FromSoftware is probably one of the most respected developers today, and is loved by players because of its popular games. At the same time, there are always voices of support and opposition, but even the most respected studios cannot escape criticism, and FromSoftware is no exception.

For FromSoftware itself, some current critics tend to focus on aspects such as the game’s difficulty and the deep narrative presentation of the game’s overall content. Of course, other players in the gaming community also pay great attention to these aspects.

Sometimes, the voice of doubt is not necessarily a bad thing, and this may be an opportunity for Elden Ring Nightreign. The developers seized on the key content of these player feedbacks and chose to use controversial topics to enhance the game experience, perhaps subverting some of the most common criticisms about FromSoftware.

The Original Intention Of Elden Ring Nightreign

In comparison, what makes Elden Ring Nightreign different from other FromSoftware products is that it is designed specifically around cooperative multiplayer games.

In the past, co-op has been a part of FromSoftware’s soulslikes, though it was usually more of an optional variation on each title’s core gameplay. The key to this mode is that bosses and other cooperative aspects are not designed primarily for multiplayer.

However, Elden Ring Nightreign was designed from the ground up to expand these cooperative fundamentals throughout the game. While this may require a different approach to combat design during development, the downside of this approach is that it may make the combat in the game relatively simple, reducing the player’s interest in playing the game.

In other words, if all of Nightreign’s bosses were functionally similar to the bosses in the base Elden Ring, the result would be that the game would lack the excitement and excitement necessary for multiplayer gameplay. Not only that, but it would also seriously undermine the in-game economy if you could just get a bunch of Elden Ring Runes by effortlessly killing bosses.

So the irony of the current situation is that focusing on FromSoftware’s most controversial boss character design trend may be the solution to this problem.

Is The Key To Nightreign’s Success The Design Of FromSoftware’s Controversial Bosses?

At present, many game companies consider the best boss design for multiple players. In the game, they can design challenges to overcome by joining the team. This mode is actually very useful. Fortunately, FromSoftware’s works also have several such challenges, which can be divided into at least two categories.

Other Controversial Boss Team-ups From FromSoftware That Nightreign Could Learn From

FromSoftware bosses that fit this trope include:

• Fool’s Idol - Demon’s Souls
• Capra Demon - Dark Souls
• Ornstein and Smough - Dark Souls
• Living Failures - Bloodborne
• Godskin Duo - Elden Ring

Boss team-ups, also known as gank fights, are perhaps the most notorious soulslike boss trend right now. In this scenario, the player is tasked with taking on multiple different enemies. At their best, these are tense encounters that require careful positioning, planning, and enemy health management.

Facing multiple different enemies doesn't make players panic, and it's wise to confidently use Elden Ring Runes to bolster their abilities.

Conversely, at their worst, these are simply overwhelming and annoying. There’s not enough time left for players to calibrate and develop detailed strategies. However, these challenging fights become more manageable and fun if players can even out the odds with their own reinforcements, as players can brainstorm and work together to come up with a plan.

Gimmick Fights Are A Good Choice For Elden Ring Nightreign

FromSoftware bosses that fit this trope include:

• Dragon God - Demon’s Souls
• Bed of Chaos - Dark Souls
• Micolash - Bloodborne
• Folding Screen Monkeys - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Gimmick fights can be described as any type of boss encounter that relies on the player taking actions outside of the normal combat wheelhouse. For example, Demon’s Souls’ Dragon God character requires the player to dodge the attacks of various ballistas as they deal damage to the player.

At the root of the matter, the underlying logic of these boss fights is also problematic, as they don’t take advantage of the game’s true core mechanics and therefore don’t generate much reward in the game.

Gimmick fights are fine as a nice way to vary the gameplay, but as boss fights, they’re often frustrating, annoying in some ways, and at worst, boring.

However, these puzzle-like fights are more fun to play with other players, as they can be designed around communication and multitasking, making the game’s combat scenes more engaging.

What’s The Point Of Implementing Controversial Bosses?

In large part, these more controversial boss mechanics were added to Nightreign because of its single-player mode. If these bosses were designed specifically for co-op, they would be equally annoying to play with a single player, or even more annoying than when encountered in co-op mode.

However, this design is basically the opposite of the status quo of most FromSoftware soulslikes. Because the bosses in FromSoftware Soulslike are designed for single players, it is very easy to defeat them with the help of other players in cooperative mode.

However, since Nightreign is a cooperative game, such a subversion actually makes sense.

Facing the current situation where challenges and opportunities coexist, and praise and doubts coexist, FromSoftware needs to respond calmly and actively learn from some lessons from previous negative reviews. When designing Elden Ring Nightreign, the boss settings in the game need to take into account players in different play modes.

We believe that under the influence of the success of many previous popular games, FromSoftware can target players’ evaluations and feedback and bring more new experiences worth looking forward to in Elden Ring Nightreign.