I’m thinking about my brand loyalty to FromSoft and how it’s wavering. I ended the last post by saying about how it’s not me–it’s them. What do I mean by this? I mean they are spreading their wings, which is their absolute right, but it’s not what I’m interested in.
It’s interesting. Many people think that Nightreign was a cash grab. Even people who who like the game think it’s a calculated move to bring in th money. It’s an asset flip with no real new content except for the Nightlords and the nightfarers. And as it stands right now, there really isn’t any replayability once you beat all the bosses. Unless you want to play as the other nightfarers, of course.
I have to admit that I’m a bit bored with the runs themselves. Yes, making it to the third boss has added events and different enemies/bosses to the world. By the way, one map is not enough. Yes, the events change the map somewhat, but it’s still Lim…veld? I think that’s it? Based on Limgrave from the base game.
And because of the breakneck speed, you have to know what you’re doing before you’re even dropped int o the world.
Anyway. The prevalent feeling is that it’s fun with your friends for a few runs, but it’s probably not going to have a lasting impact on the genre.
Some people even think it’s the worst game From has made. It’s been interesting because usually, the people who love From games REALLY love From games. This time, it’s been decidedly mixed. Which makes sense because many people like the games because of the slow and deliberate pace, the exploration, and the unfolding lore. Nightreign has none of that. I mean, there is some lore, but so far, it’s not as compelling (to me), while retaining the frustrating obtuseness of how to uncover it.
I think I mentioned yesterday that if it had been made by someone else, I would not even have looked twice at it. It’s only because FromSoft made it that I bought it. Even then, I hesitated. I knew it was not going to be for me, and I was right.
Not only is it that I don’t have friends who play it so I have to rely on randos (which is very dicy), but I am not enjoying the game as I play it. If I’m going to be brutally honest, it’s missing something for me. Not even the hectic speed of it or the multiplayer aspect. There’s just something missing that makes a From game special.
I don’t think it’s a pure cash grab. Miyazaki said that one of his team members expressed an interest in doing an idea like this, and Miyazaki told him to go for it. I’m not saying money wasn’t a part of it (because let’s face it, money is a part of everything), but I do think Miyazki is interested in exploring games that aren’t in his wheelhouse. No one remembers Déraciné, a game they made for the PS4 in VR. That was, ah, very different, shall we say. I didn’t play it because I didn’t have a PS4, and I can’t do VR.
I appreciate that about him; I really do. That doesn’t mean, however, that I have to agree or like every decision they make. Nor does it mean that I have to continue buying their product.
The people in the RKG Discord are very much ‘in FromSoft we trust’. Which I can understand to a certain degree, but in the end, they are still a company/corporation. They are about making money. Also, I think they get a pass because of who they are for things that other companies receive scrutiny for. An example is that there was a report they severely underpay their employees, to which fans kind of collectively shrugged. In addition, like many Japanese companies, there are not many women in positions of power–if any.
And, again, other companies are held accountable for this or at least questioned whereas FromSoft is excused or ignored. I think it stems from the fact that they were considered indie-like even though there were never an indie company. Very scrappy and had the underdog feel to them. People would say they were like guns-for-hire because they would partner up with any publisher who would have them.
They were definitely viewed as a AA-kind of company, even up to and through Sekiro. It wasn’t until Elden Ring, really, that they were confirmed as AAA. I say this with the full knowledge that this reputation was incorrect, even if I felt it described them spiritually. Look, I have complicated feelings about them, obviously.
I think Miyazaki is a visionary, but I do not mistake this into thinking that means he’s a great man. I don’t know anything about him personally, and it’s not my nature to conflate public persona with someone true heart. I think the fact that he’s pretty mysterious (he doesn’t give many interviews, and when he does, his answers don’t really reveal anything meaningful) lends to the mystique and his reputation as a deep man.
RKG has an ongoing joke that he’s just a punter who likes a pie and a pint down at O’Neill’s. That he’s not really talented, but steals all his ideas from other people. I don’t think that’s true, but it could be. We don’t know. It really is a clever move not to say much of anything because people imbue him with all sorts of positive characteristics he may or may not have.
At the end of the day, it’s a business transaction like anything else. I give them money, and they give me a product. It may or may not be a product that I like, but that’s the base for every exchange that includes money.
I will be sad if I reach the point where I cannot play their games any longer. I’m not denying that they have had a special place in my heart. But one thing I learned from my medical crisis is that nothing lasts forever.
If I’m at the end of my ‘relationship’ with From games, well, so be it. It’s been a good ride, and I always can play their old games, the ones that I love, again. That will have to be good enough for me.