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CNET
2 hours ago
- CNET
Elden Ring Nightreign: 7 Tips to Beat the First Boss, the Nightlord Gladius
Elden Ring Nightreign, the newest multiplayer action RPG from FromSoftware, tosses you into the thick of battle and sets you up to die to a familiar face in its tutorial (it's Margit, and he still takes ages to bring his hammer down on your head). But the real proving ground is the Tricephalos expedition that ends with the triple-headed dog boss, Gladius. It's the first journey you'll embark on in the game, putting your skills to the test as you learn the flow of the day and night cycle. Speed is key here, and you can't spend a second lollygagging around in this version of The Lands Between. There are key features locked behind the first boss: Most of the game's other expeditions unlock after you beat the first one, new items unlock in the Small Jar Bazaar to advance your meta-progression and beating the first Nightlord aspect is a surefire way to unlock the first secret Nightfarer class. If you're having trouble overcoming the game's first expedition, it's probably because Nightreign is much faster-paced than other Souls games. But there are ways you can level the playing field and better prepare yourself for the fight against Gladius. Keep an eye out for sites of grace, as you'll have to quickly spend your runes before jumping into another prolonged battle. Bandai Namco/Screenshot by CNET Shoot for level 12 as you farm runes The level cap for a Nightfarer on an expedition is 15 -- but you'll hardly ever reach that level as you dash around the world farming runes and powers before the third night approaches. A much easier goal to shoot for is level 12 -- which you can attain if you move quickly and prioritize clearing out camps and bosses. Crucially, you generally don't want to waste any precious runes on merchants you find during day one and two. If you purchase items, you might find yourself several thousand runes shy of eking out another level before the final boss. There's a merchant available before the Nightlord fight in night three, so pack in as many levels as you can and then spend your leftover runes in that shop at the end. Keep an eye out for the elemental icons next to each enemy camp. Bandai Namco/Screenshot by CNET Find a holy weapon before the final night Each Nightlord aspect in Elden Ring Nightreign has an elemental weakness you can exploit -- you can view these weaknesses from the expedition screen before you embark on your mission. Gladius, the fiery dog awaiting you at the end of the Tricephalos expedition, is weak to holy damage. Hitting him with holy-imbued attacks creates additional stagger windows, giving the team more time to whale on the boss while one person strikes the critical hit. You can consistently find weapons with elemental infusions by beating certain enemy camps and fortresses around the map. If the location has an icon for the elemental type next to it, you'll be rewarded with a weapon that deals that type of elemental damage once you slay the final boss there. Keep in mind that Nightreign has inherited Elden Ring's icons for weapon affinities, and the elemental signifiers can be confusingly similar. The lightning affinity icon is a pale yellow blade stuck in the ground with crackling bolts around it, while the similar-looking sacred (holy) affinity icon is a more golden blade stuck in the ground with a circle. Every inventory slot is useful -- you need not worry about "fat rolling" in Nightreign. Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET Grab other weapons that you won't use While you'll probably want to wield a holy weapon when you're face-to-face with Gladius, it's well worth it to stock up on other weapons as well. There's no equipment load in Nightreign, so it's purely beneficial to fill up all of your inventory slots during an expedition. Melee-attacking Nightfarers could benefit from picking up a bow to revive their allies from afar, and ranged-attacking Nightfarers might be able to use a dagger in a pinch. More importantly, though, are the bonuses that extra weapons confer upon your character. When you pick up a new weapon, you'll see a list of passive bonuses underneath the weapon stats and art of war. These bonuses apply to your character even when you're not wielding that particular weapon (with rare exception), so stocking up on armaments will snowball your power before the final fight. Fire damage negation might not help you survive the Nightlord's cataclysmic shrinking circle, but it will help you take down Gladius in a head-to-head fight. Bandai Namco/Screenshot by CNET Invest in fire and physical damage negation The final boss of the first expedition is a fire-spewing cerberus, and he hits like a truck. Nightfarers who have dodge rolls and other abilities that provide generous invincibility frames will likely be able to avoid the hits in this boss fight, but it won't be nearly as easy for tank characters to do so. During the first two days of your run, you'll still have the option to invest in passive abilities that will help mitigate some of the damage the boss can mete out, selecting dormant powers instead of weapons from certain boss rewards. Night bosses provide especially powerful passive buffs, so if you can snag fire or physical damage negation passives, it'll help soften some of Gladius' blows. These churches will look familiar to Elden Ring veterans. Bandai Namco/Screenshot by CNET Stock up on flasks at churches around the map Even if you take passives that help you tank Gladius' attacks, you'll inevitably end up taking a few hits. That damage adds up, and you'll need to heal through it. You start with