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17 hours ago
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What Elden Ring Nightreign's First-Time Director Learned from Miyazaki
The first developer name that comes to your mind when I say "Souls" series is very likely Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director of the Dark Souls series, Sekiro, Bloodborne, and of course, Elden Ring. But Nightreign marks the second time in the series the director baton is being passed to another: Junya Ishizaki. During my visit to FromSoftware's office in Japan, I got to sit down to talk with Ishizaki-san about what it's like sitting in the director's chair, dig into some of the more unique design decisions Nightreign brings to the table, and learn a little more about the origins of this Elden Ring spin-off. In a previous interview you had said that you brought the idea for Nightreign to Miyazaki-san who gave you the green light. Was the initial pitch for Nightreign close to what was ultimately made or did anything change between the conception and the execution of the idea? Junya Ishizaki - Director of Elden Ring: Nightreign: The general concept we planned didn't change a great deal from what we initially pitched to Miyazaki, but during the course of development we've had a lot of input from other staff, ideas and concerns and all that sort of thing, which we've managed to take and incorporate into the game in exciting ways that kind of went beyond the initial concept. So talking about some of that feedback, you guys had a Closed Network Test. Can you talk a little bit about how that helped you inform development for Nightreign and what lessons you learned from people playing the test? Of course, game balance was a large part of it. Balancing and tweaking the game difficulty is always a large challenge when it comes to these games, along with responding to user feedback and incorporating that into the game as well. So we're continuing to look at that, but it was generally interesting to see player behavior, and get some good feedback from how players played the game and interacted with the systems. And also there's a lot of new rules and a lot of new systems in this new game design of Nightreign. So it was important to see how players gave us feedback to that and how we could make the onboarding process and explain those new systems better for them when the game comes out. Can you talk about what it's been like jumping into the director's seat for this project? And did you get any advice from Miyazaki in terms of how to approach directing a video game? As director, my feeling was essentially: I've just got to do this, I've got to put my all into it. It was me who brought the initial idea forward, so it's obviously something I wanted to do, but I realized that I would need the resolve to see it through to completion or see it through to the end. In terms of advice from Miyazaki — well this wasn't just from Miyazaki but other directors at From — the one that stuck with me and etched into my mind was that a director shouldn't hold back. So, on the day-to-day process of making games, something that maybe I would've given a pass to would not get through so easily as director. I'd have to be a bit more critical, put a bit more discipline on myself to really take a good look at these things and decide the best way forward for the whole project. Going back to that previous interview, you had said before that you can only play Nightreign either as a solo player or in a group of three. If you play in a group of two, then it matchmakes the third person. Can you talk a little bit about why there's no option for just a pair of players to drop into a match together? The simple answer is that this is simply something that was overlooked during development as just a two-player option, so we're very sorry about that. As we said before, we set out to make this a multiplayer co-op game for three players, balanced for three players, so that was the main focus and it's at the core of Nightreign. Of course, I myself as a player understand that and often want times where I'm just playing myself, so this is something that we considered from the start. And so we did put a lot of effort into creating this experience that was playable for solo players in as much as the rules and new systems allowed. So in putting all our efforts into that aspect, we kind of overlooked and neglected the duos aspect, but this is something that we are looking at and considering for post-launch support as well. Talking a little bit about that solo experience, can you explain how the game scales down the difficulty? Are there any unique things that happen when you're playing as a solo player versus playing in a squad? Seeing as this game is built around three players, we understand the concerns of those solo players, but essentially a lot of the time in Nightreign you will be acting and behaving on your own. Even in a group as three, you'll be going off and challenging different areas of the map and collecting different things before you accumulate together at the boss fight. So solo play is generally encouraged and is a natural part of the game loop, but also in general for those solo players — and this might be something that's difficult to notice in multiplayer — but the activeness and aggressiveness of enemies towards any one single player has been adjusted so that you don't find yourself in any unreasonable multi-foe fights. And just generally, when you're playing single player, the parameters adjust dynamically depending on the number of players in that session. So we hope that this will alleviate that feeling somewhat. Of course there are no revives when you're solo, there are no teammates to revive you, so it is definitely a more challenging thing for the player to face. But we have also incorporated a self-revive feature which is possible to discover around the map just to allow them some more chances to continue that learning of the patterns and learning of the bosses