There’s little need for me to explain how much I’ve loathed FromSoftware’s approach to co-op in its past games—Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and yes, Elden Ring. The way online co-op was implemented in those games felt like performing witchcraft, saying a prayer, and hoping it would work. Meanwhile, games like Gunfire’s Remnant: From the Ashes and Remnant II proved that not only was it possible for a Soulslike to have solid online co-op, but it could also excel at it. Every time I compared the two developers, I found myself scratching my head, wondering how a smaller studio could outdo the vastly larger and more experienced FromSoftware. So naturally, I was skeptical about Elden Ring Nightreign’s co-op. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one.
Thankfully, FromSoftware has improved the experience in Nightreign, and for good reason. Not only is this game built around the concept of a battle royale—similar to Fortnite—but the traditional co-op mechanics from their previous Soulslike titles simply wouldn’t work here.
How Does Elden Ring Nightreign Co-op Work?
Right off the bat, it’s incredibly simple. You start the game and arrive at the Roundtable, where you can do things like equip runes—along with other features we don’t yet know about. When you’re ready to start playing, you interact with the Roundtable to initiate a session. After some space magic is performed, you’re matched with two other players, you select your character, and off you go.
If you want to play with a friend, there’s an extra step—you’ll need to use a password to ensure you join the same session, regardless if you just want to play with one or two other characters. Even with this minor requirement, it’s still miles ahead of previous FromSoftware games. Once set up, you’re whisked away to a procedurally generated world.
Now, if you played the Nightreign Network Test, you may have noticed only one world was available. But don’t worry—according to Elden Ring Nightreign director Junya Ishizaki, the full game will feature multiple maps with different layouts and environmental variations, including swamps, volcanoes, and more.
But what surprised me the most is how the game handles death. In Dark Souls or Elden Ring’s co-op, death means you’re sent back to your world—game over, no second chances. But since Nightreign is designed around co-op, it takes a different approach, similar to popular battle royale games. If you or your teammates die, you have a short window where you can be revived. You’re essentially knocked down, and an ally must strike you a few times to bring you back. If you die again, they’ll have to hit you even more times. This system works well, especially since some character abilities can revive allies from a distance, making risky revives more manageable. It’s a great idea—even if it is borrowed.
Of course, you can still die but it’s not game over. As long as someone is alive and as long as you aren’t fighting a boss, you can still respawn. Or at least, that’s how it worked in the network test.
From what I experienced in the network test, the connectivity was stable for the most part. I didn’t see many players disconnecting mid-session, outside of those who manually left. The only time I experienced a drop was when the servers went offline. That’s an overwhelmingly positive sign for co-op.
Of course, the network test is a far cry from the full game. While the test may have had thousands of players, the real challenge will come when millions jump in at launch.
The Lack of Crossplay is Still Disappointing
As much as I’m impressed with what Nightreign has shown, I’m still frustrated about the lack of crossplay. As someone who loves playing FromSoftware games, the lack of crossplay has always been a pain point. I primarily play on PC, but whenever a friend asks me to play on another platform, I end up reluctantly buying the game again on PlayStation or Xbox—only to grind and level up a new character from scratch.
While Nightreign doesn’t have traditional leveling or gear progression, it still bothers me that if I want to play with all my friends, I’ll need to purchase it on multiple platforms. Granted, I probably would have done that anyway because I’m a FromSoftware stan. But the lack of crossplay still stings, especially since having it would expand the player pool. We’ve seen how crossplay has boosted other games’ popularity, and even companies that were previously against it have come around. Adding crossplay is a win-win, and it’s disappointing that FromSoft hasn’t embraced it. Maybe next time?
Oh, and yeah. Gunfire Games was able to add crossplay in its games. I just had to add that little stab.
I Can’t Wait to Play More Elden Right Nightreign
Ever since the network test ended, I’ve been going through withdrawals. Like a junkie craving their next fix, I’ve been counting down the days until I can play again. Maybe another network test? A demo? Whatever it is, I need more. And if that doesn’t happen, you can bet I’ll be there on launch day. I’m just surprised and happy to be proven wrong with Fromsoft getting this whole co-op thing done properly. Sure, there are other concerns but that’s another topic that I’ll be sure to address if those aren’t corrected by the time the game drops.
Elden Right Nightreign releases on May 30th, 2025, for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam).
