When it comes to multiplayer-focused games, the upcoming Elden Ring: Nightreign represents uncharted territory for developer FromSoftware, especially when you take into consideration that the studio’s next game, The Duskbloods, will also be multiplayer-only. Nightreign director Junya Ishizaki, in an interview with GamesRadar, has spoken about how the studio believes that players will tell them how they feel about these kinds of games.
Ishizaki said that he “really couldn’t say,” whether the studio’s new style of games – those focused on multiplayer – will pan out in the long term. However, he does believe that, thanks to Elden Ring: Nightreign, FromSoftware will at least understand how players feel about it. Nightreign, said Ishizaki, is “going to tell us how players feel about this kind of game and this kind of new challenge for us.”
He also spoke about the overall flow that Nightreign represents when it comes to gameplay, describing it as emotional peaks and troughs since the title offers a faster-paced take on the gameplay we last saw in Elden Ring. According to Ishizaki, the game design behind these peaks and troughs “was a big part of what sets [Nightreign] apart from Elden Ring.” The faster pace of gameplay is said to have “a sort of sporty feel to it, almost a bit of a rough and loosened and fast tempo to it.”
“This is a condensed RPG,” said Ishizaki. “There’s a short time-span in which a lot of exhilarating and dramatic events can happen. We wanted this to be the focus of Nightreign, to create these dramatic and dynamic play sessions, and to have all of these emotions and these peaks and troughs occur during any one single session. This was a challenge for us to make in this short time-span […] but we hope that users will appreciate this new challenge and appreciate this new game flow.”
Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida has also commented on FromSoftware’s new multiplayer-centric approach to making games. Back when The Duskbloods was first unveiled, he said that the game offers a challenge for the studio. Yoshida also believes that, since director Hidetaka Miyazaki isn’t a fan of PvP gameplay, The Duskbloods might offer a more accessible take on the genre.
“I think it’s a new challenge for [FromSoftware], to design game for multiplayer,” said Yoshida. “Miyazaki-san [isn’t] necessarily a big fan of PvP games, so [FromSoftware] will try to make it more accommodating for the people who are kind of intimidated to play the PvP game.”
As for Elden Ring: Nightreign, the game is slated for release this week, and will be coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Leading up to the release, FromSoftware has released a few trailers, including one featuring the song Bring Me to Life by 2000’s band Evanescence. Another trailer showcased one of the title’s playable characters – the Revenant – and her various summon-based abilities that revolve around turning dead enemies into Spirits that can help her in future fights.
For more details about Elden Ring: Nightreign, check out our review, where we gave it a score of 8 out of 10.