without having to restart all over again. Switching gears a bit to the story of Nightreign, can you set the stage and talk about how this game fits into Elden Ring's lore? Nightreign shares essentially the base setting and the world of Elden Ring, but it's played out on a different stage so to speak. So there's this concept called the Night Lord, which is a sort of abstract phenomenon or calamity that has befallen the lands between in this alternate timeline and much like a real-life calamity, it's something that it's not done by design or intention, it's just something that has occurred naturally and it's befallen the lands between and it needed some sort of opposition. It needs something to oppose it and that opposition comes in the form of the Nightfarers who are these warriors who are entrusted with the fate of opposing and defeating the Nightlord and putting a stop to this terrible calamity. One of the things that I got to find out while I've been here is the way the story plays out over the course of a variety of remembrances. Can you talk a little bit about the decision to make the story of Nightreign come out through these individual character storylines versus a more traditional style of telling the story with a beginning, middle, and end? So as mentioned just now of course we have this phenomenon called the Night Lord and this calamity has brought these Nightfaring warriors together for the purpose of fulfilling the prophecy of defeating the Night Lord. So these are different characters from different times and different cultures who have been brought together to face this calamity, but that's not their sole objective. They each have their own aims and their own motivations and their own anguishes that they are grappling with. We hope that players will enjoy exploring and unraveling each of these aspects, unraveling more of their character backstories and find some attachment to each character. This time of course, players aren't creating their own character, so we hopefully have incorporated a lot of elements that give them a lot of character and give them a lot of room to explore and find their favorites among them. Obviously, this was designed as a co-op PVE kind of experience, but PVP has always been a big part of the FromSoft RPG lineage. Was PVP ever something that was considered like having your squad being able to invade another squad's world or anything like that? From the start, PVP was not something that we very actively considered for Nightreign. We wanted it to be a co-op multiplayer experience at its core and we found that as we developed these character actions and these unique abilities for each character, balancing them and tweaking them around PVP as well proved to be very… Not only very difficult, but took away from those ideas and that scope that we'd established for each of these characters. So we really wanted the focus to be on PVE and on co-op, and so we knew where our priorities were. So no, we didn't consider PVP in Nightreign. Kind of drilling into the whole balance aspect, can you talk about how strict your approach to balancing has been and how the approach differs from something more single-player focused like base Elden Ring that also has those PVP elements? For more solo play oriented games such as Elden Ring, of course we're taking a lot of things into account such as the stages, how the enemies are laid out and designed, the wide breadth of player builds and equipment as well. So this time the approach is a little bit different and we are trying to cater to a fun experience with three people. So making sure the experience is fun at its core with a group of three, but it also doesn't collapse if it's a solo player as well. So combined with the new character actions that we brought in for each of the Nightfarers and for each of these new bosses, for example Gladius, I believe you faced yesterday or today's session, these are bosses as well that have been tuned and balanced for party play, for solo, for three play co-op. So this was an important aspect of the balancing approach for Nightreign. Speaking of those bosses, it seems like the difficulty of the bosses compared to something like Elden Ring has kind of jumped up — the bosses deal a lot more damage, they take a lot more hits, presumably being balanced because due to the nature of having three players in a squad. Did you have an idea in mind of what might be too difficult for base Elden Ring, but just right for Nightreign? So with the general rule set of Nightreign being this, or rather, the structure being this three day/night cycle, we wanted the boss fight at the end, this culmination of everything, to reflect the player, what they've learned and what they've established during that time. So this was an important aspect of the balance. You don't get a lot of room to breathe maybe that you do in Elden Ring where you have a lot of time to build up and go back to a boss. But instead you have this quite comparatively strict structure with the three days and nights to prepare. And so that was an important aspect of balancing these bosses. They are supposed to be very imposing, and challenging, and fearsome when you face them, but after some time and some learning and some observation, you'll be able to defeat them at the end of this three day and night cycle. So that was a large part of it was creating that balance between the structure and that culminates in a fun and exciting boss fight itself.A big aspect of FromSoft's prior games is the post-game: New Game Plus, and other post-game challenges that await you even after you complete the game. Does Nightreign have something like that waiting for players after they defeat the eight Nightlords? We have incorporated some post-game or end-game features for players once they've gone through all of the Nightlords. I first want to stress that to get to that point, we feel that there is enough content there to satisfy users in general, so to get through each of those Nightlords and use each of these