Elden Ring Nightreign is a co-op, run-based take on Elden Ring, featuring bosses from other FromSoftware games, and while the game doesn't actually feature other players for you to duke it out with, the changes it makes to the Elden Ring formula feel inspired by Fortnite. The incredibly popular free-to-play battle royale has taken its fair share of inspiration from other video games, so it feels natural for Fortnite to influence other games. While FromSoftware superfans might bristle at the comparison, it's a positive one, as many of the aspects that feel like Fortnite are some of the more interesting aspects of Elden Ring Nightreign.

4 Sprinting and leaping through the world at high-speeds

Nightreign feels like Fortnite when I move through the world

Ever since the introduction of sprinting and mantling in Fortnite the pace of the game has changed. Unlike more methodical battle royales, like PUBG, the game is more about how fast you can move around, and if you play with buildings actively, how fast you can construct. That high-octane speed is present in Elden Ring Nightreign, and the way you move through the world. Not only do you have unlimited sprints, you are encouraged to sprint at basically all times. The jumping and mantling up the environment also feels similar, as you scramble up the terrain to reach the next area you want loot. The speed at which the storm in Elden Ring Nightreign starts to move, and how quickly it kills you, also feels eerily like Fortnite, furthering the direct comparisons. While base Elden Ring allowed you to move like that while riding Torrent, moving at that same speed but on foot changes the way it feels in game.

3 Ripping through loot chests feels like Fortnite

Not only does the way loot drop feel like Fortnite, but the way you engage with it does too

Loot is deeply important in both Fortnite and Elden Ring Nightreign, but, loot is also a keep part of tons of video games. The reason the comparison still works here is both the way loot drops, and the way you engage with it in Elden Ring Nightreign feels similar to Fortnite. In Fortnite, most loot comes from treasure chests scattered around the map. You crack one open, and loot spills out for you to sort through, but the battle royale nature of Fortnite means that the amount of time you have to search through that loot is limited.

Elden Ring Nightreign does feature loot chests that spill out in a similar fashion to Fortnite, but more importantly, that quick decision-making is core to the looting experience. Since your goal is to level up as much as possible and get the best loot you can before the end of each night, you want to spend as little time going through loot as possible. This comes up with boss rewards, which will present you with a handful of options, and to maximize your time, you need to make a split-second decision on what to take, which feels similar to Fortnite.

2 No time to waste in any one place

Places to be, things to do

While we have already talked about the speed you physically move through the world, how much time you can spend in a single area is also quite short. In Fortnite, you want to have the best weapons and items possible by the end of the match, if you survive that long. To accomplish that, you have to move from one point-of-interest to the next as fast as you can, while dealing with the shrinking play space.

Elden Ring Nightreign follows that same loop, since the main restraint is time. You have a shrinking play space and an impending boss fight incoming, so naturally, you want to move from place to place, gathering loot, levels, and other important items like extra flasks, while racing against the clock. This encourages you to not only move from place to place as fast as you can, but also to work through each area quickly. I found myself often sprinting past smaller enemies to get to the boss in an area, because that was a more efficient use of my time.

1 My teammates won't revive me

Please, I have Ray Gun

While playing with a group of friends is vastly preferable to playing with random players in both of these games, sometimes you just have to queue up with random players. A universal experience for playing with random players is them refusing to revive you, either because they have wandered off on their own, or because they aren't interested in prioritizing you. This is a familiar feeling from Fortnite, but I've already dealt with it in Elden Ring Nightreign. The issue almost always happens during a night boss, where you don't respawn, so you have to wait for a teammate. I've had several teammates decide that a 1v1 with the night boss at 75% more health is smarter than attempting to pick up myself or our third teammate.

These issues extend to other aspects of cooperation too. Teammates that won't ping where they are going, won't stick with you or go to your pings, and generally just play like they are in a solo lobby. It's a universal experience, but when I'm already thinking about Fortnite, it feels like a natural comparison.

Big battle royale energy

Despite being a co-op experience, Elden Ring Nightreign is deeply inspired by battle royales. Between the closing circle and the map full of places to check out, it feels like it flows just like a Fortnite match would, if all the other players were soulslike bosses. It is an interesting game, and I wouldn't say it's just like Fortnite, but the similarities make the inspiration quite obvious.