AlthoughElden Ring Nightreign’s reveal trailer at The Game Awards got FromSoftware fans buzzing that more was being done with the IP afterShadow of the Erdtree’s massive success, there was a lot of confusion surrounding what was revealed. The trailer showed off a lot of cool features,but wasn’t overt on whatNightreignactually is, being a three-person co-op, roguelite title, which many have begun to compare to battle royales likeFortnitedue to the Ring of Reign closing in as night approaches. What was even less overt was what was going on with the lore.
The Soulsborne fanbase is loosely split into two factions: one that only cares about combat, builds, and bosses, and the other that will dive into the lore, trying to explain everything as if they were scholars of ancient history. Although the former are likely excited to see new gameplay elements, bosses, and better traversal, the latter might be pulling their hair trying to understand the mess thatNightreignhas introduced. Its lore doesn’t seem to make much sense at all, andthat is probably fine for the kind of gameNightreignwill end up being.
Elden Ring Nightreign’s Lore Is A Mashup Of Soulsborne Worlds
Dark Souls 2 & 3 Get Special Treatment
The reveal trailer tells players the gist of the game, but some extra digging is needed to understand the general story. The objective is tohelp the Nightfarers avert some kind of disaster by dropping into Limveld and surviving three nights to stop someone named The Night Lord, who is probably waiting behind the giant door that looks like an upscaled version of the one sealing the Throne of Want fromDark Souls 2. The overall idea and plot of the game makes enough sense, but it’s theSmash Bros-like combination of so many elements that makes everything messy.
Bosses and characters from formerDark Soulsgames are inNightreignfor some reason, and there hasn’t been any indication that the two worlds were linked previously. Despite sharing the same genre,Dark SoulsandElden Ringare separate IPs with different histories and worlds, so there shouldn’t be any reason why the Nameless King is back to repeatedly kill players atop his Storm Drake, nor is there a reason for the Fire Keeper’s apparent return. That doesn’t seem to matter, because both are here to stay, along with the Duke’s Dear Freja fromDS2.
The Fire Keeper refers specifically to the Fire Keeper who aided the Ashen One inDS3, as there were many more beforehand that tried to help their champions Link the Fire, such as Iudex Gundyr.
Although it has so many elements from theDark Soulsseries,Nightreignis still anElden Ringtitle, with Sites of Graces instead of Bonfires and the Roundtable Holdstill playing a massive part in the game. Limveld, the area in whichNightreignis set, is like a twisted version of Limgrave,Elden Ring’s first area, and it seems Margit or Morgott are back to terrorize players as they explore the world. How Limveld came to be is anyone’s guess, and how the Nameless King got here is completely up in the air, considering that he should be dead.
Nightreign’s Lore Might Not Be Explainable
There Are Too Many Elements Being Smashed Together
Nightreignhas brought up whetherElden RingandDark Soulsare connected, possibly through the many painted worlds seen in theDark Soulstitles, to attempt to make sense of everything in the trailer. One thing that should be noted is thatNightreign’s version of the world is parallel to theoriginalElden Ring’s, although it isn’t clear in what ways it is different.It could be a world in which the Greater Will never came to the Lands Between, meaning that Marika never became Queen, yet Margit is seemingly around, so Marika and Godfrey have to be somewhere.
Margit is an alter ego of Morgott, the son of Marika and Godfrey and the Omen King of Leyndell.
Perhaps the realm of Limveld is a sort of pocket dimension prison, and the Night Lord is attempting to break free, but if this is the case, thenElden Ringhas to be linked toDark Soulssomehow because of the Fire Keeper and Nameless King’s appearances. As with every Soulsborne game, there are so many questions about what’s actually going on, but because of the nature ofNightreign’s genre (being a roguelite), there might not be answers to carefully dig for like inElden Ringor theDark Soulsgames.
Elden Ring: Nightreign Will Be A Fully Standalone Game, Not A Live Service Game, Says FromSoftware
Shortly after the surprise announcement of Elden Ring: Nightreign, the game’s director has confirmed that the title will not be a live service game.
From a lore point of view, there might not be a reason why the Nameless King is in Limveld and how the Fire Keeper managed to escape her duties in Firelink Shrine. Even the Centipede Demon fromDark Souls 1comes back as a boss, although changed to fit the three-player mechanics, andthese returning elements seem to just be thrown in without explanation. These assets might be used to save time so that FromSoftware can focus on the co-op mechanics and new gameplay features, rather than being evidence of its IP worlds being linked.
Nightreign Is An Experimental Project Separate To The Main Elden Ring World
It Doesn’t Have To Make Sense As A Spin-Off
WhileElden Ringwas the culmination of everything FromSoftware has learned from Soulsborne games,Nightreignseems to take the scaffolding of 2022’s GOTY winner and use it to attempt to experiment with something new. FromSoftware always does things its own way, sometimes making odd choices like not allowing for duo runs inNightreign,and it seems on track to make something truly unique. It just has a few old elements to allow for the experiment to go smoothly, although this experiment might sacrifice making sense in the lore.
Elden Ring Has A Third Chance To Win GOTY In 2025
While Elden Ring’s second year at The Game Awards was far from successful, its newest spin-off will let it try to win awards once again in 2025.
BecauseNightreignhas explicitly been stated to be in a separate, parallel world toElden Ring,it means that whatever happens in the game doesn’t affect the canon Miyazaki and George R. R. Martin have established.Nightreign’s lore could go completely off the rails, which it looks like it has in places, and it wouldn’t affect the intricate story seen inElden Ring,giving the developers the freedom to try new things out while having 2022’s biggest gaming IP as a platform.Nightreigncould be the future of co-op play in Soulsborne games.
Ultimately,fans will still try and make sense of the lore inElden Ring Nighreign, but with the story being completely separate, it doesn’t need to make sense in order to be what FromSoftware is striving to make. The game is an experiment. Bringing old elements in saves time, money, and helps to get the community talking about the project so that it can make a return. Separating it from the main story means that all the lore-breaking doesn’t actually matter, andElden Ringcould carry on with a sequel without worry.