characters and experiment with the game as a whole. But beyond that, you have the unlocking relics, new relic rites to experiment even more with the character builds. You have these elements that you will be accumulating as you proceed through the game, such as the relics and the character stories and scenarios, but there's no time limit on these at all. There's no limit to how much the player can explore and how long they take. So we hope that these elements will give them a little extra bump to go past the end game and explore a bit more of what the game has to offer. Did you ever consider making Nightreign a free-to-play game instead of it being a premium priced experience? And can you talk a little bit about the decision to put a price tag on it when so much of the competition in the multiplayer space is free-to-play these days? Free-to-play was one consideration, but given the time and the budget and the workforce that we had and the ideas that we were developing with our staff that we were cultivating, we felt that the best course of action for Nightreign was to release it as a non-full price but also not full play title. So we hope that there's enough content there that justifies this purchase and that players will get to experience everything it has to offer. And finally, is there anything that you're really happy about and are particularly proud of with regards to what you accomplished with Nightreign? It's a bit of a broad summary, but I'm just generally pleased that we managed to take this game from its initial concept to its implementation and develop it as in terms of the vision that I initially had from that three day and night structure to the way that players come together and sort of converge in this condensed RPG system and to fight against that boss together, this was a strong idea that I had and I knew that it would go well that if we could implement it properly and I know that games are, when they take shape, it's a bit of a miracle in itself, so I'm extremely thankful to the team and I'm extremely pleased that we managed to realize this concept to its completion. So yes, that's definitely something I'm very proud of. [Editor's Note: This article previously mentioned that this was the first time that the baton of director had been passed from Hidetaka Miyazaki to another. It has been corrected to mention that it's actually the second time, with Yui Tanimura and Tomohiro Shibuya co-directing Dark Souls 2. We apologize for the error.] Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial producer at IGN. You can find him on twitter @JurassicRabbit
Metro
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Elden Ring Nightreign is From's worst-rated game in years
FromSoftware's multiplayer Elden Ring spin-off has hit over 300,000 players on Steam, but it's proving a divisive experience. Elden Ring Nightreign launched today around the world and while it doesn't necessarily play to developer FromSoftware's strengths, it has had a strong start on Steam (its success on consoles is much harder to track). As recorded on SteamDB, the co-op multiplayer spin-off has hit a concurrent player peak of 313,593 within its first day on Steam. This is significantly lower than Elden Ring's overall peak of 953,426 players, but it's pretty good for a lower profile and lower budget game. At the time of writing, Elden Ring Nightreign is the fifth most played game on the platform, behind Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, PUBG, and er… Bongo Cat. However, not everyone is happy with the experience so far, and it's already become FromSoftware's lowest rated title on Steam. As of May 30, Elden Ring Nightreign has a 'mixed' rating on Steam, with only 66% of 9,000+ reviews being positive. This is technically the lowest of all FromSoftware's available PC games (if we aren't counting the delisted Ninja Blade), although technically DLC The Ashes Of Ariandel for Dark Souls 3 is lower at 59% rating. Many of the negative reviews for Elden Ring Nightreign have highlighted the lack of voice chat, the absence of duos mode, and the minimal variety during runs as particular sore points. 'I hate to say it, but I think we've finally see a bit of a miss from FromSoftware,' one user review reads. 'One that I think is still salvageable, and really could be turned into a much more interesting game – but as it is right now, it's got a bit more bad than good going for it.' However, some are seeing the positives even if they do come with caveats. 'Super fun game,' another review reads. 'Your enjoyment will most likely be based on your teammates and how good your communication is.' In terms of critical response, Nightreign is currently at 77 on Metacritic, which isn't a disaster but is well below that of any of From's other major titles, since they hit the big time with Dark Souls in 2011. The only games to score lower are experimental VR title Déraciné and a suite of mech games, including Armored Core 5, in 2012. More Trending Speaking in an interview with IGN earlier this month, the director behind Elden Ring Nightreign, Junya Ishizaki, said they are considering adding a two-player mode post-launch, so there's a chance some of these issues could be fixed further down the line. The big question is whether Elden Ring Nightreign will attract a dedicated player base in the coming months to make these updates worthwhile, or if it's simply riding the popularity of Elden Ring. This multiplayer experiment, which many suspect started life as Elden Ring DLC, is perhaps also a test for FromSoftware's next multiplayer offering: The Duskbloods. The PvPvE game is set to be released next year as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Hell Is Us hands-on preview: 'AAA games are so bloody bland' MORE: Cyberpunk 2 release date narrowed down as production ramps up MORE: Xbox handheld delayed claims report as Microsoft refocuses on Windows
Metro
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Games Inbox: Are you getting a Nintendo Switch 2 next week?
