Elden Ring Nightreign is set to release for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on May 30. A new standalone game set in the world of Elden Ring, Nightreign lets you team up with two other players to slice your way through an oppressive fantasy world. It’s kind of like a faster-paced remix of the original game. It’s available for preorder in a number of editions (see it at Best Buy, where you get a free $10 gift card with purchase), so read on for the details about what comes in each one.
From the store listing, here’s what comes in the Bandai Namco Store-exclusive collector’s edition of the game:
Additional DLC – Additional DLC that will be available after the release of the main game
Statue of Wylder – A perfect replica of the nomadic warrior, Wylder, a lone swordman in pursuit of the Night Lord. Crafted by Pure Arts. Size : 25cm
SteelBook – Premium metal case with a full-color illustration of Wylder. The perfect protection and display for your game disc
Nightfarer Cards – A set of eight high-quality tarot cards featuring detailed illustrations of the Nightfarers. These glossy, full color cards are the perfect way to predict your future in Limveld
Exclusive Hardcover Artbook – An exclusive 40-page artbook tracing the development of ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN through previously unseen concept art, sketches, and full color illustrations. Size: 24 x 21 cm Language: English
Digital Soundtrack Download Code – The unforgettable original soundtrack is included in this Collector’s Edition. Return to Limveld again and again with fully orchestrated tracks from ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN.
Collector’s Box – A beautiful case to store or display your statue and artbook.
Elden Ring Nightreign Preorder Bonus
Preorder any version of the game, and you’ll receive the following digital extra:
“It’s Raining” Gesture
Additionally, if you preorder any edition at Best Buy, you’ll receive a free $10 gift card when the game releases.
If you want a physical Helmet of Wylder statue to go with the game, you can pick one up at exclusively the Bandai Namco Store for $189.99.
What Is Elden Ring Nightreign?
Elden Ring Nightreign is a standalone game, which means you don’t need the original Elden Ring to play it. It’s a co-op adventure that the game’s director Junya Ishizaki describe as a “condensed RPG experience.” It lets you build your character as you explore the world and fight tough enemies and bosses, all in shorter, tighter gameplay sessions.
In each run, you and two friends are dropped into the game world as level one characters, but the locations of the enemies and castles is randomized. That means you can’t simply memorize where everything is like you can in the original game. It sounds like a pretty cool new twist on the established template. For more info, check out our hands-on preview, plus our impressions of the network test build.
Other Preorder Guides
Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.
Elden Ring Nightreign is not a battle royale. Not that you ever thought it was, but as a former battle royale enjoyer, I can’t help but compare the white-knuckle moments I get when the Storm closes in on me in those last gripping moments of a half-hour-long session of a Fortnite match to the nail-biting bits where I’m desperately trying to outrun the encroaching circle and make it to a life-saving site of grace in Nightreign. PVP elements are completely absent in Nightreign, though not missed one bit. Still, you’ll drop onto a map with a squad, start from nothing, and spend your time ransacking the map to hopefully power yourself up for a final battle.
From the risk-reward moments of looting a church for one more flask charges as the circle closes in, to the wave of sadness you feel when experiencing a devastating loss after taking so much time building yourself up – it’s hard not to see the battle royale influences. But after four hours of playing the upcoming Stress Test build, I’m ecstatic to report that Nightreign will probably not tarnish the Elden Ring name.
Nightreign will probably not tarnish the Elden Ring name.
When beginning a match, you’ll be given a choice to pick one of four available classes, though there will be a total of eight when Nightreign launches. The current options will be the all-arounder Wylder, the speedy glass-cannon Duchess, the tanky Guardian, and the magic-wielding Recluse. Each class has its own strengths and weaknesses, of course, but in my time with this build, I found that the most fun class to play was the Duchess, thanks to her powerful abilities and swift and nimble dodges. I also spent some time with the Recluse, which was incredibly powerful, but ran out of FP quite often, and with no FP flasks (they aren’t in this Elden Ring), she’ll definitely be one of the harder classes to play effectively.
