I want to start this by saying something very clearly. I am a Fromsoftware cuck. I love this studio more than I probably should. I have played everything they have put out in the last fifteen years. I adored Demon’s Souls when it first hit the PlayStation 3. I sank hundreds of hours into Dark Souls and yes even Dark Souls II, which many people consider the weakest of the trilogy, still holds a very special place in my heart. I replayed Bloodborne three times in a single year. I think Sekiro is a mechanical masterpiece that deserved its Game of the Year award. And Elden Ring may genuinely be one of my favourite games of all time. So when I say that Nightreign might be the worst game Fromsoftware has ever made, I say it with the most painful honesty possible. I am not a hater. I am not some outsider parachuting in to trash a legendary developer. I am someone who has defended them endlessly, even through their roughest design choices, and I am stunned that Nightreign feels the way it does.
Let us start with what Nightreign was supposed to be. After Elden Ring’s massive success, it was clear Fromsoftware wanted to try something different but still adjacent to their strengths. They leaned into a darker, almost gothic horror aesthetic, with a heavy emphasis on night-time exploration, oppressive atmospheres, and more supernatural enemies than ever before. The trailers promised a mix between Bloodborne’s haunting mood and Elden Ring’s expansive world design. On paper this should have been a dream come true for someone like me. Instead it has turned out to be a confused, unfocused, and strangely lifeless experience.
The first major issue is the world itself. Fromsoftware usually excels at environmental storytelling. Think about the crumbling ruins of Anor Londo, the oppressive poison swamps of Blighttown, or the windswept cliffs of Ashina. These are places that tell stories through their architecture and geography. Nightreign’s world feels barren not in the haunting way but in the empty and unpolished way. There are long stretches of terrain where nothing happens. No enemies, no meaningful loot, no hidden secrets. Just space. This would not be such a problem if the world was beautiful, but even graphically Nightreign looks surprisingly dull compared to Elden Ring. The darkness that should create tension and atmosphere mostly just looks like poor lighting design.
The second issue is the combat. Fromsoftware combat is often about precision, timing, and mastery. Even when you are frustrated, you always feel like you can get better and overcome the challenge. Nightreign takes a strange turn by slowing everything down. Your attacks feel weighty but sluggish, the dodge rolls have an almost unbearable recovery time, and enemy attack patterns often feel cheap rather than challenging. Bosses in particular cross the line into tedious. Instead of learning a moveset and adapting, you often find yourself waiting for small openings after excessively long wind-ups. It feels more like waiting out an opponent than engaging in a duel of skill. As someone who mastered Sekiro’s deflect system, I cannot overstate how bloody boring this feels by comparison.
Then there is the progression system. Normally Fromsoftware games strike a brilliant balance between linear growth and freedom of choice. In Dark Souls you could build a dexterity bleed monster or a faith buff paladin. In Elden Ring you could respec and experiment freely. Nightreign cuts away much of that freedom. The stats are stripped down, builds are more limited, and gear upgrades feel locked behind frustrating grind loops. Instead of encouraging experimentation, the game seems to punish it. You are nudged toward very narrow playstyles and punished if you dare to stray. For a developer famous for rewarding creative problem solving, this feels almost insulting.
I also need to talk about the story presentation. Fromsoftware games are famous for their cryptic lore. People love piecing together item descriptions, NPC dialogues, and environmental clues. Nightreign feels like it leaned so hard into obscurity that it fell flat on its face. The plot is nearly incomprehensible, not in the exciting puzzle sense, but in the incoherent sense. Characters mumble about shadows and eternal nights with no real context. Important events are buried in cutscenes that feel unfinished. There is a difference between mysterious and nonsensical. Nightreign lands firmly in the latter.
Now I can already hear the counter arguments. Fromsoftware fans, myself included, are notorious for defending the studio at all costs. Some will say the game is misunderstood. Some will insist the community will eventually piece together the deep lore and that I am being impatient. Others will claim that the combat is simply “different” and that people need to relearn their habits. But I have been here before. I defended Dark Souls II when most of the internet was tearing it apart. I defended the Chalice Dungeons in Bloodborne. I even defended the often-maligned Blighttown framerate on the original PS3. I am as ride-or-die as it gets. And yet I cannot find it in myself to defend Nightreign.
There are glimmers of what could have been. Some enemy designs are haunting in the best way. The first time you see a Wraithwalker materialise out of the mist it genuinely feels like a nightmare pulled into reality. The soundtrack, while underused, does have moments of brilliance, particularly in boss battles. And the concept of a world trapped in eternal night is genuinely compelling. But all of these are sparks buried under a mountain of ash. The brilliance is suffocated by the poor design decisions.
What hurts the most is how avoidable this feels. Fromsoftware has shown again and again that they know how to build worlds, systems, and challenges that resonate deeply with players. Elden Ring set a new standard for open world design. Sekiro redefined what precision combat could feel like. Bloodborne created one of the most unforgettable gothic horror experiences in gaming. And even Dark Souls II, as flawed as it was, offered variety, ambitious level design, and memorable boss encounters. Nightreign feels like the studio forgot its own lessons.
I think the ultimate problem is that Nightreign does not seem to know what it wants to be. It is not an open world like Elden Ring. It is not a tight, focused experience like Sekiro. It is not a lore-rich gothic adventure like Bloodborne. It borrows pieces of each but fails to commit to any. The result is a muddled, directionless game that does not capture the magic of its predecessors.
As someone who has spent over a decade defending and celebrating Fromsoftware, it feels almost like betrayal to say this. But I have to be honest. I think Nightreign might be the worst game Fromsoftware has ever made. It is not unplayable. It is not broken. But it is deeply disappointing. And disappointment from a studio you love hurts more than outright failure.
Maybe patches will fix some of the pacing issues. Maybe expansions will flesh out the lore. Maybe the community will find creative ways to enjoy what is here. But as of right now, standing as a lifelong Fromsoftware cuck who has loved even their roughest releases, I cannot recommend Nightreign. It feels like the one time my favourite studio truly lost its way.
And that, more than anything, is why this is so painful to admit.