The Friday letters worries about what Elden Ring Nightreign means for The Duskbloods, as one reader fears for the future of Codemasters. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ The big decision If this is shown on Thursday we'll be exactly a week away from the Nintendo Switch 2 launch and I still haven't decided whether I want it or not. Ignoring the problem of whether you can find one or not I'm still not decided. It's a lot of money and I'm not really interested in anything this year but Mario Kart and Metroid Prime 4. Admittedly, they probably will be two amazing games but it's always difficult with a new console, knowing when to pull the trigger and trying to be strong enough to resist the fear of missing out. My gut feeling is that I'll cave in within the next couple of days, but I guess I'll see. I do wish Nintendo would reveal more about Metroid Prime 4 though, as I feel we haven't heard much about it yet. If we had more info/footage I'd feel a bit more confident about spending all that money for a day one purchase. Spooner Bad omen I'm not surprised to see the mostly negative reviews for Elden Ring Nightreign, from the more reliable sources, and I agree that it must've started out as DLC. I can't be too angry, because it's at least not too expensive, but it does harm FromSoftware's reputation and seems to overall be a waste of time. More than that though, it makes me worry about The Duskbloods. I'm sure that's a bigger budget affair but some of the problems with Nightreign, like needing a super skilled and committed team to play with, are not things that can be fixed with more budget, they're just fundamentally bad ideas brought on by From's dedication to difficult games. That's fine when you're only wasting your own time, but I don't see how it's ever going to work in multiplayer if you're working in a team. I guess we'll see but I don't have a good feeling about it. Tacle Change of plans It's felt like EA has wanted to back out of making these Marvel games almost as soon as they got the licence. I bet the only reason they're carrying on with the Iron Man one is because it's further along, and the games industry is a big believer in the sunk cost fallacy. Although, to be fair, the Black Panther plot did sound pretty bad. T'Challa has been kidnapped by Skrulls and you have to play as a bunch of other people, including his son. But… why? Why couldn't they just do a normal story with you playing as him? It's not like the character has been removed from the comics, it's only the MCU where it's a problem. Or maybe that was a genius set-up and we'll just never know. If I was anyone at EA working on a licensed game though, I'd be polishing up my CV right about now, because the second the third Star Wars Jedi game is done they're going to jettison all those people into space too. So you can forget all your hopes about Battlefield 3. Hanson Email your comments to: gamecentral@ Disobeying orders I have received an email from GAME saying my Switch 2 order has been cancelled as payment 'was not able to complete successfully'. So initially I think, did I enter my details incorrectly? But no, I did enter the details correctly, so all a bit odd. I checked and it appears this is happening to other GAME pre-orders as well. GAME would not have been my first choice for pre-order, and I am aware of their HQ closing, but they were one of the few retailers with stock when I ordered. Silly me, yes. GAME's online help is useless, and I can't even get into my account with GAME to review the order, so assume it is now cancelled. Have any other GC readers had their pre-orders cancelled by GAME? Mawgan PS: Just an update – GAME have posted on their Facebook and Twitter feeds about the (what looks like) widespread cancellation of Switch 2 pre-orders. GC: Yep, unfortunately it's a pretty widespread problem. Second edition I am interested in getting Fantasy Life i and whilst it seems to be getting a good reception, I haven't seen any reviews from websites I trust. Will you guys be reviewing it? I find your reviews the most informative and always use them when weighing up a new gaming purchase. I am considering getting Fantast Life i as a Switch 2 launch title but was hoping to read your thoughts before committing. Separately, I can't believe it's only a week until the Switch 2 launch now. I got my pre-order in early from Amazon and I am very excited to play Mario Kart World, as well as the hopefully many other great Nintendo games to come