"Elden Ring Nightreign Echoes Forgotten God of War Spirit"

This past weekend marked the initial network tests for Elden Ring Nightreign, the eagerly anticipated standalone multiplayer game derived from FromSoftware's acclaimed Elden Ring. Unlike the expansive open world of last year's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, Nightreign diverges significantly, adopting a more focused survival format. In this game, three-player teams parachute into progressively shrinking maps, battling waves of enemies and increasingly formidable bosses. This design clearly draws inspiration from the wildly successful Fortnite, which boasts an impressive 200 million players this month alone.

However, Nightreign shares an even more striking similarity with a less celebrated and often criticized title: God of War: Ascension from 2013. And this connection is something to celebrate.

God of War: Ascension, released between God of War 3 in 2010 and the Norse-themed reboot in 2018, serves as a prequel set before the original Greek mythology trilogy. It follows Kratos as he attempts to break his oath to Aries. While it didn't match the epic finale of the initial trilogy, Ascension is often unfairly labeled as the franchise's black sheep. Despite not reaching the heights of Kratos' battle with Zeus, Ascension featured stunning set-pieces like the Prison of the Damned, a dungeon carved into the body of a 100-armed giant. More importantly, it introduced something new to the series: multiplayer.

In Ascension, the cooperative PvE mode, Trial of the Gods, mirrors Elden Ring Nightreign in many ways. As players progress through the Prison of the Damned in the story mode, they encounter an NPC who prematurely celebrates being saved, only to be crushed by the level's boss. In multiplayer mode, this same NPC becomes the player character, teleported to Olympus and tasked with pledging allegiance to one of four gods—Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, or Aries. Each god provides unique weapons, armor, and magic attacks for five different multiplayer modes, four of which are competitive PvP.

The fifth mode, Trial of the Gods, is cooperative PvE and strikingly similar to Elden Ring Nightreign.

Gameplay previews of Nightreign by prominent "Soulsborne" YouTubers like VaatiVidya and Iron Pineapple, as well as IGN's coverage, have highlighted the game's similarities to live service games like Fortnite. Nightreign features randomized loot, resource management, and environmental hazards that challenge players by damaging their health and restricting their movement. It even pays homage to Fortnite by having players drop into the level from the sky, guided by spirit birds to their chosen landing spot.

While God of War: Ascension doesn't feature the "where are we dropping?" excitement of Nightreign, a deeper look reveals significant parallels. Both Nightreign and Ascension's Trial of the Gods are cooperative experiences where teams face increasingly difficult foes. Both allow players to battle iconic bosses from previous games, such as Hercules from God of War 3 or the Nameless King from Dark Souls 3. Both have a countdown mechanism (with Ascension's being pausable by defeating enemies) and take place on maps that are either small or shrinking. Additionally, both are multiplayer games developed by studios renowned for their single-player experiences, without direct oversight from their series' creators; Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki is working on a new project, while the directors of the original God of War trilogy had left Sony Santa Monica by the time Ascension was developed.

Most importantly, Nightreign evokes the same response from players as Ascension's Trial of the Gods did. Participants in FromSoftware's network test described their runs as a frantic and exhilarating race against time. In contrast to the more relaxed pace of the base game, where players can approach scenarios in various ways with different weapons and abilities, Nightreign forces players to rely on instinct, increasing the pace and limiting resources. This, as VaatiVidya noted, is "made in the name of speed and efficiency." For instance, without Torrent, players can now channel their inner spirit horse to run faster and jump higher.

Ascension's multiplayer mode also adjusted its single-player blueprint for tighter pacing, using techniques similar to those in Nightreign. It increased player speed, extended jumps, automated parkour, and introduced a grapple attack to pull objects closer—a mechanic also used by Nightreign's Wylder character. These new moves are crucial, as while the combat itself isn't overly challenging, Trial of the Gods throws numerous enemies at players, making every second count. As a result, players and their teammates find themselves sprinting and slashing through hordes with the ferocity of Kratos himself.

The resemblance between Nightreign and Ascension is surprising, not only because much of Ascension has been forgotten, but also because the Soulslike genre, to which Elden Ring belongs, initially stood in stark contrast to God of War. While God of War lets players embody a god-slaying warrior, Soulslike games transform players into nameless, cursed undead facing daunting challenges from even regular enemies. One rarely sees a game over screen, while the other frequently presents it, leading to a rollercoaster of emotions.

Yet, the challenge that was once rage-inducing in FromSoftware's earlier games has lessened over time as players improved and developers introduced more powerful weapons and spells, culminating in the game-breaking builds seen since Elden Ring's launch. Nightreign aims to reintroduce this challenge by removing access to these builds, while still offering players the thrill of feeling like a time-pressed, vengeful Spartan, much like God of War: Ascension did.