Each class comes equipped with a leveling path which I’ll talk about more in a moment, but more importantly, they all have a unique skill and ultimate abilities. The Duchess, for example, has an incredibly powerful skill that repeats the last 1.5 seconds of damage an enemy has just taken, and it has a short cooldown to boot. And it’s not just your damage, it’s everyone’s damage. So while you’re flipping around the battlefield landing attacks, you’re also waiting for huge health spikes to try and capitalize on doubling that damage. It’s great stuff.
Other skills also match the class’ predetermined role. The Wylder can do a blast attack to try and land big damage, the Guardian can create a large shield, both negating damage and reviving fallen allies, while the Recluse can curse an enemy, granting all attackers HP and FP bonuses. So while players can double up classes in a run, it’s always a good idea to talk about team strengths and weaknesses to diversify your group.
When starting completely fresh, players will find themselves in Nightreign’s Roundtable Hold. After matchmaking with two other random players or using a multiplayer password to play directly with your friends, a small cutscene will play, and everyone will soar over Limveil (not Limgrave) before landing and beginning their run.
A full run of Nightreign lasts around 30-45 minutes, depending on how fast you take down the ending bosses.
A full run of Nightreign lasts around 30-45 minutes, depending on how fast you take down the ending bosses. While it’s presented as a three-day cycle, it really boils down to five separate phases – day one, night one, day two, night two, and the final boss. When day one begins, the map is fully open, and that’s when you’ll begin exploring and leveling up. Every round begins with players at level one with basic starting gear, save for relics that you’re rewarded with at the end of every round that grant you persistent buffs between matches, with better relics being offered for better performances. When you land, my team always beelined for the first enemy camp we could find to get a quick boost of experience to begin leveling up, which was key to defeating stronger does. From there, you’ll then decide what your team wants to do by looking at the surrounding area on your map, as it will be littered with points of interest for you to explore.
Each point of interest typically comes with predictable rewards: Churches will house a flask charge to increase your overall health potion uses; Castles will feature a mini-boss that drops more powerful gear; and Rises, similar to Ranni’s Rise found in the Lands Between, will present a simple puzzle to solve before entering to find even more gear; just to name a few of many. Where to go in Limveil feels overwhelming at first, but the threat of the ever-closing circle will eventually train your brain to keep on the move.
Speed is the name of the game during the day cycle, and luckily, everything seems to be built around that. For starters, leveling up is as quick as a button press. As I mentioned, each of the four network test classes has a predetermined stat upgrade path. So when you run up to a Site of Grace to refill your health, FP, and flask charges, you’ll also be presented with the leveling menu, which only requires you to press Confirm to increase your level. Heck, you might even have enough runes to level up three or four times, and with three or four button presses, you’re all done and substantially more powerful.
If you have experience in Souls games, the day phases should be a breeze. While searching the map for loot upgrades, I ran into recognizable Elden Ring mobs. My team and I decided to take down a camp, but first, we had to fight three scattered fire chariots before getting our loot reward. Another time, we climbed to the top of a castle to fight a Godskin Noble boss. That should be scary, but with two other Tarnished by your side, these mobs and bosses go down pretty fast.
Moving around is way faster than in the original Elden Ring.
Moving around is also way faster than in the original Elden Ring. You won’t be clawing the controller anymore, since sprinting is moved from Circle (or B) to simply clicking the left stick. Sprinting is also about twice as fast as regular Elden Ring. Fall damage? Nope, none here. Getting down a cliff is easy, and you can even run up walls parkour-style or use Spiritsprings to get around.
