Elden Ring Nightreign has shot out of the gates, selling 2 million copies its first day, yet the critical and player reception hasnt reached the same highs that most of FromSoftwares games do. Matchmaking in Nightreign is something of a challenge: you literally cant quit it, and the game isnt balanced for solo play, despite efforts with a recent patch. If you loved Elden Ring, but are finding that its spinoff isnt landing for you, heres a rec: go back in time and give Bloodbornes Chalice Dungeons a shot.
Hunters still return to Yharnam each year in March to celebrate Bloodbornes anniversary (10 years ago now!), and we still hold out hope for a sequel that might never come. When discussing Bloodborne, however, one thing that doesnt get mentioned enough are its Chalice Dungeons. They are in some ways a proof of concept for FromSoftwares weird multiplayer experiments beyond summons and invasions.
Chalice Dungeons offer hunters procedurally generated levels of varying difficulties. You can successfully tackle them solo or play as a pair with a buddy (unlike Elden Ring Nightreign, which doesnt support two-player co-op… yet). They include tough bosses, mobs of enemies, and all the bullshit ways FromSoft enjoys killing you. This weekend I died to a hiding skeletal enemy who threw flame vials at me and to a mob of enemies who were unexpectedly summoned after I stepped on a tile.
Similar to Nightreign, which returns old Dark Souls bosses to the fray, hunters can find already-bested Bloodborne bosses in the Dungeons, like Rom or the Blood-Starved Beast. For trophy hunters, youll need to scour the depths of the games Chalice Dungeons to find Yharnam, Pthumerian Queen, and defeat her on your quest for the games Platinum.
Image: FromSoftware/SonyPerhaps the best thing about Bloodbornes Chalice Dungeons is that theyre included as part of the base game. During or after your 50-hour journey through Yharnam, you can take a detour through some randomized dungeons at no extra cost. With Nightreign, the feeling of “This couldnt have been a free update?” is hard to shake.
Both Bloodbornes Chalice Dungeons and Elden Ring Nightreign show FromSoftware isnt afraid to experiment within its tried-and-true Soulsborne formula, and itll experiment further with next years The Duskbloods, exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2. “Not Bloodborne II” will feature PvPvE online multiplayer “for a broad range of game-design ideas, while also letting us leverage our experience of designing challenging enemy encounters,” according to director Hidetaka Miyazaki. The Duskbloods will make for back-to-back experimental multiplayer releases for the studio, leaving fans wondering when its next big single-player adventure will drop.
At the moment, though, FromSoftware is going all-in on multiplayer releases. So if Elden Ring Nightreign aint for you, Yharnam will always be there waiting, good hunter.
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