Games Reviews

As a derivative work of Elden Ring, the release of Elden Ring Nightreign brings players a more adequate and in-depth gaming experience in the same timeline game. But at the same time, it also makes many players question it. How does this game connect with the current game world?

What we can know now is that Nightreign is an independent adventure game that takes place in the vast game universe of Elden Ring. The developer’s goal is to provide a more complete cooperative experience for the original Elden Ring loyal players.

Independent Branch Replaces Simple Options

They chose to separate this independent branch separately, rather than simply adding a multiplayer option to Elden Ring. It is reported that the launch time of this game reached three days and three nights, and players can choose to play it again every time to get a different new experience. But what does this repetitive process mean?

Nightreign Tells A Parallel Timeline Story Of Elden Ring

According to the information currently available, Nightreign is set in a parallel universe to the game story in Elden Ring. If so, does it have a stronger connection with some other FromSoftware games?

During the game, a terrible boss with strong destructive power will appear at the end of each day. This character’s appearance seems to serve a character called Night Lord. In Elden Ring, players can use their own Elden Ring Runes to improve their skills and attack the villain boss that appears.

However, the similarities between Elden Ring and other FromSoftware games are that the classic character Nameless King from Dark Souls is also included in this game.

Why Does Nightreign’s Timeline Setting Cause So Much Confusion For Players?

Although the game story of Nightreign is in a parallel universe with the original Elden Ring, the main storyline actually takes place on a different timeline from Elden Ring, so it has almost no direct connection with the main game.

Because of these differences in the timeline of the specific story, Nightreign may have a greater connection with Nox. Because in Elden Ring, a legend in the background setting of the game story describes that the game characters are exiled and live under a false night sky, waiting for the appearance of a being called Lord of Night.

All these complex plots and intricate overlapping relationship lines can easily cause players to have some unclear understanding of the game content during the game, so that they cannot complete the game well.

The Game Character Setting Is Unclear

As of now, there is not enough information to confirm that Lord of Night in Elden Ring is the same as Nightreign’s Night Lord. So it is not clear where this key figure comes from and what role he will eventually play in the game.

At the same time, however, the appearance of Nameless King in Dark Souls 3 completely subverts the ability to put Nightreign into its own game story timeline. During the game, players can also find a spin-off called Shadow of the Erdtree, which is actually a tribute to a key element in the early game development.

Due to the integration of many games in FromSoftware, the legend of Nightreign has become almost meaningless. Therefore, what players want to know most is what other exciting subsidiary games may be included in the final version of the game. We can expect that perhaps the launch of Bloodborne will stand out and shine among similar games.

In short, although it is not clear which timeline Nightreign is designed on in the original Elden Ring game, the expectations of players are also an important force that motivates them to continue to actively work hard to innovate. Let’s look forward to more interesting and in-depth branch games in parallel universes to bring a more perfect experience.

Whether the design of using yellow paint to mark interactive background objects in FF7 Rebirth is effective has recently caused discussion among players. This yellow paint is used to highlight rocks on certain walls to remind players where to climb and advance the game.

Some players think this is similar to the use of yellow paint to highlight puzzles or destructible boxes in Resident Evil 4. This destroys the immersion of the game, interrupts the process of players thinking about coping strategies, and reduces the difficulty of the game.

But this is a good game design in FF7 Rebirth. It does not destroy the difficulty of the game. Instead, it is a reminder to help some novice players adapt to the game as soon as possible.

FF7 Rebirth’s Yellow Paint Saves Players Valuable Game Time

Since Final Fantasy 7 is a complete game story, the three different themes are just reasonable segments of the story plot. So for novice players who are new to this game, the game time required to complete Final Fantasy 7 and Resident Evil 4 is completely different.

According to statistics, it takes about 50 hours to complete the main content of FF7 Rebirth, plus other side content, it takes at least 100 hours to complete the experience of all the game content. It is conceivable how long it takes to complete all three games.

Considering such a huge game system, these designs of the developer are really beneficial to players, especially novice players, in saving game time. It gives novice players more time to collect Final Fantasy VII Gil to upgrade weapons and Materias.

Besides the extremely long time required to complete the game plot experience, the game map of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is also very large, and many side quests are hidden in inconspicuous corners of the map, which requires players to remember the map skillfully and be good at finding some inconspicuous paths.

Some players who are not familiar with the map often get lost, and they spend a lot of time moving around the map to find side quests. The rocks marked with yellow paint can help players better judge where there are paths that can be passed, which save time wasted on repeated running.