Besides just rune hunting to raise your level, you’ll also be trying to build a character to take on the night bosses. There is no armor (save for shields) in Nightreign, only six weapon slots and two amulet slots. How it works is: in typical Elden Ring fashion, you can switch between your left- and right-handed weapons and shields on the fly, but everything on your person will give you buffs. For example, let’s say you found a Reduvia Dagger with high bleed; if you so choose, this could be the start of a bleed build. Now let’s say you take down a boss, and you’re presented with a few other weapons to choose from, and you spot a spear that increases your status effect build-ups. You’re not going to use that spear, as you’ll want to stick with your dagger, but you’ll still benefit from the status effect build-up the spear provides just by having it on you. Think of it almost like a roguelike – sometimes the synergy of weapon effects and stat upgrades you’ll get will build off each other so well that you’ll eventually start melting mobs left and right. Other times you’ll want something like a poison build, only to keep getting weapons that increase your FP regeneration. Bummer.
Weapons aren’t the only rewards either. Oftentimes when looting a boss, you’ll get to choose a stat upgrade or modifier. Some of these are less exciting than others, such as a 10% increase in physical damage. Useful, yes, but exciting, not so much. Other times you’ll get something really cool like a passive power-up that drops a big, poise-breaking lightning strike every time you dodge. Or an enemy-slowing frost nova every time you begin to sprint. You can work these into your build for powerful combinations.
While the day phases can feel like a walk in the park, it’s the night bosses that serve as a real skill check. After the circle has closed enough to end a day phase, a minor Erdtree will appear, signaling that it’s time to take on the night boss. Over the hours I played, my team ranged from completely decimating the night-one boss to barely scraping by. If someone goes down, you’ll revive that person by simply attacking their downed body, with ever-increasing attacks needed the more often they drop. Regardless, the way the night one ends will usually inform you how the rest of the run could go. I’ve seen teams come back from barely scraping by the night-one boss, but if that boss was tough, you’re likely behind in your leveling and you’ll have an uphill battle ahead of you to have a chance against night two.
While the day phases can feel like a walk in the park, it’s the night bosses that serve as a real skill check.
Day two begins the same way day one did. You’ll once again have the full map to explore to level and find better equipment. Occasionally, you’ll be invaded by a random Margit, The Fell Omen who will chase you until he dies or he wipes your party. If your team wipes during the day, you’ll drop your runes and respawn at the nearest Site of Grace. You can recover your runes, but the main thing lost here is time – which was wasted fighting an enemy you didn’t get a reward from and wasted having to recover your lost runes. If your team wipes during a night boss, it’s game over, and you’ll need to begin a new run.
By the time night two rears its ugly head, it’ll be time for the final skill check. During our playtest, we were met with two different night bosses. You’ll either be faced with The Centipede Demon, who is tough but feels somewhat manageable or three Sentinel Knights that really, really suck. Not only are they just plain difficult to take down, but they require extreme coordination with your team to make sure you’re all focused on firing on one of them. Things begin to get easier as they each go down, but it’s a battle of attrition. Eventually, you’ll all run out of flasks and will be left trying to revive teammates who become increasingly more difficult to pick up. In my six or seven full runs of Nightreign, my team was only able to get past night two just once.
Finally, day three is incredibly straightforward – there isn’t one. Instead, you’ll be able to spend your last bit of runes either leveling up or buying consumable items from a vendor, and then you and your team will take on the final boss of the run.
As I mentioned before, depending on how far you got on your run, each player will be rewarded with a relic that provides a persistent upgrade for your characters. These can range from simple stat increases to modifiers that will set you on a build path right from the jump. For our test, this seems to be the only meaningful progression Nightreign has to offer, though I imagine the full game may have more in store for us.
Elden Ring Nightreign is a lot of fun. Pulling off victories by the skin of your teeth provides the same sense of accomplishment you’ve felt when taking down some of Elden Ring’s toughest bosses. The moment a round ended, I couldn’t wait to jump back in to see what kind of build I’d get the next time around. And the cheer my team let out when finally taking down that blasted day three boss reminds me why I love the souls-like genre so much. In its current form, Nightreign could be seen as a little content-lite, so I’m incredibly interested to see how it shakes out when it releases sometime in 2025. But for now, it’s been a few days since I’ve played Nightreign, and still, it’s all I think about. I absolutely cannot wait to jump back in for more.
