Elden Ring: Nightreign, from developer FromSoftware, at first seemed like a gimmicky spinoff of its 2022 hit Elden Ring. Since then, it’s proven to be a popular game that was the best-selling title in June, and in a few days, it’s going to get one of its most requested features.
In Nightreign, you can play solo or in a team of three. On July 30, the option for Duo Expeditions will be available, letting players take on runs with a friend.
Players have been requesting a two-player mode since Nightreign came out. Modders even went so far as to release a mod to add the feature to the PC version of the game just days after it launched. Adding the Duo option means no longer needing to find a third player via matchmaking. As is the case with any online matchmaking, you never know if you’ll get a competent player. There’s also no voice chat in the game, so communication is limited to pinging locations on the map.
Nightreign is set in the Elden Ring universe and has a shrinking storm circle mechanic, similar to Fortnite. This takes 15 minutes, so players have to act quickly in order to gain levels and obtain the weapons and items they need to defeat the first night’s boss. If the boss is defeated, the storm circle resets and players have another 15 minutes to get even more powerful. If they survive the second night, they’ll be transported to an area to take on the Nightlord, a powerful boss needed to complete the run successfully.
Nightreign is a roguelike, so every run is different, with locations and night bosses changing. Because of that, it’s easy to continue to play matches over and over again. Last month, FromSoftware released an option for harder Nightlords called Everdark Sovereigns. These are powered-up Nightlords that have more health and an additional phase in their fight, where the difficulty ramps up tremendously and makes for a battle meant for the most expert of players.
Duo Expeditions for Nightreign will arrive via an update on July 30. Elden Ring: Nightreign is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles for $40.