is a pretty rare experiment by FromSoftware within the video game landscape. Taking an established IP and spinning it out into a fully fledged genre crossover experience is not something that every studio has the time, resources, or fan capital to achieve. Thankfully, the game has been largely a success, with the traditional Soulslike formula translating across to the Roguelike framework well, managing to hold onto what makes these games feel special.

While the reception has been broadly positive for Elden Ring Nightreign, its online network has brought attention to a long-buried FromSoftware issue. The studio has always been lauded for making great games, but it is not one renowned for its technical prowess. FromSoftware games have been dogged with various problems in the past, from stability issues, engine rendering problems, and some rather dodgy netcode. With Nightreign now making multiplayer the focus of the experience, it’s started an uncomfortable conversation about areas the studio needs to address, but there could be something good to come out of it in the end.

FromSoftware games have generally had some pretty poor netcode. Anyone who has invaded in Dark Souls will likely have come up against the terrifying power of the laggy host and their uncanny ability to teleport anywhere. Even with stable connections, there has always been a delay between an animation and the hit connecting, making PVP the domain of those who can stomach the awkwardness of dealing with its unpredictability.

Nightreign has managed to improve some aspects of its connection features. Hit detection is far smoother, matchmaking is usually quicker, and disconnected sessions can be rejoined. But by 2025 standards, none of even the strongest network features in Nightreign meet the bar established by many other studios. Too easily, things can become disrupted, as Nightreign still uses peer-to-peer connections on top of a server infrastructure, meaning two points of failure, and these connections aren’t particularly robust. Many players have experienced problems when matching for Nightreign’s remembrance quests, seeing wait times go from a few seconds to fill a party, to sometimes waiting hours without ever getting a third player. This is despite the game boasting hundreds of thousands of concurrent players, so it can’t be a population problem.

It goes beyond just networking problems, too. There are certain features that many take for granted that Nightreign doesn’t have, such as a way to play duos. Nightreign’s solo experience has been a hotly debated topic in the last few days, with some citing that FromSoftware has not done enough to make it worth playing. Others have embraced the solo challenge, seeing it as a hard mode of sorts, but it’s clear that it isn’t for everyone, and with remembrance quests having matchmaking issues, it has put some players trying to complete them in a bit of a bind, forced to wait for matchmaking to be generous, or tough it out by going solo.

Unfortunately for the game, these technical issues have been felt by many players, with Nightreign now the lowest reviewed FromSoftware game on Steam. The most cited issues are these technical hiccups, as many fans are frustrated about the studio's dated approach. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though, as FromSoftware is aware of these problems and should be trying to fix them with some patches. However, how much is addressable in Nightreign is unknown at this point, but hopefully, it sends a message that FromSoftware has been needing to hear for some time, and future titles from the studio come out more robust because of Nightreign’s technical stumbles.