Elden Ring: Nightreign will feature enemies from Dark Souls, director confirms

Elden Ring spin-off game Nightreign will feature enemies from Dark Souls, its director has confirmed.

Souls fans certainly spotted some familiar enemies in Nightreign’s reveal trailer at last week’s The Game Awards, most notably The Nameless King from Dark Souls 3 who rides atop a dragon firing lightning bolts.

In an interview with Famitsu, director Junya Ishizaki has confirmed that a “small number” of enemies from across the Dark Souls series will appear in Nightreign thanks to the “influence of the Night King”.

He added this is to add to the sense of “chaos” that the night brings. It’s all part of the parallel universe of Nightreign, which is clearly allowing FromSoftware to nod to its past.

As the Dark Souls social media account teased: “In the Night, ancestral foes await – remnants of a fire that once burned bright.”

And while Ishizaki specifically mentioned only the Dark Souls series, perhaps Bloodborne and Sekiro enemies could make an appearance too.

Indeed, as IGN spotted, the trailer includes player characters battling a three-headed creature with an exposed ribcage that appears to be the Centipede Demon from Dark Souls. Further, an official screenshot released by the developer includes a giant spider who could well be The Duke’s Dear Freja from Dark Souls 2.

Further, fans have likened the playable character the Duchess to Bloodborne’s Lady Maria thanks to her quickstep ability, while Wylder’s claw shot resembles the grappling hook of Sekiro. This is certainly more speculative, but judging by the increased mobility of the playable characters in Nightreign, there does seem to be some influence from across FromSoftware’s previous games.

Ishizaki also described Nightreign to Famitsu as a dense but short game that condenses RPG fundamentals into a single mission.

Communication with others, meanwhile, will be with pins and gestures to continue the “loose connection” with fellow players established in previous Souls games. There won’t be PvP this time, though, and there’s no invasion method.

Lastly, within the roguelite structure, if players successfully pass all three days of the game’s day and night cycle, they will obtain relics for various boosting effects.

A network test for Elden Ring: Nightreign will take place in February, with registration beginning on 10th January.

Bandai Namco also revealed a new sales total for Elden Ring, which has now sold more copies than the entire Dark Souls series had prior to its release.