This weekend marked the first network tests for Elden Ring Nightreign, the standalone multiplayer spinoff of FromSoftware's acclaimed masterpiece. Unlike last year's Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, Nightreign abandons the original's open-world structure for a tight survival experience where three-player teams battle through shrinking maps against escalating threats. The design clearly draws inspiration from Fortnite's massive success, with Epic's battle royale currently boasting over 200 million active players this month.
Yet Nightreign bears stronger resemblance to a less celebrated title: 2013's God of War: Ascension. And this unexpected connection works in its favor.
Squeezed between 2010's God of War 3 and 2018's reboot, Ascension explored Kratos' early struggles to break free from Ares' influence. While failing to match the original trilogy's climax, this prequel still delivered spectacular moments like the Prison of the Damned - a dungeon carved into a hundred-armed titan. More crucially, it introduced the franchise's first and only multiplayer experiment.
Nightreign and Ascension share surprising DNA in their cooperative modes. Both feature time-sensitive battles against increasingly tough foes, including returning franchise bosses. Both originated from studios renowned for single-player excellence yet developed without their original creators' involvement. Most importantly, both successfully transform their respective franchises' core combat into intense, clock-driven challenges.
Network test participants describe Nightreign as a thrilling departure from Elden Ring's methodical pacing. The new survival format forces rapid decision-making through limited resources and environmental hazards. Similarly, Ascension's multiplayer amplified mobility with sprint boosts and grapple attacks to maintain the series' trademark aggression against overwhelming odds.
These parallels seem improbable given the franchises' opposing design philosophies. God of War epitomizes power fantasy, while Souls games famously emphasize vulnerability. Yet as Elden Ring's community mastered its challenges through optimized builds, Nightreign's stripped-down approach could restore that crucial tension - much as Ascension delivered Kratos' signature fury in condensed multiplayer form.
