Yesterday, as I was doing a bit of research into Nightreign (no longer remember why), I came across a post in Reddit that was pretty vitriolic against the game and FromSoft. I’m not surprised at the negativity because the game is very much un-From-like. It’s multiplayer, set in the Lands Between, and a roguelike/lite. There were a lot of skepticalreactions when the game dropped. Andy Cortez from Kinda Funny Games (I included the video below) encapsulated how I felt when I first watched the trailer. He thought it looked like a mod, and he was highly doubtful that it was going to be any good.
Then, he got his hands on it, and he completely changed his mind. He had a blast playing it, and he basically said he should have trusted FromSoft.
He wasn’t the only one, though. Many people thought it was just a cash grab or a way to make bank on FromSoft’s most lucrative game of all time. I mean, it’s still possible, but at least the way Miyazaki described it, there was a dev on the team who had a vision for this, and Miyazaki said to go ahead and do it.
It’s a stand-alone game and will cost forty bucks. It’s a fast-paced roguelike multiplayer co-op (one player or three) in which there is a circle that closes in on you. Each run is three days and one big night boss at the end.
Anyway.
The post I saw was someone saying, “Not cross-plat and only single or three-player co-op? I’m out.” I thought this was reasonable. No idea why it’s single-player or three-player, but not two-player. And not being cross-plat in 2025 is inexcusable. It really is. So, yeah. I understand why the original poster was out.
I also understood why people agreed with them and said they were out, too. But, then, a few people declared that FromSoft was The Worst and was on their way to being a completely soulless, greedy corporation who didn’t care one whit for their customers. They threw in terms like asset filp (which, to be fair, yes, the game is set in the world of Elden Ring) and greedy.
On the other hand, there were people who cited all the great games FromSoft has developed in the last decade–and nothing else. I get what they’re trying to say, that because of their track record, From gets the benefit of the doubt for Nightreign (and, presumably, The Duskbloods).
I’m somewhere in the middle. I am a big FromSoft fan, but I have been painfully aware the whole time I’ve played their games that I will hit the ceiling at some point. I feel like I’m here on sufferance and the games are not made for me.