Souls Games With Better Co-Op Than Nightreign

Playing Elden Ring’s Nightreign with others is challenging and needs good coordination. But it’s surprisingly fast-paced and direct, which is different from most ‘Souls-like’ games. Unlike those games, Nightreign isn’t about carefully preparing for each boss – it’s more of a quick rush to the next challenge.

Most challenging boss battles in games like Dark Souls happen after navigating a difficult, often depressing, area – and they’re usually more fun with friends. If you’re not enjoying the roguelike style of Nightreign and prefer classic co-op, you’re in luck! Several other Souls-like games offer a better cooperative experience. Here are some of the very best.

10. Nioh 2

Samurai Souls

Nioh 2 is a fantastic Soulslike game that takes place in feudal Japan and improves upon everything players loved about the first game. It successfully blends elements from the Dark Souls series with its own unique ideas, especially when it comes to cooperative play. While the original Nioh had enjoyable co-op, Nioh 2’s Expedition Mode really stood out, allowing three players to team up and face challenging missions, ultimately battling a powerful boss together. Even the third game in the series couldn’t top Nioh 2’s co-op experience.

Nioh 2’s co-op experience is stronger than Nightreign‘s because players can evaluate and upgrade their equipment after each run. This allows them to improve their gear before starting the next challenge. Nightreign doesn’t offer this, making players begin each run from scratch, which many found frustrating. Players who enjoy carefully planning and optimizing their character builds were particularly disappointed by this system in Nightreign.

9. Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin

Final Fantasy, But With a Dark Soul

Stranger of Paradise, a Souls-like game released in 2022, didn’t initially gain a lot of attention. However, it features a surprisingly fun co-op mode. While you start with two AI companions, you can easily replace them with other players at any time, adding a new layer of strategy, excitement, and teamwork to the experience.

While the player base might be smaller by 2026, Stranger of Paradise remains the best option for cooperative Soulslike gameplay with a Final Fantasy feel. It uniquely lets you team up with friends to hunt enemies like Tonberries – a surprisingly fun experience that Elden Ring doesn’t offer.

8. Code Vein

Biting Back

Code Vein is an energetic and visually striking action game, leaning more towards fast-paced combat than the slower, more deliberate style of typical Soulslike games. You play as a vampire navigating a post-apocalyptic world with a distinctive, dramatic anime look. It feels more like Devil May Cry than Elden Ring. While it focuses more on developing its world and story than Nightreign, it should still satisfy fans of cooperative Souls games who enjoy exploring before facing bosses together.

The game truly excels in its cooperative battles, pitting you against incredibly challenging and unsettling creatures that demand both strategy and skill. These enemies are truly terrifying! It’s unfortunate that the sequel, Code Vein 2, didn’t include this feature, making the original Code Vein the only real competitor to Nightreign within the series.

7. Dark Souls

The Godfather

FromSoftware’s cooperative gameplay system really came into its own with the 2011 release of Dark Souls, though Demon’s Souls in 2009 laid the groundwork. The game’s bosses were incredibly challenging, and having another player or two help in battle made things a little easier, particularly if they were skilled. A normally terrifying fight against bosses like Ornstein and Smough could become much more manageable – and satisfying – with a helpful teammate.

If you’ve ever struggled with a boss in a Souls game, you remember anxiously waiting for a helpful player to appear through a summon sign. Seeing them arrive and offer a bow was a great relief, even if it didn’t guarantee a win – teamwork often made the difference. That sense of hopeful cooperation is missing in the newer game, Nightreign, which always provides co-op partners. That’s why the original Dark Souls deserves recognition for first letting us team up to defeat powerful enemies.

6. Dark Souls 2

Epic Battles, Flawed Sequel

If you’re familiar with Dark Souls, you’ll find Dark Souls 2 is similar, but even more expansive. Though it didn’t receive the same praise as other challenging sequels, Dark Souls 2 boasts some incredibly memorable cooperative gameplay – better than anything in the series, including the newer games. A prime example is the fight against the Ivory King, who leads a large army into battle. The situation feels desperate, reminiscent of the battle of Helm’s Deep in The Lord of the Rings, but just when things look their worst, allies arrive to help you turn the tide.

Players can team up with allies who have been waiting for centuries to defeat the Ivory King and ensure he stays defeated. This battle is unlike the typical, isolated duels in Dark Souls, and it becomes an even larger, more chaotic fight if you bring in other players to help. For fans of cooperative play, entering this fight with a full team is a really exciting experience.

