You arrive in a dark fantasy land with a couple of other players. Your goal is to battle your way through until reaching a final boss. Along the way, you can find weapons and items to help you. But each time you play, these items will be different, and in different spots. And you’ll encounter different foes as well. Am I talking about Elden Ring Nightreign, the upcoming FromSoftware Elden Ring spin-off? I am! But I’m also talking about another game. A game played on tables.
A few years ago, around the time I started playing Elden Ring, I became introduced to Escape the Dark Castle. The tabletop role-playing game by Themeborne is fairly simple. In fact, some might not call it a role-playing game with how straightforward it plays. Players choose one of six characters and shuffle cards of random encounters and items, placing one of three bosses at the very end. Players then co-operatively play through these encounters, gradually getting stronger, before facing the boss at the end.
Explaining Escape the Dark Castle, its parallels to Elden Ring Nightreign may seem obvious. But when I first heard about Elden Ring Nightreign, it didn’t immediately come to mind. A co-op battle royale Elden Ring? In a procedurally generated world? Comparisons to Fortnite immediately came to the surface. But having had the pleasure to preview it early as part of the network test, I found it had even more in common with the beloved tabletop role-playing game.
Elden Ring Nightreign and Escape the Dark Castle
First, the obvious parallels. You pick one of four heroes to play as, with the full game promising eight in May. You and two others are dropped into a procedurally generated world. There, you quickly gather what you can over two in-game “days” before fighting a final boss on the third day.
As with Escape the Dark Castle, the randomly generated encounters and co-operative gameplay of Nightreign spark joy and replayability. Before the final boss (there’s just one at the moment), you face two random bosses out of several possibilities. There’s a thrill of anticipation arriving at the Day 1 boss site and wondering, will it be the Centipede Demon or the Demi-Human Duo? Personally, I found the Centipede Demon easier. But not knowing what you’ll get keeps you on your toes.
And the same goes for equipment. Here the mechanics between Elden Ring Nightreign and Escape the Dark Castle are perhaps most similar. Both games have a pool of weapons and items you might encounter, but you won’t find everything each time. There’s also the role-playing element of choice involved, which I love. Do you risk a fight for a stronger weapon? Or do you settle for exploring and safely finding something that may not be as good? This risk-reward gameplay loop proves satisfying in both titles.
Finding it tough? Good Luck
Of course, the randomness also highlights the inherent weak point. Sometimes the luck of the draw works against you. In the Elden Ring Nightreign network test, playing a run with a Day 1 boss of Demi-Humans and a Day 2 boss of Tree Sentinels could prove quite the uphill battle. And, of course, sometimes you just can’t find any items that suit you. It happens.
Funnily enough, both games feature really tough final bosses that can absolutely trounce you if you’re not prepared—whether due to poor choices or poor luck. The current Elden Ring Nightreign final boss, Tricephalos, is pretty brutal. I won’t lie, making it all that way and beating the three-headed dog down to a sliver before getting one-shotted is pretty disheartening. But thankfully, the full game will have another mechanic similar to one in Dark Castle: being able to pick a final boss.
Looking Forward to More Elden Ring Nightreign
That was my only gripe, and admittedly it’s partially a skill issue as I acclimate to the new game. As I know from Dark Castle, even the hardest final bosses are beatable if you prepare well. Talking through a match with your team helps immensely as well, and Elden Ring Nightreign will have voicechat and matchmaking when it releases in full. I’m excited to see what other maps, bosses, and mechanics get added to the full game. And if you’re eagerly awaiting Nightreign’s release on May 30th, I humbly suggest giving Escape the Dark Castle a try. Who knows? It may just help you and your friends practice strategy.
Likewise, if you’ve played Escape the Dark Castle and are looking to get the party online, you have a game to look forward to here.
Elden Ring Nightreign arrives for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on May 30th, 2024.
