I played Elden Ring Nightreign for goofy co-op shenanigans, but wound up punched in my feelings by the Revenant’s remembrance questline

It didn’t take me too long to tick off all the boxes in Elden Ring Nightreign. I beat all the Nightlords, tried out most of the Nightfarers, went on a ton of runs with my friends, and unlocked most of the achievements. Despite checking everything off, I still wanted to do more. So I turned to the Remembrance quests.

Every Nightfarer has a Remembrance quest in Nightreign. These usually amount to small quests or tasks that further a short story, which delves into the Nightfarers as individuals, exploring their past and convictions. Spoilers for the Revenant questline to follow.

The final step for most Remembrance quests requires you to defeat one of the Nightlords, like Ironeye defeating the Darkdrift Knight. But sometimes you have to fight a different kind of evil.

One of my favourite characters from the start was the Revenant, so when I began running through all the Remembrance quests she was at the top of my list. The Revenant has one of the more interesting character designs, resembling a doll—but when you use her ultimate, part of her face tears away to reveal an angry spirit.

I saw some theories that she could be a doll or replica of Miquella, but other than her look there was nothing in Nightreign to actually back that up. Nevertheless, I wanted to find out more about this figure, and who she really was.

It’s clear from the beginning that Revenant is hell-bent on revenge, that she hates the Night Aspect, and that she doesn’t play well with others. This is mostly thanks to her grumpy nature and snappy replies, but I didn’t take any of her threats seriously until Chapter 5, she just looked too sweet.

After defeating Tricephalos or the Darkdrift Knight, you can begin the second Remembrance at Chapter 5. Instead of travelling to Limveld or fighting another Nightlord you instead meet Recluse who is standing outside next to a wooden bench. You’re then told that if you want to defeat the Night Aspect you need to conquer your fears.

Revenant predictably denies being scared of anything in her usual snarky tone, but after Recluse pushes a little more, Revenant relents, sits on the bench and agrees to face her fears.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but before I could give it any thought I was transported to a dark deteriorating mansion. I later discovered it’s House Northerncroft, home to a wealthy noble family and Revenant’s former owner.

There’s not much to explore in this mansion, just a couple of hallways and a dimly lit room where a lifesize doll sits in the corner. On closer inspection, it looked exactly like Revenant. After interacting with it I fought off something called the Corrosion—low-level enemies which you can easily kill with the help of your summons. Then I went back to the doll and read the inscription: “My darling little Daphne.”

But it couldn’t be that easy, no. Instead, I had to fight yet another enemy, the Containment. It’s just a reskin of the Royal Revenant, but boy do those punches suck in an enclosed space. Once the fight was over, all there was left to do was watch one little cutscene, except what followed wasn’t just some throwaway scene, it was brutal, bloody, and unnerving.

There’s no mutated beast, godlike being, or wolf with a sword, instead, Revenant’s final cutscene just involves her former family. You can see her as a lifeless doll sitting idly by, unable to comfort or protect her owner, a little girl by the name of Daphne, who is hiding in the corner as her father massacres the rest of her family.

It’s suggested that the Night Aspect is the cause of his violence, as his blue flames of the night can be seen flickering at the windows. But before Daphne can escape, she makes a noise. The camera focuses on her shaking frame, only to pan out and show her father towering over her. Daphne’s blood is spattered on the floor and across the face of Revenant, a lifeless doll who failed to protect the one person she cared about. It stopped me dead in my achievement farming tracks, that’s for sure.

I didn’t expect Nightreign to gut-punch my feelings. I was just happy with it being a goofy multiplayer Elden Ring side hustle, but these quests may just be my favourite part of the game. I forgot how much I missed storytelling in The Lands Between, how well FromSoft can sculpt a narrative together from hints and whispers, or create a brutally beautiful gothic tale full of blood and gore.

So far I’ve also completed quests for Recluse, Wylder, Duchess, and Executor, and every single one of them has made Nightreign better. Learning about the Nightfarers is one of the most underrated parts of this game, and something that shouldn’t be disregarded. You even get useful relics, chalices, and a new costume for completing the quests, what’s not to love?