Elden Ring Nightreign Channels the Spirit of a Forgotten God of War Game

This past weekend marked the first network tests for Elden Ring: Nightreign, the upcoming standalone multiplayer game branching from FromSoftware's acclaimed title. Unlike last year's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, Nightreign shares only its parent game's name and aesthetic. Instead of an open world, it features a streamlined survival format where three-player teams descend onto shrinking maps, battling enemies and increasingly difficult bosses. This design clearly draws inspiration from the immensely popular Fortnite—a unsurprising influence, considering Fortnite's staggering 200 million players this month alone.

However, Nightreign bears a striking resemblance to a less celebrated, and often maligned, game: 2013's God of War: Ascension. And that's a very good thing.

Released between 2010's God of War 3 and 2018's Norse reboot, Ascension served as a prequel, preceding the original Greek mythology trilogy. It followed Kratos as he struggled to break his oath with Ares. Failing to match the epic finale of the original trilogy, and attempting to revamp a well-established formula, God of War: Ascension quickly gained a reputation as the franchise's black sheep—a decent appetizer preceding an amazing main course.

This reputation, while understandable, is somewhat unfair. While Kratos' confrontation with the Furies in Ascension didn't reach the heights of his battle with Zeus, this divisive prequel boasted truly spectacular set pieces, including the Prison of the Damned—a labyrinthine dungeon carved into a colossal, immobilized, 100-armed giant. More importantly, Ascension deserves credit for introducing something unprecedented to the franchise: multiplayer.

Within Ascension's story, as you navigate the Prison of the Damned, you encounter a chained NPC who prematurely exclaims, "You saved me!" before being crushed by the level boss. Unlocking the multiplayer mode after this point reveals this NPC as your player character. Teleported to Olympus moments before your demise, you pledge allegiance to one of four gods—Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, or Ares—each granting unique weapons, armor, and magic. These are your tools in five multiplayer modes, four of which are competitive PvP. The fifth, Trial of the Gods, is cooperative PvE. And it's remarkably similar to Elden Ring: Nightreign.

Previews of Nightreign, released before the network tests by prominent Soulsborne YouTubers like VaatiVidya and Iron Pineapple, along with IGN's coverage, highlighted similarities between FromSoftware's latest creation and live service games like Fortnite. Like those games, Nightreign blends randomized loot, resource management, and environmental hazards that deplete health and restrict movement, increasing challenge with each run. Nightreign even echoes one of Fortnite's most iconic visuals: players drop from the sky, carried by spirit birds, to their chosen landing spot.

While God of War: Ascension lacks the "where are we dropping?" element, a deeper look reveals more common ground between Nightreign and Ascension's Trial of the Gods. Both are cooperative experiences where teams face progressively tougher foes. Both unexpectedly allow players to confront bosses from previous games—Hercules from God of War 3 or the Nameless King from Dark Souls 3. Both feature a countdown (though Ascension's is pauseable by defeating enemies), and both take place on small or shrinking maps. Both are multiplayer games from studios known for their single-player titles, created without oversight from their respective series creators; Hidetaka Miyazaki is currently working on an unannounced project, while the original God of War trilogy directors—David Jaffe, Cory Barlog, and Stig Asmussen—had left Sony Santa Monica before Ascension's development.

Crucially, Nightreign seems to evoke the same player response as Ascension's Trial of the Gods. Participants in FromSoftware's network test described their runs as frantic, exhilarating races against time. Unlike the base game's more relaxed pace, where players can approach scenarios in various ways, using diverse weapons and abilities at their leisure, Nightreign demands instinctive reactions, emphasizing speed and resource limitations—constraints VaatiVidya described as "made in the name of speed and efficiency." For example, to compensate for the absence of Torrent, players channel their inner spirit horse, running faster and jumping higher.

Ascension's multiplayer adapted its single-player design for faster pacing, employing techniques similar to Nightreign. Increased run speed, extended jumps, automated parkour, and a grapple attack for pulling objects (mirrored by Nightreign's Wylder character) were incorporated. These additions are vital because, while combat isn't overly difficult—given the power fantasy nature of the franchise—Trial of the Gods throws so many enemies at you that every second matters. Consequently, players find themselves sprinting, hacking, and slashing through armies with unrestrained ferocity.

Nightreign's resemblance to Ascension is surprising, not only because much of the latter is forgotten, but also because the Soulslike genre, which Elden Ring belongs to, initially stood in stark contrast to God of War. Where one lets you play as a god-slaying warrior, the other casts you as a nameless, cursed undead facing significant challenges from even regular enemies. One rarely shows a game over screen; the other relentlessly bombards you with them.

However, this challenge, once infuriating in FromSoftware's earlier games, has lessened as fans improved and developers offered better weapons and spells, resulting in game-breaking builds since Elden Ring's launch. Nightreign, lacking these builds, promises to restore a degree of difficulty. Simultaneously, skilled players will experience what God of War: Ascension offered: the thrill of being a time-constrained, vengeful Spartan.