Elden Ring: Nightreign
You don’t have much time to sign up Elden Ring: Nightreign network test. FromSoftware’s smash hit online sinoff is running a beta of sorts next month, and everyone is welcome to play—though not everyone who signs up will get one of the coveted spots.
However, it can’t hurt to sign up, and you might as well do it as soon as possible. The deadline to get your name on the list is Monday, January 20th at 6am PT / 9am ET. It’s only a week away.
To register for the network test, you will need to go to the official website and fill in your personal details. It’s quick and easy, requiring your email, your chosen platform and your region. The only catch is that you can only participate on Xbox Series X|S or PlayStation 5. The network test is not available for PC players.
While registrations close on the 20th, the network test itself doesn’t begin until February. There will be five sessions available to players, although some of them are quite early in the morning depending on where you live (or on the later side).
Session 1: February 14, 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. PT / 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. ET
Session 2: February 14, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM PT / 10:00 PM to 1:00 AM ET
Session 3: February 15, 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM PT / 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET
Session 4: February 16, 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. PT / 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. ET
Session 5: February 16, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM PT / 10:00 PM to 1:00 AM ET
So what is it Elden Ring: Nightreign exactly and what should you expect from network test?
Elden Ring: Nightreign it’s a pretty massive departure from the core game. For one thing, it’s online only. Players form teams of three in an online co-op adventure that takes place over three in-game nights. Each character is a pre-made hero with special abilities and items.
Players will loot and level during the day and then face a boss fight at night, culminating in a final boss on the third night. There is also a circle that closes on the map similar to a Battle Royale game, although this is not a competitive PvE title. I actually wish there were PvPvE elements so teams could take on NPC enemies and antagonistic players, but maybe they’ll add that feature later. Something like Fate 2‘s Gambit mode is a fun example of how this can work. As it stands, while The Elden ring has both co-op and PvP games, The king of the night it doesn’t, which is a shame.
“The Network Test is a pre-verification test in which selected testers play a portion of the game before the full launch of the game,” the website tells us. “Various technical verifications of online systems will be examined by conducting large-scale network load tests.”
In other words, don’t expect this to be the full game. The purpose of this test is to see how well the game’s servers perform under load – although I always see these types of tests as a kill-two-birds-with-one-stone kind of thing. The network test is absolutely a part of the marketing game. Betas of any kind build hype for a game’s full release.
I’m not quite sure how to feel The king of the night just yet. While I’m excited to play it and hopefully I’ll be able to during the network test, I like what FromSoftware is doing and don’t want to see the company move towards live-service style games like many other developers. I have faith in the Japanese game studio, but hard experience has taught me that even the greatest developers can turn down a dark path.
Ultimately, I hope this is fun and a success, but not so much of a success that FromSoftware shifts its focus away from the primarily single-player experiences it does so well. That being said, I hope their next game has full co-op similar to Seamless Co-op The Elden ring mod, because this is just a ton of fun.
See you in Limgrave—or, rather, a condensed version of Limgrave that’s been “rearranged” in some way, making each direction slightly different from the last. We will know more in a month. good luck!
