Elden Ring Nightreign will not include the game's signature messaging system because there will be “no time” to read or write messages.
While the Nightreign announcement trailer featured many familiar elements like Sites of Grace and Evergaols, as well as Dark Souls enemies like The Nameless King from Dark Souls 3, Elden Ring Nightreign director Junya Ishizaki has confirmed that the studio is withdrawing their in-game communication because With sessions lasting around 40 minutes, there is simply no time to waste.
“You can still see other players' ghosts, but the ability to leave messages has been removed,” Ishizaki told Agency Japan via machine translation.
“The reason we removed the messages feature is that in this game, where each session lasts approximately 40 minutes, there is no time to write your own message or read messages written by others.”
“The concept was to make a 'condensed role-playing game'. Role-playing games have their ups and downs, and players sometimes win and sometimes lose,” Ishizaki added. “I think the best part of role-playing games is that all of these experiences finally come to life. To create a harmonious experience that allows players to experience the true essence of role-playing games, each game was developed over three days.”
Interestingly, this means that defeated enemies won't revive during the match, even when you rest in a place of grace, and although ashes will appear in Nightreign, the way they are “handled” will be different from the original Elden Ring game.
The interview also revealed that Miyazaki was involved “up until the initial concept creation” of Nightreign, but has since stepped aside for the new director, who has been at FromSoft since 2011.
“Nightreign, the spin-off of Elden Ring, is a very exciting game that will excite players,” Ishizaki concluded. “It will provide a different sense of accomplishment and joy than previous titles, so look forward to it.”
ICYMI, a network test for Elden Ring: Nightreign, will take place in February and registration will begin on January 10.