about bouncing off nightreign and how it’s not for them - ironically, many of these same people once said the same thing about Dark Souls. There is a time when it all just starts to click and you get in the groove and all the anxiety melts away as you find the rhythm. I hope our hosts give it another chance and find that like you and I did.
Justin Zode
2025-06-20 14:05:09 +0000 UTCDefinitely, I was about to drop this after a day or two but after beating Gladius I haven't been able to stop.
J C
2025-06-20 03:25:38 +0000 UTCI'm a skip on this game, but listening to this show reminded me of the Dancer of the Boreal Valley... so that's cool :)
Christopher Williams
2025-06-19 21:48:16 +0000 UTCI am really, really enjoying Nightreign. Nearing 50 hours played, all Nightlords defeated, and now I'm working on the Remembrances. I love that this game has distilled Elden Ring down to mechanics mixed with interesting character stories. I totally get it as not being everyone's cup of tea, but I found the speed of the game to be exhilarating with plenty of boss variety. Really excited for Duskbloods now.
Naveen Sivakumar
2025-06-19 12:57:16 +0000 UTCFor some reason I thought this was a spin off animated movie and not a game until today when I realized just realized it's like an mmo roguelike, I guess? So that's where I'm at with it :)
Karsomir
2025-06-19 12:10:00 +0000 UTCThis is not a post to convince anyone else to enjoy Nightreign, just sharing my experience: This is the most fun I ever had with an online multiplayer game. I was always tentatively interested in this because of the new gameplay it offered with the character abilities and unique bosses. Like many others though I was worried it wasn’t gonna ”be for me” since I don’t play online multiplayer games *ever*, and certainly not battle royales. Like you I was worried that the circle and pacing of the matches would ruin it. But having now beaten the game entirely by matchmaking with randoms online, I can confidently say that Nightreign has provided me with an entirely unique kind of souls experience that I found to be transformative. For me the draw didn’t end up being exploring, or finding cool loot, not even necessarily fighting the new bosses! (I still find many of basegame Elden Ring’s bosses more compelling) Instead it became about the new journey of each run, as trying out new characters and fighting for my life to survive together with two other strangers, provided me with incredible emergent narratives that made me want to go in again and again for ”one more run”. Maybe the lesson here is that I should try more multiplayer games! But my point here at the end of the day is that it was Fromsoft who made me finally want to take that leap into the unknown, by providing me with a multiplayer game that finally appealed to me. Most multiplayer games tend to be either shooters or MMOs, genres that have little allure to me. As such, Nightreign managed to do something no other game has for me. Sorry for the long post :D
editor89
2025-06-19 08:08:18 +0000 UTCI was so bummed out when they announced Nightreign, and then somehow still ended up buying it out of a morbid curiosity. The first few runs made me feel like an old man - why is everyone sprinting? How does everyone know where they are going? Then I had a run where two guys showed me the ropes, tagged weapons I should pick up and waited for me. We beat the Nightlord and it was a great feeling. That has generally been my experience so far with randoms. Generally way less stressful than expected. I agree with basically everything you guys said in this pod and yet still find myself giving this a 7/10. I wonder what the criteria was for bosses from old souls games. They seem like pretty odd choices - I was expecting an O&S or Ruin Sentinel fight, as they would be better suited to multiplayer.
Ben Green
2025-06-19 06:32:09 +0000 UTCIt sounds like you just dont like the gameplay loop and that’s alright! If you want to mod it to enjoy the content go ahead! You bought the game. But I will push back on some of the things you said. I have a 120+ hours spent in this game solo, with randos, and with folks on discord. 😅 one thing is the meta progression get so much better by doing the story stuff. Once you get some of those relics the game because muchmore manageable. And speaking of the story it’s great. It isn’t an epic sweeping lore about kingdoms 5000 years ago. It’s personal stories and info about the nightfarers themselves. So it doesn’t conflict with Elden Ring lore. It’s just really interesting character stories which is a nice change of pace for From. I love the game. Hope through mods you will both be able to enjoy the characters, bosses, and beautiful artistry on display. Thanks for covering the game!
Tozkat
2025-06-19 01:00:05 +0000 UTCI’m actually mid my first shadow run as well. I find myself wanting to go play Nightreign more. Until I start playing night reign again
Jessie joy
2025-06-19 00:18:10 +0000 UTCI think it’s important to point out despite downfalls, it still has not been done in any corporate money grabbing way. Like no micros. Which should be appreciated
Jessie joy
2025-06-19 00:06:39 +0000 UTCYou shouldn’t be embarrassed. There’s potential for a great game hiding inside it
Jessie joy
2025-06-18 23:59:03 +0000 UTCI hate PC evangelism, but it's genuinely better for a bunch of games purely because of modding/emulation. -GB
Duckfeed.tv
2025-06-18 23:10:34 +0000 UTCKnew you guys would hate it. I appreciate the insight though. You bring up a bunch of valid points. Im embarrassed to say I have 50 hours in it as of today. It's my IRL friend group's new multi-player game of choice. A 3 stack in discord really makes the game sing.
Michael Whitmore
2025-06-18 22:30:56 +0000 UTC“Props to the hater inside is,” is kind of how I’ve been living my life for the last few years. It’s fun to hate things that don’t matter.
Richard Cochnar
2025-06-18 22:10:03 +0000 UTCI'm annoyed at myself for buying when I knew what was coming. I agree wholeheartedly with Gary's view... and I can't even mod it as it's on PS5 😭
Rule34Bomberman
2025-06-18 21:09:33 +0000 UTCI love how the player characters look in the game! It's such a cool look at how fromsoft approaches the 'iconic hero shooter' style of character design, infused with their very old-school fantasy rpg aesthetics. It actually really makes me wish they'd make a party based rpg/jrpg spin-off!
Joe Byrne
2025-06-18 20:47:31 +0000 UTCFor whatever it's worth, I don't give a fuck about how this game plays. I would 100% listen to you guys talk about the bosses/areas/lore without bothering with the actual Fortnite component being totally left by the wayside. I (perhaps incorrectly) assume that those types of discussions are what a large portion of BSC listeners are here for, as well.
Chapel Collins
2025-06-18 20:44:01 +0000 UTCI’ve played maybe 90 minutes. Keep bouncing off it pretty hard 😭
Keith Huston
2025-06-18 20:36:56 +0000 UTCI’ve fought all the end bosses and they are all incredibly cool and inspired! Hope you give them all a shot. Those great large map events occur after every boss, and for some reason if you take a lil nap between plays they go away. 🤷♂️
Nick Sayers
2025-06-18 20:29:15 +0000 UTChaven't touched it since I bought it :0
blinkbat
2025-06-18 20:18:19 +0000 UTCGood to know.
Joe Binson
2025-06-18 20:17:35 +0000 UTCYou dont like elden ring fortnite shaaaaaaammmmeee! It's ok fellas, its not everyone's bowl of solare soup
Jake Larson
2025-06-18 19:59:39 +0000 UTC
