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 spin-off from FromSoftware's acclaimed title. Unlike last year's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, Nightreign shares only its parent game's name and aesthetic. It ditches the open world for 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 not-so-surprising influence, given the game's recent 200 million player milestone this month alone.

However, Nightreign bears a striking resemblance to a far 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's struggle to break his oath with Ares. Failing to match the epic finale of the original trilogy, and attempting to revitalize a familiar formula, Ascension quickly gained a reputation as the franchise's black sheep—a decent appetizer preceding an amazing main course.

This reputation, while understandable, is arguably unfair. While Kratos's confrontation with the Furies in Ascension didn't reach the heights of his battle with Zeus, this divisive prequel boasted truly stunning set pieces, such as the Prison of the Damned—a labyrinthine dungeon carved into the flesh of a colossal, 100-armed giant. More importantly, Ascension deserves credit for venturing into uncharted territory for the franchise: multiplayer.

Within Ascension's campaign, players encounter a chained NPC who prematurely exclaims "You saved me!" before being crushed by a boss. Unlocking the multiplayer mode after this point reveals this NPC as the player character. Teleported to Olympus moments before their demise, players pledge allegiance to one of four gods—Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, or Ares—each offering unique weapons, armor, and magic. These tools are used across five multiplayer modes, four of which are competitive PvP.

The fifth mode, 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 title and live service games like Fortnite. Like those games, Nightreign blends randomized loot, resource management, and environmental hazards that damage players and restrict movement, increasing difficulty over time. Nightreign even echoes one of Fortnite's iconic elements: players drop from the sky, carried by spirit birds to their chosen location.

While God of War: Ascension lacks the "where are we dropping?" element, a deeper look reveals significant common ground between Nightreign and Ascension's Trial of the Gods. Both are co-op experiences where teams face increasingly challenging foes. Both offer the unexpected opportunity to battle bosses from previous games (Hercules from God of War 3 or the Nameless King from Dark Souls 3). Both feature a countdown timer (though Ascension's is pauseable by defeating enemies), and both take place on small or shrinking maps. Both are multiplayer games from studios renowned for single-player experiences, created without oversight from their respective series' creators; Hidetaka Miyazaki is working on an undisclosed project, while the original God of War trilogy's 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. Network test participants consistently described frantic, exhilarating races against the clock. Unlike the more relaxed base game, where players can approach scenarios strategically, using various weapons and abilities at their leisure, Nightreign demands instinctive action, limiting resources and accelerating the pace—constraints described by VaatiVidya as prioritizing "speed and efficiency." For example, the absence of Torrent is compensated by increased running speed and jump height.

Ascension's multiplayer adapted its single-player mechanics for faster pacing, using techniques similar to Nightreign. Increased run speed, extended jumps, automated parkour, and a grapple attack (mirrored by Nightreign's Wylder character) were implemented. These additions are vital because, while combat isn't overly difficult given the power fantasy nature of the franchise, Trial of the Gods throws waves of enemies at players, making every second count. This results in players sprinting, hacking, and slashing through armies with relentless efficiency.

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Nightreign's resemblance to Ascension is unexpected, not only due to the latter's obscurity, but also because the Soulslike genre, which Elden Ring exemplifies, initially stood in stark contrast to God of War. Where one empowers players as god-slaying warriors, the other casts them as nameless, cursed undead facing significant challenges from even basic enemies. One rarely displays a game over screen; the other relentlessly confronts players with it.

However, this challenging aspect, initially rage-inducing in FromSoftware's earlier games, has lessened in recent years as players improved, and developers provided better weapons and spells, leading to game-breaking builds in Elden Ring. Nightreign, without access to these builds, promises a return to heightened difficulty. Simultaneously, skilled players will experience what God of War: Ascension offered: the thrill of being a time-constrained, vengeful Spartan.