5. Dark Souls 3

Mob Mentality

Yes, we’re definitely covering all three Dark Souls games! Dark Souls 3 is a huge step up visually and in terms of gameplay compared to the older games, and it’s also incredibly challenging. This made the online multiplayer really exciting, with battles feeling more intense and quick. Surprisingly, it was the player-versus-player combat in Dark Souls 3 that actually made the cooperative play even better. Players were much more involved with joining covenants – groups with specific goals – than they had been in previous installments.

The game once featured areas where players frequently invaded others, often with backup from their chosen covenant. This led to large-scale battles where players called on their covenant allies for help, creating chaotic, gang-like conflicts reminiscent of Dark Souls. Those who were invaded had to be defended by their allies, while invaders tried to quickly eliminate everyone for the win, resulting in incredibly intense cooperative gameplay. Since the removal of player-versus-player combat with the Nightreign update, the game hasn’t been able to recreate this dynamic.

4. Bloodborne

Ruthless Aggression

Bloodborne built upon the foundation of Dark Souls, adding a terrifying Lovecraftian atmosphere and faster, more intense combat. Unlike previous games where careful defense was key, Bloodborne encouraged players to be aggressive, which made playing with others incredibly fun. Even the toughest challenges in Nightreign don’t compare to the frightening boss fights in Bloodborne, and facing them alongside a friend or two is an exhilarating experience.

No roguelike game can recreate the intense atmosphere and feeling of fear that Bloodborne delivers. Bloodborne’s fast-paced, violent combat is incredibly rewarding—even more so than FromSoftware’s previous titles—but it stays grounded and avoids feeling like a simple arcade game, unlike Nightreign. Try summoning friends to help with the Mergo’s Wet Nurse boss in Bloodborne, then see if Nightreign can offer anything comparable.

3. Demon’s Souls (2020)

Back to Basics, and Brilliance

The Demon’s Souls remake simplified some things, removing features like covenants and large-scale boss fights. However, it brilliantly used the PlayStation 5’s capabilities to introduce a classic Souls co-op experience to a new audience, as well as those who might not have played the original in 2009.

After enjoying games like Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3, fans were eager for another challenging action RPG. Demon’s Souls satisfied that craving with incredible graphics and polish – even better than what Elden Ring achieved – and its accessibility appealed to a wider range of players. For many, it brought back the excitement of teaming up with others to defeat iconic bosses like the Tower Knight, Old King Allant, and Flamelurker – something they hadn’t experienced in over ten years. The Demon’s Souls remake also helped players practice and improve their skills, preparing them for the revolutionary experience that Elden Ring would eventually offer.

2. The Lords of the Fallen (2023)

Running With the Baton

The Lords of the Fallen is a fresh take on the original 2014 game – it continues the story while also reimagining it. Though not made by the creators of Elden Ring (FromSoftware), it shares a similar dark, gothic atmosphere and monster-filled world. Players navigate a connected world as the Lampbearer, which is different from the completely open style of Elden Ring. However, the game really stands out thanks to its unique take on cooperative play.

The Lords of the Fallen offers a much smoother co-op experience than games like Dark Souls. In Dark Souls, players were kicked out of each other’s worlds after defeating a boss, but The Lords of the Fallen lets players explore the entire game together, which many Dark Souls fans requested. This makes it ideal for friends who want to play through the whole adventure as a team, without constantly having to re-summon each other for each boss fight. While The Lords of the Fallen took inspiration from the Souls series, it remains to be seen if FromSoftware will incorporate this seamless co-op feature into future games.

1. Elden Ring

The Game-Changer

Nightreign tries a different approach to the Souls-like formula, focusing on cooperative play without the typical challenging, methodical combat. However, its fast pace and limited character customization have turned off some fans of the genre, who prefer the more traditional experience – even when playing together. While Nightreign’s roguelike elements and epic boss battles are exciting, fights don’t always feel as meaningful as those in Elden Ring, which featured a detailed open world. In previous Souls games, co-op was often a way to overcome tough challenges. Elden Ring, on the other hand, truly embraced co-op, designing enemies and encounters specifically for multiple players, like the challenging boss Radahn.

While every boss in Elden Ring was beatable on your own, playing with others made the experience even more enjoyable. The game cleverly adjusted the difficulty based on how many players were involved. This led to some cooperative players becoming famous, with their incredible feats shared and celebrated online. Many players even started requesting help from these skilled individuals to overcome particularly challenging bosses, like Malenia.

Nightreign started as a result of Elden Ring’s strong support for cooperative play, and it’s become one of the game’s highlights. But nothing quite matches the thrill of building your own perfect team in the Lands Between and facing challenges together.

2026-04-02 15:41