If FromSoft's Elden Ring Nightreign gamble pays off, the next step is clear

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Perhaps the most surprising high-profile reveal at The Game Awards in 2024 was The Night Realm of the Elden Ringa standalone, cooperative roguelike set in an alternate version of the Elden Ring universe. But it's not just based on Elden Ring universe, it seems, as creatures and characters from Dark souls they also popped up Nocturnal kingdom trailer, raising important questions about the nature of both IPs' lore.

Needless to say The Night Realm of the Elden Ring It's a bit of a risky project for FromSoftware, but the developer is no stranger to this: most of what FromSoftware has done since Demon Souls it was risky somehow. What's interesting, however, is the broad impact this could have on FromSoftware and the gaming industry as a whole, as this co-op adventure spin-off full of crossover content has a lot of potential. Assuming this potential is realized and this gamble doesn't fall through, which is certainly a possibility, FromSoftware's next steps could be obvious.

Triforce of the Night Realm of the Elden Ring

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The Zelda series should look closely at Elden Ring Nightreign

FromSoftware is taking a bold step with Elden Ring Nightreign, and this move could serve to inspire the next steps of The Legend of Zelda.

FromSoftware could apply the Elden Ring Nightreign concept to other IPs

Much of the why The Night Realm of the Elden Ring what it promises is the sheer popularity of the base IP: Elden Ring is FromSoftware's most successful game ever. This is not to say that older games, like Blood or the original Dark souls trilogy, are niche or underground titles – they are still very popular – but they are nowhere near as mainstream as Elden Ring.

But with these older titles gaining more attention Elden RingIn the wake of this, there could be potential in similar spin-off games based on their worlds. For example, Armored corewhich has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity thanks to Armored Core 6could perhaps receive a co-op title in the wake of Nocturnal kingdom. Such a game could incorporate disparate elements from the previous one Armored core entries, tying them firmly together through some semi-plausible narrative means and thus forming a more cohesive canon.

Demon Souls AND Blood are other possible candidates for the Nocturnal kingdom treatment. Although the gameplay of the former is essentially a more rudimentary version of what it would later be developed for Dark souls AND Elden Ringits unique world still stands out as one of FromSoftware's best after all these years, and a return to that world via a radically altered experience could be worth the effort. Then there is Bloodthe always overlooked FromSoftware baby, which has a combat sandbox quite different from Dark souls AND Elden Ring to serve radically different gameplay within the Nocturnal kingdom structure.

The risks of spreading the Elden Ring Nightreign concept to other FromSoftware IPs

The above possibilities are certainly interesting, but that doesn't mean they are necessarily good. One of the biggest surrounding concerns Elden Ring Nocturnal kingdom it's his Dark souls crossover content, which will likely be one of its most controversial factors. Unless FromSoftware can justify these game-changing narrative elements through each IP's respective lore, Nocturnal kingdom they could undermine their narratives, which would be really disappointing. If other cooperative games from FromSoftware follow suit in this regard, they could face similar issues.

Even without the crossover content, Nocturnal kingdomThe cooperative concept may pose some unexpected technical or narrative problems. This addition to Elden Ring's story might seem old, for example, or perhaps the proposed multiplayer formula simply won't take off as hoped. All this to say that, however coherent FromSoftware's result was, Nocturnal kingdomsuccess is not guaranteed. Therefore, pasting its formula on other similar FromSoftware IPs Armored core OR Blood it may not be a sure win, no matter how “obvious” it may seem. Although Nocturnal kingdom is a masterpiece, that doesn't mean its ideas will work on the terrain of another IP.

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