three flasks and get two more by beating the bosses during the first two nights, but managing a Nightlord with only five flasks can still be a bit tricky. That's why churches are so important to find during day one and two of a Nightreign expedition. They appear as golden, glowing structures on the minimap, so you won't have a hard time plotting a course to these locations -- they look just like the churches that you can get flask healing upgrades from in Elden Ring, too. Each church will up your flask count by one. Walking into a Nightlord fight with eight flasks instead of five makes a massive difference, especially since that's effectively nine more opportunities to heal across an entire squad of Nightfarers. Churches aren't a distraction from rune farming: They're an investment in your survival. As you prepare to face your first night three boss, here's what you need to look out for. Bandai Namco/Screenshot by CNET Watch out for Gladius' massive chainsword attack Nightlord Gladius loves fighting in melee distance and spewing fire, which gives ranged Nightfarers ample opportunity to lay into him with holy damage from afar. When the boss charges away from the fight rather than into the party of Nightfarers, you'll know he's up to no good. One of the hardest hitting attacks in this boss fight has Gladius grab the chainsword off of his back with one of his heads, swinging it as the blade extends across the ground. Original Dark Souls players will probably get flashbacks to fighting Great Grey Wolf Sif, but Gladius isn't a good boy at all. This sweeping attack covers a massive area of the arena and Gladius can use it multiple times in a row. The good news is that it's pretty easy to dodge through, if your character has a roll with decent invincibility frames. The hardest part is identifying when this move is about to be unleashed -- so keep an eye on how far away from you Gladius is trying to fight. Once you begin your battle with Gladius, things can quickly get out of control. Stick together as a cohesive team unit. Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET When the boss splits up, don't let your party follow suit Once you beat Gladius down to half health, he adds a new move to his repertoire. The Nightlord will occasionally split into three fireballs that rocket across the arena -- you'll want to dodge roll through these -- before turning around and returning to the party as three separate dogs. These canines are no less fiery than the cerberus-form, and they'll usually each target a single member of the party. Just because the dogs are split up doesn't mean your team has to, though. Ranged Nightfarers like Ironeye or fragile glass cannons Nightfarers like Duchess and Recluse might have trouble once they're singled out, so it's best to group up and repel this phase of Gladius as a team. Note that in its separated form, each dog takes damage for the full boss, so big attacks targeting an area like various Nightfarer ultimates (Ironeye and Raider especially) are potent here. Once enough time passes, Gladius will fireball around the map once again and return in his cerberus form (unless you manage to defeat him before he switches phases once again). When he takes on his larger base form, you can revert to your original strategy to swiftly take down this very bad dog. With Gladius defeated, a whole host of new expeditions will become available to you and your squad. Even though you've finally bested the real tutorial, you'll probably benefit from our beginner guide as you set out on some of the more challenging Nightreign adventures. Good luck out there, Nightfarer.
CNET
2 hours ago
- CNET
Elden Ring Nightreign Review: the Highs and Lows of Distilling Souls Games to Roguelike Runs
I drop into a fantasy land with a sword and two squadmates, all dedicated to defeating the Nightlord ruling over our shadowy limbo realm -- but first, we have to survive. From the deepest mines to the highest snow-capped peaks, we clashed and slew monstrous beasts for two in-game days at a breakneck pace to stay ahead of the closing ring of blue flame. On the third day, confronting the Nightlord in its lair, we get close to defeating it with wild weapons and spells -- but win or lose, we shrug and queue up to drop once more. This is Elden Ring Nightreign, a spin-off of studio FromSoftware's phenomenally successful and notoriously difficult fantasy action-RPG game Elden Ring. Rather than spend dozens of hours exploring wide lands in a solo adventure, Nightreign takes the combat and boss structure to a co-op multiplayer setting where tight gameplay must be balanced against speed and strategy to survive each trip into the game's arena. Nightreign is a departure for FromSoftware, eschewing the slow solo explorations of its previous games in favor of fast-paced rounds building your heroes from scratch, kind of similar to battle royale shooters like Fortnite and Apex Legends. But unlike those PvP-intensive games, each Nightreign round pits the friendly squad against a map full of computer-controlled enemies, leaving players dependent on teammates to survive -- or themselves, if they're bold enough for a solo run. (Currently, players can either go it alone or queue for three-player squads.) Read more: Elden Ring Nightreign Beginner's Guide: Team Strategy, Level Goals and Survival Tips Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET Nightreign is focused, repeatable Soulslike action Nightreign ambitiously tries to see how much of an idiosyncratic yet popular game can be slimmed down and imported into a new gameplay loop. It's easy to put a hundred hours or more into Elden Ring, exploring every nook and cranny, upgrading weapons and trying out