Over 70 years have passed since the events of Killing Floor 2, and the Horzine Corporation continues finding new ways to make our lives miserable. Few things are worse than the relentless pursuit of Zeds, especially now they’ve been augmented into something worse, yet Killing Floor 3 refines the existing formula to deliver a significant leap over its predecessor. What’s here so far feels flashier, stylish, and it’s shaping up to be a bloody good time.
Going hands-on before next week’s closed beta test, I was joined by fellow critics and Tripwire’s staff for some intense co-op matches. The Stronghold leaves a good first impression as your new base, letting you access facilities while exploring. It’s a more immersive approach that doesn’t place everything behind menus, though that remains an option for quick convenience. Once you’re ready, choose your location and prepare to head out.
Survival remains your main goal, and the six specialists provide an appealing range of play styles to suit different tastes. Blasting through Zeds with a shotgun as the Engineer feels great, as does slicing them into finer pieces as the Ninja. I personally prefer giving Zeds a quick cremation with Firebug, each character has compelling perks and versatile loadouts at the start.
Blasting through Zeds with a shotgun as the Engineer feels great, as does slicing them into finer pieces as the Ninja.
Killing Floor 3 offers great evolutionary changes over Killing Floor 2, though it doesn’t change the fact that defeating zombie waves is an idea done to the absolute death. You’re still clearing through waves as they appear across a series of well-designed expansive maps, while stocking up on goods between missions from trading stations feels cleaner and more streamlined. The core idea remains intact while boasting significantly improved visuals, boosted further by welcome user interface changes.
Tripwire’s brought back the Massive Evisceration and Trauma system, or M.E.A.T., for added visual flair to these enjoyably brutal kills. Special abilities are useful in a pinch when Zeds suddenly surround you, though a lengthy cooldown means you can’t rely on this too heavily. Dismembering heads and limbs alike soon becomes utter carnage with the suitably excessive blood splatter as you tear down these well varied enemies. Grotesque acid spewing Bloats still haunt these maps, Sirens are terrifying screamers, and who on earth thinks to give these cursed creatures a chainsaw?
I’m also enjoying how Killing Floor 3 implements its light narrative through assignment challenges, something Tripwire aims to use for an evolving story. You can safely ignore these if all you want is plow through more hordes, yet giving you optional criteria to hit during a mission provides that little extra for those who’d like it. Granted, the endless hordes can become relatively irritating as you try searching for particular parts, though it’s a welcome inclusion regardless.
I’m also pleased by the horde balancing depending on your team size; playing with a group of four or playing solo all feels adequately scaled. My big concern is that the action will become stale during longer sessions, so I’m pleased Tripwire’s introduced gameplay modifiers that kick in across rounds.Changing criteria like ensuring only crawlers try to attack you ensures these threats remain sufficiently varied.
There’s a lot I’ve yet to see, so I’m hesitant to make any definitive calls yet on Killing Floor 3. The launch game features seven maps, three difficulty modes, six specialists and different levels for customizing your character, and Tripwire plans post-launch similar to Killing Floor 2. So far, I’ve only tried three maps and half the specialists, while the store didn’t include finalized item pricing.
Still, it’s a promising start. Plowing through Zed hordes is nothing particularly new, yet Killing Floor 3 feels like it’s doing enough to compellingly refresh this familiar format. Whether it can maintain that momentum long-term is another matter, but I’m ready for more when Killing Floor 3 launches on March 25 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5. The closed beta kicks off next week from February 20 to February 24.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 lets players act how they like in the medieval open world but not without consequences, and it turns out being an absolute arse all the time unlocks a secret, utterly dire ending.
Warning! Spoilers for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 follow:
GamesRadar spotted an X/Twitter post from @NikTekOfficial that shows what happens when you “commit multiple crimes” in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. “This is impressive,” they said of the scene that sees protagonist Henry executed.