Although some players will complain that these yellow-painted rocks affect their gaming experience, it is actually a good thing for most players who want to experience the game plot as quickly as possible.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Is Not A Rock Climbing Game

The core content of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is not rock climbing. If it was just rock climbing, players would not need to spend so much time to experience the game. Combat, story plot and exploration of the big world are the core content of the entire game.

The battle difficulty of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is relatively simple, but there are also some more challenging bosses. The most worthwhile experience of FF7 Rebirth is actually the story plot of the game and some personal stories of each character. These contents will not be affected by adding yellow paint to the rocks.

It is worth noting that the yellow paint used to represent the climbable rocks is not a very bright color. The game developers did not use bright yellow but a relatively low-saturation yellow, which was painted on the rocks while retaining the original texture of the rocks. These rocks will not be particularly abrupt on the wall, but they will not be completely integrated with the background to make it difficult for players to find them.

If this is a climbing game, then not using yellow paint is the right choice. It will reduce the challenge of the game. However, in FF7 Rebirth, climbing is just a form, it does not require precise timing or precise aiming at a certain place. So, removing the yellow paint will only make climbing more troublesome.

Yellow Paint May Be An Important Auxiliary Tool To Retain Players

Yellow paint can help players quickly distinguish which game object libraries are interactive and which are just game backgrounds. This may be redundant for old players, but it is essential for new players. Because no one wants to start a game that may take 50 hours to complete and waste a lot of time because they can’t find the way up the mountain, which will seriously affect the enthusiasm of these players.

For one of the best games in 2024, no one wants to see it lose numerous new players just because the way to the game is difficult to find. Even if the yellow paint affects the experience of some players, I still hope that FF7 Rebirth can be loved by more people.

Not All Games Need Yellow Paint To Mark

If yellow paint is used as a mark, it will destroy the experience of the game, such as the game Uncharted. It requires players to find places to climb for subsequent decryption. If yellow paint appears, players will feel that the game is too easy, which greatly reduces the game experience. In this regard, Star Wars Outlaws provides a better solution, which is that players can choose whether to need such a mark. It is obvious that FF7 Rebirth differs completely from them.

Many players are already dissatisfied with the side content in FF7 Rebirth. They think that these side quests are too boring and waste a lot of precious game time. It is hard to imagine how much such dissatisfaction will be exacerbated if these yellow paints are removed. Although not all situations should add yellow paint marks, it must be the right choice for FF7 Rebirth.

Soulslike games have been around for quite some time. And it looks like this year will be the best year yet for Soulslike games. Both existing games and upcoming games are very popular. If current expectations can be met, fans will have a feast of Soulslike games.

It looks like there will be a lot of new games that are completely unrelated to existing Soulslike games, which will bring new content to fans. Of course, rumors about Lies of P 2 have never stopped, although its resurgence is just a beautiful vision for players.

However, Elden Ring Nightreign will bring a new situation to Soulslike games in 2025. Fans can continue to pay attention to the developments of Elden Ring Nightreign.

Elden Ring Nightreign: Changes In Soulslike Games In 2025

Elden Ring Nightreign made its debut at 2024 Game Awards Ceremony and was known to fans. The game developer plans to release it in 2025, and there may be more details about the game released to fans in the future.

The reason why Elden Ring Nightreign is expected by players is that FromSoftware has not released a sequel. Although Shadow of the Erdtree, as a DLC, impressed players, it only added a map and brought some new weapons, shields and talismans that can be exchanged with Elden Ring Runes, and there was no new plot progress. The release of Elden Ring Nightreign means that Elden Ring may have a complete sequel, and there will be new storylines for players, so Elden Ring Nightreign is more anticipated by fans.

Although the developer insists that this is a completely independent game, in a sense, this may also be a “sequel”. In short, Elden Ring Nightreign will still have challenges due to some innovations in the game, but it is still worth looking forward to for players.

The Issue Of The Revival Of Lies Of P 2 Is Still A Mystery

At present, most of the news about this game is still rumors, and there is no content worth referring to. For the development of the game, there is still a lot of content worth discussing. Lies of P is the first game in the series. It was a big hit when it was released in 2023, making it a household name in Soulslike games. This brings two possibilities for the release of the second part.

One is that the developer continues to remain silent and weather the storm of rumors. The other possibility is that the developer will take advantage of the situation and release Lies of P 2 to show its difference from other Soulslike games.

But in either case, Lies of P 2 will not catch up with the wave of releases in 2025, because the development time of a game takes at least 3 years. But players can still expect developers to release game details and dates for possible new games.