different strategies. Nightreign punishes that slow pace, requiring squads to blitz around the map, hitting specific points of interest to get as strong as they can to survive and defeat the big boss at the end of each three-day run. (Playing through three in-game days and facing the Nightlord boss at the end of a run can take 45 minutes to an hour -- or less, if you die along the way.) This approach will be catnip for fans of FromSoftware's signature tough boss combat, as it distills Elden Ring down to its core combat loop with just enough randomized surprises to somewhat refresh each run while keeping enough the same to quickly plan and alter course along a run. That makes sense, as Nightreign is directed by Junya Ishizaki, the person in charge of overseeing the combat for Elden Ring. On the surface, a lot has carried over from Elden Ring, but there are plenty of subtle refinements to make it fit fast-paced multiplayer gameplay. Player characters kit themselves out with powerful weapons and spells without worrying about stat requirements or armor. There's no fall damage, allowing players to drop from great heights to keep moving, and spirit hawks lift them in aerial routes around the map. Running up to a spiritual spring of blue fire lets you leap upward hundreds of feet in an invigorating ascent with a heavy bass sound effect -- I breeze around the map feeling fast and powerful, a hunter in a forsaken land. But there is some part of FromSoftware's spirit that's lost in Nightreign: that feeling of being dwarfed by an alien world that slowly unfolds its mysterious history as you cut your way through its cursed remains. Instead, Nightreign leans heavily on the mystique and lore built up in Elden Ring, presenting a mirror version of that well-known setting with its own limited mythology that can be revealed with optional missions. But you can just stick with the gameplay loop, and many will, turning Nightreign into a greatest hits album of fun FromSoftware moments that doesn't introduce too much that's new -- beyond designing the game around persistent squad multiplayer. Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET And the multiplayer is a joy, despite rough edges that, in true FromSoftware fashion, are unexplained or buggy in ways that the community will likely fondly rehabilitate as part of the game's charm. For instance, the game requires a lot of ascending big plateaus by hopping up misshapen steps with erratically successful ledge grabs. It's minorly frustrating, but does ratchet up the tension when you're trying to escape death or rush to a teammate's aid -- and much like the rest of FromSoftware's games, Nightreign is so tightly polished elsewhere that this slight jank, or other aspects like it, is tolerated and treated as part of its difficulty and flavor. Which is all to say that, for $40, Nightreign delivers on its vision of concentrated, easily repeatable FromSoftware action that's sure to hook the studio's die-hard fans and potentially lure other difficulty junkies who prefer quick multiplayer romps to lore-heavy solo adventures. With rogue-like novelty that rewards replaying, there's a decent blend of familiar elements and shifting map factors for fans of FromSoftware's tough gameplay to get their fix without needing to replay games they know so well. Fans of the longevity of Elden Ring and its DLC Shadows of the Erdtree should be cautioned: On top of a more narrow appeal than prior FromSoftware games, players will vary in how much replay value they'll get out of Nightreign, since there's currently only one map and a finite number of end-run bosses to tackle. The eight character classes, called Nightfarers, have varying complexity in their ability mechanics and will take players a while to master, but they'll likely spend most of their time attacking with weapons and dodging enemy blows, as in Elden Ring. There are plenty of randomized factors that mix up a run, from shifting terrain opening up new areas to "invasions" of powerful enemy computer-controlled Nightfarers. But in the 20 hours it took me to beat half the end-run bosses and kill the final boss, the single map became such a known entity that I stopped paying attention to it as anything but a race course to speed over on the way to my next task. Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET Where Elden Ring Nightreign triumphs and falters As a FromSoftware fan who can muck his way through its games in ways that nobody would describe as "dominant," Nightreign is something of a relief, as my two permanent teammates can help a lot in distracting bosses and picking me up when I make mistakes. Thanks to previewing the game earlier this year, I hit the ground running, pairing up with CNET teammates to try taking on big bosses -- and failing. But after pairing up with a very skilled Bandai Namco employee (one of many who volunteered to help reviewers like me take on bosses and finish the game), we took down some of the biggest and baddest Nightreign has to offer. There's no mistaking that I was carried by more skilled teammates, and that has me concerned for a bit of the game's flow and player skill growth. While I was used to cautiously and slowly going through FromSoftware games, my more skilled teammates flung us outbound on a speedy tour of the map zones we needed to hit to get as strong as we could. When I fell, they tanked bosses and dodged attacks to revive me. When the map's Shifting Earth conditions led to a new area, my expert teammate took us to the exact right spot to take full advantage of it -- something that might have taken plenty more runs to figure out on my own. I certainly improved over time, but it was all during rounds -- in the Roundtable hub, players return to between missions, a Sparring Grounds area lets you try out each of the eight total (six starting, two unlockable) Nightfarers' regular and ultimate skills, along with every weapon in the game. But it's a far cry from the game's high-pressure situations of boss events, enemy groups and more. Players will improve only by trial and error in the field, sometimes letting down their teammates in the process. Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET Yet, when you and your team are firing on all cylinders, there's no thrill like eking out a win over a monstrous boss. After killing a trio of end-run bosses, another reviewer, Bandai Namco employee Micah (team Cat Password all the way) and I locked in to beat the game's final boss. Shouting out congratulations over team chat, my body shaking with adrenaline, I felt like I'd completed a gaming feat -- something not unknown to many Elden Ring players after surmounting one of that game's many challenging bosses. I felt accomplished. I wanted to tell everyone, and when the game comes out, bring my friends in to play Nightreign with them, guiding as I was guided. But would I recommend my FromSoftware newcomer friends to play? Bandai Namco Who is Elden Ring Nightreign for? The more I thought about it, the more I felt my dozens of hours in Elden Ring were essential to starting Nightreign strong -- and even then, it took 20 hours in Nightreign to feel like I'd gotten a good handle on the best way to play. Knowing Elden Ring's massive arsenal of weapons and spells felt essential to picking up Nightreign and immediately having fun. New players who don't have baked-in knowledge of Elden Ring or the combat flow of FromSoftware games will probably be left in the cold. Aside from a tutorial section teaching players basic mechanics, Nightreign lacks the carefully crafted early sections of the studio's other games -- it quite literally drops players into the map for a run and tells them to get killing. The virtue of FromSoftware's single-player adventures' difficulties is that players could approach them at their own pace; in Nightreign, they must rapidly adapt to the studio's particular flavor of tough combat while also figuring out a largely unexplained world. The studio's famed minimalist storytelling will likely do a disservice to new players who die too quickly to learn. Whether they continue with the game after a humiliating defeat is, indeed, the classic trial that every FromSoftware player faces. But it sure seems like new players have a high hill to climb picking up on the game's subtly conveyed details -- map flow, enemy camps, bosses, weapons, churches, strategies -- while also figuring out how to play Soulslikes from scratch. And yet, Nightreign is so unlike every other game out there that its sheer novelty may be enough to tempt FromSoftware veterans and newcomers alike. It's polished, is easy to get into the action and has a very high skill ceiling. If players stick through its lack of direction and difficulty, they'll find a multiplayer game that feels rewarding to win in a way few other games are. And when they lose, they may find themselves like I did -- nursing annoyance that they fumbled but eager to drop in one more time with their trusted squad. Elden Ring Nightreign launches on May 30 for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One consoles for $40. Owning the original Elden Ring is not required to play this game.
CNET
2 hours ago
- CNET
Must-Play Games of 2025 So Far: Monster Hunter Wilds, Expedition 33, Assassin's Creed Shadows and More
At the start of the year, 2025 was going to be all about Grand Theft Auto 6, which had so much hype that players were already expecting it to win game of the year. That changed last month when Rockstar Games announced that its highly anticipated game would be pushed to 2026. Though this year might not have what could be the biggest game of the decade, 2025 so far has some great games from the most unlikely places. Next week brings two major events for gamers. Nintendo will launch the Switch 2 on June 5, and then on June 6, the Summer Game Fest will showcase the big games coming out later this year. Before looking at the games coming in the future, however, it's a good time to look at the games already released in 2025. There are some amazing titles worth your money and time. Sandfall Interactive Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Developed by Sandfall Interactive, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has surprised everyone with just how good it is. The turn-based roleplaying game with French influences has wowed everyone who plays it. From CNET's review: "Expedition 33 will be celebrated for its many excellences, and deservedly so. But above all, it tells an adult story about what's left for us when the future is ripped away bit by bit -- and why it's worth fighting against the inevitable anyway." Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. It's also included on Xbox Game Pass. Hazelight Studios Split Fiction Co-op games are few and far between, but Hazelight Studios is the premier developer of them. Split Fiction is the latest title from the team, and its co-op play completely surpasses any other game out there to make for a unique experience. From CNET's review: "I think it's safe to say Split Fiction is a fun game for anyone who's got another player ready to try it out. Whimsical, lighthearted, action-packed and thoughtfully made, it feels ready for any co-op team, from strangers to best friends." Split Fiction is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. Warhorse Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Developer Warhorse Studios is back with a sequel to its 2018 game Kingdom Come: Deliverance. In the follow-up, players again step into the role of swordsman Henry of Skalitz. He's still on his quest for revenge after his father died in the original game. What makes Kingdom Come so unique as an RPG is how true-to-life it is in its setting of Bohemia (now the modern-day Czech Republic) in the 1400s. Players don't use magic or have any fantastical abilities. Instead, they need to watch what they eat or else be struck with food poisoning, and they need to wash their clothes because townspeople won't talk to them if they stink. Aside from the protagonist, the locations, characters and events are accurate. Luckily, Warhorse Studios made some welcome improvements to the game to make life in the 1400s a lot of fun. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. The mansion setting of the game The Blue Prince. Dogubomb/screenshot by CNET Blue Prince A puzzle game has to be unique to be considered one of the best games of the year, and Blue Prince is definitely unique. The premise is to fill a mansion with rooms in order to find a mysterious Room 46, though the mansion rearranges its layout every day, giving players a fresh chance to discover its secrets. What follows is a mystery that slowly unravels one room at a time. From CNET's review: "Blue Prince isn't for everyone. While most of the puzzles can be solved with whatever's in the room, there are some intricate solutions afoot that could elude casual players. The mansion's shifting layout and unpredictable room choices can make progress uneven -- or even bring it to a halt if luck isn't on your side. But it's by far one of the most unique games I've played in years, and a true treat for puzzle fiends and mystery fans." Blue Prince is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. It's also included on Xbox Game Pass. Capcom Monster Hunter Wilds Monster Hunter Wilds from Capcom is the latest in a long-running franchise of beloved third-person action games. As it says in the title, players need to hunt monsters, and those beasts come in all sizes. After more than two decades, Capcom may've developed the best Monster Hunter game ever. In this entry, players set foot in the Forbidden Lands, which is filled with unique creatures. Capcom made a slew of upgrades to the game's formula, from quality of life improvements, such as carrying a second weapon and being able to set up camps, to creating a huge open world where the monsters are bigger than ever. Monster Hunter Wilds is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. It's also included on Xbox Game Pass. id Software Doom: The Dark Ages The Doom franchise made its return in 2016, and it's back with the third game in this new era, Doom: The Dark Ages. The Doomslayer is back, and players will finally learn what happened to the hero when he left Earth to fight the hordes of demons in Hell. From CNET's review: "All the new additions Id Software introduced in Doom: The Dark Ages are welcome changes to keep a franchise that's been around for more than three decades feeling fresh." Doom: The Dark Ages is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. It's also included on Xbox Game Pass. Ubisoft Assassin's Creed Shadows Fans of the Assassin's Creed series have been demanding a game set in Japan, and they got it with Shadows. This time around there are two heroes who, to prevail in feudal Japan, will have to contend with military power and unseen forces pulling at the strings. From CNET's review: "Ubisoft has found what could be the new formula for the franchise, and it will hopefully retool this formula to keep future titles fresh for players. Some diehard fans may find Shadows to be a bit too action-oriented and less stealthy than previous games in the series, but I feel there's still enough of the original formula in this game to satisfy them, as well as those who want to just use a big ol' sword to chop some heads." Assassin's Creed Shadows is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. Microsoft The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered A surprise game this year was the return of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The remastered version of the game seemingly came out of nowhere, and with it came a flood of fond memories for gamers. Oblivion was released back in 2006, and the remastered version keeps all the important details in place, adding a fresh coat of paint with new graphics as well as more modern controls and quality of life improvements. It's visually impressive while also being faithful to the original, and new and old players simply love it. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. It's also included on Xbox Game Pass. Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii The Yakuza franchise's spin-off, Like a Dragon, has its own spin-off. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a new adventure featuring a mainstay character for the franchise, Goro Majima, and it answers the age-old question, How do you make a Yakuza game even better? Just add pirates. From CNET's review: "Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii is a fun, light jaunt that benefits from the idiosyncrasies of its specific setup. Rather than telling a story about modern piracy, the game brings cannon-firing pirate ships, crew-on-crew deck melees and buried treasure hunts into modernity without any pesky logical explanation. The game's bizarre mashup energy is its strength, amplified by Sega's Ryu Ga Gotoku studio's signature blend of sincere character moments and wacky hijinks." Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is available on PS5, PC and Xbox Series consoles.
