As a Soulslike and Roguelike fan, Nightreign left me conflicted

I was really excited for Nightreign. With over 1,000 hours in Elden Ring and an enjoyer of Rogue-like games like Hades, Returnal, Vampire Survivor, Slay the Spire, etc., I thought this would be right up my alley. But after playing for a few hours, I’m not sure if it’s worth the $40 preorder for me.

The Good:

The co-op boss fights are where the game shines. When you’re with a group of randoms and everyone’s working together, it feels amazing. Pulling off coordinated ultimates with random bros and finally taking down a tough boss after multiple tries is incredibly satisfying. It's also a lot of fun discovering just the right items for your build and leveling up feels good.

The Not-So-Good:

Pacing feels off – The game never lets you slow down. In Hades or Returnal, you get a moment to think between rooms—pick your upgrades, plan your build, and decide where to go next. In Nightreign, it’s constant pressure. You’re always racing against the clock to reach objectives, and it feels like there’s no time to actually enjoy the progression before needing to figure out where to go next. I get that some 40 minute is a lot to ask for one session, so there's incentive to keep everything moving.

Too much running – The map is huge, which sounds great in theory, but in practice, it means you spend a lot of time just moving from one place to another. The objectives are spread out, and with the night timer always looming, it feels like you’re constantly sprinting instead of fighting. It gets tiring after a while. I get that Elden Ring is known for being an open world game, and a bigger map helps with replayability.

Builds lack depth – One of the best parts of rogue-likes is the power fantasy—stacking synergies until you feel unstoppable. In Nightreign, the upgrades feel underwhelming. You get small passive buffs here and there, but nothing that really changes how you play or makes you feel powerful. I never had that “broken build” moment where everything clicks. I get that there wasn't enough time to work out different builds with Nightreign because Elden Ring is not meant to scale.

Wishlist Ideas:

PVP invasions – What if instead of fighting the same field bosses, you could fight with other players? It would add a lot of replayability and make the stakes even higher. Imagine the risk of dying associated with fighting another player to steal their equipment.

More rogue-like structure – Instead of the open world, I’d love to see a more focused, legacy dungeon progression. Let me choose my path, collect loot, and build toward something powerful. It would solve a lot of the pacing and traversal issues while giving players more control over their builds. It also eliminates players wandering off or not knowing where to go next as a team.

TLDR: Nightreign has some great moments, especially in co-op, but I felt like the pacing, traversal, and lack of build depth held it back. I don't know if it's possible to address any of these points in its current state, but these are just my initial impressions after a couple hours of the game.