Elden Ring's Nightreign: Echoes of a Lost God of War

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 name and aesthetic with Elden Ring, exchanging the open-world structure for a streamlined survival format. Three-player teams descend onto shrinking maps, battling enemies and increasingly formidable bosses. This design evokes the popularity of Fortnite—a game boasting 200 million players this month alone—though Nightreign bears a closer resemblance to a less celebrated, yet surprisingly relevant title: 2013's God of War: Ascension. And that's a good thing.

Released between God of War 3 (2010) and the Norse reboot (2018), Ascension served as a prequel, preceding the original Greek mythology trilogy. Following Kratos' attempts to break his oath with Ares, it fell short of the original trilogy's epic conclusion. Often considered the franchise's black sheep, it's a reputation that's both understandable and unfair. While the confrontation with the Furies didn't reach the heights of the fight with Zeus, Ascension featured stunning set pieces, such as the Prison of the Damned—a labyrinthine dungeon within a colossal, immobilized giant. More importantly, Ascension pioneered something the franchise hadn't attempted before: multiplayer.

In Ascension's story, players encounter a chained NPC in the Prison of the Damned. Unlocking the multiplayer mode after this point reveals this NPC as the player character, teleported to Olympus. Players pledge allegiance to one of four gods—Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, or Ares—each offering unique weapons, armor, and magic. This forms the basis for five multiplayer modes, four of which are competitive PvP. The fifth, Trial of the Gods, is cooperative PvE—and strikingly similar to Elden Ring: Nightreign.

Previews of Nightreign highlight similarities to live service games like Fortnite. Randomized loot, resource management, and environmental hazards increase difficulty. The drop from the sky, aided by spirit birds, mirrors an iconic Fortnite image. However, beyond the battle royale surface, deeper parallels with Ascension's Trial of the Gods mode emerge. Both are cooperative experiences with escalating enemy difficulty, featuring bosses from previous games (Hercules from God of War 3 or the Nameless King from Dark Souls 3). Both incorporate countdowns (though Ascension's is pauseable) and shrinking maps. Both are multiplayer additions from studios known for single-player excellence, created without direct involvement from their respective series' creators (Miyazaki for Elden Ring, and the original God of War trilogy directors for Ascension).

Nightreign evokes the same frantic, exhilarating experience as Ascension's Trial of the Gods. Network test participants described a race against the clock, contrasting with the deliberate pace of the main game. The limitations of resources and increased speed, described by VaatiVidya as prioritizing "speed and efficiency," force instinctive play. The absence of Torrent is compensated by increased running speed and jump height.

Ascension's multiplayer adapted its single-player mechanics for faster pacing, mirroring Nightreign's approach. Increased run speed, extended jumps, automated parkour, and a grapple attack (similar to Nightreign's Wylder character) are key examples. The combat, while not overly difficult, becomes intense due to the sheer number of enemies, leading to frantic, relentless combat.

Nightreign's resemblance to Ascension is unexpected, given the latter's obscurity and the contrasting nature of the Soulslike genre and God of War. Where God of War empowers players as god-slaying warriors, Soulslike games present challenging scenarios for nameless, cursed undead. However, the increasing accessibility of Soulslike games in recent years, with powerful builds and strategies, has lessened the challenge. Nightreign aims to reintroduce this difficulty while offering experienced players the chance to experience the frantic, time-sensitive combat reminiscent of a vengeful Spartan in God of War: Ascension.