Guards will accost Henry if he commits too many crimes, presenting him with an option to pay off his sins or continue the chaos by fighting his way free. The amount set is seemingly always too high, however, as Henry can only say he can’t afford the price and is instead thrown in prison.
If you commit multiple crimes in Kingdom Come Deliverance II, you will get a full execution cutscene. This is impressive! pic.twitter.com/m5IX7hUQ1J
A near two minute cutscene then shows Henry — who can exist as a hero of the realm beloved by all in other playthroughs — sitting in a cell awaiting a march to the gallows. He’s then taken away and jeered at by a crowd as he’s escorted to the hangman’s noose. Looking sad all the while, Henry’s life ends as the wood is kicked from under him and the game over screen appears . “You have been executed for your crimes,” it says.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 arrived February 4 as a story driven RPG that looks to emulate the atmosphere of 15th century Europe. It’s proved incredibly popular so far, having almost immediately sold one million copies, and it also earned high praise from critics.
In our 9/10 review, IGN said: “Armed with excellent melee combat and an exceptional story, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is one part sequel and one part coronation, bringing a lot of the original’s ideas to fruition.”
In its latest financial report to investors, Remedy said the milestone — coupled with the release of The Lake House expansion and Alan Wake 2 Deluxe Edition — now means the game has “started to accrue royalties” after recouping its development and marketing costs.
Looking ahead, the studio also teased that Control 2, which is being developed in partnership with Annapurna, “has been finalizing the production readiness stage” and will enter full production at the end of February 2025, along with Max Payne 1&2 Remake, which is also “making steady progress in full production.”
Similarly, FBC: Firebreak, Remedy’s multiplayer Control spin-off, continues in full production following a “successful” closed technical test in December, which saw external players test matchmaking and back-end services. While no firm release date was confirmed, FBC: Firebreak will be self-published by Remedy later in 2025.
“We are in a great place to begin our strategy period and have set targets we are confident in reaching,” CEO Tero Virtala said.
In IGN’s Alan Wake 2 review, we awarded the sequel an impressive 9/10, calling it a “superb survival horror sequel that makes the cult classic original seem like little more than a rough first draft by comparison.”
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
IGN’s Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 maps are here! Our interactive maps track essential locations across Trosky and Kuttenberg, including Main Quests and Side Quests for those wanting to complete every quest. They also show collectibles like treasure chests and recipes, so you know exactly where to go to find every piece of loot.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Interactive Maps
The available map filters for our Trosky and Kuttenberg Kingdom Come: Deliverance II interactive maps include:
Locations, such as Fast Travel points, Camps, and Interesting Sites.
Services, like Alchemy Tables, Dice Tables, Drying Racks, and Skill Teachers.
Meg Koepp is a Guides Editor on the IGN Guides team, with a focus on trends. When she’s not working, you can find her playing an RPG or making miniatures.
Are you ready to step into history? To celebrate the upcoming launch of Civilization VII, we’re giving one lucky winner the ultimate adventure! While Civilization VII immerses players in the complexities of global domination and cultural greatness, IGN is taking it one step further by sending a fan to a featured Civilization from CIV VII with a rich history to explore!
One lucky winner and their guest can win an all inclusive trip to Rome, Italy for a chance to dive into its rich culture. The winner will also receive a private tour of the Colosseum, 7-day accommodations, and airfare / transportation covered! Ten runner ups will receive a game prize pack so they can jump into Civilization VII at launch.
Whether you’re a lifelong Civ fan or just love history, this is your chance to experience one of the world’s greatest civilizations firsthand!
Hurry – the contest ends March 4th @ 10:00 AM AEST, and a winner will be announced shortly after. Don’t miss your chance to turn your Civilization VII dreams into reality. Rome awaits!