over the next few years. Pigfish2 (PSN ID/NN ID) GC: Thank you. If we get a chance we'll try and look at the Switch 2 Edition, but it's not actually confirmed to be a launch title in the UK yet – even though we suspect it will be. Double launch I really think we have to be ultra conservative when it comes to expectations about Nintendo at Sumer Game Fest. In my opinion, the chances of them showing anything at a Geoff Keighley event when they'll probably have their own a week later is minuscule. The worst thing is that everyone is going to get worked up into imagining all these amazing new reveals and the 'secret Christmas game' and then blame Nintendo for not announcing it, even though they never promised anything. I agree that the most likely outcome will be nothing but a montage and a bit of on-stage banter. If we're really lucky we'll get a hint at a new game for next year but nothing else. They're not going to announce a big new game out of nowhere for this year because there's not the time to build up the hype for it and, most importantly, they'll still be pushing Mario Kart World by the time it gets to Christmas. June is a weird time to launch a console for a reason. Very few people are spending money on consoles at that time of the year so really this autumn is going to be the second launch of the Switch 2 and there's no need to complicate that with another big game, when most non-gamers will barely, if it all, be aware the console exists until they start thinking about presents for the year. Casper Physical treasureJust a quick message to say Metro Redux 2033 is free on Xbox until May 30th. It is not currently free on PlayStation Store, unfortunately. Andrew J. PS: Just seen recently you can pre-order Another Crab's Treasure physical version on Amazon and iam8bit. I've been waiting to pick this up on physical for PlayStation 5, after GameCentral's good review of the game a while back. I'm in danger So it sounds like Codemasters is going to shut down by EA, just a few years after they outbid Take-Two for them, for a $1.2 billion. So… what was the point of that? I imagine the Codemasters' driving games are pretty consistent in sales – they're always high quality and the audience is always there – so what was EA expecting? What it probably means is that Codies has just been sacrificed to ensure EA's graphs keep pointing up (there was already talk about 'growth' in the story) after EA Sports FC 25 and Apex Legends didn't do so well. You don't need me to tell you how shortsighted and dumb this is but what happens next year when they also need to show growth? They keep doing it and they'll soon have no one left to make any of their games. They already publish far fewer than they used to, so if something big like EA Sports FC even just underperforms the whole company is in trouble, as we see. Ubisoft are already on the edge of the cliff, EA are going to be half the size they used to be if they keep this up… the truth is the triple-A video games business is dying and it's so far gone I don't think anything can help it now. Imagine a future where the only independent publisher is Take-Two, because they've got GTA, and everyone else is either owned by someone else or is basically an indie publisher. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad in itself but just look how far we've fallen! Focus Inbox also-ransMaybe I've missed something but why is it called Pokémon Legends: Z-A? Seems a pretty bad name to me, if no one knows what it means. Ansel GC: We don't think they've ever said exactly but it seems to be to do with tournament ranking (starting at Z and going up to A) and as a reference to the legendary pokémon Zygarde. Little heads up but Hasbro are releasing a line of figures based on Marvel characters from Marvel Vs. Capcom and they look dead on. No Capcom characters but you should be able to find plenty of them in the same scale. Gorf More Trending Email your comments to: gamecentral@ The small print New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers' letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content. You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader's Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot. You can also leave your comments below and don't forget to follow us on Twitter. MORE: Games Inbox: When will the new Tomb Raider be revealed? MORE: Games Inbox: What review score will Mario Kart Worlds get? MORE: Games Inbox: Are video games too expensive on console and PC?
