From Software is very careful about setting expectations when it comes to the DLC expansions for its games, favoring the underpromise and overdeliver approach. This much is reflected in the messaging around The Forsaken Hollows, Elden Ring Nightreign’s first DLC expansion. When I pointed out a similarity I felt it had to Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, the team made sure to clarify that the comparison was not quite apt and players shouldn’t expect something on that level.
The Forsaken Hollows is billed as a couple of new Nightfarers for players to pick between, along with new points of interest to give players a reason to jump back into Limveld and take on the Nightlords. That’s an accurate summation of it, but also somewhat undersells that the two new Nightfarers are very cool and create interesting new ways to think about and play the game; the new biomes come in the form of swamps (yes, they’re back) that make the threat of status effects more prominent; and there are multiple new mini-bosses and third-day bosses to take on.
But the real underselling pertains to the new Shifting Earth event, which is essentially a brand new map that’s distinct from Limveld, as opposed to a much smaller scale change in the environment that we’re used to expecting.
So, not expecting too much is indeed good advice. However, at the same time, what I thought The Forsaken Hollows is going to be and what it actually is caught me off guard in the same way the unexpectedly expansive nature of Shadow of the Erdtree did. And when I finished my hands-on time with it, I left with a reinvigorated interest in Nightreign.
Before delving into the nitty-gritty details with From Software, I wanted to understand what the studio thought of the reception to its first multiplayer-focused title. From has been very open that Nightreign was and is a game that was intentionally designed and developed under stringent conditions; namely time and money spent. That it has been so transparent about this has been interesting to me, particularly when it comes to whether the studio believes this was a successful endeavor.