_________
Entry is open to users who: (i) are legally residents of Australia, (ii) are eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time of entry and (iii) have a valid email address. Entrants who are eligible to enter the Competition pursuant to these Terms and Conditions are referred to as “Eligible Entrants.” To enter, participants must: (i) Visit ign.com/civilisation-7-ancient-wonders-giveaway); (ii) Complete the entry form, which will provide Promoter with an entrant’s full name, phone or mobile number, email and mailing address); (iii) Tell us in [25] words or less what is your favourite moment in the history of the Civilization franchise); and (iv) have an existing 2K account. Only one (1) entry per person will be accepted. Subsequent attempts made by the same individual to submit multiple entries by using multiple accounts or otherwise may result in disqualification of the entrant.
Amazon is running a terrific “Buy 1, Get 1 Half Off” sale on popular items like books, movies, and games. (Please ignore Amazon’s confusing language that makes it sound like you have to buy two items at regular price – that’s not the case). The sale includes all three of the Fourth Wing books, but it also has a bunch of excellent board games in it, many of which are already on sale. You can shop the whole sale here, or read on for some of the standout board games in the sale.
Board Games for Adults
Tons of the best board games are eligible for the sale, including recent(ish) classics like Azul, Catan, Carcassonne, Pandemic and the like. Plus there are tons of bigger, longer, deeper selections on sale, like Twilight Imperium, Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, and the Lord of the Rings, as well as many more strategy board game.
Classic and Family Board Games
If your shelf could use some more timeless classic board games or family board games to entertain your guests, you’ll find plenty of those in the sale as well. We’re talking board games for kids like Mouse Trap and Guess Who, as well as Monopoly Junior, which makes that interminable old standby mercifully short in play time. And if you want to commune with the spirits of the dead, there’s that old family classic Ouija, which is only kind of a board game, but I’m including it anyway.
There are a lot more games on sale as well, plus expansions for many of the games listed above. There’s a lot to sift through, and that’s before you even start thinking about the movies and books you can mix and match to get the discount. So feel free to peruse the sale at your leisure and pick out whichever items you want.
Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.
I was smitten with Compulsion’s South of Midnight well before I got to play a little more than an hour of it recently. From the first enigmatic trailers hinting at this Southern gothic, dark fantasy, magical realist stop-motion game set in the Deep South, to IGN’s own first look, to the bigger gameplay overview at the recent Xbox Developer Direct – South of Midnight struck me as a deeply moving, highly stylized game that would almost definitely make me cry. When I told the Art Director, Whitney Clayton, that I had immediately thought of that decade-plus-old movie Beasts of the Southern Wild, she confirmed that was one of their early major inspirations for its “Mythical Bayou-type location, folklore creatures, and this really heartwarming protagonist.” That, along with the “darkness and folktale fantasy” of Pan’s Labyrinth from Guillermo del Toro. Huge yes to all of that.
In the section that I got hands-on time with, I absolutely got the sense that all of the intrigue and hype-building was no bluff, and yet a couple elements of the gameplay still needed more time in the metaphorical oven before it’s ready to ship out. Even with those minor blemishes – which are slightly concerning because we’re just a couple months away from its April 8 release date – I left still enamored with the setting and bubbling with curiosity about the bigger story about ghosts and environmental catastrophe driving South of Midnight.
I played through Chapter 3, far along enough to have some magical combat tricks as a Weaver going up against spooky figures called Haints – which is exactly where I began. (Though the question of “What exactly is a Weaver?” is yet to be explained.) Diving pretty much headfirst into a fight was expectedly disorienting, but I was reassured that all of the mapped techniques – push, pull, and what’s basically a stun move – are introduced at a pace that’s much easier to get acquainted to naturally. Part of the struggle was the autolock feature being a little loosey-goosey at times; because of the volume of Haints and where they appear in the combat area, the camera spun around the main character, Hazel, in a way that made me a tiny bit woozy.
South of Midnight’s charm is, well, basically everything else besides combat.