Metro
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Elden Ring Nightreign review
FromSoftware transforms Elden Ring into a co-op roguelite that turns everything you know about the game upside down. We're more convinced than ever that Nightreign must have started off as DLC for 2022's Elden Ring. Developer FromSoftware's post-launch plans for the game evolved quite a bit and ultimately the only paid-for DLC was Shadow Of The Erdtree. All of From's Soulslike games have included co-op, so focusing Nightreign purely on multiplayer is not much of a stretch for them, even if it's not necessarily what most fans were hoping for from a new game. The Duskbloods for Nintendo Switch 2 proves that this is not a one-off experiment but while that title is being built from the ground up, as an entirely new IP, Nightreign is much less expansive in scope. It's a roguelite that jams together randomised section of the original game (actually, just the Limgrave area) to make new maps, as you face off against new and old enemies, using both familiar and brand-new weapons and abilities. If it had stayed as DLC it would have been welcomed as a clever reuse of existing assets but as a mid-budget standalone game its flaws are brought into sharper focus. There's a reasonable chance this will be the last Elden Ring game, at least for some time, but inevitably there's no sense of closure or any real explanation for what's going on. The storytelling is much more limited than the parent game and technically the whole thing takes part in a different reality, so it's not clear that any of it is even really canon. A successful run will take around 45 minutes and begins with you selecting which Nightlord boss you want to take on. Your quest takes place over three days, with the boss battle being the whole of the final one. The other two have you exploring and levelling up as quickly as possible, trying to find the best weapons and armour, and taking on mini-bosses to try and acquire runes to spend on levelling up. The explorable area shrinks, Fortnite style, in the second day, as you focus your exploration on specific points of interest, that are clearly labelled on the map. The obvious intention is to try and encapsulate the whole of Elden Ring with a single run, although the minimal amount of time available means that everything is very rushed and often extremely simplified compared to the parent game. Nightreign can be played on your own, and we're sure some smartass will soon be demonstrating how they beat it all while only using a saxophone and a dance mat. For mere mortals though the game is far too difficult to ever consider playing on your own. Although the problem is not just that it's hard, but that it's horribly unbalanced if you don't have two other people with you – especially as there's no one to revive you if you die. That's not really a fault – the game makes it perfectly clear that it expects you to be playing it as a three-player co-op experience – but what is a problem is how difficult it is to get a capable team together and keep them focused long enough to get anywhere. Most people end up playing Elden Ring for hundreds of hours, carefully exploring and learning, often through trial and error, how to overcome enemies – as well as the tells and weakness of bosses. That takes commitment and so does Nightreign, so when one of your team suddenly decides it's time for their dinner, or just happens to be off their game, suddenly progress for everyone comes to a halt. FromSoftware is known for purposefully making things difficult for players but the lack of cross-play and the inability to play with just two people (the game will find you someone random to fill in the third slot) is just perverse. So too is the lack of any in-built voice chat option – in a game that practically demands it. The requirement for three highly skilled players, all with plenty of time on their hands, is unreasonable and yet From seem to acknowledge this, given much of the game's design is an attempt to artificially reduce the time commitment. Neightreign encourages speed and aggression at all times, but that's the complete opposite of the original game and none of the existing systems are set up to work that way. In terms of combat, Nightreign is essentially identical to the original, but other aspects are awkwardly truncated, such as the automatic levelling up and the fact that, since Torrent isn't part of the game, you can now awkwardly run up vertical cliffs instead (From's next game is in desperate need of a proper mantling ability, that doesn't look like you've broken the game by merely trying to climb a wall). Some of the new features are more welcome though, with the new class-based characters working very well, since they all have unique abilities of their own. The Wylder, for example, has a grappling hook that lets you yank lesser enemies towards you, jump towards bigger foes, or just shoot yourself forward. The Executor is also interesting, as they don't play like an Elden Ring character at all, but instead have a parrying technique that's very similar to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Each class also has their own story objectives, called remembrances, that can earn you extra powerful relics, which can be kept between runs and confer various bonuses and special abilities. You also get these if you beat a run, but they're randomly distributed and can often be for a class type you're not using at the