FromSoft confirms Dark Souls enemies are returning in Elden Ring: Neightreign, but it seems they play a bigger part than expected

FromSoftware has announced that classic Dark Souls enemies will make their return in the upcoming Elden Ring: Neightreign, a new standalone co-op roguelike game. Alongside re-using a bunch of assets from Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree, FromSoftware will also be bringing back a host of enemies from their earlier games.

Dark Souls crosses into Elden Ring: Neightreign

Speaking with Japanese news outlet Famitsu, director Junya Ishizaki confirmed that enemies in the Souls franchsie will return for the new Elden Ring. However, they won’t take over the cast of foes as only a few enemies will make the cut.

In the interview, Ishizaki explaned that they will be bringing back a “small number” of enemies, including some very famous ones. For example, Dark Souls 3’s Nameless King atop a dragon, launching lightning bolts at the player.

In fact, it may be due to the return of the Night King that many of these classic Souls foes are crossing over, blending the worlds for the so-called “Neightreign”. As a parallel universe, Ishizaki explained that the crossing of worlds adds to the “chaos” of the new roguelike.

Other confirmed Dark Souls enemies making their return appear to inlcude the second game’s The Duke’s Dear Freja boss monster, the Centipede Demon and more. Unfortunately, there’s no sign that monsters from other FromSoft games, namely Sekiro, will also come back for the game. Would an Armored Core mech be too much?

How does this alter the lore?

It does seem that FromSoftware is leaning hard on the bridge between Elden Ring and Dark Souls, even teasing the fact that the new game is reigniting the dwindling fire of Souls’ past. In an official tweet from the developer, they said: “In the Night, ancestral foes await – remnants of a fire that once burned bright”.

FromSoftware has not explained where this parallel universe fits within the overall canon of Elden Ring, Dark Souls and other games. However, we can expect more five-hour-long video essays than ever before once the game actually releases in 2025.