I eventually got the hang of the Weaving moves, plus the timing of dodging for its magic recoil against nearby Haints, and found it challenging enough but not necessarily revolutionary. But I hardly think it needs to be: South of Midnight’s charm is, well, basically everything else. As long as it’s fun (it was) and not horribly repetitive (it wasn’t), then it can, in fact, run almost purely on vibes. From each encounter with the Haints, I felt a sense of eerie dread from the lighting and fog, the blaring drums-and-horns score, the general spore-like creepiness of the Haints and their corruption. And when I finally beat their spooky asses, it culminated in a cathartic cleansing of the land, both physically and spiritually, that had been choking on its past. Hazel wasn’t just clearing out the wreckage of environmental disaster from a devastating hurricane where she lost her mother, setting her on this very journey. She was healing the ghosts of history that were haunting the land, too.
That’s kind of how the beats of the chapter went: platform around a swampy area with double jumps, glides, and magic skills to find what I’ll call “Haint holes,” clear ‘em out, and pick up little pieces of a bigger story that all point back to a Mythical Creature – this one in particular at the behest of a giant talking magical Catfish who is both narrator and seemingly Hazel’s mode of transportation around different areas. Chapter 3 didn’t end with a boss battle against one of the giants highlighted in earlier videos; instead I climbed up a giant man-shaped tree to clear the Stigma of its Wound. I swear, the game explains why it exists at all through the collected ghost stories, and houses and spaces are littered with ephemera that help fill out more of the character-building picture. But even so, the ultimate answer still felt like a cliffhanger: Who were these people and how were they connected to the bigger tapestry of South of Midnight? I gotta know!
This storybook narrative meshed peachily – pun intentional – with the luxuriously textured elements of its habitat. Clayton told me the basis of these details was rooted in making the animation feel tactile: “What would this look like if it were actually handcrafted in real life?” she said. “What kind of materials would they have been made out of to look like the thing that they’re supposed to be made out of?”
Speaking of stop-motion: The team knows that not everyone is going to love the style, Clayton said, and that’s fine: “Anytime you do something a bit bold, you’re gonna get polarizing feelings.” (For what it’s worth, if it’s that distracting, you’ll be able to turn it off outside of cutscenes in South of Midnight’s settings.) I will say, I did catch a couple of moments with frame rate issues that haven’t been fully ironed out yet, but Compulsion is aiming for 60fps on Series X by launch. And when everything is running smoothly as it ought to, South of Midnight should be a uniquely beautiful game that might even make you cry a little bit, too.
While Henry Cavill may be the most famous actor to have played Geralt of Rivia, he’s not the first name many will think of when discussing The Witcher. Certainly amongst the gaming community, Doug Cockle — the voice of Geralt in CD Projekt Red’s series of critically acclaimed RPGs — is considered the original and ultimate white wolf. But the paths of Cavill and Cockle’s Geralts have now merged, with Cockle bringing his unmistakable voice to Netflix’s interpretation of the character in the new animated movie, The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep.
While he’s not playing the same version of Geralt who appears in the games, Cockle was not asked to alter his performance to sound more like or include the mannerisms of Henry Cavill or Liam Hemsworth, who replaces Cavill as Geralt in the next season of the live-action show. This creative decision meant Cockle was able to draw upon the same method and approach that created the unmistakably gravelly tones of his Geralt of Rivia. And so you’ll still hear the same voice you’ve known and loved for nearly 20 years.
Cockle formulated that voice back in 2005 when recording dialogue for the first Witcher video game. “The thing I found most challenging about recording Witcher 1 was actually the voice itself,” Cockle recalls. “When I first started recording the game, (Geralt’s) voice was very, very far down in my register. It was something I had to push towards.”
At the time there was little guidance as to how long voice actors should spend recording in a single session, and so Cockle was spending eight or nine hours per day delivering that gravelly voice. “I was going back to my hotel just going, ‘Wow, my throat is ripped’,” he recalls. The struggle continued into the recording of The Witcher 2 a few years later, but Cockle’s vocal chords eventually strengthened and began attuned to what was required of them — a process he sheepishly likens to an athlete’s muscles getting into shape.
As soon as The Last Wish came out in English, I tore through it.