New Soulslike Games Are Fiercely Competitive In 2025

Not all Soulslike games have such a huge background support. There will be many new Soulslike games competing this year. For example, The Relic: First Guardian and The First Berserker: Khazan, there are six new games that have attracted the attention of players this year. Two of them stand out.

The first one is Soulframe developed by Digital Extremes. Soulframe is bound to get a lot of good press as it is the developer behind Warframe. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is more controversial, but fortunately the recent trailer has reversed its reputation and it is still a very strong competitor.

It is precisely because of so many developers that 2025 will be the most critical year for Soulslike games. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for players who want to learn about this type of game now.

The trailer released by Rockstar a few months ago caused a carnival among players, because this trailer represents the upcoming game, Grand Theft Auto 6.

In recent months, many media have made predictions about GTA 6. They estimate that GTA 6 will bring Rockstar $3 billion in revenue in the first year. Such speculation is not groundless. At least from the perspective of Rockstar’s fan base, they have been waiting for this game for a long time.

Prediction Of GTA 6

Rockstar’s GTA 6 is expected to be released on Xbox Series X and S and PlayStation 5 in the fall of 2025. However, Rockstar did not disclose whether GTA 6 will be available on PC.

According to the forecast of the British Financial Daily, GTA 6 will exceed $1 billion in pre-orders before its release. Video research agency DFC Intelligence predicts that GTA 6 will bring Rockstar $3 billion in profits in December after its release.

Strauss Zelnick, the boss of Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two, humbly said that he would not declare victory until GTA 6 is truly successful. However, he is sure that GTA 6 will be another extraordinary work brought by Rockstar.

GTA 6 is not only predicted to have high revenue but also has development costs that cannot be ignored. The Financial Times estimates that the development cost of GTA 6 may be as high as $2 billion.

In any case, the media seems to have placed too much expectations on GTA 6. Since 2022, the game industry has experienced a cold winter, and more than 33,000 people have lost their jobs. Game companies such as Microsoft and Sony have also carried out large-scale layoffs.

Game companies hope that GTA 6 can rekindle players’ interest in games and revive the game industry. At the same time, console manufacturers such as Sony are also confident that GTA 6 is the kind of game that can attract players to play consoles.

Why Are Media Confident About GTA 6?

This is not surprising, because the Grand Theft Auto series has always been one of Rockstar’s most popular series, and their last work was GTA 5, which was released in 2013. At that time, GTA 5 made Rockstar earn $1 billion in just three days, which was a miracle in the entire history of games.

In the past decade or so, GTA 5 has become a work that almost every gamer will own, and this game has indeed stood the test of time. To this day, the number of players playing GTA 5 is still very large, and the only game that has been released for many years and still remains active seems to be Elder Scrolls 5.

On the other hand, it is the excellent game quality of Rockstar Studio. The quality of Rockstar series games gives players confidence that they will not make failed works, and the biggest contributor should be Red Dead Redemption 2.

There is no need to say much about the excellence of Red Dead Redemption 2. This game released in 2018 is still top-notch in terms of graphics. And the story of Arthur Morgan proves to players that Rockstar has the ability to tell a good story. With these two guarantees, players are so looking forward to GTA 6.

Don’t Be Overly Optimistic

Although GTA 6 is destined to cause a stir in the gaming industry in 2025, there will still be some factors that will affect GTA 6’s sales.

Optimization

Rockstar’s optimization is good, but GTA 6 is huge, and no one can guarantee what kind of finished product Rockstar will present to players. Most players will not choose to pre-order because they are worried that the optimization is not good enough and their devices will not be able to run the game normally. Players have suffered from the disastrous first release of 2077, and now they will be more cautious.

Platform

There is no news yet whether GTA6 will be available on PC, and players don’t know how long GTA6 will be exclusive to the host platform. There are quite a few GTA players who are accustomed to playing games on PC, and most of them will not buy a host for a game area. If GTA 6 is delayed in logging into the PC platform, its sales will definitely be affected.

Competition

GTA 6 will not be the only game in 2025. There will be many excellent games released next year, such as Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, Monster Hunter Wild, Borderlands 4, Death Stranding 2, etc. These games are potential competitors of GTA 6.

In short, everyone is looking forward to the release of GTA 6, and players can’t wait to start their second life to rob some money in Miami. Will GTA 6 bring revolutionary changes to the game industry this time? Will GTA 6 be a next-generation game? Let’s wait and see.