FromSoftware is ready to play with their established formula: “We want NightReign to feel like an evolution of the Elden Ring combat system” – Elden Ring: Nightreign

There are some developers that game journalists consider the holy grail when it comes to accessing them. They are the ones who are not only brilliant, but also a little shy. For example, I have never spoken to Playdead, even though they live around the corner from me. Another developer in this category, albeit from much further away, is Japan’s FromSoftware, which not only made some of my favorite games of all time, but is also one of the developers I’ve never spoken to. So when the opportunity arose for a one-hour interview with NightReign’s director Junya Ishizaki, I grabbed it with both hands.

The interview was a roundtable discussion with five gaming media and twice as many PR representatives during the conversation, so the photo from FromSoftware’s conference room was not much bigger than a postage stamp. And since the five of us took turns asking questions and all questions went through an interpreter, it would be a shame to say that this was the most personal interview I’ve ever done.

However, as we all know, you have to be careful not to be a complainer, because it’s always fun to talk to developers – even when the situation is VERY controlled. And at least now I’ve seen what one of the developer meeting rooms looks like. WOW! Now that’s some insight.

For the uninitiated, Elden Ring: NightReign is FromSoftware’s take on the roguelike genre in a co-op format. Together with two other players (solo is also an option and two players are still being considered) you fight your way through hordes of enemies to fortify yourself for the inevitable encounter with the game’s many bosses. NightReign is sold separately and has been in development by a smaller team at FromSoftware since late 2021.

Gamereactor: How did you come up with the idea for NightReign and what was behind the desire to experiment with a formula that many know and love?

Ishizaki: We want NightReign to feel like an evolution of the Elden Ring combat system (which Ishizaki worked on). We appreciate that players know and love the battles in our games, so we wanted to create a new system where they can enjoy them from a new perspective. In Elden Ring, the boss fights are where it all culminates, but in NightReign we want it to feel more like ebb and flow. Overall, it’s about condensing the things people love into a format that still focuses on long-term strategy.

The original Elden Ring opened up your game to many new people through things like the open world and summons. NightReign seems to be less forgiving. Was it designed with a more dedicated player base in mind?

Ishizaki: We want new and existing players to understand that NightReign was built from the ground up as a completely new game. It has spin-off mechanics and aesthetics that are an extension of Elden Ring, and players have different expectations based on that. But we see it as a completely new experience, and we built it based on our experience with Elden Ring. We want players to have that sense of discovery and struggle against the unknown, so we hope that carries over and people can experience that again with NightReign.

Conversely, do you think NightReign, with its different structure, can appeal to people who don’t normally play your games?

NightReign is not necessarily designed with a wider audience in mind, but we want to make it a little more accessible in some areas. Players who felt intimidated by the size of Elden Ring and the many systems might think NightReign is more accessible. One example is the characters. Personally, I struggle to create my character every time I play one of our games, so here the process is much more streamlined. So while many enjoy the more complicated aspects of our games, we wanted it to be easier to start playing. That was a major design focus.

How much knowledge and history will there be and will it be connected to the Elden Ring?

Ishizaki: The lore and story are completely separate from Elden Ring. We want it to be a completely new experience, and the game’s focus on multiplayer is very different from what Elden Ring had. So there is less focus on the world and its lore, and more on the individual characters and their backgrounds. There are parallels to the Elden Ring universe, but consider it its own thing.

Why was it decided not to use AI companions?

Ishizaki: We wanted NightReign to be a multiplayer-focused game, so we didn’t want people to opt out by playing with AI-controlled friends. We feel that real players contribute to the emerging gameplay of the game, so we wanted to keep the focus on multiplayer and people playing together. There aren’t really any major differences in content between playing solo or as a trio. However, it will be harder to play solo.

There are eight Night Lords in the game. Do they get harder and harder and do you start with the same gear every time?

Yes, the difficulty of the Night Lords varies, but there is no set order in which you must complete them. We want to give players the freedom to choose which boss they want to take on once they are unlocked. Part of the appeal of the structure is that you can choose your own path through the game. And the character building and exploration of the map are some of the things that will make each run fresh and unique.

How do you use special events like Margit’s surprise attack or meteor storms to shape the experience?

Ishizaki: The encounters with bosses like Margit are essentially the same kind of random events as the meteor storm you mention. One is just an encounter with a boss, while the other is an encounter on a world map. We introduce them so that each run feels different and keeps players on their toes and making choices.

Speaking of bosses, NightReign includes bosses from the Dark Souls series. What was the thinking behind including them in the game from both a mechanical and lore perspective?

Ishizaki: The older bosses in the game were included more for gameplay reasons than for lore. We wanted to have a lot of variety, and as a director, I thought it would be fun to meet these bosses in a new setting and with new gameplay systems. And we wanted the world of NightReign to feel like a mash-up of previous experiences and titles, so it seemed like a good place to include these bosses.

Are the red corpses you encounter other players who have died?

Ishizaki: Yes, they are. When you encounter them, you can pick up their equipment and use it, passing the torch for them. It’s an asynchronous element designed to give a sense of community and cohesion with other players.

Although FromSoftware has experience with multiplayer, NightReign still feels like a new chapter in your story. What was it like working personally in a new genre and what were some of the challenges you faced?

Yes, approaching this as a new genre and with a focus on multiplayer certainly brought some challenges during development. We have optimized and refined our design and processes over a long series of games, so it was a big challenge to change it. But we always strive to create new and interesting experiences with our games, so we were up for the challenge – both roguelike and multiplayer. We hope the end result is rewarding for our players.