time. More Trending In perfect conditions, Nightreign is a very enjoyable game, with a full suite of excellent bosses that are very original and all of which require unique strategies. Although even this underlines the game's inherent flaws, as the bosses are clearly designed to be taken on by three people, often in specific roles – such as attracting aggro or long range support – and if your teammates don't play their role effectively then there's close to zero chance of you persevering on your own. On top of that, there's the inevitable fact that the whole thing gets very repetitive, worryingly quickly. The bosses are great but there's only eight of them and having to start again if you all die becomes increasingly frustrating, as the novelty of battling through the first two days begins to fade. It's hard not to think that Nightreign just isn't a very good idea and while From has forced it to work, even when it's firing on all cylinders it still feels janky and contrived. Some people are going to love it – especially those who have easy access to talented teammates – but for most ordinary players Elden Ring Nightreign seems like one unreasonable demand too many, in terms of both their time and patience. In Short: FromSoftware struggle to force the square peg of Elden Ring into the round hole of a co-op roguelite, and while they just about manage to make it work the whole game feels like only a half-successful experiment. Pros: The core gameplay and combat of Elden Ring is as entertaining as ever and the boss battles are excellent, even for a From game. As usual, the art design is superb and the class types work well. Cons: Turning Elden Ring into a fast-paced roguelite just doesn't seem like a good idea, especially given how difficult it is to put together an effective team. Quickly becomes repetitive and the wall jumping is embarrassingly bad. Score: 6/10 Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PCPrice: £34.99Publisher: Bandai NamcoDeveloper: FromSoftwareRelease Date: 30th May 2025 Age Rating: 16 Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Persona 4 remake is happening as actor reveals he was rejected by Atlus MORE: Pokémon Legends: Z-A release date announced with Switch 2 upgrades MORE: Apple to rival Switch 2 launch with new gaming app
Business Upturn
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Upturn
From Season 4: Release date speculation, cast and plot details – Everything we know so far
By Aman Shukla Published on May 24, 2025, 18:30 IST Last updated May 24, 2025, 11:39 IST The chilling sci-fi horror series From has kept audiences on the edge of their seats since its debut in 2022. With its gripping narrative, eerie atmosphere, and a mysterious town that traps its residents, the show has become a standout on MGM+. After the shocking Season 3 finale, fans are eagerly awaiting From Season 4. Here's everything we know so far about the release date, cast, plot details, and more. Release Date Speculation for From Season 4 From has been a consistent performer, releasing a new season each year since its 2022 premiere. However, 2025 will mark the first year without a new season, as Season 4 is expected to debut in early 2026. According to executive producers Jeff Pinkner and John Griffin, filming is set to begin in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 2025 and will likely continue until the holidays, pushing the premiere to early 2026. While Pinkner expressed hope for a 2025 release, Griffin clarified that early 2026 is more realistic due to the production timeline. From Season 4 Expected Cast While an official cast list for Season 4 is yet to be confirmed, several key actors are expected to return based on their characters' survival in Season 3 and their significance to the story. The show's central figure, Boyd Stevens, played by Harold Perrineau, is all but guaranteed to return as the town's reluctant leader. Perrineau's pivotal role was highlighted in a promotional video for the Season 4 renewal, where he pulled a message from the show's iconic Bottle Tree. Other likely returning cast members include: Catalina Sandino Moreno as Tabitha Matthews, whose arc as a reincarnated version of Miranda is central to Season 4's plot. Hannah Cheramy as Julie Matthews, who explored time-travel in Season 3. Simon Webster as Ethan Matthews, Tabitha's son. David Alpay as Jade, revealed to be a reincarnation of Christopher, setting up a major storyline with Tabitha. Elizabeth Saunders as Donna, a key figure in the town's survival. Corteon Moore as Ellis and Pegah Ghafoori as Fatima, who survived Season 3's dramatic events. Ricky He as Kenny, Chloe Van Landschoot as Kristi, and Scott McCord as Victor, all of whom are expected to continue their roles. From Season 4 Potential Plot From Season 3 ended with a heartbreaking finale, leaving fans with more questions than answers. The death of Jim Matthews at the hands of the mysterious Man in Yellow (Douglas E. Hughes) introduced a new threat that can strike during the day, unlike the show's nocturnal monsters. This development raises the stakes for the town's residents, who may find their protective talismans ineffective against this new villain. Creator John Griffin hinted that Season 4 marks 'a new journey' after the 'end of the beginning' in Season 3. The season is expected to dive deeper into the town's mysteries, particularly the cyclical nature of its horrors. Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