Cockle’s vocal chords adapting to better support Geralt’s voice wasn’t the only major change that happened during the development of the second game, though. “The books started to come out in English while I was recording Witcher 2,” he explains. “Before that, it was the developers from CD Projekt Red who taught me everything I needed to know about Geralt. So as soon as The Last Wish came out in English, I was down at the bookstore buying it, and I tore through it. And I understood things about Geralt just from reading just that one book that I didn’t understand at all before.
“The developers kept saying, ‘He’s emotionless’,” Cockle says. “And I was like, ‘Okay, I get it, I get it, but I’m an actor. I want to play with emotions.’ But I better understood [when reading] the book why they were pushing for as flat as possible of an emotional life for him.”
Cockle immediately fell in love with the books, noting that author Andrzej Sapkowski “is such a wonderful writer.” Having grown up on Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Cockle quickly forged a connection with this new fantasy universe. Of all Sapkowski’s novels, he most fondly remembers Season of Storms. It’s a story he’d love to be a part of, should Netflix ever need a voice for Geralt again.
“It’s one of those stories that when I read it, I was like, ‘Oh, this is horrible. This is awful.’ [But] it’s thrilling at the same time,” he says. “There’s some really graphic fight scenes that Sapkowski gives to us, and I think that would be a really fun story to turn into an anime or a TV episode.”
I enjoy the gravitas of Geralt when he’s all serious and mopey and whatever, but I do also like those moments when he’s trying to be light.
Maybe we’ll see that story in the future, but right now Doug’s Geralt can be seen and heard in Sirens of the Deep, Netflix’s latest animated Witcher adventure. Based on the short story A Little Sacrifice from the Sword of Destiny collection, it’s a dark and twisted interpretation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. After a mermaid and a human prince fall in love, Geralt finds himself caught up in a conflict between two very different kingdoms. But while there’s plenty of blood-splattering action and serious political drama, it’s the story’s lighter moments that interest Cockle the most. He notes a humorous conversation between Geralt and Jaskier, where both are sitting around a campfire after a long day, as a good example of that lightness. The scene demonstrates Geralt’s softer side, which is often overlooked as an important part of the monster hunter’s personality.
“Part of liking acting is liking all those different aspects of a character’s personality and the different choices that could be made and how they might approach those choices,” Cockle explains. “I enjoy the gravitas of Geralt when he’s all serious and mopey and whatever, but I do also like those moments when he’s trying to be light. When he’s trying to crack a joke and it just doesn’t go very well for him most of the time because he’s just not funny.”
While much of Cockle’s work on Sirens of the Deep simply required him to use a voice that’s become second nature, the anime did pose a unique challenge: learning how to speak mermaid. Yes, for the first time in his career, Cockle had to perform in a fictional language.
“I found doing this really difficult,” he confesses. “I got phonetic spellings of the words and things so I could get familiar with it and hopefully be okay on the day. And then I got in front of the mic and… it wasn’t like performance anxiety or anything like that, it’s just that it was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.”
Things should be much easier when Cockle returns to the world of video games in The Witcher 4, which was revealed with an exciting trailer at The Game Awards last year. Returning to his original version of Geralt should be like putting on an old pair of favourite slippers. Even easier, actually, because he won’t have to record anywhere near the amount of dialogue that he did for the previous three games. This time around Geralt is set to be a supporting character in a story that puts Ciri, his adoptive daughter, in the protagonist role.
Naturally, Cockle has little to say about The Witcher 4. He claims to only know as much about it as we do. But he’s eager to see what happens in CDPR’s next chapter of The Witcher story, and thinks it’s already headed in the right direction.
“I think it’s a really good move,” he says of switching the story’s perspective from Geralt to Ciri. “I mean, I always thought that continuing the saga, but shifting to Ciri would be a really, really interesting move for all kinds of reasons, but mostly because of things that happen in the books, which I don’t want to give away because people, I want people to go read. So yeah, I think it’s really exciting. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to see what they’ve done.”
