Elden Ring Nightreign will not include the game’s signature in-game messaging system because there will be “no time” to read or write messages.
Whilst Nightreign’s announcement trailer featured plenty of familiar elements like sites of grace and Evergaols – as well as enemies from Dark Souls like The Nameless King from Dark Souls 3 – Elden Ring Nightreign director Junya Ishizaki has confirmed the studio is pulling its in-game communication because with sessions around 40-minutes long, there simply isn’t any time to waste.
“You can still see the ghosts of other players, but the ability to leave messages has been removed,” Ishizaki told IGN Japan via machine translation.
“The reason we removed the message feature is that in this game, where each session is about 40 minutes long, there is no time to write your own message, and no time to read messages written by others.”
“The concept was to make a ‘condensed RPG’. RPGs have their ups and downs, and players sometimes gain and sometimes lose,” Ishizaki added. “I think the best part of RPGs is that all of these experiences ultimately come to fruition. In order to create a harmonious experience that allows players to experience the true essence of RPGs, each game took place over three days.”