Elden Ring Nightreign Isn’t Hades, It’s Risk of Rain 2

The roguelike genre has exploded in popularity over the past several years, with both the indie scene and the AAA market investing heavily in the space. This is exemplified by several titles, the most recent one being Elden Ring Nightreign, a delightfully unique cooperative twist on the bread-and-butter gameplay tropes that FromSoftware has been so well known for. While Nightreign is far from perfect, it is a strong example of what can be accomplished when a developer steps beyond its comfort zone and into a new arena.

That said, Elden Ring Nightreign owes quite a bit to its predecessor roguelikes, borrowing from and iterating upon myriad core mechanics and broader concepts that have been staples of the genre for years. Naturally, this has drawn and will continue to draw comparisons between Nightreign and other leading roguelikes, with many gamers commenting on the former’s strengths and weaknesses relative to its contemporaries. Since such comparisons often form the brunt of many Nightreign critiques, it’s worth dissecting just how similar the FromSoftware co-op roguelike is to the biggest names in the space.

Why Fans of God of War Ragnarok’s Valhalla DLC Should Check Out Elden Ring Nightreign

Elden Ring Nightreign is an easy purchase for Elden Ring fans, but it might be suited to God of War Ragnarok Valhalla players as well.

Why Elden Ring Nightreign Is More Like Risk of Rain 2 Than Hades

Elden Ring Nightreign Has No Business Being Compared to Hades

First launched in late 2019, Supergiant Games’ Hades quickly became the de-facto roguelike experience, filling the role of touchstone in the wake of smash-hits like The Binding of Isaac. Hades is a great game in many ways—its core combat mechanics, narrative, and aesthetic are all top-class—and its roguelike elements complement all these factors. In this way, it has become a monolith for other roguelikes to look up to and emulate, with even AAA franchises like God of War and Dynasty Warriors issuing spin-off games that are very much Hades-inspired.

Some of Hades‘ most central elements, like getting a sneak peek of what’s behind each door and a heavy focus on meta progression, have bled into several other contemporary roguelikes, leading some newcomers to the genre to believe that such elements are simply part of the genre’s fundamentals. But this isn’t actually the case, and Elden Ring Nightreign is proof that not every roguelike needs to have strong cross-progression or room-based runs, for better or worse. No, Elden Ring Nightreign is most definitely not a “Hades-like” roguelike, but it may find a kindred spirit in Hoppo Games’ Risk of Rain 2.

Elden Ring Nightreign Feels Like FromSoftware’s Take on Risk of Rain 2

Though not quite as popular as Hades, Risk of Rain 2 is a terrific game, and arguably works better as a proper roguelike. This might sound implausible to some, as Risk of Rain 2 lacks several of the elements most closely associated with roguelikes in the wake of Hades: it has minimal meta progression, and drops players on sprawling, open-ended maps rather than prompting them to go through a series of rooms. Risk of Rain 2‘s main approach to meta progression comes in the form of Survivors, playable characters who each have unique playstyles and special abilities. As these Survivors, players traipse through extensive maps in pursuit of a larger, final goal.

It’s not much of a stretch to say that Elden Ring Nightreign is far more similar to Risk of Rain 2 than Hades. Its Nightfarers function in the same manner as RoR2‘s Survivors, and its wide-open, POI-focused map design puts it in conversation with Hoppo’s roguelike as well. This isn’t to say that Nightreign is better or worse for these similarities, but they are worth considering, especially when looking to recommend the game, or a good chaser for it.