The announcement of Elden Ring‘s spin-off, Elden Ring Nightreign, has made many players question some of the connections to the current world at hand. So far, Nightreign is a standalone adventure that takes place within the Elden Ring universe and is intended to be a full co-op experience, rather than multiplayer being optional in Elden Ring. The game itself takes place over three days and nights and can be replayed to get a new experience every time, but what does this really entail?
Since the game is set in a universe that is apparently parallel to the happenings of Elden Ring, is there a greater connection to some of the other FromSoftware games? There are terrifying bosses at the end of each day, seemingly acting in service of a god called the Night Lord. The parallels to Elden Ring and other FromSoft titles may draw into the reasoning as to why the Nameless King from Dark Souls makes an appearance in the series.
Why Nightreign’s Timeline Placement Is So Confusing
Nightreign Tells A Parallel Story
Nightreign takes place in a divergent timeline from Elden Ring, so there are few direct connections to the primary game. Because of those differences, it might be that there is some greater connection to the Nox, as the Elden Ring lore describes how they live under a false night sky after their banishment and await a being called the Lord of Night. Because of the surmised connection here based on some of the lore, there are so many problems in trying to determine where Nightreign actually takes place in the timeline.
It’s unclear if the Lord of Night is the same as Nightreign‘s Night Lord; there simply isn’t enough information yet to say for sure.
At the same time, however, there is also the appearance of the Nameless King from Dark Souls 3 that completely throws off the ability to put Nightreign into a timeline of its own. There are also glimpses of the Erdtree, which was already a nod to the arch trees from the earlier games. Because the convergence of so many FromSoft games makes Nightreign‘s lore almost nonsensical, it is a wonder what other titles may be included in the final form of the game; perhaps Bloodborne will get time to shine again.
Where Could Nightreign Take Place?
Where Does Its Timeline Diverge?
The potential connection between the Night Lord and the Nox’s Lord of Night suggests the timeline may have split around the time of Elden Ring‘s Shattering. Theories suggest that Nightreign‘s three-night cycle is born from a timeline where Rahdahn did not become the Starscourge, or he was slain during combat. There is also a lack of gold in Nightreign, as seen by the gloom overtaking the Sites of Grace and turning them into silver pools.
Because of the lack of standard ties to Elden Ring or direct connections to the other titles outside of bosses and other enemies, it is hard to decide where Nightreign could really be taking place timeline-wise. I find that it is more than likely that the Shattering was more catastrophic than expected, and gave rise to the Night Lord, who rules over Limveld malevolently. Unfortunately, more concrete answers will likely have to wait until Elden Ring Nightreign releases, when players get more specifics on lore details.
Source: Bandai Namco Entertainment America/YouTube
FromSoftware has announced Elden Ring: Nightreign, a standalone multiplayer game set in Limgrave, a region of the Lands Between.
- Released
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2025-00-00
- Developer(s)
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From Software
- Publisher(s)
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Bandai Namco Entertainment
, From Software - Multiplayer
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Online Co-Op
- Number of Players
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1-3