Elden Ring Nightreign released earlier this year and it’s become one of my favourite games to play. Either playing solo or with randoms, the game is a blast and will keep you coming back for more. Doubly so if you’re a fan of the “Soulslike” genre and the roguelike genre.

From Software and Bandai Namco have just recently released the game’s first major paid DLC pack, The Forsaken Hollows and honestly, my thoughts on this are quite mixed. This lies with the fact that the game has now introduced a new map which further complicates matters, 2 additional Nightfarers (This is great!), 2 Day Three bosses and various other tweaks to the game such a two new remembrances and some changes to Limveld.

Note: This is a double review featuring the original writer, Sahil Lala, and additional thoughts by editor Sam Aberdeen.

First and foremost, the Great Hollow Shifting Earth map needs some serious balance patching. I don’t know what From Software were thinking but the mechanics introduced with this map make playing through it a mad rush and not in a good way like with Limveld. It needs work and it seems like the game’s community sees it this way too. There’s just been some truly baffling design decisions here which really feels like the game is forcing you to play in a certain way instead of letting you have the roguelike freedom to do things your own way. Oh, and there’s so many pitfalls for some reason which really sour the experience.



Next up, the two new playable characters: the Undertaker and the Scholar. The Scholar’s abilities involve taking a step back and scanning enemies allowing your teammates to move in and deal massive damage. A debuffer character that will be great in teams where you’re able to coordinate attacks well. The Undertaker on the other hand is a nun that’s a hammer/mace wielding beast! She’s honestly so much fun to play as and I can already see that she’s a fan favourite. The damage output she’s able to deliver is amazing!

The two new nightlords added to the game, without spoiling too much are both fantastic additions to the already extensive lineup of bosses. The 2 Day Three bosses are familiar additions from previous From Software titles and fans will enjoy seeing them but they aren’t exactly mind-blowing battles so temper your enthusiasm when you see them.



On PC, the Great Hollow looks fantastic with the entire area being a spectacle to behold on the highest graphics settings available. Both the new nightlord battles are also visually appealing and they both have their own unique flair to them which is great to see! These nightlord fights are also quite intense but not unbeatable.

Overall, The Forsaken Hollows DLC is a mixed bag due to the $15 price tag and the slightly botched implementation of the Great Hollow and the various tweaks to Limveld that the game has introduced. The Great Hollow definitely needs some reworking, hopefully in an upcoming patch. The game also needs some severe re-balancing now that the two new characters have been introduced along with new bosses. From Software, if you’re reading this, get cracking! The community has voiced its concerns about this DLC, it’s up to you now to resolve the issues with some upcoming patches.



Sam: If there's one thing we can rely on from From Software, it's for the DLCs to either be the most mind-blowing thing you've ever played or be slightly underwhelming but still pretty good by all metrics. The Forsaken Hollows DLC for Elden Ring Nightreign falls somewhere in the middle, which is a rarity from such an acclaimed studio.

Having played my fair share on PS5, I can comfortably say that The Forsaken Hollows isn't as great as it could've been, but there's still some good in here to keep fans engaged. The overall package, at least compared to the studio's previous DLC efforts, is certainly lacking in content. While you do get two new Nightfarers in the Scholar and the Undertaker (the latter easily becoming my go-to playable character in recent runs), the rest leaves a lot to be desired.



First and foremost, the Great Hollow Shifting Earth map is a mess. On paper, I can see what From Software wanted to accomplish here by upping the stakes and making each run seem more urgent and "epic" as you rushed to get to the next big flagship fight. There's no sense of freeform exploration here that made Limveld so enticing and unique. Each run ultimately boils down to a sweaty collectathon of the best upgrades and abilities before the environment not-so-subtly points you to your next path.

By giving us more challenge, it seems like The Forsaken Hollows tends to forget some of the fundamentals of its own game design: team work and feeling like your sense of progression is meaningful between runs. Instead (and maybe this is just my bad luck), there were several instances where artificially tougher enemies were thrown at us that resulted in haphazard games of survival or strategies being completely thrown out the window. It can be fun when you get that perfect run, but in most cases, it's very sweaty and not in the fun way all the time.



That said, the new nightlords are great surprises and the highlight of The Forsaken Hollows. They're fun, somewhat nostalgic, pretty damn challenging, and reward you with some of the best goodies in the game so far. It's just unfortunate that this only makes it clear how little content is here given the $15 price tag. You can easily get through most of The Forsaken Hollows' content in one afternoon. Smaller tweaks to the base game also somewhat throw the game's balancing off-track - From Software still needs more time to refine those issues with more updates because the Undertaker is broken, some hitboxes are unforgivable, and even on PS5, there's a few technical problems that hold it back.

In closing, I can recommend The Forsaken Hollows to die-hard fans of Elden Ring Nightreign who simply can't wait to experience new content (or rather, if the base game updates kind of force you into it). Whether it's worth that price tag is up to you, but in my experience, it feels like it still needs more refinement to make it worth the plunge, though the addition of the new awesome Nightfarers, the nightlords and some of its highs make it at least worth checking out for the long run.