Summary
Elden Ring Nightreignis finally out in the wild for players to soak up with friends or embark on a punishing solo run, and the game’s environmental artist has recently revealed the inspirations behind Limveld, the game’s open world.Nightreignwas one of the biggest surprises to be announced during The Game Awards 2024, and the roguelike action RPG has already been released to generally positive reviews after two million units sold.
Being the very first open world under theElden RingIP,Nightreignplayers can band together in teams of three to battle various hard-hitting bosses, and the difficulty of each encounter is heightened by a shrinking gameplay area, similar to battle royale games, which resets after the enemy is defeated. Something to be aware of, however,Elden Ring Nightreignwill undergo server maintenance for Patch 1.01.1soon, a three-hour process required to introduce the new update to the co-op.
During an interview with IGN, FromSoftware environmental artist Saori Mizuno explained the thought process behind creating Limveld and the inspirations that fueled the region’s design. In contrast to thenoticeable differences betweenElden RingandNightreign, Mizuno said the team didn’t strive to makeNightreignfeel too different fromElden Ring, saying, “One specific direction [we] did get early on was to create something that at first feels and looks familiar and gradually transforms into the unfamiliar and into the unknown.” Touching on the game’s day and night cycle, the team played into the light and dark themes and wanted to make the darkness seem inviting. “We wanted players to begin to almost yearn for the night, and sort of look forward to this encroaching darkness,” Mizuno continued.
Elden Ring Nightreign Environmental Artist Says Spirited Away and Dark Souls Inspired Limveld’s Design
The artist also mentioned thatNightreigntook inspiration from the belovedDark Soulsseries and a popular Studio Ghibli film.Spirited Awayharbors an intriguing mythology, and Mizuno notedNightreign’s polarizing, calmer moments, contrasting the sinister world of Limveld, reflect similar scenes inSpirited Away. The artist elaborated, sayingSpirited Awayhas “this feeling of being unable to go home, unable to escape from a dream, this sort of feeling I wanted to kind of harness while designing these worlds and tried to get that through to the player.” Furthermore, the co-op’s Round Table Hold hub and rest area were inspired byDark Souls, in an attempt to make the spin-off feel “more cozy, more welcoming, more at home.”
The co-op’s Limveld is a procedurally generated version of the base game’s Limgrave, and its scale awards it a place next to some of thebest open-world games. The region exists within the soulslike’s Lands Between and serves as a home to shadow giants and Sites of Grace under the power of Runes. Currently ruled by the Night Lord, and boasting several locations to explore, like Oldest Gaol, Shrouded Rountable Hold, and Spirit Sanctuary, it’s up to the players’ Nightfarers to save the world from the threatening Night’s Tide.
