If you thought your Elden Ring Nightreign suffering was over, think again

FromSoftware's faced a bit of an uphill battle with Elden Ring Nightreign. It's not for any fault of its own, though, it's because its most fervent players are a bit too proficient at killing its toughest bosses. So, if you're a studio that's famous for giving players hellish challenges, what do you do? You take what's already there and make it harder. Well, From tried that with its Everdark Sovereigns, and players were still dancing with the devils under the pale moonlight as if they were born in a ballroom. When simply amping up the difficulty of bosses isn't enough, the next logical step is to make everything torturously tough. So, say hello to Deep of the Night.

I've adored every minute of Elden Ring Nightreign, even if its parkour sucked at launch. Nat may have given it a then-deserved 6/10 in her Elden Ring Nightreign review, and Christian is more than merited in his criticism of how From's still struggling to get with the program on its PC ports. But, for the most part, I've reveled in every challenge it's thrown at me; even if some of its Everdark Sovereigns, the trickiest Elden Ring Nightreign bosses of them all, are a nightmare to fight. Having cleared everything Nightreign had to offer, I thought I was done with one of the best multiplayer games. I yearned for an even greater test of my soulsy skills. The monkey's paw has curled.

Described as a "high-difficulty challenge mode designed for seasoned players who have navigated through the Night many times," Deep of the Night brings multiple tiers of 'fuck you' to the fore. If From's describing it as 'high-difficulty,' even by its gruelling standards, I can expect we'll be bludgeoned from all angles repeatedly until we either get good or crash out.

Here, you don't get to choose which Nightlord you go up against. Oh, you thought you could just lock in your favorite Nightreign class and waltz into whichever fight you pleased? Wrong, bozo. Suffer. Even the base mobs are stronger than usual. Double suffer. You'll get to get your mitts on some pretty cool new Depths Relics that have multiple additional effects. But, guess what? They also come with "detrimental effects." Suffer to the third degree. And what happens when you finally conquer a boss? The difficulty tier increases and you get to do it all over again, but worse. Almighty suffering. If you manage to beat Depth 3, well done, you've just unlocked even more suffering because Depths 4 and 5 "feature an endless battle for those seeking even greater thrills." Masochistic suffering.

The saving grace, depending on how you look at it, is that your Depth tier will ebb and flow depending on if you win or lose. If things get too hot to handle, you'll find yourself back at square one, and get to repeat the cycle of abject despair all over again. If you make it down to Depth 5, you might actually be Hidetaka Miyazaki himself. Or God. Or something even greater.

Elden Ring Nightreign Deep of Night begins on Thursday September 11, 2025. You can check out the original announcement here.

If you're a little rusty, get yourself back to your best with our suite of Elden Ring Nightreign guides. If you've suffered quite enough, then check out more of the best RPGs that'll take the edge off while you lick your wounds.

How gassed for Deep of Night are you? Come and let us know in our community Discord server. It also doubles as a support center for when you inevitably get maimed by a giant bat.